The domestic cat is primarily a carnivore, so its diet should consist of high quality meat and fish. That is, per 100 g of feed there should be at least 60–70 g of meat products.
But very often in stores you can see such a picture. People take a package of products and study the composition and expiration dates for a long time. But when it comes to cat food, they grab the brightly labeled packet and throw it into the cart without looking.
But often unscrupulous ones that do not correspond to reality. For example, “Veterinarian Tested,” “Super Premium,” or “100% Natural.” But behind the bright label there is sometimes hidden a not very useful composition.
It is necessary to take into account dry food - this is the only source of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, as well as vitamins and minerals for your pet. Therefore, you need to choose food more carefully. In this article, we reviewed premium foods that are popular among cat breeders.
Advantages and disadvantages of premium kitten food
Holistic food for cats: what is it, rating of the best
According to veterinarians, cats need to be fed super-premium food. Many cats do not do well with holistic foods, so it is best to give them a slightly simpler cat food.
Advantages:
- balanced composition;
- natural ingredients;
- abundance of nutrients;
- variety of lines and tastes;
- availability of a therapeutic diet;
- The composition is indicated in detail on the packaging.
Flaws:
- very high price;
- elite food is difficult to find in a store, so it is better to order it online;
- Counterfeits are common.
The veterinarian will prescribe a diet for the cat and select the appropriate food
The health and longevity of your pet depends on feeding quality food. First-class cat food will delight your pets with a wonderful taste and provide them with all the beneficial substances.
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PURINA CAT CHOW
Average price in the Russian Federation: from 100 rubles. for 400 g
Why in the rating: it comes in a very small package, which allows you to take the food “for testing” or as a temporary measure for 1-2 days.
Flaws
: poorly balanced composition with a small amount of meat ingredients of questionable quality. Cases of allergies to Cat Chow are not uncommon.
Grade
: 4
From reviews of
Purina Cat Chow
: “Cats are often picky and refuse this food completely.”
WHISKAS SPECIAL
Photo: povodok-shop.ru
Average price in Russia
: from 90 rub. for 400 g.
Why in the ranking
: offers a food option for cats with sensitive digestion, which guarantees at least relative harmlessness to the animal’s body. Cats eat this food with gusto.
Flaws
: the composition is the same as regular Whiskas, except with a couple of new ingredients. The choice is quite small and allergies are not uncommon.
Grade
: 3
From reviews of
Whiskas Special
: “The portion for satiating a cat turns out to be very large compared to premium food, and therefore even the financial benefit here is very doubtful.”
Cat food rating
In our rating, cat food is divided into 4 classes:
- Holistics. This is the best nutrition with a high percentage of natural products.
- Super premium. They are healthy and contain 80% natural products.
- Premium This food contains a high content of plant proteins and by-products.
- Economy These foods are chosen with care, ideally they should be purchased from trusted suppliers, as they can harm the animal.
Wet
These include:
- meat;
- fish;
- bouillon.
Depending on the class, the protein component in it can be from 50% to 90%. The product is packaged in packs and undergoes heat treatment, as a result of which useful substances remain in the jelly.
Such food has an important positive aspect - a variety of tastes, thanks to which even the most capricious cat can eat what he likes.
They have a short shelf life: usually it is better not to leave them open for more than 12 hours. In addition, soft pieces are not able to remove tartar, so we are not talking about its prevention in this case either. As for the cost, good wet food is expensive: not every owner can afford to include it in the pet’s daily diet.
Dry
This food is produced using complete dehydration of natural ingredients. The meat is supplemented with vegetables, cereals and legumes.
The composition depends on the product class and purpose.
This form of nutrition is used for the animal’s daily diet or when traveling, for example, to an exhibition. This is convenient: granules do not belong to the category of perishable goods.
They are also liked by cats, who can crunch them with pleasure, which helps cleanse their teeth of tartar and plaque.
The best economy class dry food
If cat owners decide to buy economy-class dry food, then this may indicate 2 main reasons: they do not know the whole truth about the quality of such products or they have a very modest budget. In the first case, the responsibility largely falls on the advertising of the food, in which it is highly praised and assured that it is recommended by veterinarians. This is despite the fact that such products have a rather dubious composition, including dyes and preservatives.
The composition of such dry food is based on cereals and corn. They usually occupy the first lines when listing the main ingredients. Corn gluten is also often included in such products. The compositions are dominated by proteins of plant origin, and meat components most often involve the remains of meat production, so they contain very little protein.
Purina ONE for sensitive digestion, with turkey, with rice
Rating: 4.4
The Russian manufacturer Purina ONE produces food for cats with digestive problems. It is made from high quality ingredients that are easy to digest. The composition contains lactobacilli necessary for good intestinal microflora. The pet is guaranteed healthy skin and beautiful coat due to the presence of Omega 6 fatty acids and zinc.
Dry food for sensitive digestion from Purina ONE can be purchased in volumes: 200 g, 750 g, 1.5 kg. All bags have a zip lock. The granules smell very pleasant to humans, there is no repulsive smell. Moderately oily, uniform color. The size of the croquettes is not too big, they themselves are crispy. They cause a good appetite even in the most picky cats.
From the reviews it follows that pets feel great on this food. Animals are cheerful, playful, and do not have problems sleeping. As the manufacturer promises, cats have regular stools of optimal density. Within 10-14 days of using this food, the unpleasant odor from the tray decreases. This product from Purina ONE is well absorbed, satiating and well tolerated.
Advantages
- the composition is enriched with probiotics;
- convenient bags with a ziplock lock;
- the croquettes smell good and are crispy;
- sold everywhere;
- well tolerated by cats;
- reduces unpleasant odor from the litter box.
Flaws
- imperfect composition.
Important information on packaging
How often when buying food for your family do you read what is written on the packaging?
Judging by myself, I can say with confidence that we don’t do this very often. So, before you shell out a round sum for a bag of food, learn to read and understand what is written on the packaging.
The following should make you ready to buy cat food:
- the inscriptions “balanced, complete, optimal balance, nutritional”, the abbreviation of AAFCO (American Association of Food Quality Control);
- in the first place there should be not just a generalization of protein, but a specifically indicated type of meat contained in the food and its percentage - at least 25%;
- also sources of protein should be liver or fish, it is very good if there are at least 2 sources of protein in the food;
- preservatives such as vitamin E and C;
- high quality of feed is an indicator of its digestibility. The smaller the amount of feed indicated in the feeding recommendations per day, the better and higher quality the product;
- Don't forget to pay attention to expiration dates.
Immediately leave the bag of cat food on the shelf if:
- the word “bone meal” should alert you, believe me, this is not what your pet should eat;
- high feeding rate, i.e. the animal, according to the instructions on the packaging, must eat a lot of food per day;
- a bad product uses dangerous chemical preservatives, so the inscriptions BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, propyl gallate should alert you;
- dyes, flavors, high content of fillers (corn, wheat) more than 50% in dry food are unacceptable.
In addition, it is useful to know what you should not feed your cat.
Why choose premium products
These cat foods contain more meat than their cheaper counterparts. If the manufacturer uses additives, then, as we have already said, only natural ones, not synthetic ones. At the same time, the price of food is relatively low, and the range is wide: you can find food for kittens, elderly animals, sick animals, nursing animals, etc.
If your pet has certain digestive habits, sensitivities, or chronic medical conditions, it is best to consult with your veterinarian before purchasing any cat food.
THREE TYPES OF CAT FOOD
CANNED FOOD
Pros:
First of all, canned food can be stored for a long time. As a rule, cats like the taste of canned food, which is available in a huge range on the market. Canned food contains fewer carbohydrates than dry food and much more water. Water makes up about 70% of the feed volume.
Minuses:
Canned food is more expensive than dry food.
If you feed your cat on a loose schedule (leaving her a bowl of food all day), canned food may not be the best solution. Twenty minutes after you put it in the bowl, it will take on a completely unappetizing appearance. I don't think you want to have to scrape dried food off your cat's bowl when you get home from work.
Which cats is it suitable for?
Canned food is ideal for sick or convalescent cats as it is easy to swallow. The same applies to aging cats who find it difficult to chew dry food.
Advice on feeding canned cat food:
If you remove an already opened can from the refrigerator, leave it on the kitchen counter for a while to allow the food to warm to room temperature. Refrigerated food is harmful to your cat's stomach and may also not be to your liking. Always close the jar tightly. Store the opened jar for no more than two to three days.
Canned food for gourmets
Some believe that a bad owner is one who does not buy his cat the best, namely tiny jars of so-called gourmet food.
No one argues that cats really like the taste of this food, but this does not mean that it is more balanced in its composition than regular food. The main thing about it is taste.
To provide my cats with a balanced diet, I buy food from manufacturers who focus on the nutritional composition of the food.
Maybe, you ask, it's worth throwing a feast for your cat from time to time? I don't think this is a good solution. Compared to the strong taste of gourmet food, regular food may seem bland to your cat. If I use this food, it is only to restore the appetite of a cat who has completely stopped eating.
I feed my cat canned food (not the gourmet kind, but the regular kind) a couple times a week. The basis of their diet is dry food.
DRY FOOD
Pros:
Dry food prevents the formation of plaque in your cat.
With dry food, the cat owner has much more freedom of action. If you feed your cat on a flexible schedule, you can pour the food into a bowl in the morning and leave it all day - it will still look appetizing to the cat. You can also leave your cat alone at night without worrying about it going hungry.
In addition, dry food, which is cheaper than canned food, is sold in bags and boxes of various sizes. If you place the food in an airtight container after opening the package, it can be stored for several months.
Minuses:
Dry food has a higher carbohydrate content than canned food. Water makes up no more than 10% of the volume of such feed.
SEMI-
DRY FOOD
Semi-dry food is a cross between dry and plated koi food. It resembles dry food in shape, but differs from it in its soft consistency.
Pros:
semi-dry food comes in fun-shaped pieces, often multi-colored (although I have yet to meet a cat who chooses food by color). It also has less odor than canned food.
Minuses:
Semi-dry food contains more sugar than other foods.
In terms of price, semi-dry food is less profitable than dry food.
If your cat for some reason does not like canned food and cannot eat dry food, offer her this option. However, in truth, I don't think it makes sense to include semi-dry food in your cat's daily diet.
Is fish harmful?
– There is a theory that it is not physiological for a cat to eat fish, since in the wild it usually does not eat such meat. But in the same way, in nature, cats do not eat rabbits and do not hunt cows, but food from these animals is actively sold, and there is nothing wrong with that, since the food is designed for normal absorption, explains Darina Berezina. – For example, salmon and trout can be classified as high-quality fish, but cheaper fish (capelin, herring, blue whiting) are rather undesirable.
This fish may contain too much iodine and other minerals that cannot be absorbed in such a volume, which causes the formation of stones in the genitourinary system, adds Galina Chernova.
“As for ordinary raw fish, it is not suitable for everyone, there is a lot of phosphorus, little calcium,” says Ekaterina Nigova. – If you are a compassionate citizen and consistently feed street cats, then dry food is perfect for them. It is also advisable to bring water to the animals, although even here they will most likely get out on their own, because in the summer you can drink from a puddle, and in the winter they can eat snow
.
Classification
Cat food differs not only in composition, but also in quality. To determine it, the Fredalina scale was created, which takes into account the amount of natural components, as well as harmful and beneficial substances.
Calculation starts from 100 points. If the food contains by-products, then 10 points are deducted from it for each.
For example, if:
- the food contains vegetable pomace, which means minus 10 points;
- if in addition to the marc there is bone meal – minus 20 points;
- the composition is approved by a veterinarian, then for food it is +5 points;
- it contains vegetables and probiotics - additional +3 points.
