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We finaly found something other than fancy feast that he will eat. Straight tune from the can. I don't know if we want to keep that up though.

Be careful if it is tuna packed in vegetable oil -- the oil interferes with vitamin uptake (can't remember which - D or E or ?) in the gut and can cause deficiency. Veggie oil is a no no for cats, even if they love margarine they shouldn't have it.
 
I have always hated the amount of grains in pet food. Cats eat meat not grain. I have a butcher by my place and every other week I go and get some beef and chicken. The cat hates pork. I mix a little grain in as well as some supplements. I put a little grain is because she is used to it and it seems to help her digestion.

I was lucky with the recall as I have never and will never feed my cat wet cat food. It's fill of diabetes.
 
Ah.. but you are self-aware and have a more refined pallette than kitty.

Bit philosophical perhaps, but I don't think you can prove whether a cat is self-aware or not.....

Anyway, back on topic - don't feed a single protein source, meat-only diet. Cats are carnivores, but remember that when they eat a mouse or whatever in the wild they eat the fur, bones, tendons, cartilage etc. along with the meat. Just meat (or tuna or whatever) isn't a balanced diet for a cat.

The most convenient thing is a complete cat food, whether you go for a dry or tinned one is irrelevant nutritionally. In my experience people who try and home-cook a diet are there for ages trying to balance it and never really get it right.

I was lucky with the recall as I have never and will never feed my cat wet cat food. It's fill of diabetes.

Er, no it isn't. Apart from the fact that diabetes is a disease and so can't actually be in cat food, there is no evidence to link feeding complete pet foods with increased incidence of diabetes in cats. There is a link between obesity and diabetes in cats, however, just like in people.
 
Bit philosophical perhaps, but I don't think you can prove whether a cat is self-aware or not.....

Scientists base self-awareness on whether an animal (humans included) recognize that their reflection in a mirror is just that, a reflection of themselves. Cats see their reflection and assume it's another cat. This is the typical basis of self-awareness in animals. Whether you agree with that methodology or not, well, that's up to you.
 
After our cat Malcolm ran up a $1,200 pet hospital bill for eating bad food, we went to organic. We feed him and his brother Nick either cooked chicken thighs and brown rice or some organic wet and dry food. Our vet said not to give him pork or duck since it is hard for them to digest. They said under no circumstances to give them Fancy Feast because it's just made with filler. if we have to give them commercial food give them Friskies' Buffet, Liver and Chicken, Beef and Chicken and occasional salmon or tuna and egg.

They LOVE Serengetti dry food and we wash their food and water dishes before we feed them. It's a bit more trouble but worth it. It's also okay to give them baby food. As for the chicken, we were told to boil or bake it to kill any bacteria and to sprinkle it with brewer's yeast. They LOVE the chicken and it's hard not to give them the things they used to like but it's like feeding kids ice cream all the time. Hope this helps. :)
 
They said under no circumstances to give them Fancy Feast because it's just made with filler.

My vet said worse than that, she said it was like feeding Mc Donald's food to humans.

I've tried the Natural Balance brand tinned food. She'll like it at first, but then the next time she's hungry she'll insist on the Fancy Feast. I'll have to look into the Serengetti; I wonder where you get it. :confused:
 
Anyway, back on topic - don't feed a single protein source, meat-only diet. Cats are carnivores, but remember that when they eat a mouse or whatever in the wild they eat the fur, bones, tendons, cartilage etc. along with the meat. Just meat (or tuna or whatever) isn't a balanced diet for a cat.

The most convenient thing is a complete cat food, whether you go for a dry or tinned one is irrelevant nutritionally. In my experience people who try and home-cook a diet are there for ages trying to balance it and never really get it right.

Just to clarify what we're doing. We feed him a ration of dry cat food (A rather nice one with human grade products and little filler) everyday and what we are looking to replace is his fancy feast "cheesecake" which he likes to get when we get home from work.

So, yeh, we're not feeding him straight tuna as his main meal, just desert.
 
My vet said worse than that, she said it was like feeding Mc Donald's food to humans.

I've tried the Natural Balance brand tinned food. She'll like it at first, but then the next time she's hungry she'll insist on the Fancy Feast. I'll have to look into the Serengetti; I wonder where you get it. :confused:


Serengetti is a dry food made by Timberwolf. You can get it at organic pet food stores or on the internet. There's no filler and you don't need to feed much. They don't shed as much and no more "surprises" in the middle of the night. Cat puke is neither fun or for the cat or the owner's bare feet!:confused:

We got our cats off Fancy Feast by using Gerber's Baby Food. Also tuna in spring water. Sometimes it's cheaper than Fancy Feast. And you're right it's like eating at McDonald's all the time. Ugh!
 
Scientists base self-awareness on whether an animal (humans included) recognize that their reflection in a mirror is just that, a reflection of themselves. Cats see their reflection and assume it's another cat. This is the typical basis of self-awareness in animals. Whether you agree with that methodology or not, well, that's up to you.

I am a scientist, I know how you test for self-awareness. :)

I am also a cat owner, and I can tell you that if our cats walk past a mirror they don't look at all startled, or display any of the other behaviours that they show when they see another cat out of the window or outside. In fact, they don't really react at all. So, I think it's pretty hard to tell what they think of the reflection really.
 
I switched my cat to Innova Evo - which is about as close as you can get to raw diet with out being a raw diet.

There are alot of local companies that produce organic, human grade cat and dog raw food. Comveniently frozen in one serving sizes. the price is around $1 per pouch, which last my 25 lbs cat a day. The dog food is much cheaper because you can use grains for them and more veggies.
I tried getting my cat on an all raw diet but it just did not work with my schedule and his.

Homecooked cat food is not very practical for people with busy lifestyles. It is good when you have a cat with allergies or specific medical conditions.

Oh Wysong pet products are really good too.
 
I switched my cat to Innova Evo - which is about as close as you can get to raw diet with out being a raw diet.

There are alot of local companies that produce organic, human grade cat and dog raw food. Comveniently frozen in one serving sizes. the price is around $1 per pouch, which last my 25 lbs cat a day. The dog food is much cheaper because you can use grains for them and more veggies.
I tried getting my cat on an all raw diet but it just did not work with my schedule and his.

Homecooked cat food is not very practical for people with busy lifestyles. It is good when you have a cat with allergies or specific medical conditions.

Oh Wysong pet products are really good too.
Thatnks for the good info. We're going to try Innova wet food along with the Seregetti dry food.:)
 
I am a scientist, I know how you test for self-awareness.

Christian scientists don't count. Just kidding. Well, they don't.. but I'm kidding that you're a Christian scientist.

1 of our 3 cats stares at himself. For long periods of time. And he cannot quite figure out that it's a reflection of me. He paws at the mirror until I touch him and he turns around.

1 completely ignores mirrors. They don't even register with her.

1 hisses whenever he sees himself. Apparently he thinks he looks like a bitch.

Make of that what you will. Personally, while I would rank cats quite high on the cunning meter (which indeed takes a measure of intelligence), I wouldn't rank them so high on the self-awareness meter.
 
I 'spose I'm late in suggesting this, but my wife read about this website in a Veterinary mag. today:

www.balanceit.com

Basically, it's a cat and dog recipe website. With the quasi-irritating caveat that it's $20 a recipe.

But, for those $20, you can make your cat some rocking Thai food ...
 
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