Re: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods?
I use Innova Evo from Natura, out of California. I order through Petfooddirect.com when they have their 22% off deal about once a month. It's all protein. My cats love it. :) Wendy "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world - indeed it is the only thing that ever has!" ~~~ Margaret Meade ~~~ - Original Message From: Giselle de Grandis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Friday, August 8, 2008 6:01:29 AM Subject: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods? Hi everyone, You haven't heard from me in a while because everything with Pixie, my 3 y/o positive, is going well at the moment. Except I'm running low on dry food... I'm at the bottom of my huge bag of Nutro Choice Complete Care Adult Indoor dry food so I called my local pet store to order more and learned it's very hard to get in Europe right now (I live in the Netherlands, BTW). I got three different reasons for the shortage from three different pet stores: 1. Dutch importers aren't bringing in Nutro from California anymore, 2. A Nutro factory in Hungary burned down, 3. EU competition laws have banned Nutro. The last vendor (an online retailer in Austria) promised he could get me the Nutro Choice if I'm willing to wait several weeks. So I'm wondering what to do. Should I order more ASAP and wait for it to arrive? Or should I do some research and find a better alternative? I'm not very knowledgeable about cat nutrition, especially for special-needs kitties. But Pixie likes the taste of this Nutro Choice dry food and I like to imagine that the ingredients are above average. But are these ingredients ACTUALLY good for her? (Please note the beet pulp and vegetable fibers, etc.): " Ingredients: chicken meal, ground rice, corn gluten meal, rice flour, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), sunflower oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), flaxseed meal, tomato pomace, brewers dried yeast, natural flavors, dried beet pulp, mixed vegetable fiber (carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress and spinach), potassium chloride, menhaden fish oil, oat fiber, soy protein concentrate, cranberry powder, choline chloride, taurine, dl-methionine, vitamin E supplement, dried egg product, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulphate, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), L-carnitine, inositol, dried bacillus licheniformis fermentation extract, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, lutein, dried chicory root, yucca schidigera extract, niacin, copper sulphate, manganous oxide, vitamin A supplement, garlic flavor, biotin, riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B-2), beta-carotene, calcium iodate, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B-6), vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B-1), lycopene, vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), folic acid, sodium selenite. " The Nutro Choice packaging advertises the following benefits: * Reduces caloric intake, prevents weight gain * Well-balanced protein and fat help keep your cat fit * Linoleic Acid, zinc, and important vitamins improve skin and coat health * Less shedding, fewer hairballs * Natural ingredients with vitamins & minerals * Easy to digest for sensitive stomachs * Distinctly improves skin & coat * Reduces stool volume and odor * Less Magnesium So I'm at this juncture -- should I make every effort to get more of this Nutro Choice Complete Care dry food since Pixie likes it and seems to do well on it (despite some belching)? Or should I try to find something better and hopefully more easily available in Europe? Your suggestions are most welcome! I'd be nervous, however, to start Pixie on a raw food diet since I know nothing about this and I'd have to prepare the food myself (time-consuming and gross for a vegetarian?) Many thanks in advance for your help :) Giselle & Pixie ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods?
I bought organic spinach, carrots, green peas, green beans and squash (usually frozen but, if we were traveling, baby food) and just ground it up in a small Black & Decker grinder and mixed it with her Primal Raw or even canned foods (again, organic no grain food). Sometimes I would get fresh carrots or broccoli. It depended on what was available at the time and what I could manage under the circumstances. I have friends who swear by Honest Kitchen's products for their dogs. www.thehonestkitchen.com has a relatively new cat version out. Dixie loved the veggies. The kittens she sent me love pumpkin mixed in their food. They are young and feral (they are indoor, cared for kittens now obviously) so we are working on diet issues. It takes time. On Aug 11, 2008, at 6:48 AM, Giselle de Grandis wrote: > Many thanks to Laurie, Jennifer, Marylyn & Sabrina for writing in > response to my question about "healthy dry foods". > > I'm now seriously considering putting Pixie on a commercially prepared > raw food diet after discovering a "BARF" supplier in a nearby town. (I > find the "BARF" moniker hilariously appropriate as a vegetarian ;P) > Their formulation for cats is strictly meats, organs and bones without > any vegetable component (which they do however include in the dog > formulation). > > Marylyn, you wrote that you added organic veggies rich in iron and/or > vitamin C to Dixie's food -- could you tell me a little more about > this? > > Sabrina, thanks for recommending the Yahoo raw food groups and > mentioning some brands of grain-free dry food, which I didn't even > know existed! If the raw food diet doesn't work out I'll definitely go > out of my way to find grain-free dry food for Pixie. > > Thanks again everyone. > > Giselle > > ___ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods?
Many thanks to Laurie, Jennifer, Marylyn & Sabrina for writing in response to my question about "healthy dry foods". I'm now seriously considering putting Pixie on a commercially prepared raw food diet after discovering a "BARF" supplier in a nearby town. (I find the "BARF" moniker hilariously appropriate as a vegetarian ;P) Their formulation for cats is strictly meats, organs and bones without any vegetable component (which they do however include in the dog formulation). Marylyn, you wrote that you added organic veggies rich in iron and/or vitamin C to Dixie's food -- could you tell me a little more about this? Sabrina, thanks for recommending the Yahoo raw food groups and mentioning some brands of grain-free dry food, which I didn't even know existed! If the raw food diet doesn't work out I'll definitely go out of my way to find grain-free dry food for Pixie. Thanks again everyone. Giselle ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods?
Primal Raw is as easy as opening a can. The freezer bag contains small cubes of meats and some veggies. I added organic veggies that were rich in iron and/or vitamin c to it (Dixie loved vegetables). I am vegetarian and, while I have cooked for my critters, it is a lot easier to do the Primal Raw. When I am sure the kittens are doing well, they will be converted to it. On Aug 8, 2008, at 1:23 PM, Sabrina wrote: > Hi Giselle, > Glad to hear that Pixie is doing so well! > > I would drop Nutro like it's on fire! It's better than some foods, > but it's > still FULL of ingredients that our kitties are not designed to eat. > Remember, cats are obligate carnivores, so they have ABSOLUTELY NO > NEED for > grains! They need MEAT, and a little, tiny bit of vegetable matter. > If they > do eat these foods they were never meant to eat, over time, it > shows. Their > bodies have to "deal" with these products that they don't know how to > digest, which takes it's toll on the body. Especially the > "filtering" organs > like the liver and kidneys as they have to filter out the toxins. > Arthritis, > allergies, kidney/liver disorders, you name it. > > The BEST thing for our kitties is a natural, raw diet of meat, bone, > and a > little bit of veggies. Yes, it's a bit more work than opening a bag > of food, > but remember that these commercial foods were created to be a > convenience to > pet owners and food produced for convenience are rarely, if ever, > nutritionally adequate. I'll be honest, raw feeding can be VERY > intimidating > at first, but then you'll get the hang of it. There are also Yahoo > groups > that can help you prepare a nutritionally-balanced diet. Contact me > off-list > if you'd like more info. > > Like I said, the BEST food for an animal is a home-prepared raw > diet. Second > best would be a commercially prepared raw diet. Then a home-prepared > cooked, > then a canned food only diet, and at the bottom of the list would be > dry > food only. If you MUST feed a dry food, go for Innova EVO, Wellness > CORE, > Nature's Variety (Prairie) Raw Instinct, or another grain-free cat > food. > These are somewhat better than grain-filled cat foods, but they are > still > HIGH on carbohydrates, and have FAR more carbs than our kitties can > process. > Whatever you do, stay far, FAR away from the best-known brands, like > Science > Diet, Iams/Eukanuba, Purina, Friskies, Meow Mix, etc. These > companies spend > so much money on advertising that there's really no money left over > for the > actual food, so they are about the lowest quality you can find. Well, > actually, vet-prescribed diets are the lowest quality, but that's > another > rant all-together! > > Sabrina > www.Pet-Sitter-Pro.com > www.LovingGraceRescue.org > Orange County, CA > ___ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods?
Hi Giselle, Glad to hear that Pixie is doing so well! I would drop Nutro like it's on fire! It's better than some foods, but it's still FULL of ingredients that our kitties are not designed to eat. Remember, cats are obligate carnivores, so they have ABSOLUTELY NO NEED for grains! They need MEAT, and a little, tiny bit of vegetable matter. If they do eat these foods they were never meant to eat, over time, it shows. Their bodies have to "deal" with these products that they don't know how to digest, which takes it's toll on the body. Especially the "filtering" organs like the liver and kidneys as they have to filter out the toxins. Arthritis, allergies, kidney/liver disorders, you name it. The BEST thing for our kitties is a natural, raw diet of meat, bone, and a little bit of veggies. Yes, it's a bit more work than opening a bag of food, but remember that these commercial foods were created to be a convenience to pet owners and food produced for convenience are rarely, if ever, nutritionally adequate. I'll be honest, raw feeding can be VERY intimidating at first, but then you'll get the hang of it. There are also Yahoo groups that can help you prepare a nutritionally-balanced diet. Contact me off-list if you'd like more info. Like I said, the BEST food for an animal is a home-prepared raw diet. Second best would be a commercially prepared raw diet. Then a home-prepared cooked, then a canned food only diet, and at the bottom of the list would be dry food only. If you MUST feed a dry food, go for Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Nature's Variety (Prairie) Raw Instinct, or another grain-free cat food. These are somewhat better than grain-filled cat foods, but they are still HIGH on carbohydrates, and have FAR more carbs than our kitties can process. Whatever you do, stay far, FAR away from the best-known brands, like Science Diet, Iams/Eukanuba, Purina, Friskies, Meow Mix, etc. These companies spend so much money on advertising that there's really no money left over for the actual food, so they are about the lowest quality you can find. Well, actually, vet-prescribed diets are the lowest quality, but that's another rant all-together! Sabrina www.Pet-Sitter-Pro.com www.LovingGraceRescue.org Orange County, CA ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods?
Check out www.catinfo.org for cat food info For dry I prefer Nutro Natural Choice, EVO (vet) and Wellness Core. Laurie -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jennifer Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 9:22 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods? I'd try and get another brand of food that's maybe the same nutrition-wise or a little better. I use Eukanuba Naturals, but I don't know if that's available in Europe. Eukanuba is classified as ultra-premium dry cat food. Good luck in your search! Jennifer - PROUD VEGETARIAN & LOCAL SPCA VOLUNTEER. Be their voice. ~ loving mama to ~ Morrison (born Oct. 10, 2000) Isobel aka Fat Girl (born Feb. 7, 2007) Ash (born July 11, 2007, diagnosed FeLV+ July 28, 2008) --- On Fri, 8/8/08, Giselle de Grandis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Giselle de Grandis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods? To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Date: Friday, August 8, 2008, 11:01 AM Hi everyone, You haven't heard from me in a while because everything with Pixie, my 3 y/o positive, is going well at the moment. Except I'm running low on dry food... I'm at the bottom of my huge bag of Nutro Choice Complete Care Adult Indoor dry food so I called my local pet store to order more and learned it's very hard to get in Europe right now (I live in the Netherlands, BTW). I got three different reasons for the shortage from three different pet stores: 1. Dutch importers aren't bringing in Nutro from California anymore, 2. A Nutro factory in Hungary burned down, 3. EU competition laws have banned Nutro. The last vendor (an online retailer in Austria) promised he could get me the Nutro Choice if I'm willing to wait several weeks. So I'm wondering what to do. Should I order more ASAP and wait for it to arrive? Or should I do some research and find a better alternative? I'm not very knowledgeable about cat nutrition, especially for special-needs kitties. But Pixie likes the taste of this Nutro Choice dry food and I like to imagine that the ingredients are above average. But are these ingredients ACTUALLY good for her? (Please note the beet pulp and vegetable fibers, etc.): " Ingredients: chicken meal, ground rice, corn gluten meal, rice flour, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), sunflower oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), flaxseed meal, tomato pomace, brewers dried yeast, natural flavors, dried beet pulp, mixed vegetable fiber (carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress and spinach), potassium chloride, menhaden fish oil, oat fiber, soy protein concentrate, cranberry powder, choline chloride, taurine, dl-methionine, vitamin E supplement, dried egg product, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulphate, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), L-carnitine, inositol, dried bacillus licheniformis fermentation extract, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, lutein, dried chicory root, yucca schidigera extract, niacin, copper sulphate, manganous oxide, vitamin A supplement, garlic flavor, biotin, riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B-2), beta-carotene, calcium iodate, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B-6), vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B-1), lycopene, vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), folic acid, sodium selenite. " The Nutro Choice packaging advertises the following benefits: * Reduces caloric intake, prevents weight gain * Well-balanced protein and fat help keep your cat fit * Linoleic Acid, zinc, and important vitamins improve skin and coat health * Less shedding, fewer hairballs * Natural ingredients with vitamins & minerals * Easy to digest for sensitive stomachs * Distinctly improves skin & coat * Reduces stool volume and odor * Less Magnesium So I'm at this juncture -- should I make every effort to get more of this Nutro Choice Complete Care dry food since Pixie likes it and seems to do well on it (despite some belching)? Or should I try to find something better and hopefully more easily available in Europe? Your suggestions are most welcome! I'd be nervous, however, to start Pixie on a raw food diet since I know nothing about this and I'd have to prepare the food myself (time-consuming and gross for a vegetarian?) Many thanks in advance for your help :) Giselle & Pixie ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleuk
Re: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods?
I'd try and get another brand of food that's maybe the same nutrition-wise or a little better. I use Eukanuba Naturals, but I don't know if that's available in Europe. Eukanuba is classified as ultra-premium dry cat food. Good luck in your search! Jennifer - PROUD VEGETARIAN & LOCAL SPCA VOLUNTEER. Be their voice. ~ loving mama to ~ Morrison (born Oct. 10, 2000) Isobel aka Fat Girl (born Feb. 7, 2007) Ash (born July 11, 2007, diagnosed FeLV+ July 28, 2008) --- On Fri, 8/8/08, Giselle de Grandis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Giselle de Grandis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Felvtalk] Healthy dry foods? To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Date: Friday, August 8, 2008, 11:01 AM Hi everyone, You haven't heard from me in a while because everything with Pixie, my 3 y/o positive, is going well at the moment. Except I'm running low on dry food... I'm at the bottom of my huge bag of Nutro Choice Complete Care Adult Indoor dry food so I called my local pet store to order more and learned it's very hard to get in Europe right now (I live in the Netherlands, BTW). I got three different reasons for the shortage from three different pet stores: 1. Dutch importers aren't bringing in Nutro from California anymore, 2. A Nutro factory in Hungary burned down, 3. EU competition laws have banned Nutro. The last vendor (an online retailer in Austria) promised he could get me the Nutro Choice if I'm willing to wait several weeks. So I'm wondering what to do. Should I order more ASAP and wait for it to arrive? Or should I do some research and find a better alternative? I'm not very knowledgeable about cat nutrition, especially for special-needs kitties. But Pixie likes the taste of this Nutro Choice dry food and I like to imagine that the ingredients are above average. But are these ingredients ACTUALLY good for her? (Please note the beet pulp and vegetable fibers, etc.): " Ingredients: chicken meal, ground rice, corn gluten meal, rice flour, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), sunflower oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), flaxseed meal, tomato pomace, brewers dried yeast, natural flavors, dried beet pulp, mixed vegetable fiber (carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress and spinach), potassium chloride, menhaden fish oil, oat fiber, soy protein concentrate, cranberry powder, choline chloride, taurine, dl-methionine, vitamin E supplement, dried egg product, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulphate, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), L-carnitine, inositol, dried bacillus licheniformis fermentation extract, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, lutein, dried chicory root, yucca schidigera extract, niacin, copper sulphate, manganous oxide, vitamin A supplement, garlic flavor, biotin, riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B-2), beta-carotene, calcium iodate, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B-6), vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B-1), lycopene, vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), folic acid, sodium selenite. " The Nutro Choice packaging advertises the following benefits: * Reduces caloric intake, prevents weight gain * Well-balanced protein and fat help keep your cat fit * Linoleic Acid, zinc, and important vitamins improve skin and coat health * Less shedding, fewer hairballs * Natural ingredients with vitamins & minerals * Easy to digest for sensitive stomachs * Distinctly improves skin & coat * Reduces stool volume and odor * Less Magnesium So I'm at this juncture -- should I make every effort to get more of this Nutro Choice Complete Care dry food since Pixie likes it and seems to do well on it (despite some belching)? Or should I try to find something better and hopefully more easily available in Europe? Your suggestions are most welcome! I'd be nervous, however, to start Pixie on a raw food diet since I know nothing about this and I'd have to prepare the food myself (time-consuming and gross for a vegetarian?) Many thanks in advance for your help :) Giselle & Pixie ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
