# Good dog and cat food- help!



## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

Is anything known about 4Health Grain-Free dog and cat foods? Is it good? Is it bad?

I'm looking for a cheaper brand of dog and cat food, but yet good. I don't want any dog or cat meat to be in the food. When I found out about what goes into some pet food it really disgusted me, so I'm looking for a good food that does not contain decaying food, diseased animals or dogs and cats.

Any advice?

Also, is "meat by-product" a sign that it could be dog or cat meat? That is one of the first ingredients in the 9Lives wet canned cat food, but it is the only canned cat food I can get my cats to eat. They love it! :s


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

Taste of the Wild is a really good dog & cat food brand thats pretty inexpensive for a premium food. Its grain free & they use real meat as the first ingredient. I work at a pet store & am pretty familiar with a lot of brands. This is one I always recommend to people looking for a good quality food & don't want to pay too much. Also due to it being high protein & grain free your cost per feeding works out a lot less...so your saving money in the long run. Their salmon formula is great for dogs with allergies.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

Is it known what kind of meat it is in Taste of the Wild? Is it a brand that for sure doesn't use cats and dogs as their meat products?
I saw Taste of the Wild at Tractor Supply when I got the 4Health Grain-Free, but it had grains in it? Is there another Taste of the Wild bag that is grain free?


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## Luminescent (May 28, 2013)

I would suggest checking out this thread. It also includes a list of good and bad foods and if its not on there, since I have an account, I can ask them about it. :3 http://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=917201


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

Taste of the Wild is always grain free, heres their site: http://tasteofthewildpetfood.com/mobile/


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

Taste of the Wild is on the great list on that site, but 4Health Grain-Free isn't on the list anywhere. Could you ask them about it?
By the way, thanks for that link.  It was a good read, and the first part was quite amusing the way it was worded.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

Eden10 said:


> Taste of the Wild is always grain free, heres their site: http://tasteofthewildpetfood.com/mobile/


Okay, maybe I got it confused with another brand while I was going through and looking at ingredients. I'll check into it.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

I work a holistic and all natural pet food store, TOTW is a great food. Esp for the price. Whats cool about their food is its interchangable- you can use the lamb one bag then switch to the venison&bison for the next bag and you dont have to do a change over period. (Unless your pet has a sensitive stomach then its recomended to do a slow change over). 

No meat by products, no corn wheat or soy, all grain free and has unique proteins.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

What canned cat food is good? 
And how can I get my cats to eat it? They currently only go crazy for 9Lives canned food... The first ingredient is "meat by-product" which would be fine... if it told which kind of meat and which kind of by-product. :l


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## JLSaufl (Jan 20, 2013)

Fromm makes excellent canned cat food. 
I like this brand and used to ffed the pea and venison to my dogs but my store was always sold out. 

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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Meat by product is usually a mix of all type of animal by products if it doesnt specifically say. 

TOTW makes a canned wet food for both dog and cat. Or if theyre picky cats try Weruva or Best Feline Friends (BFF). Theyre both very high quality foods that are potent and a lot like people food.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

Alright. I'll try them and see which one my cats will eat better. 

Thanks for all of the help!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Taste of the Wild all the way! Best quality nutrition in its price bracket.


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

My cats love the TOTW canned food, I give it to them as a treat now & then they gobble it down! Only downside is the can is tiny...wish it came in a bigger size!


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## zurfaces (Jan 16, 2013)

I know this haa been said a billion times already but taste of the wild is great my cats love it. They have a canned food as well which I have never bought but I'm sure it's good. 

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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Eden10- not sure where you shop or where youre located but it comes in a 3 oz and 5.5 oz can


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

Alright, so far I've had no luck getting my cats to eat the new food. Any advice? I opened a can of TOTW for them this morning and one of my cats wouldn't even taste it. She just sniffed it, looked at me, and walked away with her tail twitching in agitation. I went to the store today and I now have a bunch of different brands for them to try. I got a different flavor of TOTW, 4Health, EVO, Innova and Wellness. 
Do you think that mixing it with 9Lives canned food for a while would help? Or should I just continue giving them the new food and show them that 9Lives isn't on the menu anymore?
My other cat ate the TOTW can a little bit, but after eating about 1/4 of the food she was done... then again she isn't usually the one who hogs the canned food either.. The picky one is.


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## TexasRatties (Jun 2, 2013)

I have fed 4Health and it is a pretty good food  I currently use grain free evolve dog food and they have the cat food variety too I believe I get it at HEB. First ingredient is always a meat never a by product and they get pretty good reviews too. Also if you do Costco they have kirkland food which supposedly is pretty good. I have also used Taste of the Wild and it is a really good dog food it's a little more expensive then 4Health but they are both decent foods. Honestly a lot of the big names like Blue buffalo, eukanuba, science diet, aren't all that great really.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Blue buffalo is a good food, you just pay for their advertising. Commercials and what not. Same with Wellness. Doesnt make them bad foods.

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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

Eukanuba and Science Diet are bad though. Along with Iams and Purina Pro (I forgot what its actually called).


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

I'm in a pretty small town, prob why I've not seen the bigger cans! No pet store I've been to carries them including my own work. Surprised you cats didn't go for the TOTW...maybe you should leave it out for a while, like overnight when cats are more active & see if they eventually come around, be a little firmer with them...cats can be divas! But I've heard of many cats that are so stubborn they'll starve themselves rather than eat food they don't like! Hopefully you find a good food soon...Blue Buffalo do have a formula called 'Finnicky Feast' especially for picky cats....but its expensive food.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Yeah ive heard stories of cats that wont eat the best stuff, will starve themselves until they get Fancy Feast!!

I HATE Science Diet- full of literally ****. Theyre "vet recommended" so people think theyre great- dont even bother to read the ingredients. Ugh. Although they have a few new formulas out that read better list wise but ehh, theres so much better stuff out there. 

Yeah, I agree with Eden, leave it out and see if they'll touch it, cats are weird eaters.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

I'll try that. I don't think she's the type that would starve herself. She loves food; she's just picky about what kind of food. Maybe she'll see the other cat eating it and decide to try it.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

My picky cat seemed to enjoy TOTW after I left it out. She absolutely dislikes the indoor formula of 4Health (I accientally grabbed the indoor chicken formula for some reason), but she likes the regular chicken formula of 4Health. It has rice in it, but it doesn't have any fish. That's the only thing I dislike about TOTW; both flavors that are available at both stores that carry it have mostly fish in it.


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## Luminescent (May 28, 2013)

I don't know if you needed this anymore, but I got a reply from that forum I was telling you about so I just copy and pasted it here. What I asked: -----> Is 4Health Grain free a good choice for dog and cat foods? And does "meat by-product" a sign that there could be dog or cat meat in it?I love, love, love 4health! It is one of least expensive good food out there. But, that being said the non grain free options actually earn a better rating. Compare the two =) The original- http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food- ... -food-dry/Grain free- http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food- ... -food-dry/It isn't the bet food out there, but on a limited budget, it is one of the better one. Well, that depends on what kind of meat is it. If it just says "meat by-product" that could be from any kind of animal, but chicken, beef, or fish by-product isn't too bad. It is just the left overs of slaughtered animals. I never trust anything that isn't specific about what kind of by-product it is. Since, like you said, it could be from roadkill, dogs, cats, etc. Before I get a food I look it up on this site just to make sure I am getting an outsider's options http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/brand/


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## Luminescent (May 28, 2013)

Oh my! Sorry about the big text block, oI'm on the iPad. :/


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

I noticed that the non-grain free does earn a better raiting.. I'm wondering why that is?


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Fish is great, it has the least fat compared to most proteins and it has beneficial omega 3 fatty acids. Good for skin+coat as well as joints.

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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

I avoid fish if possible... its dangerous to feed to cats. Many cats have allergic reactions to fish. Fish can be addictive to cats, so some may start to refuse to eat other food. Some fish (like tuna) have high mercury levels.. its bad for children.. so its especially bad for cats. Fish also causes UTIs and can make them worse if they are already existing.

Here is a link that explains further the issues with feeding cats fish.
http://www.allcatsvetclinic.com/PDFs/do-not-feed-fish-to-your-cat.pdf

And another.
http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/why-fish-is-dangerous-for-cats/


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Cats as well as any animals can only get allergies to something theyve been exposed to- chicken and grains are the most common allergies.

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## JLSaufl (Jan 20, 2013)

I'm just checking in on this thread, Innova and Evo had a huge recall recently, and while I know it's dry and we're talking about wet. I honestly wouldn't feed my pet any food from a recalled brand. Here's the article. 

http://www.abc2news.com//dpp/news/national/massive-pet-food-recall-announced


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

Feeding cats fish is very controversial...I feed my cats the TOTW Venison & Salmon formula as its not ALL fish & like I said the cans they get as a treat once in a while. I was feeding my dogs TOTW dry food, but my little elderly teacup chihuahuas teeth have gotten bad so I switched to Natural Balance (another brand you can try ) Potato & Duck small bites....BUT now she is strictly on wet food so once my bag runs out I will probably go back to TOTW for my other dog. However, Natural Balance is another great food! They have grain free & other limited ingredient diets...there a little more expensive tho & honestly I like the flavours of TOTW better. You can try their cat canned foods as they have a variety of flavours if you want to avoid fish.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

Only the two flavors are available in my area of TOTW cat canned food. Only Tractor Supply and Pet Supplies Plus carries TOTW and both only have the Rocky Mountain flavor and the Grand Canyon flavor. One of the two doesn't have as much fish in it... I believe its the Rocky Mountain. My cats seem to like it now after a few days and nights of getting it.

Is the Natural Balance softer or are the pieces just smaller? My chihuahua has bad teeth too and he has issues eating large pieces or pieces that are really hard, so he's unable to eat the food that I bought my malamute. I've been feeding him the rest of the Rachel Ray food that I bought him a long time ago and he also gets the 4Health small bites that my mother feeds her chihuahua (since she keeps my chihuahua while I'm at work).


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

JLSaufl said:


> I'm just checking in on this thread, Innova and Evo had a huge recall recently, and while I know it's dry and we're talking about wet. I honestly wouldn't feed my pet any food from a recalled brand. Here's the article.
> 
> http://www.abc2news.com//dpp/news/national/massive-pet-food-recall-announced


Thanks for the info! I haven't opened the cans that I bought yet, so I'll return them to be on the safe side.


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

Yeh those are the only two flavours for cats, they have a lot more for dogs! Yeh the Natural Balance small bites kibble is teeny tiny! This is the one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0018CFNFG/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?qid=1376779706&sr=8-8&pi=SL75 I may just keep my other dog on it as hes doing just as good as he was on the TOTW & its also grain free...he just doesn't seem as thrilled with the flavour. My chihuahua loved it! Just her teeth are now too bad for any dry kibble.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Here is a post I made a while back about cat nutrition in another thread.



Jaguar said:


> If you are trying to go for a good diet, even the cheapest, crappiest canned food is better than the most expensive dry food for one reason - it contains WATER. Cats don't have a high natural thirst drive and they will only drink from a bowl/fountain when they are very dehydrated. Raw prey ie. mice, birds, etc. are very high in moisture and low in grains - unlike dry food. Chronic dehydration gets hard on the kidneys as they age, which is why a LOT of cats die from CRF/CKD. I really advocate a canned or raw diet for all cats. CatInfo.org has a lot of great information about nutrition, health, and general care - it is really like a Cat Bible if there was one (kinda like RatGuide is for rats!)


 I own a cat with diabetes and early stage kidney failure that was likely induced by a lifetime of dry food. PLEASE feed them as nature intended (high moisture meat)


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

I second you. 
My cats have always been on an almost completely wet food diet. I feed them a little dry food in between wet food cans, but they eat mostly wet food. I'm just not feeding them the cheap stuff anymore because you don't know what kind of meat is in it.. I don't want my cats eating euthanized cats. :s

I'm actually considering throwing in some raw food into my cats diet also. My outdoor cats already live off of what they catch (for the most part).


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Raw food is BY FAR the best option, but some cats just will not take to raw food... ever. I like to call dry food "kitty crack" - it's so loaded with artificial flavorings (animal digest) that they literally become addicted and will not eat anything else. Fortunately both my cats LOVE raw food, but I don't feed it due to the cost. Meat is very, very expensive in my area.

If you can find a cheap source for the meat (generally a butcher), the best thing is to buy the entire carcass (rabbit, chicken, etc.) and grind it at home yourself, organs, bones, and all. You can make huge batches and freeze it up in small containers to feed later. You can also do what is called frankenprey where you feed a mix of muscle meats, organs, and other body parts, which you will have to supplement with taurine and such since there are no bones. If the idea of dealing with carcasses and organs makes your stomach turn, there are powdered supplements you can buy and mix in with any kinds of muscle meats like chicken thighs to make a nutritionally complete food - TCfeline and Feline Instincts come to mind.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

One of my kittens was hand raised from 2 weeks old and hes only been getting the best foods but he just cant have wet food. Every kind ive tried gives him AWFUL smelling liquidy poops. It sucks cause hes like a dog and will eat **** near everything. 

We do sell Primal and Natures Variety raw foods but a totally raw diet just isnt practical for me but i think ill pick up a small bag and see how he does with that... theyre both eating Acana and love it


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

I just wanted to mention.. that since switching my malamute to a better food. He is now actually getting full... Before he was always a bottomless pit when it came to eating. He was always starving. He also eats about half as much food now than when he ate Pedigree. So it really does pay off to get better food.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Great to hear! Yeah i always tell people that better higher quality food is more calories per kibble so the dog stays full longer and you feed less.


Also, for the Natura recall, no canned foods were affected.


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