Curiosity Killed the…

Cat food discussions can be so heated, I know. I most likely won’t mention it again for awhile so let me say this: quality of food does make a difference.

A defensive person might say, “My cat has been eating Friskies his whole life and there is nothing wrong with him.”

Let me say that my own cats started on Nutro, then switched to Felidae, then to Trader Joe’s, then onto Wellness, Merrick, Addiction, ZiwiPeak, and back again to Wellness (with Addiction’s Brushtail to keep them super happy) and it has made a huge difference in their coats and poop.

Garbage in, garbage out. Honestly.

When Stella came into our lives the other 3 kitties were on Merrick and she joined them. At her foster home she was free feeding on Nutro dry and getting some Iams Catfish as well. Her fur was stiff and coarse to the touch. She wasn’t soft or silky, it was sad. After about 3 months her coat turned gorgeous. Everyone comments on how soft she is. The same for Penny. My vet says she has bunny fur.

Annie was the same way. She came from a small shelter and was free-feeding on supermarket food. Her poops could stink up our entire apartment. Garbage in, garbage out.

Read your labels, check for quality, and avoid sugars, by-products, brewers dried yeast, and grains. It’s the least you could do.

I truly believe, without a doubt, that the number 1 argument in the pet food world is wet versus dry. If I was the Ruler of the Universe I would eliminate dry food from the market entirely and every cat and dog (and ferret) would eat wet food only. All these animals would have un-stinky poop and gorgeous, shiny coats. I promise.

When people (including a veterinarian I really like) say, “Well, dry food cleans their teeth,” a part of me wants to weep and another part of me wants to scream like a wild thing.

Open up Google, type in “dry food does not clean teeth,” and hit enter. One million, two hundred fifty thousand links come up. The only people who believe dry food cleans teeth is dry food manufacturers. We all know that Whiskas does not have your cat’s health in mind.

I know, it can be expensive. I have 4 gorgeous cats who eat only wet food. We use 2 cans in the morning and 2 cans in the evening. I could save some money by buying the 12.5 oz cans of Wellness but that’s a little too much food. I want each kitty to eat about 5.5 oz a day.

If I had just one more kitty then I could use the larger cans.

It’s pricey but it’s worth it to me. I have so much guilt about Pixel that I really want to do what’s best for my little pride all the time. My husband and I don’t have cable tv, we go to the movies once, maybe twice a year, and we rarely go out to eat. Technically, these are sacrifices but I love my home life and my healthy kitties so I don’t care.

I used to be an active member of cat/animal forums. I was eager to share my knowledge of nutrition with others. But I’ve learned that people don’t want to hear that they aren’t doing what’s best for their pets. People would rather believe that free-feeding Friskies is better than changing.

Fine.

That why I started Curiosity Killed the…I wanted to learn and be educated and I know I’m not the only one. There are others out there too.

You can’t beat the awesome foods. If I wasn’t a vegetarian I’d smear some of my cats food on a Carr’s Table Water cracker and eat it to prove a point. Alas, my 4 cats eat chicken and I do not.

The big difference between Good and Awesome are the extra ingredients. Awesome foods contain - get this - fruits and vegetables. That might sound strange considering cats are obligate carnivores but think of it like this: wild cats eat birds, mice and rabbits. In an ideal world these cute little creatures would eat only the best fruits and vegetables. Therefore, the cats that eat the mice would eat those too.

My favorites in the Awesome world are Merrick, Wellness, Halo, Evanger’s, Addiction, and ZiwiPeak.

Technically, ZiwiPeak doesn’t have the fruits and veggies that the other foods have but the quality is superb.

My cats - Oliver, Annie, Penny, and Stella - have enjoyed all of these brands. Currently they’re all on Wellness.

Their favorite, I believe, is Addiction’s Brushtail & Vegetables. A brushtail is a squirrelly little thing and my kitties love to watch squirrels eat peanuts on the patio. My husband, Mike, thinks the cats know they’re eating something squirrelly. Oliver even shakes (or kills) each piece as he takes it from his dish.

It’s too bad Newman’s Organic is Good and not Awesome. They’re a great company and I love what they do for animal charities but they put too much grain in their foods.

If you’re a stickler like me it’s good to read the ingredient list of even the Awesome foods. Wellness has 8 varieties of canned food and 5 of them are grain-free.They also use ocean life in some foods: Turkey & Salmon, Chicken & Herring, Chicken & Lobster, Sardine Shrimp & Crab, and Salmon & Trout.

I’ve given my cats the Chicken & Lobster but I simply don’t feel comfortable with the other fishy flavors.

Merrick is the same. They make 9 varieties, 5 of them with seafood and only 2 contain brown rice. I’m glad the 4 non-fish flavors are grain-free.

And of course, these Awesome foods don’t contain a lick of articial ingredients, by-products, sugars, or anything not fit for a cat.