Confused about cat food? Sign up for my free cat food mini course so you can find the best food for your cat → caticles.com/label-cheat-sheet/ Ready to switch to HEALTHY cat food? My proven plan helps you switch from dry to healthy wet or premade raw (even if your cat is picky!) → store.caticles.com/raw-blueprint/?ref=yt-video
@@TanyaOwens Check the description for the best of the best. Or this video for reviews list of ALL types of food: th-cam.com/video/eRtL3GGa4as/w-d-xo.html&t
@Colin Eassie Thank you!! Yes, homemade fresh is best! And I most certainly will continue making videos. I recently completed a clinical pet nutritionist certification program so eventually I will have recipe videos. Stay tuned!
These cat food videos are maddening. Not a diss on this video which is a great video, but in general. I searched for cat food tips for my extremely finicky kitty and the shear number of videos that contradict each other is maddening. I just got frustrated and more confused than I already am. I guess I’ll use my own instincts, read the labels and buy what my kitty will eat.
One of our cats vomited a lot, and eventually even the "better" canned food we were using was not staying down. I found a raw recipe online, and started making it for both cats. They were about 3 years old at the time. The sick cat actually GREW in size. Not weight, SIZE. I couldn't believe it. She became loving and more attentive to us, and I hadn't realized how much she was avoiding us because she probably always felt ill. She started sleeping with me, with her head on my shoulder every night. She really appreciated what I'd done for her.
i gave some raw quail plus salmon. about 10grams worth to she how she liked it and wherher she would get the runs. she swallowed it, no hesitation and wanted more..whereas df and wf she would take time to ponder first. if her poop is solid today i will add abit more
I don’t know what to think about this. I fed my cats good quality food, and they both eventually developed terminal diseases (small cell lymphoma and some kind of pancreatic issue which we didn’t get a full DX of) and they died at 12 and 13. I visited my aunt recently-I saw she was feeding her cat Friskies and Purina. Her cats have always lived to 20-22 years and she said that is what she always fed them. I think some people feeling guilty because their cats got sick may be putting too much blame on themselves.
I had the same experience. Two of my cats passed away recently, both at the age of 4. These are the cats that I've fed good quality food ever since I came to know about the danger of supposed 'cheap' cat food. But then one day one of them stopped eating and soon got diagnosed with Pyuria, Cystitis, and Megacolon all within the span of a week. The other one started vomiting and showing signs of constipation, but was never given an official diagnosis because all tests showed nothing was wrong. We even did an x-ray in case something got stuck in his gut, but there was none. Meanwhile, the cats I left with my parents, being fed the low-quality, easily accessed, cat food continue to live today ages ranging from 20 - 25 years! At this point, I think some cats are just tougher than the others, have better immunity than the others. 😥
@papanpines @@lianabagui Same here. My cat Zoe died last Nov. of cancer/kidney disease. Gave her only the best for her 16 yrs. My friend has 2 persians, gives them Meow Mix, they are now 20-22 yrs.
There are a lot of factors at play here, diet is just one. I have a cat and I try to feed her the better stuff but she gets tired of eating the same thing so I buy a variety of food for her, some good, some not as good. I also have to consider her preference because like all cats, some things she likes more than others, although I did rescue her as a stray and she's never been overly picky... her first food from me was Alley Cat because that's all they had at the local liquor store which was the only store near me that was open at the time but she was so starved that she was tearing up the bag to get to more after she had already ate an entire bowls worth. Meanwhile I also feed two TNR stray cats that visit me at night and for them I end up buying the larger, cheaper bags of food and every so often I'll mix in something better and once in a blue moon I'll surprise them with wet food. The kibble may be the cheap stuff, but it's better than what they were eating when I first encountered them digging in a trash bin for food.
I'm sorry, but we fed our guy Friskies. He ended up with kidney issues & passed away a year ago. I won't touch Friskies again or any of the junk sold in supermarkets
I fed my cat Friskies dry food for over 10 years. She developed hyperthyroidism and now she's in congestive heart failure. She's on 3 different meds for her disease and conditions. I changed her foods but it was too late. Take cat nutrition seriously
You should look into adding taurine to her food. It's a non-essential amino acid for us, but essential for carnivores and is responsible for heart, eye, and digestive health.
Bobby girl: 😭 Yes, I found out when my cat got sick from cheap dry food and I lost him when I was young.... and then we began feeding incoming rescues a roast chicken once a week that they share with (human) John, mixed with peas simmered in butter, prescription diet Royal Canin (to prevent cystitis in males, but okay for females too, vet said) and cans of better quality wet food (no fish flavor because of cystitis prevention) ...and give them water, warm herb teas that are good choices for cats and some low fat milk. Also, like people need a bit of iodized salt for thyroid health...These ones lived over twenty years...but I'll never get Cocoa kitty back!!!
Bobby girl; yes, that's happened...😭 Now we feed them a roast chicken once a week that they share with (human) John, with peas simmered in butter, prescription dry food by Royal Canin to prevent cystitis in neutered males (but vet said It's okay for females too) , higher quality wet food (but no fish flavors to prevent cystitis) , fresh water, warm herb teas appropriate for cats, low fat milk and a bit of iodized salt in their diet to prevent thyroid issues (as with humans)...it comes in the food...they also like chickory and coffee (with no sugar, of course) ...John likes to give them some with low-fat milk....Now these have all lived over 20 years, but I'll never get Cocoa kitty back!!!
My grandmother fed her cat Whiskas or something like that for years. Her cat died of urinary stones all due to long term feeding of this cheap horrible food. She didn’t know she was doing any harm. Not her fault. I’m glad there’s more education out there for us to make better and informed decisions for our cats.
The number one problem for me when it comes to buying good cat food is price. With everything going up, I have to buy what I can afford. Which is literally the best I can but I have a decent amount of cats to feed.
Me 2. I do the best I can. I want. 2 treat my cat rite & keep it as healthy as I can, but I hav troub feeding myself. My cat Is my only luxury. I love him & i don't kno how I'd do wo him.i kno this vi was intended 2 b helpful but what can I do.. it made me sick 2 watch this vid & I cudnt. Continue it. Dishertenning
I suggest providing them with chicken broth, you don't need a lot of chicken, you want the unseasoned, unsalty broth. wet the best food you can afford. the thing with dry food, it has a lot of phosphorus and carbohydrates, so you may want to excercise them a bit somehow and increase water intake to flush the phosphorus plus gaining humidity. fish broth also works.
It's ridiculous when these OCD people on youtube try to make everyone else feel bad about not spending $20/day on cat food. Sometimes it sounds like these nuts would rather let a cat starve than feed him inexpensive cat food, which they seem to think is tantamount to poison. Anyway, many cats would be absolutely miserable without kind people like you, so you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. I've seen homeless cats tearing garbage bags just to lick a few drops of something gross inside, so compared to those poor cats the cats you feed are extremely grateful and a thousand times more healthy than they would be if they were starving.
Yeah this is fantastic for somebody with money. I feed a lot of stray cats. Last year it was up to $500 per month. I could not afford to buy gourmet stuff. It was a question of feeding them or letting them starve.
You know good quality cat food isn't always expensive right? It's mostly marketing. You pay for the brand like Royal Canin or Gourmet. If you look at the ingredients it's ridiculous how much carbohydrates are in there. Cats don't need all those carbohydrates, they're carnivores. I live in Europe so the standards and guidelines on cat-food are probably different from the USA, but I bet there is good wet cat-food out there. Germany has overall very good wet cat-food, for example there is this brand called Animonda Carny, which has 6 tray cans of 800 grams (total of 4,8 kilogram in different protein sources) for € 17,49 like € 3,64 per kilogram. 😊
nestle is an evil corporation and all humans and pets should avoid using their products , and if you buy organic supplements don't buy "Garden Of Life" products, that is also nestle trying to capitalize on healthy items, i boycott them 100%
Very true! It's unfortunate there are always rebranding of companies and you would have no idea who the parent company is unless you really dig for it.
@@danjones3402 - They are owned by the Deep State aka Cabal who are heavy into population control. If they hate people and want to kill us - they also hate animals.
It's too easy to go to a supermarket and get everything at once. The industry is rubbing their hands and the vets are waiting patiently. Let's squeeze them all !
I have owned a grooming shop for 30 yrs. First a domestic pet is not a Fur baby! 2nd w/ all the information out there I can't believe that humans don't know wtf to feed their cats. I didn't finish this video but do cats eat grain in the wild, nope! By products & Any meal should be known is bad by everyone now! Avoid like the plauge... By products ANY Meat meals BHA, BH,BHT and ethoxyquin Blue 2, Red 40, and Yellows 5 and 6 are examples of artificial colorings Artificial flavors Carmel, Corn anything! & Soy Wheat and wheat gluten wheat flower, SNYTHING WHEAT! Cellulose, Powdered,cellulose Rice Rendered fat & Propylene glycol Do yr homework, wet & frozen food is better than dry! Still feed dry but I order my cat food from New Zealand. I use the 75% rule!
Thanks for keeping the convo going on an important topic! As a US based vet student, former ER vet tech, and cat owner I just wanted to pop in and clarify some things I'm reading in the comments. Sorry it's so long but I hope I can provide some transparency on why your vets are pushing these "trash" foods. I definitely agree that the pet food industry can and should do much better re: ingredients and regulation and hopefully that and more affordable prices will come with the growing trend of increased pet ownership and a standard for better pet care. I also agree that cats should ideally be eating some form of wet food for weight management and hydration purposes! Obesity is linked to 10+ illnesses and 60% of cats in the US are obese. Calories in 1/8 cup of dry food = 5.5 oz can of wet food so imagine how much easier it is to overfeed with dry food. Also, having them on wet food now ensures they won't refuse to eat it later if they ever have a medical condition that requires them to be eating wet food (urinary/kidney issues). However, wet food can be a lot more expensive, so it's understandable if people aren't able to afford it. I do want to clarify that most vets do NOT get compensated by any of these big name companies to push their foods. If the hospital sells them, there's a markup on them like anything else sold in a store but there's no special commission and the markup usually goes to the practice owner not the vets. As you said, the reason vets recommend them is because of the "hard data" these companies have from clinical trials. I'm referring to prescription diets only, not maintenance diets, but as medical professionals, we can't use anecdotal evidence to form a treatment plan. We can't say "I watched a youtube video to feed this for urinary crystals so you should try this" when a product from Hills/RC/etc. has been tested and proven to help, especially when a urinary obstruction is life threatening and costs thousands of dollars to treat. In these instances, we're more concerned about the composition of the nutrients and electrolytes in the food in relation to the medical condition (ie. low protein/phosphorus in kidney diets) rather than the ingredients themselves. In terms of maintenance diets, I admit a part of why they're recommended is probably due to familiarity. There's no way for a vet to know every brand of food so it's much safer to recommend these brands that have known testing and strict manufacturing and monitoring and is convenient for the client because the hospital sells it. What we're taught in school is that instead of recommending specific brands or buzz words, to have clients focus on picking food that has adequate nutrition (AAFCO), is for the correct lifestage, is in your budget, and agrees well with the individual animal (nice stools, no skin issues, etc.). Also what determines a "healthy" brand? Grain-free brands were "healthier" only for them to now be a huge cause of heart disease in dogs. Without research, no one can factually say feeding this diet/brand/etc. is healthier for cats but vets can say that on this diet, your cat is or isn't in perfect health. This being a hot topic in recent years, hopefully more research will be done so vets can feel more comfortable recommending non-commercial diets. Additionally, I am in a AVMA accredited DVM program and we learned about AAFCO guidelines and how to read food labels in our first nutrition lecture. We have nutrition lectures incorporated into several different courses so I don't think you going through curriculums and not seeing a course called "AAFCO guidelines" entitles you to say vets don't learn about them. However, it's true we tend to focus more on the medical aspects of nutrition so there are board certified veterinary nutritionists (DVM, ACVN) that have more extensive knowledge in nutrition if people need a consult. Also, there is no evidence that spaying/neutering cats leads to any health problems. There is developing research that suggests this may be true in specific breeds of dogs depending on the timing of the spay/neuter but has not been seen or replicated in cats. Spaying and neutering prevents mammary, ovarian, uterine, testicular diseases and cancers and reduces the chance of them getting injured or killed trying to get outside to mate. Streets and shelters are also already overflowing with kittens and it would be a shame for owners to add to that because of misinformation. Veterinary professionals as a whole are chronically overworked and underpaid and currently have the highest rates of burnout and poor mental health so it's disheartening to see so many people in the comments perpetuating distrust in vets or that we're clueless, running scams, or purposely hurting your pets for money. Every vet is different so by all means, do your research or shop around to find one you like and trust! But also try to keep in mind that we're all humans trying our best and have the same goal as you to keep your pets as healthy and happy for as long as possible.
Thank you so much for your perspective! I spent a lot of time for a while researching cat foods and nutrition, and have seen first hand how relative the term "healthy" really is. The love of my life developed kidney disease and we put him on Royal Canin's rx kidney diet. While the ingredient list isn't stellar, his kidney values did improve! He did great for about a year, and then we discovered a sneaky, nasty cancer. I started feeding Tiki Cat's velvet mousse, and he did perk up in his last weeks, but we won't know how he would have done long term. One of my current boys actually doesn't do so well on a low/no carb diet, his poops get really runny and he's just a little lethargic and not as bright. Keeping him on a high fiber diet helps with that, as well as helps keeps the calorie count down because he's fat but just will not shed weight. (That's next on the list with our vet after his upcoming dental surgery.) My other boy is the opposite. He's a lean, mean, crazy teenager, and I have to watch to make sure he gets enough calories because he's not super food motivated. He DOES do better with high protein/high fat, and it keeps his fur softer and shinier. I make as much of my own food as possible, but keep Tiki Cat wet food for when I get behind, and Natural Balance kibble for the days when I'm going to get stuck at work and need to put a meal in their timer feeder. I would rather they get a meal of kibble every now and then instead of get lunch three hours late. If I couldn't afford those anymore, I probably would switch to Friskies because it is affordable, there really aren't that many plant ingredients in the list, and there is a wide variety of flavors and proteins available. I despise Purina as a company, but if that's the best I can afford, and my cats do ok on it, then that's what I'll feed them.
So, i understand that the big food brands have hard data by which nutritional claims can be made. I will say that not every cat will do well on a Paleo/ carnivorous diet. Otherwise it's like people who say natural medicine is "better/ healthy" because it's not processed or mixed with "chemicals" like modern medicine. But that's not the argument, and it's misleading to say these food brands really are beneficial. We are talking about quality of ingredients, and the point remains that low quality of ingredients is used to make this food. The point of contention is that carbs and low meat percentage is used, regardless of what added minerals and vitamins are added that makes food specialized for certain ailments. Companies don't care for quality, they care about results from the least amount of money spent to get those results. And conflating test results with overall health isn't the way. I know someone who believes Hills Science Diet is great; their cat has a sensitive stomach, and kidney issues. The Hills Diet kibble with water slurry she was put on helped with those issues, but the poor cat is now overweight and constantly put on diets. I can't help but think it's due to the amount of carbs in these foods she eats. But it's vet recommended, so it _must_ be good, right? I'm sure if big pet food brands focused on high quality, high meat percentage, a lot of pet issues would be alleviated due to poor, and bad nutrition. (Obviously we cannot get rid of everything). But pets should have a good nutritional baseline regardless, and i doubt carbs + "meat flavor" + vitamins = the way to go.
Hi Thank you very much for all of your well-reserched facts I have eleven cats . They are my life. I will continue to listen to you and watch every video you put out. Thank you. I want the ebook also. 11:40
Thank you for this! I lost my Frost of 14 years thinking I was feeding him the best available food, Iams. His teeth got so bad he could no longer eat, his kidneys started failing and eventually his body just shut down. The vet could not find anything wrong. We did tons of research trying to find answers, and the only thing we could deduce was that it was from years of poor nutrition. He suffered for years, on and off with weight loss/gain, feeling fine, then sick. Never knowing that the food I was feeding him was slowly killing him. I have two other cats, who are still grieving over him. He was their Papa Frost. Like you, I started looking at labels, started trying to figure out what to do to keep this from happening to my other furbabies in ten years. It’s expensive, but worth it. Any brands you can buy in a Grocery store/Per Store are all the same. Read the labels! It’s the equivalent of feeding you and your family fast food three times a day. If you can go Raw or Natural do it! If not, do the research and find a good brand of food that suits your cat’s needs. The more we just buy from these manufacturers and let them continue putting garbage in our pet foods is just green lighting then to keep doing it, and killing off our pets!
I'm so sorry for your loss!! You're absolutely right. I'm glad that you compare this to fast food. People don't think about how it's every meal for every day. For weeks and months and years! My cat Jericho eats raw now too!
I am so sorry for your loss !! I had been there ,so I do understand !! The truth is commercial cat food brands or even prescription cat / dog foods ,even vets are not thinking of dog's & cat's health at all & not nutritious at all ,almost a joke & even evil !!! Fancy Feast turkey & giblets was decent ! We need to calculate it into " dry matter " to see the balance !! You can read it in a book called " Your cat " written by an American vet . I studied a lot & spent so~much time & money for my cats ,they're no longer with me very very sadly. 💜🥁🎤🐉💞
I have noticed too much dental disease in many of my cats over the years. I only feed wet food and one brand. These cats come from different family lineage so it is not a specific family deficiency. Have you any cats with dental disease? What is your opinion on this?
@@4SunnyinMiami2 Dry foods cause cavities ,though !! Once they believed dry foods would prevent dental issues. But,no longer that's the case .As dry foods stick to teeth & gum with cat's / dog's saliva. 💜🥁🐉🎤💞
When my cat started pooping blood as a kitten I started doing my research on food. I was food conscious for my family but had to pay attention to my kitty too. As soon as we changed his diet to healthy brands he got better and his fur began to lose its dullness and became silky again.
Very helpful content! I used to feed my adult cat Hills (Chicken or Lamb) but soon realised that my cat’s coat was looking dull. Switched his dry food to Wellness Core (Salmon) initially and noticed a massive change. However as I started paying attention to food labels, I realised that Ziwi Peak and Orijen were much better so I now feed my cats food from both brands. No regrets.
My cats were healthy and happy,and lived for many years on the food I fed them and not yours,but thank you for all your research,and concern,I might add your cat is just beautiful,thank you again.
I agree, I'm extremely picky on what I feed my cats, and all of my cats have ate iams for over 10 years, they're extremely healthy and 4 different vet's recommend Iams
I immediately looked at the labels when i got my first cat and avoided the popular brands and thought of combining the dry and wet food. Constantly seeking better dry & wet foods and never settle with whatever i end up getting her. Want her to be in the best health possible. She’s somewhere around 3-4 months old the vet guessed as i found her as a stray.
I fed my kitty Champion Pet Foods, Orijen kibble. Pricey, but no carbs and you can read what you get. I also share any meal I made with liver, salmon or kidney (beef, lamb or pork) with my cat. Cat lived to 21
@@meemraaa3444 to my knowledge, cats who are used to eating canned food, or kibble won't like raw food. You have to slowly transition them to it, there's videos on how to get them into an all raw food diet. If your pet doesn't eat raw, then cook it. I would look into how much liver they should eat, too. Liver is super rich in vitamins and minerals and you can't feed them a whole bowl of liver, or they can get seriously ill. It's usually mixed in small amounts with something else.
@@ophilianecr the reason i asked this bcoz a vet told me that i cant feed raw food to cats bcoz store bought liver ,heart etc are contaminated with micro organism eg: salmonella etc
I only feed raw to my cats, your Pets are your family and my motto is: if I wouldn’t eat it I won’t feed it to my cats. Cats might be carnivores so they can’t eat EVERYTHING I do but they get the QUALITY that I eat. It’s just part of being a good cat owner.
I started feeding my baby a raw diet about six months ago, and she has been happier, and healthier ever since. I make it fresh at home, so I know exactly what goes into it, and she loves it!
Yes, many cats get most of the moisture from wet food. Unfortunately, this is because their humans view their drinking needs as similar to human drinking habits and nothing could be further from the truth. I have 8 cats, 3 water stations. None of my cats are dehydrated, have kidney issues or diabetes. All of my cats will drink plentifully from each fountain in a 24 hour period. It's about understanding when they drink and what constitutes a good location. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks for a location to click with a cat. The simple tips:- 1. Do not put water near food or litter trays - food residue and pee/poop contains scent that lures predators. Cats do not drink where they are vulnerable. 2. Do not put water near busy footfall areas - again, they like to feel safe before they drink. When their heads are lowered their visibility is reduce and they feel vulnerable. 3. Do not put water in locations where there is only 1 exit or poor all round visibility - a cat values being able to make a safe escape if anything unexpected pops up (in this house it's another cat chasing a moving tail). Cats in the wild drink from streams. Moving water. They drink from natural surfaces that are wide and shallow. If you use a plastic water fountain, or have a disused ceramic fountain that is deep, try adding some smooth pebbles to give a natural surface and to raise the drinking area and give your cat more line of sight vision. Cats do not like their whiskers touching the sides of dishes or fountains. Getting cats to drink is easy if you stop thinking like a human. :)
You're right that water and food should not be in litter areas or heavy traffic areas. Ceramic is much better than plastic since plastic traps bacteria. But my point is that people that feed dry food only think their cats drink plenty of water, even with the right sources. But this is not true. Prey is 70-80% moisture so yes cats do drink from streams. But most of their water intake comes from food. Dry food is only 10% moisture. So the average cat eating dry food only would have to drink more than 8 ounces daily just to stay hydrated. Cats do not drink like humans do, as you said. They are designed to get their moisture from food.
@@jesscaticles I understand, Jess, but people who can only afford kibble need a way to increase hydration so their cat doesn't suffer. I am merely offering an alternative perspective that most people don't consider. The difference is assuming that a cat will get its needs met by canned food, and knowing that it's needs are met with actual measurable water consumption. I only use ceramic dishes, but I know that most people do not have the luxury of dropping $70-$100 for a cat's fountain, so I wanted to offer a solution to people who may already have a plastic fountain that their cat is not using. PS I forgot to thank you for your video. It's great, and I've shared it with family and friends. I'm ever hopeful that one day we will have great food options available for our pets. :)
Right now I have 2 17 year old brothers, 18 in December, and I give them Friskies Pate and Friskies Dry Food daily. Nothing with "indoor cats" on the labels. Their parents, Sox and Kitty Mama both lived to be almost 19. They were given the same. Before them, my cat Sam passed away 4 weeks from 20. She was given the same for the most part. I must be doing something right.
this is the perfect example of ignorance is bliss. Im sure you mean the best but just because an animal can live on something doesn’t mean they’re thriving and loving your cat means doing the proper research on the brands not looking at the cats who manage to do well on it. I can live off ramen my whole life but is it really healthy? no.
@@brittneylyncker5212 Personally, i think the best way to feed your cat is 1) try lots of different foods to find out what cat likes, and 2) try and have a balence between the good stuff and the junk, like us humans, sure home cooked meals are healthiest, but having mcdonalds and ramen every once in a while ain't gonna kill us
Jess, I can't thank you enough for this amazing video and all the links you posted!!! I adopted the sweetest 7yrs old kitty three months ago and already had THREE visits to the emergency room, including an entire night at ICU. I started thinking she might be hopelessly ill and already considered the scariest options but now that I found your channel I realize that I must have introduced too much too soon (I was trying out all kinds of high-quality wet foods on her without smooth transitions - she's picky that way because she has no teeth) and that must have upset her stomach and led to hairballs indigestion which then triggered her asthma on top of that (it was so scary!) But now I have hope that I can fix this by slowing down and keep her by my side for years to come, I hope. I am so so grateful for all the work you're putting in your channel - it is truly PRICELESS. I learnt more than from all the emergency room veterinarians!
And all the links are SO HELPFUL. I went through every single one and took notes of what to try and when. And your comparison doc with reviews is just AH! As a Product Manager, I have to say you PM'ed your cat feeding like a BOSS!!! Bravo and thank you!
Thank you for your kind words!! I'm glad the video and links are helpful. This is exactly what I want - everyone to do their own research!! I love that you're looking into the resources. Before I worked in pet care I was a project manager for marketing/content at a tech startup. So I've got those organization skills down lol
My hair stylist and I were talking about all the ailments our pets have had, and got to talking about how our cats and dogs were fed scraps from the table and ate mice and birds outside…then lived to be in their twenties. We both now make our own pet food once a week at home.
@@maryjojouwstra3860 use lean ground beef, chicken. I make a "pet loaf". It has can salmon, tuna, sardines in it. Everybody likes it. You could use a can of mackerel too. Anything homemade is better than canned/bag. They will eat brown rice & veggies. I use my hot pot to make up batches.
You have the coolest voice and should be a singer! My family and friends have been feeding our animals some of the products you mentioned for years and our pets lived way past their calculated expiration dates , with practically no visits to the vet or illness. So , perhaps, some of those mystery ingredients are beneficial. The speculation that the companies use dead and sick rescue animals ,as part of their “mystery broth” is huge ,and you need to “show your proof” before engaging in this kind of TH-cam Gonzo Journalism. Like everything , there is exceptions to the rules, and maybe we had super pets , that were able to live through the harmful products that we were feeding them.
My brother used to work at one of the labs for Natural Balance. They were the only type of lab to test the food thoroughly, after production. They were bought by Smuckers, who closed the lab. There have been quite a few reports of contaminated food lately, but how many pets are getting sick from the ones not tested correctly?
Pet owners need to make our own food for our furry family members. Looks like these companies don’t give one eff about our animals. your kitty looks damn healthy, btw.
Thank you! Jericho eats raw and whole prey. Homemade cat food is best but most people don't know how to formulate. And nutritional deficiencies can cause just as much harm as processed foods.
I've been using fromm for my cat and dog for the last 6 years. Their poop has never looked better. Sure it's a lil pricey but for me it's worth it. They have never had wet food, and they eat whenever they want. They are both grazers not gorgers. I just leave their food out. Yorkie is 6yrs old & 5 1/2 lbs, my cat is 9yrs old & 11 lbs and very tall. They go to the vet once a year for shots. Never have they been sick. I'm thankful for that. Thanks for this great and informative video. I appreciate it
You're very welcome! Although I would add that wet food is still better than dry. Also, leaving food out all day is unsanitary. Bacteria, mold, and rancid fats are increased as the food sits out longer. Kibble is not impervious to these things (:
Whenever switching a cats diet, do so gradually by taking some of the new food, and adding it to their regular meal and increase over time. Cats could get nausea when switching too suddenly, causing them to refuse new foods. For kibble junkies - take a coffee grinder, grind some dry, and sprinkle a little of it in or on top of the wet food, after a few days your cat should be ok with their wet diet.
I dont know if anybody has told you this... But thank you for this information. It makes me feel like crap that my little pokemon have not been properly taken care of. From the food to the litter. Let the strategy for better health begin.
This made me want to die of guilt. I'm an anesthesiologist and money is definitely not a problem. The problem is the fact that I live in Brazil and we have way less cat food options compared to the US and they're all trash. I used to feed my oldest Farmina's N&D (grain free, but full of carbohydrates) because it was the "best" option compared to the rest, but she developed a reaction to it. Her urea and creatinine levels skyrocketed, thankfully it was caught in time before she developed any symptoms or permanet damage, and I was forced to start feeding her Royal Canin. Since then I got two more cats and have been feeding them the same thing + tons of wet food (same crappy brands). I take them to the vet at least every year for routine medical exams and I knew I was just waiting for disaster to struck. It just did. Oliver, my THREE-YEAR-OLD male british shorthair started vomiting everything he ate this last week. I got very startled and took him to the vet immediately. Around 10.000 dollars (just converted it, but it feels way more expensive in brazilian currency), an endoscopy, days of hospitalization and a bunch of IV meds, we're one biopsy result away to finding out which terrible gastrointestinal condition he has developed. He's currently eating Farmina's Vetlife Gastrointestinal wet and dry food, on injectable nausea/vomit medication, anti-inflammatory and prokinetic drugs. He was discharged from the hospital today, he's currently laying in bed with me grooming himself, and I've never felt so guilty in my entire life. I studied everything about feline nutrition before I got my first cat, I knew I wouldn't be able to offer them the bare minimum living here and I still went through with it... Now I'm going through the consequences. (I just wanted to clarify that a raw diet isn't an option. We don't have decent cat nutrition specialists, reliable sources for a variety of fresh meat and all the supplements and other stuff that's usually added.)
I can never thank you enough for this. I am an archaeologist and I have lived in the jungle and worked there for many years, so needless to say I would just open a can of tuna and eat it like that. Bottom line, I never even cooked for myself! I have kids and I cooked for them when they were little, but I thought I was giving my cats everything they needed because for 65 years my whole family has had cats and we gave them canned food. I would never hurt my children or my cats, and that is a fact. Apparently now I'm going to have to learn to cook. I never cared about what I myself ate , because usually we had a camp cook or we just had stuff out of a can. Not to mention that because I live in a totally different country 🇲🇽, the price of cat food is ridiculous. But I do without so that they can have, if that makes any sense in English. I have access to fresh meat at a much lower cost than in the United States. This video just made me ill because I love my cats so much. Speaking of which, your kitty loves you so much and it is absolutely noticeable. I completely detest cooking but I would do anything for my cats or my kids. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. God bless you and all your babies throughout your whole life. I wish kitties would live forever. But when you are 65 like I am, you know it's not the case. Praying for a long life for both of you. I am assuming this is Jericho but I am not positive. I only just found your channel today And these videos are older. Don't stop what you are doing. The world is a better place because of you.
I spent hundreds of dollars on fancy cat food and couldn't figure out why my cat was sick. Turns out he had many food allergies and all the Grain Free foods were making him seriously ill. We ran out and my neighbor gave us Iams and it worked! So relieved that I don't have to spend $30 on 4 oz of food. We have 3 greedy cats! Trying to do "better" I was harming my baby.
Keep in mind that grain free does not mean carb free. Many of those foods use inappropriate ingredients like legumes and peas to bump up the protein content rather than using more meat ingredients. $30 on 4 ounces of food? I spend around $2/day on my cat's 4 oz of raw food...
I have used Iams and Diamond for years, for my cats and dogs. They have always done fantastic on these foods. I don't have vomiting pets or stool issues. Nor are they overweight. My cats and dogs live to 18+.
@@jesscaticles Peas was one of his allergies. And I think he was probably allergic to other ingredients that they don't actually list. Only some generic name that did not tell you what was really used. He is also allergic to salmon. Go figure.
I feed my cat mice (: There are better quality foods in the description. And even more in my review list: th-cam.com/video/eRtL3GGa4as/w-d-xo.html&t - there are over 100 records.
Basically only expensive brands 100%meat.. you are fine off with friskies and many other brands.. we had many cats eating cheapest food and they lived very long lives without any problems.
@@jesscaticles Yes, I, too have given my cats "pinkies" - or pet store mice - which are always gobbled up immediately. (I admit that I feel bad for them occasionally, because they are so totally unaware of the fact that predators actually exist in their world). BUT - this has always been the way of animals, naturally preying on what is best for their nutritional needs since the beginning of time. Still, I'd like to feed the best available dry food to fill in the gaps each day, so I'll be looking at your site, thank you.
Friskies can food was what my cat was eating, went into kidney failure at 3.5 years. Changed foods, she got better eating organ meat and lasted 4 more years. A vet's assistant ended up moving in next door to me...she said they see more cats come in with health problems on Friskies than any other food.
You are so right, Wal Do. I think if I kept feeding my senior striped tabby cats Friskies it would have killed them both. I switched to Core wellness for my cats. They lost a lot of weight. What a difference in their energy level and playfulness too.
@Max Larson If you ever come across someone's cat, especially young, that's having kidney failure ask the owner what kind of food the cat eats. In my experience & a vet's assistant I knew it's usually Friskies.
I wish veterinarians would advocate good food brands instead of pushing crap food like Hills and Purina. I went to my local butcher today and ordered cattle liver and lung. I have given my cat pig heart mixed with wet food every morning and night since the raw food we have here at the moment is not a complete raw food. She used to eat mostly wet food before and then suddenly only wanted kibble, but now it's only once a day and I want to transition fully to raw or a mix of wet and raw and I hope this will be OK for my best buddy. Thanks for video Jess :)
Hi Chris! You're very welcome for the video. I'm glad your baby is enjoying some raw treats. Some fresh food is better than no fresh food! As for vets, we expect them to study nutrition in school, but they don't. In the US anyway. I checked through 31 AVMA accredited DVM curriculums and only about 2% is focused solely on nutrition. And most of those courses are introductory. Their focus is on medicine, not nutrition. After all, DVM stands for doctor of veterinary medicine! I found zero courses that cover AAFCO labeling requirements. So vets rely on the pet food manufacturer to tell them what's good. Obviously the billion dollar companies that own the "vet recommended" brands can pay for clinical feeding trials. And that's what vets care about: the hard data. But unfortunately, those feeding trials typically take the "prescription" diet and a much lower quality (if that's even possible) food. So one of them has to be better. But that doesn't mean it's the best. I'd like to see these companies test against a properly balanced raw diet! But that would be detrimental to their business. More and more vets are coming to realize that fresh food is better. I'm very hopeful that we're moving in the right direction!
@@jesscaticles Wow, above and beyond with the reply :) thank you so much. It is the same here in Norway sadly. The excuse I hear all the time is salmonella poisoning, but I buy local and salmonella is pretty much non existent here. And furthermore I know cats have lower gastric acid PH and a much shorter way for food to travel to the stomach, so the benefits far outweigh the micro risk in my opinion. Glad to see more and more people waking up to the pet food industry and being more aware of what is healthy and what is not. It's people like you who make great contributions to our furry friends and I am truly grateful, thank you so much :) :) :)
@@christofrip1723 Yea here in the US salmonella is the biggest objection to raw too. Meanwhile, this year alone there were over 130 kibble product recalls due to salmonella. And for raw, only 9 products. There is also the raw feeding veterinary society. I hope more vets see their info and get with the times! Thank you so much for your kind words 😁
@@jesscaticles That's crazy, the evidence speaks for itself :) Dr. Karen Becker woke me up, now that is an amazing Vet. Have a great day you two and take care
I serve raw, freeze dried cat food softened with a lot of water. He also gets hormone-free raw beef. It's expensive as hell, but not as expensive as what vet visits and prescription medication would be.
So can you please give us a video with the best canned cat food….I am so confused after watching different videos looking for the best for my casts…thanks so much I enjoyed watching this video…very informative.
Another channel recommends the following brands that are high in protein and lower in carbs: Raws, Ziwi, Open Farm, Koha for sensitive stomach, Weruva for seniors. I mix Tiki brand with my cats prefered food, they aren't crazy about it but get a little better quality into them.
I got a kitten a few months ago, and was given a bag of “kitten chow”, after reading the ingredients, I saw it was basically junk food for kittens, I did a bit of research and found the Rawz brand (made down the road from where I grew up in York Maine) and switched him to the Rawz all life stages, the difference is amazing, his coat has a nearly iridescent shine, his fur is angora soft (I believe he’s a Maine Coon/Siamese mix, all black, with MC bushy tail and ear floofs, and Siamese facial profile) and he’s too smart for his own good, already figured out how to open cabinet doors, has amazing jumping/catching ability, and fetches toys like a dog… I’m going to bring in some Rawz wet/shredded food into his diet as well, it’s nice to have a high end pet food company that’s independent and local as well…
So glad you read the back of the Kitten Chow bag! Also, I have a Siamese too and we had to baby-proof the kitchen for her until she was about 2yrs old! She was like a little monkey when she was young.
I have never, ever, fed my cats "cat food." And they lived well into their 20's. They evolved to eat raw stuff. Mice, birds, bugs, plants, etc... Do you see Friskies or Treats running through the forest? No. So don't feed them it. All my friends cats were fat, urinary tract infections, poopy problems, had tumors, growths, weird diseases and my cats never had any of that. Pets are a responsibility. You have to provide healthy food and exercise. It's a lot of work but they are living, breathing, feeling beings. Enjoy them. 8)))
@@Ellerion2 I don't understand your point. How is feeding them commercial cat food going to keep them from being eaten by bob cats? It has nothing to do with what I'm saying.
Indoor/outdoor is my preference, but I live in a community with lots of traffic. One of my cats crossed over at 21 (indoor/outdoor), and I have a 16 year old who has eaten grocery store cat food, wet and dry (indoor). The 21 year old also ate kibble and occasional canned cat food. Ok, so if someone is on the band wagon to feed raw, well I don't eat raw meat. No, I'm not feeding it to my cats. I have never seen a housecat eat a cow. Fish don't run through the forest either. Just sayin'. I get your point though. People (mostly) have good intentions for their companions and do the best they can with that. I appreciate informative videos. The judgmental people should lobby and use their words to improve home pets care products at the core. I have, however, seen the cat that lived to be 21 kill a rattlesnake and drag a jack rabbit like a puma would drag a deer. Pretty impressive...
@@trishr.3986 Who said cats eat cows? I never said that. But they can eat some beef. Chicken. It's all protein. They eat birds, mice, bugs, plants. Humans and cats are different. Yes. But our cuisine can overlap. Sure. But they need raw food. It's in their genes. If you can't understand that then you need to do more research.
Thank you so much for all the research work that went behind this! I recently rescued a young cat from the harsh winter here in Québec and I'm still very new to this so having someone to explain "how to read" these labels as you brilliantly said (cause you sure need more than to know how to read!) is a HUGE help. Again, thanks so much ^^
Thank you so much Jess, I knew there was something wrong with the foods, I was giving my cat 10 yrs ago, he began to get sick…I switched his food to wet only then found some better choices that were out there thank you for animal lovers like you too help , paw parents to find the best food choices we can afford to feed our precious pets. My baby is 14 now pretty old and has some health issues ( know doubt from the bad foods brands from before) but we are loving him caring for him the best wet food we can now.
I really wish I could feed my 3 like that. One is a stray who's now 12 and doing good. The other two are brothers, 2 yrs. old, born outside, but made inside quickly. None of the 3 eat any fresh meat whatsoever! I HAVE tried. But they all love one particular dry food and only one brand of can food Purina Essentials White Meat Chicken and Vegetables. So.....we doin' da best we can. I'm so happy for your cats: they have a good mama!
I have had my cat for 15 years and we guesstimate she was about 2-3 years old when I adopted her. She refuses to eat any sort of fresh or wet food. She is strictly a dry food cat. We just went to a new vet and before he asked me asked me how old she is, he guessed her to be about 10 years old.
📢 you guys better listen to this lady. I was blessed that one day a lady was bawling in my face at petsmart saying theyre garbage brands killed her pet. I researched and switched immediately and never looked back. My malamute lived to 11.5 years old my 17 year old cat has the psysiology of an 8 year old cat. 📢 Dont Be Cheap with Your Pets Diet -its Rude !
Meta moment; so basically Grain free should also be kitniyot free. Kitniyot means légumes in Hebrew and is used as a category in examining kosher for Passover food.
This all makes me sick - so what am I supposed to do? Buy steak, chicken, and pork and smoosh them all up and make my own wet cat food? That would cost hundreds of dollars a month and I can't afford that.
Nancy, I'll bet you buy what you can afford for your kitty. Don't worry about a thing. Love and give your cat a happy, comfortable life, that's the best thing you can do and don't worry about nitpicking his/her diet. Our cat basically will only eat the cheaper foods, she refused raw and some higher priced foods. She's 16 yrs old and has a very comfortable life and enjoys (we assume!) what she does eat.
Check the description (: Keep in mind fresh food will always be cheaper because you do not need to feed a lot of it since it is more nutritious. Fresh food toppers are great! But keep in mind homemade cat food is more complex than that. For example, a mouse is more than just muscle meat and predigested plant matter in the stomach. There's also the heart, eyes, brain, kidneys, spleen, thymus, bones, cartilage, ligaments, etc. Cats also eat 5-7 different proteins to complete their diet. Check out my raw playlist here if you want to start feeding fresh food: th-cam.com/video/SMHYEMFmjV4/w-d-xo.html
Most cats are picky about food changes. In fact, this is the #1 complaint I get. So you are not alone (: Here is an entire playlist of everything you need to know: th-cam.com/video/tTV0FSxDE-w/w-d-xo.html - The first video is a complete guide on how to switch food, specifically formulated for picky cats. Next is my cat food reviews video which includes 100+ records of all types of food. And the remaining videos cover healthy treats, FAQ, and supporting help.
In the end I am feeding my older cat what she will eagerly eat and not throw up (Purina One grain free.) She drinks water regularly. We have run through almost every brand, kibble or soft. She is doing fine for an old gal on thyroid meds! I don't need her to live to 25 to feel good about it.
Hey, whatever you want to do. But keep in mind most cats are picky about food changes. In fact, this is the #1 complaint I get. So you are not alone (: Here is an entire playlist of everything you need to know: th-cam.com/video/tTV0FSxDE-w/w-d-xo.html - The first video is a complete guide on how to switch food, specifically formulated for picky cats. Next is my cat food reviews video which includes 100+ records of all types of food. And the remaining videos cover healthy treats, FAQ, and supporting help.
@@jesscaticles unless you cover this in a separate video what type of dry/wet food are you recommending for cats? I have five indoor fur balls and typically feed them Purina friskies indoor wet food and Purina naturals indoor dry food
She's drinking water regularly to try and flush out all the extra junk. You're putting pressure and stress on her system, that's why she now has thyroid issues. Not species-appropriate and you're fine with cutting her life shorter than it should be too so the priority is your own comfort and convenience.
You can often feed raw for less than even some of the cheaper foods just by getting some of the stuff on sale. Some of my cats' meals get as low as 15cents per meal with stuff like pork. You can also get creative with getting free goodies if you know anyone who hunts, etc. I have saved birds, etc for my cats in the past after they died from hitting windows, etc. The only thing w/ wild animals is that you need to leave them in the freezer for 30 days to kill any parasites they may have had. Also, some of the better food makers give away free samples! I got some in the mail.
Please don't feel like a failure! It took my family and me many years and many cats to kick the kibble to the curb. Check out my cat food reviews in this video: th-cam.com/video/eRtL3GGa4as/w-d-xo.html&t - there are 100+ records of all types of food. At the end of the day, any wet food will be better than kibble. Cats need moisture from food. As Lahoma mentions, a balanced raw diet will be the cheapest. You just have to pay more up front because of shipping frozen goods. But that list covers everything (:
Despite the slight against Rachael Rays' Nutrish dry cat food, I believe it is still better than most and it isn't very much more in cost that cheap cat foods. I can afford to pay $5-6 more a bag for something that my cat enjoys and she doesn't get an upset stomach with it. The cheap stuff was making her sick, but now she seems to be thriving on the Nutrish. Wmart has it in some stores or you can order online.
As someone who is doing their research before I even get an animal, what drives me INSANE is the absolute garbage they offer for their labeling. Carbs, phosphate, calcium, magnesium, and many other vital nutrients are omitted from labels. It leads me on an absolute goose chase of trying to track down independent reviewers who do their own analysis and nutrition reporting (most do not). These things are absolutely VITAL for cats with special considerations and some companies that I've contacted refuse to disclose the straight answer and ignore my correspondence. It's frustrating but in a way it saves me the work of giving those brands my time or money. My list of acceptable foods is pretty damn thin and mostly imported from outside the US, which means $$$ just to make sure I give my cat what they need because I don't trust my grasp of raw to make a balanced diet responsibly. We trust these companies with our bodies (human food) and our loved ones (pets) - billions if not trillions of lives in all - and this is what we have to show for it. Our food handling, labeling and preparation laws - both human and animal - are absolutely ineffective at addressing the contamination and negligence demonstrated by current practices nearly 100 years in the making. It's sickening.
I fully agree with this ! For this reason I started doing cat food hauls on my channel showing only the good quality food ! It helps others find the best food for their cats and shows them how to pick out a good cat food. I always read the labels when looking into food for my cats. Anything that has the first ingredient “meat or animal derivatives” is terrible food and unfortunately that’s most cat foods! Also if it’s cheap less than 90p per can or about £4.99 a box it’s bad quality food
I used to feed my cats walmart brand. Until one day I noticed my eldest cat was losing weight. I switched brands, a more expensive brand. Worked okay until my job situation changed. I used to feed them dry cat food from a feed place back home. My cats did well on it. Very little vomiting, no diarrhea, shiny coats. I started to research cat nutrition, then looked for cat food accordingly. I found Purina Naturals, they liked it, vomiting was reduced considerably, and I also keep oat grass growing for them to munch on too. I feed them friskies canned cat food as a treat. All those canned stuff with peas and stuff, they won't even touch it! So Friskies canned cat food it is. Its not given as their main source of food anyway. I have two, the female will be 19 come December 24th. And the male will be 17 in the Spring. So we're growing old together.
Hi! Would you mind explaining how you grow oat grass? I’ve grown wheat grass before but am unsure what type of oats are required to get them to seed. Thanks in advance and best wishes for you and your furry babies. 💛
I'd stay away from Friskies, I had a cat go into kidney failure at 3.5 years on that. Vet said more cats with health problems on Friskies than any other food.
@@waldo2635 I’m sorry to hear about your kitty. Our cats have Friskies and Fancy Feast canned food, however they don’t have it every day and only have a little at a time (it’s one way I can get my almost-13 year old to take her Prozac).
Cats are carnivores and nothing else. All the processed foods kills them.. And makes the teeth fall out because all the lack of nutrients. My 12 year old cat has a really healthy mouth after 10 months in to just raw meats. And his coat is thick and he has got his sence of smelling back. I am so happy.
I've been a small animal veterinarian for >25 years. Feed your cat Hill's Prescription Diet t/d. I've fed all of my cats t/d since it came out in the 90's. None have been overweight. None ever required any real dental work. Brother Abyssinians males succumbed to kidney disease (genetic predisposition) at 18 yrs and 19 years. They've all loved it and the smell of their feces is dramatically reduced. Current cats are 10 yr male DLH normal weight and teeth look identical to the 1.5 yr DSH male (i.e. bright white and perfectly calculus-free). It's also formulated for lower urinary tract health. I tell owner to make it easy on themselves and feed t/d. Plus give them a monthly topical flea and heartworm preventative.
Great to see a breakdown of all the information ❤️ I've been learning feline and canine nutrition over the past 6 months as i am converting all of ours over to a home made raw food diet, I haven't gone completely raw yet as I don't want to mess anything up but one meal a day is fully raw with the 90/10/10 rule as a base line I started making this change when I learnt about the testing of commercial foods, and that they can start with any number of animal but only 6 have to survive for the food to be sellable, and I really urge people to take the fact it says 'survive' and NOT thrive, diseases due to nutrition have been severely on the rise over the past 40 years within our pets and its terrifying that these companies are just left to do whatever they want to an extent
"...its terrifying that these companies are just left to do whatever they want to an extent" yes, including the fact that it is the MFGs who decide what is "Rx" food, not the FDA. AAFCO has recommendations for minimum needs, but doesn't regulate anyone either.
@@mickymickle2764 ......I've read a few things too. Like these so called prescription diets: read THOSE labels. Know why cats love it and scarf it down? It has pig blood in it. And people pay extra for the stuff. The companies sure know how to be greedy........And right now, cans of cat food have AGAIN gone down in size from 4oz to 3 oz! They cashed in on the pandemic and retooled the machines to produce 3 oz cans! Now there's enough food EVERYWHERE! Oh of course at the same price if not higher!! What a racket!
Late to this party but so glad I came! Thank you so much for helping me find the right food for my cat. I've been looking for clear cut information and you've really provided that.
Be careful of your cat being constipated on a raw meat diet. Cats in the wild eat indigestible food like fur of animals, sinew and chitlin which is not readily available in commercial raw food or what people make at home. The indigestible food helps cat poop.
I actually had to switch to a common brand food because the homemade gourmet brand (ma's) had chickpeas as the top ingredient. My cats abdomin kept twitching due to the gas . I switched her to Purina beyond wild caught white fish and she is fine and happy. It may not be perfect but I believe it's better than the "healthy" chickpea one. If you look up chickpeas for cats online there are warnings not to feed. What is good for humans is not necessarily good for cats. I fed my cat on friskies back in the 1980s because there was no other choice and he lived 20 years.
Of course I agree that chickpeas are not for cats. However, there are still plenty of wet food options that are better. I'd suggest offering a variety of proteins and not relying on fish only. Cats often form an addiction to fish and this can cause picky eating. Also, some fish are high in thiaminase which destroys b vitamins. Check out my cat food reviews in this video: th-cam.com/video/eRtL3GGa4as/w-d-xo.html&t
I've been using Purina cat chow for many years. My cats show a strong preference for it and are living an average of 20 years. This video is very good info but I'm nervous about change.
@@glenellbandy2670 Everyone is nervous about change (: I have a full guide specifically made for picky cats here: th-cam.com/video/tTV0FSxDE-w/w-d-xo.html if you do decide to change. Every cat is different, and I'm glad to hear that your cats have lived a long life. But unfortunately this is not the case for everyone.
One thing everyone should realize, just because a brand of pet food allowed your pet to live 20+ years, 20 or 30 years ago, just like people food almost all food manufacturers have severely decreased the quality of their products over the last 20 years. We and our pets are being fed questionable garbage.
Thanks for your work!! Sushi is my kitty. She came to me as a kitten by falling off the fence in front of me as I was trimming the grass. She stayed in our backyard for 2 days as I put out water, and then tuna for her. She finally came to me, barely weaned, fur covered with sewage, and very weak. Misty the dog wagged her tail when we introduced Sushi to her- and Sushi joined the family. Now we call Sushi “crazy kitty” because she spends most of her time outside hunting. I have been feeding her Iams because I was tricked, as you described, into thinking it was a good food. I have personally worked at a Cargill plant in Memphis TN. Part of the corn extraction process that produces high fructose corn syrup requires cooking the corn in giant rotating drums. When accidents happened, they would dump burnt corn onto the asphalt, pick it up with front end loaders (heavy machinery) then take it to the pet food part of the plant. In normal processes, the corn pericarp- that is the hard outside of a kernel- is considered waste and that ends up as pet food filler. Neither dogs, humans, nor cats can digest this, and it ends up coming out in 💩. Large 💩 means less nutrition more filler…. Um… I bet this is one of those times when I’m giving information that everyone already knows. Sorry if so. Misty has been eating Rachel Ray because that did reduce her 💩 size per food eaten. She has recently had surgery as a result of a tumor at 11 years of age- assumed because she was found on the street as well. I did not have her “fixed”, and the vet said hormones will cause those tumors. I now know that it was more likely to be a combination of bad food and hormones. I didn’t know that getting her spayed would prevent tumors. I’ll certainly pay more attention to the labels on the foods that my animals eat thanks to watching your video!! Heaven gives me these animals, but it’s my responsibility to take care of them. Thanks for helping make me a better steward of my loves ❤️
All my cats are fixed. 3 males 1 female. I understand bad food. Like the dry Purina complete. Mixed with wet. They are safe from outside elements. As they do not go outside. However they were all born Ferrell. I think they are all spoiled. Toys, beds, cat nippers n treats on Sunday. It last for however long it lasts. My oldest cat, Mr Ritter just passed in may of 2022. He was 17 yrs old. We as adult are not eating what we think we're eating. Unless u live Amish or farm. That still does not justify what by products. Do the best u can do. With what you've got. Try to stay away from protocol vets.
Yes. I mostly agree. But as our cat was 14 years old, she got kidney problems and lost weight. With starting Hills she got her appetite back and her kidney stats got better. She was euthanized 2+ years later because arthritis that she had had for about 5 years and medication was not helping anymore. But Hills food had significant positive effect to her health. Would have I fed this food to a young cat, no. But as meat heavy diet was not working, I think this special food for these last years was ok. You should always weigh pros and cons.
After years of eating affordable canned food, (9L & Frisks) my cat began to have sporadic digestion problems. Then recently, he became very sick with explosive diarrhea. I began researching possible causes & decided to try feeding him homemade food. (I didn't have money for upwards of $2,000 in diagnostic tests.) He was also losing weight. Within 3 days of switching diets, there was a significant lessening in bathroom problems. Including the most horrendous BM stench. A nickel size pool of waste would stink up my entire home. All day, all night - constant bathroom clean-ups & very little sleep for both of us. But after 2 weeks of being fed homemade 100% meat food - all of his problems were gone. He also began putting on weight again. It was that simple, his case. Thankfully. I tested the bad food theory by feeding him the last of the canned food & within 3 days he was back running to the bathroom every 30-60 minutes, diarrhea everywhere. (I know... but I had to be sure of the cause.) The canned stuff is garbage. I don't know what the mfrs changed, but they clearly don't care about pets & pet owner's well-being. Absolutely disgusted. I hope there's a class action suit. To help owners who've shelled out thousands of dollars in vet bills dealing with this mess.
Wow! Great information. I have had cats my entire life and have trusted my veterinarian to recommend foods that are best for my cat. Since working in a veterinary office I discovered the doctors on staff strongly pushed Iams, Science Diet or Royal Canin and now strongly suspect that somehow, they are getting kickbacks from the pet food companies just like human doctors push medications for the same reason. If people or pets aren't sick, they won't go to their doctor. Keep up the good work getting this information out.
We don’t get kickbacks. The brands are some of be few that meet the world small animal veterinary nutrition guidelines. They actually go through feeding trials. Feeding trials are not done with long term studies though, so you can certainly see issues developing long term with poor nutrition. Low carb canned food should make up the bulk of any cats diet. But as far as the dental comment…the diets are designed specifically to be broken up by chewing, hence reducing plaque and tartar accumulation. They may even have enzymatic coating to reduce plaque accumulation on the teeth.. that’s how they work…
I agree with your statements My 10 year old cat died with Health issues I believe was the dry food diet It very convenient just to buy a bag a dry food Please BE CAREFUL what you’re feeding your cat I wish I was better educated and informed
It's nice to meet you, friend. Thank you SO much for sharing this information. Neffy is 2 and I want to make sure he is fed right! I really appreciate the heads-up on so many of these products. I've been feeding him Temptations often, as an example, and now I need to rethink that. Purina is a brand (as is Friskies) that I've fed him too and now it is time ot reconsider. I really appreciate your sharing. Have a wonderful weekend.
I tried to get my cats off Friskies. I bought a high end, wild caught, no grain replacement. I tried mixing it, giving a little bit next to their regular food, etc. after my cats refusing to eat for days I caved and went back to Friskies.
Most cats are picky about food changes. In fact, this is the #1 complaint I get. So you are not alone (: Here is an entire playlist of everything you need to know: th-cam.com/video/tTV0FSxDE-w/w-d-xo.html - The first video is a complete guide on how to switch food, specifically formulated for picky cats. Next is my cat food reviews video which includes 100+ records of all types of food. And the remaining videos cover healthy treats, FAQ, and supporting help.
Friskies also made my cat addicted to gluten and their cheapo food and almost not interested in real food. Their company is every definition of evil corporate greed
@@chulalachannel Meow mix is like kitty crack. My cats refused to eat the new food, Core Wellness for four days. They cried and carried on. I now work from home 4 days a week so it was a lot to take. I almost caved in. Then they started eating the new food. They lost weight, and are much more energetic. So I went on a high protein low carb diet too. I have lost weight, and I more energetic. Human and cats score a bit win!!!
Thank you, very well done. A real eye opener but I don't feed my cat any of the brands that you discussed. I do read the labels but with your information I've learned so much more.
Help! My cat wouldn't eat wet food from the healthy brands I was buying for him. I wasted a ton of money - he turned his nose up at everything. Then I started giving him the grocery store wet junk food and he eats some of that. Once a week, I give him raw chicken, leftovers from my chicken cooking sprees. My cat is so picky, I don't know what to do.
Buy goat milk powder, fish, egg, meat or beef. Egg yolks mixed with goat milk powder and fish (make sure no bone and torn pieces of fish) use steam cook. Fish, egg yolks, meat or beef mixed together (use blender) then microwave oven cook (u can buy blackhawk band grains free dried cat food mixed in).
Most cats are picky about food changes. In fact, this is the #1 complaint I get. So you are not alone (: Here is an entire playlist of everything you need to know: th-cam.com/video/tTV0FSxDE-w/w-d-xo.html - The first video is a complete guide on how to switch food, specifically formulated for picky cats. Next is my cat food reviews video which includes 100+ records of all types of food. And the remaining videos cover healthy treats, FAQ, and supporting help.
You need to mix a little of the good stuff w/ the cheaper stuff and keep increasing the good to bad ratio every day until he is eating what you want. This process took me two weeks to get my shelter cats from dry, to canned, to raw. Keep in mind that grain free food contains legumes which have recently been found to be taurine blockers. If you are trying to switch to grain free, add powdered taurine or see if he will eat raw chicken hearts as a separate meal a few days of the week.
One of my cats from the past was fed dry food her whole life, she developed liver cancer, diabetes and then kidney failure. I know one her siblings was fed raw his whole life. He's still alive today. He's 18 years old. I didn't know any better at the time, I was very young. Now all I can think is how far we have drifted from reality. Pet illnesses, cancers and obesity has absolutely skyrocketed. Perfectly aligned with the mass production of processed grain cookies for obligate carnivores. Me and my partners two young cats are both on raw and they will be forever. Cats deserve to eat what they are biologically built for. Not corn cookies that are cooked 3x.
I've been trying to educate my customers for years about this but a lot of people still shrug it off with "my cat is spoiled" and just go on buying trash. We sell excellent cat food at roughly the same price as this kind of garbage but customers still won't even try to switch to them because their cats are too addicted to the additives of the garbage food.
The struggle is real!! Pickiness is the #1 complaint I get. I try to explain it this way... It is much easier to prevent health issues than it is to treat. So yes it may take some work to feed better food now. But that time is worth it. Take a few months to switch food now or down the road you will likely spend lots of money at the vet, lots of stress, and now you have to give your cats pills every day. And potentially shorten your cat's life. Very daunting but that's the reality!
Thank you so much I’m so spitting mad I feel like I’ve spent at least 10 hours researching the food that I give my cat and you broke it down for me in less than 12 minutes I really really appreciate it and I really wish cat food companies and people food companies would stop putting garbage in our foods I don’t need artificial colors and flavors or other hazardous crap.
I'm glad you found my video helpful!! I've been researching this stuff since 2017 so I completely understand how frustrating it is. I saw your other comment about your vets too. It's not really their fault that nutrition isn't covered completely in vet school. After all, they are becoming medical doctors. And if they want to be a nutritionist they have to take more years of schooling after receiving their DVM. BUT! Vets should be the experts when it comes to nutrition. I'm not sure how/when that will happen so I'm filling in until then lol The raw feeding veterinary society is a great resource too!
Unbelievably bad business model. Killing your own customers like MacDonald's. Not only is the cat food outrageously expensive, it makes my cat ill. They had a lifelong customer, but I'm now buying human food which is cheaper and healthier. They played themselves.
Excellent video thank you. After having two cats die recently (one 13 one 14) from tumours I have been researching cat food ready for my new cats and I am appalled at the contents of some food manufactured by so call responsible companies. I have just adopted 2 new kittens and have started them on a food from a small manufacturer that uses 85% human quality meat and fish with minimal necessary vegetable content and all the necessary vitamins, minerals etc added from natural sources. All the meat is listed by cut/type and percentage, I wish all food manufacturers (animal and human) had labels this easy to read. Yes, the food is expensive compared to the Purina crap but hopefully will mean lower vet bills and a long healthy life for my boys.😺😺
I'm so sorry for your loss! My family and I lost many cats and dogs before we realized it was the food. You're exactly right! It's unbelievable that these products are referred to as "food" and "prescription" diets. I'm glad you found a small company that lists exact sources of ingredients. I'm also very grateful that you are looking at the cost as a long-term investment. I would like to change this mindset for people. A common comment I get is "raw is expensive" or "not everyone can afford raw". But we need to think of good-quality food as long-term savings because our cats are healthier! Thanks for your comment (:
@@jesscaticles Mars Whiska dry cat food always gave my cats eye problems, infections. I met a Man at pet store he was asking for eye antibiotic ointment. I said you must be using Whiska, he said he never would have thought it was from their food. And Mars has some optical deal , owns one or something on that order I once read.
I used to work in the pet industry (supply side no pets, we always recommended adoption when people were looking), and I’ve had two cats, one was an outdoor farm cat who ate hunted animals, left over human food, a bit of dry for supplementation during the winter (not picky about type appart from the one she was allergic to and all high quality from the store I worked in), and milk every other day, she lived to a ripe old 18. My new girl, is 3 months old so far and a house cat, I fought with my housemates to make sure she was going to get quality food, both fed their previous cats Friskies and Purina, so she free feeds on Acana Kitten dry food for now, if I could 100% ensure a more active lifestyle I would have gone for Orijen instead, and Merrick kitten wet food, as it’s also very high quality and milk every other day, and she’s thriving and so soft and silky. I know my housemates want to complain about the price, which is a bit more than the junk but they also aren’t the ones paying for it, one even brought a box of stuff from their old cat and I’m trying to find a way of disposing of it, because it’s littéral junk
@@sarasthoughts really cause my 18 year old cat would disagree, in fact most of our cats lived to be over 12 and all of them drank milk well into their years, the only two that didn’t got ate by coyotes. Most of the reason people claim cats in particular are lactose intolerant is because they get weaned off of mums milk when they’re kittens and then maybe someone gives them some when they’re an adult and they have loose BM’s which they claim is lactose intolerance, but you introduce anything new into an animals diet and they are going to have digestion all upset. Our cats were literally never off milk, and they never, ever had any issues and the vet agreed with us.
Jess, i once shared a link to the Cat food database with some friends after somebody told me to feed my newly adopted cats Hills Science Diet. I shared the 4/10 rating of the brand from CFDB and I had someone chew me out on how Hills was "highly recommend by vets" so it must be good for cats. Apparently this person has no concept of paid endorsement and contracts for vet clinics to make money selling Hills kibble. Or that a company can ride on it's once good reputation ( back when nobody cared about researching cat health). Things are changing and people are being made aware of the low quality of food these pet food brands really make.
You're absolutely right! Hill's has been around for decades and is owned by colgate lol Most vets do not know how to read labels based on AAFCO guidelines. I searched through the 31 AVMA accredited DVM curriculums available online and not one of them has a course on reading pet food labels. So they rely on the pet food manufacturer to tell them what's good. We all know how that goes... Letting a billion dollar company tell us what's good lol
You are right about Hills food, I've seen it in a few veterinarian offices. I did try it years ago for my dogs and just one bag had them scratching all the time and their coats lost shine. None of the cats I had liked the brand. So, I never bothered to try it again.
That's why you shouldn't always trust doctors and vets. Just because they studied the subject doesn't mean it's in their interest to give you best advice, cured patient is customer lost! Same as doctors will prescribe you chemical medication and not natural (because they have paid contracts with companies who produce medications) same goes with vets. Research everything you cannot fully trust anyone with health of your pets or yours. God bless
@@standingfortruth4043 Natural isn’t always better. Don’t tell people to not trust their vet or doctor. They studied more than you and are qualified to recommend products and meds for your pets well being, a random person who read a article on dogfoodadvisor is not more qualified than a vet.
@@fireclaw90a51 vets get 1 class on nutrition at vet school provided by Purina and hills usually. Be careful and question your vet, they are not nutrition experts no matter how long they went to school.
In college I had a part time job at a commercial chemistry lab that performed nutritional analysis on animal feeds as well as analysis of the bulk ingredients for cat food manufactures. The worst stinky smelling week in the lab was always when the "fish" product for cat food came through. Imagine white buckets filled with the most horrid looking and smelling fishy material.
What a fantastic video! I remember when I first got my cat when she was 1 year. She had been a junkyard cat and was rescued when she was about 9 months. Not only was she feral in the true sense of the word but she also needed socializing which the shelter did not do before I adopted her. Everything fell on me. But I don't regret it for a second. It took a couple of months of working with her to get her used to humans and today, she is a terrific cat. Gorgeous long hair Siberian (some mix). She has the biggest feet of any cat I've ever had and I grew up with cats. Anyway, Nutmeg (her name) had trouble with tummy issues that proved to be problematic so I took her to the vet who diagnosed her with IBD and then recommended prescription food by Hills. It was specifically for stomach issues. IBD is something that HUMANS typically get. Cats should not be but if fed the wrong food, they will. I didn't know very much at that time so I bought the food (dry kibble) as he suggested. I tried it a few days and after a discussion w/ a friend, decided to look closely at the ingredients. What made it so great enough so that vets are prescribing it? After all, we trust our vets who "SHOULD" know what's best... right? Well, I didn't get very far when I saw that "whole grain corn" was the SECOND ingredient. Folks, any person should understand that corn is hard on the stomach. Not easily digestible. Furthermore, most corn in the U.S. is GMO. Making matters worse was seeing that soybean oil was used in the formula. Most soy from the U.S. is GMO as well unless organic. Nevertheless, soy is highly inflammatory. It's hard on humans not to mention cats. Suffice to say, I immediately tossed the bag. Did my research and thanks to Susan Thixton at that time, changed Nutmeg's diet and she's doing fine today. My poor fur-girl. I'm still learning but I wanted to comment and share with people to use common sense. If you don't know much about food, read up on it. It's changing dramatically and it's up to us to learn about what is healthy and what isn't. This video was superb. Raw diet is best. The dry kibble is toxic stuff and if a vet is using it they are probably getting financial kickbacks. Not acceptable. 😡
Have you done any videos on new-age cat food brands that have been popping up lately like Smalls or Cat Person? I'm really interested to see how "good" these brands really are
I've been feeding my dogs and cats a raw meat species appropriate diet for over 40 years so, YES, I concur that this woman's advice is spot on. You comment snark but where is your argument disproving what she said? I think you are the one looking like a 🤡.
Once I lived in an area where a lot of turkeys are raised and one of the daily duties a turkey farmer does is go through the turkey house and pick up the dead ones which are thrown on a pile until the truck comes to pick them up and take them to be “rendered” becoming animal and pet food. Since being in a turkey house I cannot eat turkey. Then I started not wanting to eat any animal that had been fed animal feed. When I see a can of cat food that says by-products I pass that up too.
I have other videos that cover good quality cat food brands. You can check the reviews here: th-cam.com/video/8aqXscLUXz8/w-d-xo.html Please transition cat food slowly! Cats are very sensitive to food changes. I have a full guide on how to switch foods properly here: www.caticles.com/how-to-transition-cat-food/ Some people are unaware cats are sensitive so I always like to mention just in case 😻
Your cat Jericho is such a good looking boy! I feel envious, because I don't have a cat at present. He has a beautiful coat -- a classic brindled tabby with swirls. He has a strong and handsome face, and he seems to have a fairly big well-muscled body. He's a beauty.
A note on Friskies wet: Friskies pate and Fancy Feast pate without extra gravy is often recommended as a food for diabetic cats. As a matter of fact, in the Facebook group I'm in for diabetic cats, it's most recommended for budget friendliness. Tiki cat and other better foods are also recommended. I fed my diabetic cat Friskies and Fancy Feast for almost a year before losing her to her other health problems. This video and knowing the prices of foods that are actually good for your animals makes me want to start my own food brand, aiming towards budget friendliness. One can dream...
You're absolutely right! It's tough to find good quality that's affordable. That's why I feed raw. It's the most natural and cheapest if you do it right. I spend around $2-3/day which is way less than most people spend on coffee (I feel like a broken record because I say this in almost every comment). But at the end of the day, any wet food is better than dry. Cats rely on food for moisture (:
Two years ago I experienced serious Type 2 diabetes symptoms. I drastically reduced my carbohydrate intake and the diabetes reversed itself. Six months ago, one of our cats almost died from heart complications induced by diabetes. After a 5,000 vet bill, some diabetes meds and a complete change of diet, he is once again a happy bratty cat. One of the first things the vet said to do is to "go low carb." As you pointed out in your excellent video, most of the stuff out there is junk. That can be said of human food too.
Great video. I have one special needs cat that I have been monitoring his food since he almost starved on vet recommended food. When he was wasting away he looked up at me like feed me so I got the best food I could find for him and three years later…..on heart pills….on IV every morning from kidney disease and vet can’t believe how stable he is with all his problems. Don’t stop the videos. You are doing amazing. Thanks.
I'm so sorry to hear about your baby! I have a page dedicated to kidney care here: www.caticles.com/kidney-care/ - with veterinary resources including Dr. Lisa Pierson's chart comparing cat foods and phosphorus levels. I haven't made a video yet and am hesitant to because I'm not a vet.
![เปิดบ้าน โคตรสวย ป๋องกพล รู้จักตั้งนาน เพิ่งรู้ว่ารวย!!! l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tmgCF_2HfYI/mqdefault.jpg)
Confused about cat food? Sign up for my free cat food mini course so you can find the best food for your cat → caticles.com/label-cheat-sheet/
Ready to switch to HEALTHY cat food? My proven plan helps you switch from dry to healthy wet or premade raw (even if your cat is picky!) → store.caticles.com/raw-blueprint/?ref=yt-video
So which food brands do you recommend?
@@TanyaOwens Check the description for the best of the best. Or this video for reviews list of ALL types of food: th-cam.com/video/eRtL3GGa4as/w-d-xo.html&t
@Colin Eassie Thank you!! Yes, homemade fresh is best! And I most certainly will continue making videos. I recently completed a clinical pet nutritionist certification program so eventually I will have recipe videos. Stay tuned!
@@jesscaticles I wish these people didn't deceive so much😭😭😭
@@skywa7183 Unfortunately most are billion dollar companies that are in it to make the most money. The pet food industry is big!
These cat food videos are maddening. Not a diss on this video which is a great video, but in general. I searched for cat food tips for my extremely finicky kitty and the shear number of videos that contradict each other is maddening. I just got frustrated and more confused than I already am. I guess I’ll use my own instincts, read the labels and buy what my kitty will eat.
One of our cats vomited a lot, and eventually even the "better" canned food we were using was not staying down. I found a raw recipe online, and started making it for both cats. They were about 3 years old at the time. The sick cat actually GREW in size. Not weight, SIZE. I couldn't believe it. She became loving and more attentive to us, and I hadn't realized how much she was avoiding us because she probably always felt ill. She started sleeping with me, with her head on my shoulder every night. She really appreciated what I'd done for her.
Can you please share the recipe?!?!
What recipe did you use for your cat food? thank U
so raw is the way to go?
I had a cat that vomited every time she ate and I was told that she was probably was eating too much but now I wonder if it wasn’t something else
i gave some raw quail plus salmon. about 10grams worth to she how she liked it and wherher she would get the runs.
she swallowed it, no hesitation and wanted more..whereas df and wf she would take time to ponder first.
if her poop is solid today i will add abit more
I don’t know what to think about this. I fed my cats good quality food, and they both eventually developed terminal diseases (small cell lymphoma and some kind of pancreatic issue which we didn’t get a full DX of) and they died at 12 and 13. I visited my aunt recently-I saw she was feeding her cat Friskies and Purina. Her cats have always lived to 20-22 years and she said that is what she always fed them. I think some people feeling guilty because their cats got sick may be putting too much blame on themselves.
I had the same experience. Two of my cats passed away recently, both at the age of 4. These are the cats that I've fed good quality food ever since I came to know about the danger of supposed 'cheap' cat food. But then one day one of them stopped eating and soon got diagnosed with Pyuria, Cystitis, and Megacolon all within the span of a week. The other one started vomiting and showing signs of constipation, but was never given an official diagnosis because all tests showed nothing was wrong. We even did an x-ray in case something got stuck in his gut, but there was none. Meanwhile, the cats I left with my parents, being fed the low-quality, easily accessed, cat food continue to live today ages ranging from 20 - 25 years! At this point, I think some cats are just tougher than the others, have better immunity than the others. 😥
@papanpines @@lianabagui Same here. My cat Zoe died last Nov. of cancer/kidney disease. Gave her only the best for her 16 yrs. My friend has 2 persians, gives them Meow Mix, they are now 20-22 yrs.
There are a lot of factors at play here, diet is just one. I have a cat and I try to feed her the better stuff but she gets tired of eating the same thing so I buy a variety of food for her, some good, some not as good. I also have to consider her preference because like all cats, some things she likes more than others, although I did rescue her as a stray and she's never been overly picky... her first food from me was Alley Cat because that's all they had at the local liquor store which was the only store near me that was open at the time but she was so starved that she was tearing up the bag to get to more after she had already ate an entire bowls worth.
Meanwhile I also feed two TNR stray cats that visit me at night and for them I end up buying the larger, cheaper bags of food and every so often I'll mix in something better and once in a blue moon I'll surprise them with wet food. The kibble may be the cheap stuff, but it's better than what they were eating when I first encountered them digging in a trash bin for food.
I'm sorry, but we fed our guy Friskies. He ended up with kidney issues & passed away a year ago. I won't touch Friskies again or any of the junk sold in supermarkets
Why don't you feed your Cats their Ancestral Diet? Which is Raw Organs and Meats. What do you think Cats eat in the Wild? Canned garbage?
I fed my cat Friskies dry food for over 10 years. She developed hyperthyroidism and now she's in congestive heart failure. She's on 3 different meds for her disease and conditions. I changed her foods but it was too late. Take cat nutrition seriously
I'm so sorry to hear about your baby ): I learned the hard way too. That drives my passion behind this channel!
You should look into adding taurine to her food. It's a non-essential amino acid for us, but essential for carnivores and is responsible for heart, eye, and digestive health.
SO SORRY.XOXOX
Bobby girl: 😭 Yes, I found out when my cat got sick from cheap dry food and I lost him when I was young.... and then we began feeding incoming rescues a roast chicken once a week that they share with (human) John, mixed with peas simmered in butter, prescription diet Royal Canin (to prevent cystitis in males, but okay for females too, vet said) and cans of better quality wet food (no fish flavor because of cystitis prevention) ...and give them water, warm herb teas that are good choices for cats and some low fat milk. Also, like people need a bit of iodized salt for thyroid health...These ones lived over twenty years...but I'll never get Cocoa kitty back!!!
Bobby girl; yes, that's happened...😭 Now we feed them a roast chicken once a week that they share with (human) John, with peas simmered in butter, prescription dry food by Royal Canin to prevent cystitis in neutered males (but vet said It's okay for females too) , higher quality wet food (but no fish flavors to prevent cystitis) , fresh water, warm herb teas appropriate for cats, low fat milk and a bit of iodized salt in their diet to prevent thyroid issues (as with humans)...it comes in the food...they also like chickory and coffee (with no sugar, of course) ...John likes to give them some with low-fat milk....Now these have all lived over 20 years, but I'll never get Cocoa kitty back!!!
My grandmother fed her cat Whiskas or something like that for years. Her cat died of urinary stones all due to long term feeding of this cheap horrible food. She didn’t know she was doing any harm. Not her fault. I’m glad there’s more education out there for us to make better and informed decisions for our cats.
The number one problem for me when it comes to buying good cat food is price. With everything going up, I have to buy what I can afford. Which is literally the best I can but I have a decent amount of cats to feed.
Me 2. I do the best I can. I want. 2 treat my cat rite & keep it as healthy as I can, but I hav troub feeding myself. My cat Is my only luxury. I love him & i don't kno how I'd do wo him.i kno this vi was intended 2 b helpful but what can I do.. it made me sick 2 watch this vid & I cudnt. Continue it. Dishertenning
I suggest providing them with chicken broth, you don't need a lot of chicken, you want the unseasoned, unsalty broth. wet the best food you can afford. the thing with dry food, it has a lot of phosphorus and carbohydrates, so you may want to excercise them a bit somehow and increase water intake to flush the phosphorus plus gaining humidity. fish broth also works.
Why have so many cats if its costing them their health
It's ridiculous when these OCD people on youtube try to make everyone else feel bad about not spending $20/day on cat food. Sometimes it sounds like these nuts would rather let a cat starve than feed him inexpensive cat food, which they seem to think is tantamount to poison. Anyway, many cats would be absolutely miserable without kind people like you, so you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. I've seen homeless cats tearing garbage bags just to lick a few drops of something gross inside, so compared to those poor cats the cats you feed are extremely grateful and a thousand times more healthy than they would be if they were starving.
@@garrykimovich that's true, cats that eat in the streets eat a lot of things very damaging for their delicate kidneys
Yeah this is fantastic for somebody with money. I feed a lot of stray cats. Last year it was up to $500 per month. I could not afford to buy gourmet stuff. It was a question of feeding them or letting them starve.
You know good quality cat food isn't always expensive right? It's mostly marketing. You pay for the brand like Royal Canin or Gourmet. If you look at the ingredients it's ridiculous how much carbohydrates are in there. Cats don't need all those carbohydrates, they're carnivores. I live in Europe so the standards and guidelines on cat-food are probably different from the USA, but I bet there is good wet cat-food out there. Germany has overall very good wet cat-food, for example there is this brand called Animonda Carny, which has 6 tray cans of 800 grams (total of 4,8 kilogram in different protein sources) for € 17,49 like € 3,64 per kilogram. 😊
I have to say I really appreciate the fact you're feeding all those stray cats! ❤️🙏🏻
But, good for those of us paying vet bills for renal failure; $1,000.
Thank you for feeding those starving kitties 😻😻😻🐈🐈⬛
Thanks for feeding them. I listen very little to these people. We all need a bit of junk food once and awhile
nestle is an evil corporation and all humans and pets should avoid using their products , and if you buy organic supplements don't buy "Garden Of Life" products, that is also nestle trying to capitalize on healthy items, i boycott them 100%
Very true! It's unfortunate there are always rebranding of companies and you would have no idea who the parent company is unless you really dig for it.
Oh no! I have used Garden of Life!! I didn’t know that was a bad product too😩
Nestle is evil but Nestle Crunch is delicious
Why is Nestle an Evil corporation? Just curious....
@@danjones3402 - They are owned by the Deep State aka Cabal who are heavy into population control. If they hate people and want to kill us - they also hate animals.
I had the completely different take. I'm watching this like "How tf did my cat live for 22 years??"
blessing and loving
With lots of love!❤
Luck.
Would have made it 23 if you'd quadrupled your cat food budget
did you let your cat outside? I was thinking tht maybe some cats hunted to get meat.
This is actually such an important video! I bet most people aren't aware of these facts about their pets food - thanks so much for sharing this!
Thank you for your kind words!
It's too easy to go to a supermarket and get everything at once. The industry is rubbing their hands and the vets are waiting patiently. Let's squeeze them all !
I have owned a grooming shop for 30 yrs. First a domestic pet is not a Fur baby!
2nd w/ all the information out there I can't believe that humans don't know wtf to feed their cats. I didn't finish this video but do cats eat grain in the wild, nope! By products & Any meal should be known is bad by everyone now!
Avoid like the plauge...
By products ANY
Meat meals
BHA, BH,BHT and ethoxyquin
Blue 2, Red 40, and Yellows 5 and 6 are examples of artificial colorings
Artificial flavors
Carmel, Corn anything! & Soy
Wheat and wheat gluten wheat flower, SNYTHING WHEAT!
Cellulose, Powdered,cellulose
Rice
Rendered fat &
Propylene glycol
Do yr homework, wet & frozen food is better than dry!
Still feed dry but I order my cat food from New Zealand.
I use the 75% rule!
@@imkitti1942 what food do you feed you cat?
@@imkitti1942 Yes, what do you feed your kitty?
Thanks for keeping the convo going on an important topic! As a US based vet student, former ER vet tech, and cat owner I just wanted to pop in and clarify some things I'm reading in the comments. Sorry it's so long but I hope I can provide some transparency on why your vets are pushing these "trash" foods.
I definitely agree that the pet food industry can and should do much better re: ingredients and regulation and hopefully that and more affordable prices will come with the growing trend of increased pet ownership and a standard for better pet care. I also agree that cats should ideally be eating some form of wet food for weight management and hydration purposes! Obesity is linked to 10+ illnesses and 60% of cats in the US are obese. Calories in 1/8 cup of dry food = 5.5 oz can of wet food so imagine how much easier it is to overfeed with dry food. Also, having them on wet food now ensures they won't refuse to eat it later if they ever have a medical condition that requires them to be eating wet food (urinary/kidney issues). However, wet food can be a lot more expensive, so it's understandable if people aren't able to afford it.
I do want to clarify that most vets do NOT get compensated by any of these big name companies to push their foods. If the hospital sells them, there's a markup on them like anything else sold in a store but there's no special commission and the markup usually goes to the practice owner not the vets. As you said, the reason vets recommend them is because of the "hard data" these companies have from clinical trials. I'm referring to prescription diets only, not maintenance diets, but as medical professionals, we can't use anecdotal evidence to form a treatment plan. We can't say "I watched a youtube video to feed this for urinary crystals so you should try this" when a product from Hills/RC/etc. has been tested and proven to help, especially when a urinary obstruction is life threatening and costs thousands of dollars to treat. In these instances, we're more concerned about the composition of the nutrients and electrolytes in the food in relation to the medical condition (ie. low protein/phosphorus in kidney diets) rather than the ingredients themselves.
In terms of maintenance diets, I admit a part of why they're recommended is probably due to familiarity. There's no way for a vet to know every brand of food so it's much safer to recommend these brands that have known testing and strict manufacturing and monitoring and is convenient for the client because the hospital sells it. What we're taught in school is that instead of recommending specific brands or buzz words, to have clients focus on picking food that has adequate nutrition (AAFCO), is for the correct lifestage, is in your budget, and agrees well with the individual animal (nice stools, no skin issues, etc.). Also what determines a "healthy" brand? Grain-free brands were "healthier" only for them to now be a huge cause of heart disease in dogs. Without research, no one can factually say feeding this diet/brand/etc. is healthier for cats but vets can say that on this diet, your cat is or isn't in perfect health. This being a hot topic in recent years, hopefully more research will be done so vets can feel more comfortable recommending non-commercial diets.
Additionally, I am in a AVMA accredited DVM program and we learned about AAFCO guidelines and how to read food labels in our first nutrition lecture. We have nutrition lectures incorporated into several different courses so I don't think you going through curriculums and not seeing a course called "AAFCO guidelines" entitles you to say vets don't learn about them. However, it's true we tend to focus more on the medical aspects of nutrition so there are board certified veterinary nutritionists (DVM, ACVN) that have more extensive knowledge in nutrition if people need a consult.
Also, there is no evidence that spaying/neutering cats leads to any health problems. There is developing research that suggests this may be true in specific breeds of dogs depending on the timing of the spay/neuter but has not been seen or replicated in cats. Spaying and neutering prevents mammary, ovarian, uterine, testicular diseases and cancers and reduces the chance of them getting injured or killed trying to get outside to mate. Streets and shelters are also already overflowing with kittens and it would be a shame for owners to add to that because of misinformation.
Veterinary professionals as a whole are chronically overworked and underpaid and currently have the highest rates of burnout and poor mental health so it's disheartening to see so many people in the comments perpetuating distrust in vets or that we're clueless, running scams, or purposely hurting your pets for money. Every vet is different so by all means, do your research or shop around to find one you like and trust! But also try to keep in mind that we're all humans trying our best and have the same goal as you to keep your pets as healthy and happy for as long as possible.
Thank you so much for your perspective! I spent a lot of time for a while researching cat foods and nutrition, and have seen first hand how relative the term "healthy" really is.
The love of my life developed kidney disease and we put him on Royal Canin's rx kidney diet. While the ingredient list isn't stellar, his kidney values did improve! He did great for about a year, and then we discovered a sneaky, nasty cancer. I started feeding Tiki Cat's velvet mousse, and he did perk up in his last weeks, but we won't know how he would have done long term.
One of my current boys actually doesn't do so well on a low/no carb diet, his poops get really runny and he's just a little lethargic and not as bright. Keeping him on a high fiber diet helps with that, as well as helps keeps the calorie count down because he's fat but just will not shed weight. (That's next on the list with our vet after his upcoming dental surgery.)
My other boy is the opposite. He's a lean, mean, crazy teenager, and I have to watch to make sure he gets enough calories because he's not super food motivated. He DOES do better with high protein/high fat, and it keeps his fur softer and shinier.
I make as much of my own food as possible, but keep Tiki Cat wet food for when I get behind, and Natural Balance kibble for the days when I'm going to get stuck at work and need to put a meal in their timer feeder. I would rather they get a meal of kibble every now and then instead of get lunch three hours late. If I couldn't afford those anymore, I probably would switch to Friskies because it is affordable, there really aren't that many plant ingredients in the list, and there is a wide variety of flavors and proteins available. I despise Purina as a company, but if that's the best I can afford, and my cats do ok on it, then that's what I'll feed them.
Excellent response. 👏👏👏
Your response is lengthy, but appreciated. I am glad I have vets that I trust the care of my pets to.
I totally agree!
So, i understand that the big food brands have hard data by which nutritional claims can be made. I will say that not every cat will do well on a Paleo/ carnivorous diet. Otherwise it's like people who say natural medicine is "better/ healthy" because it's not processed or mixed with "chemicals" like modern medicine. But that's not the argument, and it's misleading to say these food brands really are beneficial. We are talking about quality of ingredients, and the point remains that low quality of ingredients is used to make this food. The point of contention is that carbs and low meat percentage is used, regardless of what added minerals and vitamins are added that makes food specialized for certain ailments. Companies don't care for quality, they care about results from the least amount of money spent to get those results. And conflating test results with overall health isn't the way.
I know someone who believes Hills Science Diet is great; their cat has a sensitive stomach, and kidney issues. The Hills Diet kibble with water slurry she was put on helped with those issues, but the poor cat is now overweight and constantly put on diets. I can't help but think it's due to the amount of carbs in these foods she eats. But it's vet recommended, so it _must_ be good, right?
I'm sure if big pet food brands focused on high quality, high meat percentage, a lot of pet issues would be alleviated due to poor, and bad nutrition. (Obviously we cannot get rid of everything). But pets should have a good nutritional baseline regardless, and i doubt carbs + "meat flavor" + vitamins = the way to go.
Hi Thank you very much for all of your well-reserched facts I have eleven cats . They are my life. I will continue to listen to you and watch every video you put out. Thank you. I want the ebook also. 11:40
Thank you for this! I lost my Frost of 14 years thinking I was feeding him the best available food, Iams. His teeth got so bad he could no longer eat, his kidneys started failing and eventually his body just shut down. The vet could not find anything wrong. We did tons of research trying to find answers, and the only thing we could deduce was that it was from years of poor nutrition. He suffered for years, on and off with weight loss/gain, feeling fine, then sick. Never knowing that the food I was feeding him was slowly killing him.
I have two other cats, who are still grieving over him. He was their Papa Frost. Like you, I started looking at labels, started trying to figure out what to do to keep this from happening to my other furbabies in ten years. It’s expensive, but worth it. Any brands you can buy in a Grocery store/Per Store are all the same. Read the labels! It’s the equivalent of feeding you and your family fast food three times a day. If you can go Raw or Natural do it! If not, do the research and find a good brand of food that suits your cat’s needs. The more we just buy from these manufacturers and let them continue putting garbage in our pet foods is just green lighting then to keep doing it, and killing off our pets!
I'm so sorry for your loss!! You're absolutely right. I'm glad that you compare this to fast food. People don't think about how it's every meal for every day. For weeks and months and years! My cat Jericho eats raw now too!
Thanks for ur sharing! I will stop giving my Georgie, IAMS!
I am so sorry for your loss !! I had been there ,so I do understand !! The truth is commercial cat food brands or even prescription cat / dog foods ,even vets are not thinking of dog's & cat's health at all & not nutritious at all ,almost a joke & even evil !!! Fancy Feast turkey & giblets was decent ! We need to calculate it into " dry matter " to see the balance !! You can read it in a book called " Your cat " written by an American vet . I studied a lot & spent so~much time & money for my cats ,they're no longer with me very very sadly. 💜🥁🎤🐉💞
I have noticed too much dental disease in many of my cats over the years. I only feed wet food and one brand. These cats come from different family lineage so it is not a specific family deficiency. Have you any cats with dental disease? What is your opinion on this?
@@4SunnyinMiami2 Dry foods cause cavities ,though !! Once they believed dry foods would prevent dental issues. But,no longer that's the case .As dry foods stick to teeth & gum with cat's / dog's saliva. 💜🥁🐉🎤💞
When my cat started pooping blood as a kitten I started doing my research on food. I was food conscious for my family but had to pay attention to my kitty too. As soon as we changed his diet to healthy brands he got better and his fur began to lose its dullness and became silky again.
May I ask what brand did you feed the kitten before and what are you feeding him now (the healthy brands you mentioned)?
Besides 4D Meats, there is PPL Meats-Planned Parenthood Leftovers.
Very helpful content! I used to feed my adult cat Hills (Chicken or Lamb) but soon realised that my cat’s coat was looking dull. Switched his dry food to Wellness Core (Salmon) initially and noticed a massive change. However as I started paying attention to food labels, I realised that Ziwi Peak and Orijen were much better so I now feed my cats food from both brands. No regrets.
My cats were healthy and happy,and lived for many years on the food I fed them and not yours,but thank you for all your research,and concern,I might add your cat is just beautiful,thank you again.
I agree, I'm extremely picky on what I feed my cats, and all of my cats have ate iams for over 10 years, they're extremely healthy and 4 different vet's recommend Iams
I immediately looked at the labels when i got my first cat and avoided the popular brands and thought of combining the dry and wet food. Constantly seeking better dry & wet foods and never settle with whatever i end up getting her. Want her to be in the best health possible. She’s somewhere around 3-4 months old the vet guessed as i found her as a stray.
I fed my kitty Champion Pet Foods, Orijen kibble. Pricey, but no carbs and you can read what you get. I also share any meal I made with liver, salmon or kidney (beef, lamb or pork) with my cat. Cat lived to 21
You def get what you pay for! And some fresh food is better than none (:
do u cook the liver etc or give them raw?
@@meemraaa3444 to my knowledge, cats who are used to eating canned food, or kibble won't like raw food. You have to slowly transition them to it, there's videos on how to get them into an all raw food diet. If your pet doesn't eat raw, then cook it. I would look into how much liver they should eat, too. Liver is super rich in vitamins and minerals and you can't feed them a whole bowl of liver, or they can get seriously ill. It's usually mixed in small amounts with something else.
I also give my bengal orijen. Her alergies went away
@@ophilianecr the reason i asked this bcoz a vet told me that i cant feed raw food to cats bcoz store bought liver ,heart etc are contaminated with micro organism eg: salmonella etc
I only feed raw to my cats, your Pets are your family and my motto is: if I wouldn’t eat it I won’t feed it to my cats. Cats might be carnivores so they can’t eat EVERYTHING I do but they get the QUALITY that I eat. It’s just part of being a good cat owner.
Absolutely! Anyone inspired by this comment and want to go raw, check out my raw playlist here: th-cam.com/video/SMHYEMFmjV4/w-d-xo.html
Did you vaccinate your cat? Is that part of being a good cat owner? Just wondering.
@@littlelamb6804 of course my cats are fully vaccinated
I started feeding my baby a raw diet about six months ago, and she has been happier, and healthier ever since. I make it fresh at home, so I know exactly what goes into it, and she loves it!
@@melodystrong2114 I have 3 fur babies, two boys and a girl
I can't believe these brands are trying to make a quick buck in exchange for your pet's health. What a disgusting practice
Bastards
First experience with capitalism?
most thiings are like that, even modern medicine
Yes, many cats get most of the moisture from wet food. Unfortunately, this is because their humans view their drinking needs as similar to human drinking habits and nothing could be further from the truth.
I have 8 cats, 3 water stations. None of my cats are dehydrated, have kidney issues or diabetes. All of my cats will drink plentifully from each fountain in a 24 hour period. It's about understanding when they drink and what constitutes a good location. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks for a location to click with a cat. The simple tips:-
1. Do not put water near food or litter trays - food residue and pee/poop contains scent that lures predators. Cats do not drink where they are vulnerable.
2. Do not put water near busy footfall areas - again, they like to feel safe before they drink. When their heads are lowered their visibility is reduce and they feel vulnerable.
3. Do not put water in locations where there is only 1 exit or poor all round visibility - a cat values being able to make a safe escape if anything unexpected pops up (in this house it's another cat chasing a moving tail).
Cats in the wild drink from streams. Moving water. They drink from natural surfaces that are wide and shallow.
If you use a plastic water fountain, or have a disused ceramic fountain that is deep, try adding some smooth pebbles to give a natural surface and to raise the drinking area and give your cat more line of sight vision. Cats do not like their whiskers touching the sides of dishes or fountains.
Getting cats to drink is easy if you stop thinking like a human. :)
Thanks a ton
You're right that water and food should not be in litter areas or heavy traffic areas. Ceramic is much better than plastic since plastic traps bacteria.
But my point is that people that feed dry food only think their cats drink plenty of water, even with the right sources. But this is not true. Prey is 70-80% moisture so yes cats do drink from streams. But most of their water intake comes from food. Dry food is only 10% moisture. So the average cat eating dry food only would have to drink more than 8 ounces daily just to stay hydrated.
Cats do not drink like humans do, as you said. They are designed to get their moisture from food.
@@jesscaticles I understand, Jess, but people who can only afford kibble need a way to increase hydration so their cat doesn't suffer. I am merely offering an alternative perspective that most people don't consider.
The difference is assuming that a cat will get its needs met by canned food, and knowing that it's needs are met with actual measurable water consumption.
I only use ceramic dishes, but I know that most people do not have the luxury of dropping $70-$100 for a cat's fountain, so I wanted to offer a solution to people who may already have a plastic fountain that their cat is not using.
PS I forgot to thank you for your video. It's great, and I've shared it with family and friends. I'm ever hopeful that one day we will have great food options available for our pets. :)
It's not water fountains but I got my cat cups of water I refill threw out the apartment, she also drinks out of the sink if it's on. 😂
@@Briael : Much appreciated on the alternatives and have learned a little more on options.
Right now I have 2 17 year old brothers, 18 in December, and I give them Friskies Pate and Friskies Dry Food daily. Nothing with "indoor cats" on the labels. Their parents, Sox and Kitty Mama both lived to be almost 19. They were given the same. Before them, my cat Sam passed away 4 weeks from 20. She was given the same for the most part. I must be doing something right.
this is the perfect example of ignorance is bliss. Im sure you mean the best but just because an animal can live on something doesn’t mean they’re thriving and loving your cat means doing the proper research on the brands not looking at the cats who manage to do well on it. I can live off ramen my whole life but is it really healthy? no.
All of my aunt’s cats live to be 20-22 and she only feeds them Purina and Friskies.
@@brittneylyncker5212 Personally, i think the best way to feed your cat is 1) try lots of different foods to find out what cat likes, and 2) try and have a balence between the good stuff and the junk, like us humans, sure home cooked meals are healthiest, but having mcdonalds and ramen every once in a while ain't gonna kill us
Jess, I can't thank you enough for this amazing video and all the links you posted!!! I adopted the sweetest 7yrs old kitty three months ago and already had THREE visits to the emergency room, including an entire night at ICU. I started thinking she might be hopelessly ill and already considered the scariest options but now that I found your channel I realize that I must have introduced too much too soon (I was trying out all kinds of high-quality wet foods on her without smooth transitions - she's picky that way because she has no teeth) and that must have upset her stomach and led to hairballs indigestion which then triggered her asthma on top of that (it was so scary!) But now I have hope that I can fix this by slowing down and keep her by my side for years to come, I hope. I am so so grateful for all the work you're putting in your channel - it is truly PRICELESS. I learnt more than from all the emergency room veterinarians!
And all the links are SO HELPFUL. I went through every single one and took notes of what to try and when. And your comparison doc with reviews is just AH! As a Product Manager, I have to say you PM'ed your cat feeding like a BOSS!!! Bravo and thank you!
Thank you for your kind words!! I'm glad the video and links are helpful. This is exactly what I want - everyone to do their own research!! I love that you're looking into the resources. Before I worked in pet care I was a project manager for marketing/content at a tech startup. So I've got those organization skills down lol
@@jesscaticles omg I could totally tell haha!!!! So glad we found you 😻
My hair stylist and I were talking about all the ailments our pets have had, and got to talking about how our cats and dogs were fed scraps from the table and ate mice and birds outside…then lived to be in their twenties. We both now make our own pet food once a week at home.
That's great!! Fresh food is best!
I've been making my own for a year 👍
@@mairwaugus5203 I want to do this, but what meat or seafood is best!
@@maryjojouwstra3860 use lean ground beef, chicken. I make a "pet loaf". It has can salmon, tuna, sardines in it. Everybody likes it. You could use a can of mackerel too. Anything homemade is better than canned/bag. They will eat brown rice & veggies. I use my hot pot to make up batches.
@@mairwaugus5203 But ingredients like garlic would be poisonous to cats. So a definitive ingredient list would be good.
I love how your cat interrupts your video multiple times. Instantly subbed. Thank you for your work
He reminds me to smile and keep the energy up lol thank you for your support!!
You have the coolest voice and should be a singer! My family and friends have been feeding our animals some of the products you mentioned for years and our pets lived way past their calculated expiration dates , with practically no visits to the vet or illness. So , perhaps, some of those mystery ingredients are beneficial. The speculation that the companies use dead and sick rescue animals ,as part of their “mystery broth” is huge ,and you need to “show your proof” before engaging in this kind of TH-cam Gonzo Journalism. Like everything ,
there is exceptions to the rules, and maybe we had super pets , that were able to live through the harmful products that we were feeding them.
My brother used to work at one of the labs for Natural Balance. They were the only type of lab to test the food thoroughly, after production. They were bought by Smuckers, who closed the lab. There have been quite a few reports of contaminated food lately, but how many pets are getting sick from the ones not tested correctly?
Pet owners need to make our own food for our furry family members. Looks like these companies don’t give one eff about our animals.
your kitty looks damn healthy, btw.
Thank you! Jericho eats raw and whole prey. Homemade cat food is best but most people don't know how to formulate. And nutritional deficiencies can cause just as much harm as processed foods.
Hello! I just published my homemade cat food complete guide here: www.caticles.com/homemade-cat-food/. The video guide comes out next month (:
I've been using fromm for my cat and dog for the last 6 years. Their poop has never looked better. Sure it's a lil pricey but for me it's worth it. They have never had wet food, and they eat whenever they want. They are both grazers not gorgers. I just leave their food out. Yorkie is 6yrs old & 5 1/2 lbs, my cat is 9yrs old & 11 lbs and very tall. They go to the vet once a year for shots. Never have they been sick. I'm thankful for that. Thanks for this great and informative video. I appreciate it
You're very welcome! Although I would add that wet food is still better than dry. Also, leaving food out all day is unsanitary. Bacteria, mold, and rancid fats are increased as the food sits out longer. Kibble is not impervious to these things (:
Whenever switching a cats diet, do so gradually by taking some of the new food, and adding it to their regular meal and increase over time.
Cats could get nausea when switching too suddenly, causing them to refuse new foods.
For kibble junkies - take a coffee grinder, grind some dry, and sprinkle a little of it in or on top of the wet food, after a few days your cat should be ok with their wet diet.
Yep! I already covered a transition guide right here 😻th-cam.com/video/jVVgW16sDz8/w-d-xo.html
SO TRUE!!!... THANK YOU!!!
Or you can get a really good kibble like scrumbles mixed with really good wet food if your cat can't have raw (mine can't )
Scrumbles is 77% chicken btw
I dont know if anybody has told you this... But thank you for this information. It makes me feel like crap that my little pokemon have not been properly taken care of. From the food to the litter. Let the strategy for better health begin.
This made me want to die of guilt.
I'm an anesthesiologist and money is definitely not a problem. The problem is the fact that I live in Brazil and we have way less cat food options compared to the US and they're all trash.
I used to feed my oldest Farmina's N&D (grain free, but full of carbohydrates) because it was the "best" option compared to the rest, but she developed a reaction to it. Her urea and creatinine levels skyrocketed, thankfully it was caught in time before she developed any symptoms or permanet damage, and I was forced to start feeding her Royal Canin.
Since then I got two more cats and have been feeding them the same thing + tons of wet food (same crappy brands).
I take them to the vet at least every year for routine medical exams and I knew I was just waiting for disaster to struck.
It just did.
Oliver, my THREE-YEAR-OLD male british shorthair started vomiting everything he ate this last week. I got very startled and took him to the vet immediately.
Around 10.000 dollars (just converted it, but it feels way more expensive in brazilian currency), an endoscopy, days of hospitalization and a bunch of IV meds, we're one biopsy result away to finding out which terrible gastrointestinal condition he has developed.
He's currently eating Farmina's Vetlife Gastrointestinal wet and dry food, on injectable nausea/vomit medication, anti-inflammatory and prokinetic drugs.
He was discharged from the hospital today, he's currently laying in bed with me grooming himself, and I've never felt so guilty in my entire life.
I studied everything about feline nutrition before I got my first cat, I knew I wouldn't be able to offer them the bare minimum living here and I still went through with it... Now I'm going through the consequences.
(I just wanted to clarify that a raw diet isn't an option. We don't have decent cat nutrition specialists, reliable sources for a variety of fresh meat and all the supplements and other stuff that's usually added.)
My freezer is packed with high quality raw meat and fish for my furballs. Pure, honest, healthy food for happy healthy cats.
Same with my freezer!! lol
Please do you give beef or pork or chicken , I need advice please
I am just starting. Have you got any good recipes you could share. We have 25 cats, mostly special needs 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 please x
@@christinebeames2311 don’t give pork to cats.
@@hendrikje5952 Why?
Very interesting stuff. You have a Peppermint Patti thing going with your voice. I like it!
LOL! Thank you (:
Vocal fry. Yikes. 🤣
I can never thank you enough for this. I am an archaeologist and I have lived in the jungle and worked there for many years, so needless to say I would just open a can of tuna and eat it like that. Bottom line, I never even cooked for myself! I have kids and I cooked for them when they were little, but I thought I was giving my cats everything they needed because for 65 years my whole family has had cats and we gave them canned food. I would never hurt my children or my cats, and that is a fact. Apparently now I'm going to have to learn to cook. I never cared about what I myself ate , because usually we had a camp cook or we just had stuff out of a can. Not to mention that because I live in a totally different country 🇲🇽, the price of cat food is ridiculous. But I do without so that they can have, if that makes any sense in English. I have access to fresh meat at a much lower cost than in the United States. This video just made me ill because I love my cats so much. Speaking of which, your kitty loves you so much and it is absolutely noticeable. I completely detest cooking but I would do anything for my cats or my kids. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. God bless you and all your babies throughout your whole life. I wish kitties would live forever. But when you are 65 like I am, you know it's not the case. Praying for a long life for both of you. I am assuming this is Jericho but I am not positive. I only just found your channel today And these videos are older. Don't stop what you are doing. The world is a better place because of you.
I spent hundreds of dollars on fancy cat food and couldn't figure out why my cat was sick. Turns out he had many food allergies and all the Grain Free foods were making him seriously ill. We ran out and my neighbor gave us Iams and it worked! So relieved that I don't have to spend $30 on 4 oz of food. We have 3 greedy cats! Trying to do "better" I was harming my baby.
Keep in mind that grain free does not mean carb free. Many of those foods use inappropriate ingredients like legumes and peas to bump up the protein content rather than using more meat ingredients. $30 on 4 ounces of food? I spend around $2/day on my cat's 4 oz of raw food...
I have used Iams and Diamond for years, for my cats and dogs. They have always done fantastic on these foods. I don't have vomiting pets or stool issues. Nor are they overweight. My cats and dogs live to 18+.
@@jesscaticles Peas was one of his allergies. And I think he was probably allergic to other ingredients that they don't actually list. Only some generic name that did not tell you what was really used. He is also allergic to salmon. Go figure.
@@rainbowsunshinekitty3953 Cats are carnivores, they should eat meat, not fish. Check out Jackson Galaxy's videos.
@@aiai-j7i since when is fish not meat?
So basically every single cat food is bad for my cat what the hell am I supposed to feed her mice LOL
I feed my cat mice (:
There are better quality foods in the description. And even more in my review list: th-cam.com/video/eRtL3GGa4as/w-d-xo.html&t - there are over 100 records.
@@jesscaticles I feed my cat regular cat food, but then she goes outside and eats mice, chipmunks and squirrels :(
Basically only expensive brands 100%meat.. you are fine off with friskies and many other brands.. we had many cats eating cheapest food and they lived very long lives without any problems.
@@jesscaticles Yes, I, too have given my cats "pinkies" - or pet store mice - which are always gobbled up immediately. (I admit that I feel bad for them occasionally, because they are so totally unaware of the fact that predators actually exist in their world). BUT - this has always been the way of animals, naturally preying on what is best for their nutritional needs since the beginning of time. Still, I'd like to feed the best available dry food to fill in the gaps each day, so I'll be looking at your site, thank you.
Lol.
Friskies can food was what my cat was eating, went into kidney failure at 3.5 years. Changed foods, she got better eating organ meat and lasted 4 more years. A vet's assistant ended up moving in next door to me...she said they see more cats come in with health problems on Friskies than any other food.
Oh no! I'm glad you found a solution that worked for your baby for her last years (:
You are so right, Wal Do. I think if I kept feeding my senior striped tabby cats Friskies it would have killed them both. I switched to Core wellness for my cats. They lost a lot of weight. What a difference in their energy level and playfulness too.
@@lorraine9242 Well, I'm DONE with Friskies!
@Max Larson How long have your cats been eating Friskies? How long have these "millions of other cats" been eating it?
@Max Larson If you ever come across someone's cat, especially young, that's having kidney failure ask the owner what kind of food the cat eats. In my experience & a vet's assistant I knew it's usually Friskies.
I wish veterinarians would advocate good food brands instead of pushing crap food like Hills and Purina. I went to my local butcher today and ordered cattle liver and lung. I have given my cat pig heart mixed with wet food every morning and night since the raw food we have here at the moment is not a complete raw food. She used to eat mostly wet food before and then suddenly only wanted kibble, but now it's only once a day and I want to transition fully to raw or a mix of wet and raw and I hope this will be OK for my best buddy. Thanks for video Jess :)
Hi Chris! You're very welcome for the video. I'm glad your baby is enjoying some raw treats. Some fresh food is better than no fresh food!
As for vets, we expect them to study nutrition in school, but they don't. In the US anyway. I checked through 31 AVMA accredited DVM curriculums and only about 2% is focused solely on nutrition. And most of those courses are introductory. Their focus is on medicine, not nutrition. After all, DVM stands for doctor of veterinary medicine!
I found zero courses that cover AAFCO labeling requirements. So vets rely on the pet food manufacturer to tell them what's good.
Obviously the billion dollar companies that own the "vet recommended" brands can pay for clinical feeding trials. And that's what vets care about: the hard data. But unfortunately, those feeding trials typically take the "prescription" diet and a much lower quality (if that's even possible) food. So one of them has to be better. But that doesn't mean it's the best.
I'd like to see these companies test against a properly balanced raw diet! But that would be detrimental to their business.
More and more vets are coming to realize that fresh food is better. I'm very hopeful that we're moving in the right direction!
@@jesscaticles Wow, above and beyond with the reply :) thank you so much. It is the same here in Norway sadly. The excuse I hear all the time is salmonella poisoning, but I buy local and salmonella is pretty much non existent here. And furthermore I know cats have lower gastric acid PH and a much shorter way for food to travel to the stomach, so the benefits far outweigh the micro risk in my opinion. Glad to see more and more people waking up to the pet food industry and being more aware of what is healthy and what is not. It's people like you who make great contributions to our furry friends and I am truly grateful, thank you so much :) :) :)
@@christofrip1723 Yea here in the US salmonella is the biggest objection to raw too. Meanwhile, this year alone there were over 130 kibble product recalls due to salmonella. And for raw, only 9 products.
There is also the raw feeding veterinary society. I hope more vets see their info and get with the times!
Thank you so much for your kind words 😁
@@jesscaticles That's crazy, the evidence speaks for itself :) Dr. Karen Becker woke me up, now that is an amazing Vet. Have a great day you two and take care
@@christofrip1723 Dr. Becker woke me up too!! Enjoy your weekend (:
I serve raw, freeze dried cat food softened with a lot of water. He also gets hormone-free raw beef. It's expensive as hell, but not as expensive as what vet visits and prescription medication would be.
So can you please give us a video with the best canned cat food….I am so confused after watching different videos looking for the best for my casts…thanks so much I enjoyed watching this video…very informative.
YES PLEASE
Check the description (:
Another channel recommends the following brands that are high in protein and lower in carbs: Raws, Ziwi, Open Farm, Koha for sensitive stomach, Weruva for seniors. I mix Tiki brand with my cats prefered food, they aren't crazy about it but get a little better quality into them.
I think her main recommendation is to feed raw.
Your cat VERY clearly adores you~
I got a kitten a few months ago, and was given a bag of “kitten chow”, after reading the ingredients, I saw it was basically junk food for kittens, I did a bit of research and found the Rawz brand (made down the road from where I grew up in York Maine) and switched him to the Rawz all life stages, the difference is amazing, his coat has a nearly iridescent shine, his fur is angora soft (I believe he’s a Maine Coon/Siamese mix, all black, with MC bushy tail and ear floofs, and Siamese facial profile) and he’s too smart for his own good, already figured out how to open cabinet doors, has amazing jumping/catching ability, and fetches toys like a dog…
I’m going to bring in some Rawz wet/shredded food into his diet as well, it’s nice to have a high end pet food company that’s independent and local as well…
I'm happy to hear your cat's doing better! Rawz is definitely one of the better quality brands I've found.
I had a kitty that was part Maine Coon,,,, absolutely smart and wonderful temperament!
Enjoy your new kitty!!
Love Rawz, just 2 out of my 4 will eat it, but need to get them off Purina pro plan.
@@traceysimmons4913 rawz hasn't, not yet knock on wood.
So glad you read the back of the Kitten Chow bag! Also, I have a Siamese too and we had to baby-proof the kitchen for her until she was about 2yrs old! She was like a little monkey when she was young.
I could literally fall asleep to your voice, it’s sooo soothing. Thank you for your advice! Totally thought iams was a good brand
Glad I could help! And thank you for your kind words about my voice lol others say it sounds like I'm dying.
I have never, ever, fed my cats "cat food." And they lived well into their 20's. They evolved to eat raw stuff. Mice, birds, bugs, plants, etc... Do you see Friskies or Treats running through the forest? No. So don't feed them it. All my friends cats were fat, urinary tract infections, poopy problems, had tumors, growths, weird diseases and my cats never had any of that. Pets are a responsibility. You have to provide healthy food and exercise. It's a lot of work but they are living, breathing, feeling beings. Enjoy them. 8)))
True... But bobcats and pumas do run through the forrest, as well... Do you really wish for your cats to become someone's snack?
@@Ellerion2 I don't understand your point. How is feeding them commercial cat food going to keep them from being eaten by bob cats? It has nothing to do with what I'm saying.
Thank you for your wise words!!
Indoor/outdoor is my preference, but I live in a community with lots of traffic. One of my cats crossed over at 21 (indoor/outdoor), and I have a 16 year old who has eaten grocery store cat food, wet and dry (indoor). The 21 year old also ate kibble and occasional canned cat food. Ok, so if someone is on the band wagon to feed raw, well I don't eat raw meat. No, I'm not feeding it to my cats. I have never seen a housecat eat a cow. Fish don't run through the forest either. Just sayin'. I get your point though. People (mostly) have good intentions for their companions and do the best they can with that.
I appreciate informative videos. The judgmental people should lobby and use their words to improve home pets care products at the core.
I have, however, seen the cat that lived to be 21 kill a rattlesnake and drag a jack rabbit like a puma would drag a deer. Pretty impressive...
@@trishr.3986 Who said cats eat cows? I never said that. But they can eat some beef. Chicken. It's all protein. They eat birds, mice, bugs, plants. Humans and cats are different. Yes. But our cuisine can overlap. Sure. But they need raw food. It's in their genes. If you can't understand that then you need to do more research.
Thank you so much for all the research work that went behind this! I recently rescued a young cat from the harsh winter here in Québec and I'm still very new to this so having someone to explain "how to read" these labels as you brilliantly said (cause you sure need more than to know how to read!) is a HUGE help. Again, thanks so much ^^
You're very welcome!! I'm glad it was helpful. The manufacturing laws may be different in CA, but the product name rules and % are the same.
I'm also in Quebec. What have you fund thus far? I like oven baked but it can get pretty expensive. I do like that it's made in St-Hyacinthe though.
AGREE. no regulations on them from usda or fda❗️on pet food ingredients. spread the word. nobody knows this❗️
Thank you for bringing this out for awareness.I appreciate it and yes it is an acculturated health issue when cats aren’t having proper nutrition
Thank you so much Jess, I knew there was something wrong with the foods, I was giving my cat 10 yrs ago, he began to get sick…I switched his food to wet only then found some better choices that were out there thank you for animal lovers like you too help , paw parents to find the best food choices we can afford to feed our precious pets. My baby is 14 now pretty old and has some health issues ( know doubt from the bad foods brands from before) but we are loving him caring for him the best wet food we can now.
Thank you for your kind words! Glad to hear the switch to wet went well (:
i'm so glad I came across your channel - clearing out all the rubbish cat food and restocking with the good stuff !
I haven't had a cat for years. Good info for those who have cats. That kitty is so cute I enjoyed watching him.
Thanks for watching!
All my cats have reached the ages of 18 19 21 all my cats were fed on fresh meat ,chicken,lamb, beef,liver,and fish.Not dried food.
I really wish I could feed my 3 like that. One is a stray who's now 12 and doing good. The other two are brothers, 2 yrs. old, born outside, but made inside quickly. None of the 3 eat any fresh meat whatsoever! I HAVE tried. But they all love one particular dry food and only one brand of can food Purina Essentials White Meat Chicken and Vegetables. So.....we doin' da best we can. I'm so happy for your cats: they have a good mama!
I have had my cat for 15 years and we guesstimate she was about 2-3 years old when I adopted her. She refuses to eat any sort of fresh or wet food. She is strictly a dry food cat. We just went to a new vet and before he asked me asked me how old she is, he guessed her to be about 10 years old.
📢 you guys better listen to this lady. I was blessed that one day a lady was bawling in my face at petsmart saying theyre garbage brands killed her pet. I researched and switched immediately and never looked back. My malamute lived to 11.5 years old my 17 year old cat has the psysiology of an 8 year old cat. 📢 Dont Be Cheap with Your Pets Diet -its Rude !
I'm so happy you saw a positive improvement with diet changes!
What brand did you end up buying?
Rude lol
ALSO - we are now finding out now that grain free is bad b/c the legumes used in place of grains act as taurine blockers.
Great point! Manufacturers should add more MEAT!
Meta moment; so basically
Grain free should also be kitniyot free.
Kitniyot means légumes in Hebrew and is used as a category in examining kosher for Passover food.
@@enasbitch6988 Well, they're in there -_- and shalome.
This all makes me sick - so what am I supposed to do? Buy steak, chicken, and pork and smoosh them all up and make my own wet cat food? That would cost hundreds of dollars a month and I can't afford that.
No, it doesn't. Real meat goes further than you think. I also make gravies to go along with from the fat and broth.
I agree with you. I can't afford that too
Nancy, I'll bet you buy what you can afford for your kitty. Don't worry about a thing. Love and give your cat a happy, comfortable life, that's the best thing you can do and don't worry about nitpicking his/her diet. Our cat basically will only eat the cheaper foods, she refused raw and some higher priced foods. She's 16 yrs old and has a very comfortable life and enjoys (we assume!) what she does eat.
Check the description (:
Keep in mind fresh food will always be cheaper because you do not need to feed a lot of it since it is more nutritious. Fresh food toppers are great! But keep in mind homemade cat food is more complex than that. For example, a mouse is more than just muscle meat and predigested plant matter in the stomach. There's also the heart, eyes, brain, kidneys, spleen, thymus, bones, cartilage, ligaments, etc. Cats also eat 5-7 different proteins to complete their diet. Check out my raw playlist here if you want to start feeding fresh food: th-cam.com/video/SMHYEMFmjV4/w-d-xo.html
Most cats are picky about food changes. In fact, this is the #1 complaint I get. So you are not alone (: Here is an entire playlist of everything you need to know: th-cam.com/video/tTV0FSxDE-w/w-d-xo.html - The first video is a complete guide on how to switch food, specifically formulated for picky cats. Next is my cat food reviews video which includes 100+ records of all types of food. And the remaining videos cover healthy treats, FAQ, and supporting help.
Your cat is beautiful, also patient! In the early part of the video, he seems to be looking at you and listening!
In the end I am feeding my older cat what she will eagerly eat and not throw up (Purina One grain free.) She drinks water regularly. We have run through almost every brand, kibble or soft. She is doing fine for an old gal on thyroid meds! I don't need her to live to 25 to feel good about it.
Hey, whatever you want to do. But keep in mind most cats are picky about food changes. In fact, this is the #1 complaint I get. So you are not alone (: Here is an entire playlist of everything you need to know: th-cam.com/video/tTV0FSxDE-w/w-d-xo.html - The first video is a complete guide on how to switch food, specifically formulated for picky cats. Next is my cat food reviews video which includes 100+ records of all types of food. And the remaining videos cover healthy treats, FAQ, and supporting help.
At least you’ll know better with your next cat than to get them hooked on crap.
@@jesscaticles unless you cover this in a separate video what type of dry/wet food are you recommending for cats? I have five indoor fur balls and typically feed them Purina friskies indoor wet food and Purina naturals indoor dry food
She's drinking water regularly to try and flush out all the extra junk. You're putting pressure and stress on her system, that's why she now has thyroid issues. Not species-appropriate and you're fine with cutting her life shorter than it should be too so the priority is your own comfort and convenience.
I feel like such a failure as a cat dad, now I’m lost as I want the best for my babies (15) . Now what I’m on disability what can I afford
You can often feed raw for less than even some of the cheaper foods just by getting some of the stuff on sale. Some of my cats' meals get as low as 15cents per meal with stuff like pork. You can also get creative with getting free goodies if you know anyone who hunts, etc. I have saved birds, etc for my cats in the past after they died from hitting windows, etc. The only thing w/ wild animals is that you need to leave them in the freezer for 30 days to kill any parasites they may have had. Also, some of the better food makers give away free samples! I got some in the mail.
Please don't feel like a failure! It took my family and me many years and many cats to kick the kibble to the curb. Check out my cat food reviews in this video: th-cam.com/video/eRtL3GGa4as/w-d-xo.html&t - there are 100+ records of all types of food. At the end of the day, any wet food will be better than kibble. Cats need moisture from food. As Lahoma mentions, a balanced raw diet will be the cheapest. You just have to pay more up front because of shipping frozen goods. But that list covers everything (:
Raw is definitely cheaper! Jericho eats some whole prey too but I buy from a breeding facility.
Despite the slight against Rachael Rays' Nutrish dry cat food, I believe it is still better than most and it isn't very much more in cost that cheap cat foods. I can afford to pay $5-6 more a bag for something that my cat enjoys and she doesn't get an upset stomach with it. The cheap stuff was making her sick, but now she seems to be thriving on the Nutrish. Wmart has it in some stores or you can order online.
As someone who is doing their research before I even get an animal, what drives me INSANE is the absolute garbage they offer for their labeling. Carbs, phosphate, calcium, magnesium, and many other vital nutrients are omitted from labels. It leads me on an absolute goose chase of trying to track down independent reviewers who do their own analysis and nutrition reporting (most do not). These things are absolutely VITAL for cats with special considerations and some companies that I've contacted refuse to disclose the straight answer and ignore my correspondence. It's frustrating but in a way it saves me the work of giving those brands my time or money. My list of acceptable foods is pretty damn thin and mostly imported from outside the US, which means $$$ just to make sure I give my cat what they need because I don't trust my grasp of raw to make a balanced diet responsibly.
We trust these companies with our bodies (human food) and our loved ones (pets) - billions if not trillions of lives in all - and this is what we have to show for it. Our food handling, labeling and preparation laws - both human and animal - are absolutely ineffective at addressing the contamination and negligence demonstrated by current practices nearly 100 years in the making. It's sickening.
I fully agree with this !
For this reason I started doing cat food hauls on my channel showing only the good quality food ! It helps others find the best food for their cats and shows them how to pick out a good cat food. I always read the labels when looking into food for my cats. Anything that has the first ingredient “meat or animal derivatives” is terrible food and unfortunately that’s most cat foods! Also if it’s cheap less than 90p per can or about £4.99 a box it’s bad quality food
I used to feed my cats walmart brand. Until one day I noticed my eldest cat was losing weight. I switched brands, a more expensive brand. Worked okay until my job situation changed. I used to feed them dry cat food from a feed place back home. My cats did well on it. Very little vomiting, no diarrhea, shiny coats. I started to research cat nutrition, then looked for cat food accordingly.
I found Purina Naturals, they liked it, vomiting was reduced considerably, and I also keep oat grass growing for them to munch on too. I feed them friskies canned cat food as a treat.
All those canned stuff with peas and stuff, they won't even touch it! So Friskies canned cat food it is. Its not given as their main source of food anyway. I have two, the female will be 19 come December 24th. And the male will be 17 in the Spring. So we're growing old together.
Hi! Would you mind explaining how you grow oat grass? I’ve grown wheat grass before but am unsure what type of oats are required to get them to seed. Thanks in advance and best wishes for you and your furry babies. 💛
I feed ferals and they don't even want Wal Mart brand canned cat food!
I'd stay away from Friskies, I had a cat go into kidney failure at 3.5 years on that. Vet said more cats with health problems on Friskies than any other food.
@@waldo2635 I’m sorry to hear about your kitty.
Our cats have Friskies and Fancy Feast canned food, however they don’t have it every day and only have a little at a time (it’s one way I can get my almost-13 year old to take her Prozac).
Cats are carnivores and nothing else. All the processed foods kills them.. And makes the teeth fall out because all the lack of nutrients. My 12 year old cat has a really healthy mouth after 10 months in to just raw meats. And his coat is thick and he has got his sence of smelling back. I am so happy.
Yes!! So happy to hear his dental issues cleared up with fresh foods (:
Hi please what raw meat do you recommend , 8m a new cat owner ,
They need some carbs just like a human.. it adds roughage and bulk plus is a form of energy.. some not drastic amounts..some
I've been a small animal veterinarian for >25 years. Feed your cat Hill's Prescription Diet t/d. I've fed all of my cats t/d since it came out in the 90's. None have been overweight. None ever required any real dental work. Brother Abyssinians males succumbed to kidney disease (genetic predisposition) at 18 yrs and 19 years. They've all loved it and the smell of their feces is dramatically reduced. Current cats are 10 yr male DLH normal weight and teeth look identical to the 1.5 yr DSH male (i.e. bright white and perfectly calculus-free). It's also formulated for lower urinary tract health. I tell owner to make it easy on themselves and feed t/d. Plus give them a monthly topical flea and heartworm preventative.
I appreciate this so much. I’ve been feeding my cats junk for so long. Just started to pay attention to their needs.
Why don't you feed your Cats their Ancestral Diet? Which is Raw Organs and Meats. What do you think Cats eat in the Wild? Canned garbage?
@@Peekaboo-Kitty thanks for that insight. 🙄
Great to see a breakdown of all the information ❤️
I've been learning feline and canine nutrition over the past 6 months as i am converting all of ours over to a home made raw food diet, I haven't gone completely raw yet as I don't want to mess anything up but one meal a day is fully raw with the 90/10/10 rule as a base line
I started making this change when I learnt about the testing of commercial foods, and that they can start with any number of animal but only 6 have to survive for the food to be sellable, and I really urge people to take the fact it says 'survive' and NOT thrive, diseases due to nutrition have been severely on the rise over the past 40 years within our pets and its terrifying that these companies are just left to do whatever they want to an extent
"...its terrifying that these companies are just left to do whatever they want to an extent" yes, including the fact that it is the MFGs who decide what is "Rx" food, not the FDA. AAFCO has recommendations for minimum needs, but doesn't regulate anyone either.
@@mickymickle2764 ......I've read a few things too. Like these so called prescription diets: read THOSE labels. Know why cats love it and scarf it down? It has pig blood in it. And people pay extra for the stuff. The companies sure know how to be greedy........And right now, cans of cat food have AGAIN gone down in size from 4oz to 3 oz! They cashed in on the pandemic and retooled the machines to produce 3 oz cans! Now there's enough food EVERYWHERE! Oh of course at the same price if not higher!! What a racket!
Late to this party but so glad I came! Thank you so much for helping me find the right food for my cat. I've been looking for clear cut information and you've really provided that.
Be careful of your cat being constipated on a raw meat diet. Cats in the wild eat indigestible food like fur of animals, sinew and chitlin which is not readily available in commercial raw food or what people make at home. The indigestible food helps cat poop.
Shocking that many seem to have more carbohydrates that mest.Cats are carnivores so important to check your cat food
Absolutely!
I actually had to switch to a common brand food because the homemade gourmet brand (ma's) had chickpeas as the top ingredient. My cats abdomin kept twitching due to the gas . I switched her to Purina beyond wild caught white fish and she is fine and happy. It may not be perfect but I believe it's better than the "healthy" chickpea one. If you look up chickpeas for cats online there are warnings not to feed. What is good for humans is not necessarily good for cats. I fed my cat on friskies back in the 1980s because there was no other choice and he lived 20 years.
Of course I agree that chickpeas are not for cats. However, there are still plenty of wet food options that are better. I'd suggest offering a variety of proteins and not relying on fish only. Cats often form an addiction to fish and this can cause picky eating. Also, some fish are high in thiaminase which destroys b vitamins.
Check out my cat food reviews in this video: th-cam.com/video/eRtL3GGa4as/w-d-xo.html&t
I've been using Purina cat chow for many years. My cats show a strong preference for it and are living an average of 20 years. This video is very good info but I'm nervous about change.
@@glenellbandy2670 Everyone is nervous about change (:
I have a full guide specifically made for picky cats here: th-cam.com/video/tTV0FSxDE-w/w-d-xo.html if you do decide to change.
Every cat is different, and I'm glad to hear that your cats have lived a long life. But unfortunately this is not the case for everyone.
@@jesscaticles Hi Jess. Are cats still able to get Taurine from wet foods? 🤗
One thing everyone should realize, just because a brand of pet food allowed your pet to live 20+ years, 20 or 30 years ago, just like people food almost all food manufacturers have severely decreased the quality of their products over the last 20 years. We and our pets are being fed questionable garbage.
My vet told me that Hill's science diet was the best food for my cat .
Thanks for your work!! Sushi is my kitty. She came to me as a kitten by falling off the fence in front of me as I was trimming the grass. She stayed in our backyard for 2 days as I put out water, and then tuna for her. She finally came to me, barely weaned, fur covered with sewage, and very weak. Misty the dog wagged her tail when we introduced Sushi to her- and Sushi joined the family. Now we call Sushi “crazy kitty” because she spends most of her time outside hunting.
I have been feeding her Iams because I was tricked, as you described, into thinking it was a good food. I have personally worked at a Cargill plant in Memphis TN. Part of the corn extraction process that produces high fructose corn syrup requires cooking the corn in giant rotating drums. When accidents happened, they would dump burnt corn onto the asphalt, pick it up with front end loaders (heavy machinery) then take it to the pet food part of the plant. In normal processes, the corn pericarp- that is the hard outside of a kernel- is considered waste and that ends up as pet food filler. Neither dogs, humans, nor cats can digest this, and it ends up coming out in 💩. Large 💩 means less nutrition more filler…. Um… I bet this is one of those times when I’m giving information that everyone already knows. Sorry if so.
Misty has been eating Rachel Ray because that did reduce her 💩 size per food eaten. She has recently had surgery as a result of a tumor at 11 years of age- assumed because she was found on the street as well. I did not have her “fixed”, and the vet said hormones will cause those tumors. I now know that it was more likely to be a combination of bad food and hormones. I didn’t know that getting her spayed would prevent tumors.
I’ll certainly pay more attention to the labels on the foods that my animals eat thanks to watching your video!! Heaven gives me these animals, but it’s my responsibility to take care of them. Thanks for helping make me a better steward of my loves ❤️
All my cats are fixed. 3 males 1 female. I understand bad food. Like the dry Purina complete. Mixed with wet. They are safe from outside elements. As they do not go outside. However they were all born Ferrell. I think they are all spoiled. Toys, beds, cat nippers n treats on Sunday. It last for however long it lasts. My oldest cat, Mr Ritter just passed in may of 2022. He was 17 yrs old. We as adult are not eating what we think we're eating. Unless u live Amish or farm. That still does not justify what by products. Do the best u can do. With what you've got. Try to stay away from protocol vets.
Cats who have been spayed DO get tumors. Don’t let a vet tell you otherwise!
Yes. I mostly agree. But as our cat was 14 years old, she got kidney problems and lost weight. With starting Hills she got her appetite back and her kidney stats got better. She was euthanized 2+ years later because arthritis that she had had for about 5 years and medication was not helping anymore. But Hills food had significant positive effect to her health. Would have I fed this food to a young cat, no. But as meat heavy diet was not working, I think this special food for these last years was ok. You should always weigh pros and cons.
After years of eating affordable canned food, (9L & Frisks) my cat began to have sporadic digestion problems. Then recently, he became very sick with explosive diarrhea. I began researching possible causes & decided to try feeding him homemade food. (I didn't have money for upwards of $2,000 in diagnostic tests.) He was also losing weight.
Within 3 days of switching diets, there was a significant lessening in bathroom problems. Including the most horrendous BM stench. A nickel size pool of waste would stink up my entire home. All day, all night - constant bathroom clean-ups & very little sleep for both of us. But after 2 weeks of being fed homemade 100% meat food - all of his problems were gone. He also began putting on weight again. It was that simple, his case. Thankfully.
I tested the bad food theory by feeding him the last of the canned food & within 3 days he was back running to the bathroom every 30-60 minutes, diarrhea everywhere. (I know... but I had to be sure of the cause.)
The canned stuff is garbage. I don't know what the mfrs changed, but they clearly don't care about pets & pet owner's well-being. Absolutely disgusted. I hope there's a class action suit. To help owners who've shelled out thousands of dollars in vet bills dealing with this mess.
Wow! Great information. I have had cats my entire life and have trusted my veterinarian to recommend foods that are best for my cat. Since working in a veterinary office I discovered the doctors on staff strongly pushed Iams, Science Diet or Royal Canin and now strongly suspect that somehow, they are getting kickbacks from the pet food companies just like human doctors push medications for the same reason. If people or pets aren't sick, they won't go to their doctor. Keep up the good work getting this information out.
We don’t get kickbacks. The brands are some of be few that meet the world small animal veterinary nutrition guidelines. They actually go through feeding trials. Feeding trials are not done with long term studies though, so you can certainly see issues developing long term with poor nutrition. Low carb canned food should make up the bulk of any cats diet. But as far as the dental comment…the diets are designed specifically to be broken up by chewing, hence reducing plaque and tartar accumulation. They may even have enzymatic coating to reduce plaque accumulation on the teeth.. that’s how they work…
Very happy that I happen to come across your channel. Thank you for all the hard work that you put into this. Extremely grateful ! 😊❤
I agree with your statements
My 10 year old cat died with Health issues I believe was the dry food diet
It very convenient just to buy a bag a dry food
Please BE CAREFUL what you’re feeding your cat
I wish I was better educated and informed
It's nice to meet you, friend. Thank you SO much for sharing this information. Neffy is 2 and I want to make sure he is fed right! I really appreciate the heads-up on so many of these products. I've been feeding him Temptations often, as an example, and now I need to rethink that. Purina is a brand (as is Friskies) that I've fed him too and now it is time ot reconsider. I really appreciate your sharing. Have a wonderful weekend.
I tried to get my cats off Friskies. I bought a high end, wild caught, no grain replacement. I tried mixing it, giving a little bit next to their regular food, etc. after my cats refusing to eat for days I caved and went back to Friskies.
Most cats are picky about food changes. In fact, this is the #1 complaint I get. So you are not alone (: Here is an entire playlist of everything you need to know: th-cam.com/video/tTV0FSxDE-w/w-d-xo.html - The first video is a complete guide on how to switch food, specifically formulated for picky cats. Next is my cat food reviews video which includes 100+ records of all types of food. And the remaining videos cover healthy treats, FAQ, and supporting help.
Friskies also made my cat addicted to gluten and their cheapo food and almost not interested in real food. Their company is every definition of evil corporate greed
They top dress those kibbles so they taste good . So the animal is addicted to that taste.
@@chulalachannel Meow mix is like kitty crack. My cats refused to eat the new food, Core Wellness for four days. They cried and carried on. I now work from home 4 days a week so it was a lot to take. I almost caved in. Then they started eating the new food. They lost weight, and are much more energetic. So I went on a high protein low carb diet too. I have lost weight, and I more energetic. Human and cats score a bit win!!!
My cats all eat Friskies and they are all over ten years and in good health.
I thank you very much for all of the important information! Much appreciated!
I appreciate your feedback!!
Thank you, very well done. A real eye opener but I don't feed my cat any of the brands that you discussed. I do read the labels but with your information I've learned so much more.
Help! My cat wouldn't eat wet food from the healthy brands I was buying for him. I wasted a ton of money - he turned his nose up at everything. Then I started giving him the grocery store wet junk food and he eats some of that. Once a week, I give him raw chicken, leftovers from my chicken cooking sprees. My cat is so picky, I don't know what to do.
Do you want to try my recipe? I don't know that my recipe can help or not but I just thought that maybe can helps you a little bit...
Buy goat milk powder, fish, egg, meat or beef. Egg yolks mixed with goat milk powder and fish (make sure no bone and torn pieces of fish) use steam cook.
Fish, egg yolks, meat or beef mixed together (use blender) then microwave oven cook (u can buy blackhawk band grains free dried cat food mixed in).
Srry my English a bit weird but at least I tried to help.
Most cats are picky about food changes. In fact, this is the #1 complaint I get. So you are not alone (: Here is an entire playlist of everything you need to know: th-cam.com/video/tTV0FSxDE-w/w-d-xo.html - The first video is a complete guide on how to switch food, specifically formulated for picky cats. Next is my cat food reviews video which includes 100+ records of all types of food. And the remaining videos cover healthy treats, FAQ, and supporting help.
You need to mix a little of the good stuff w/ the cheaper stuff and keep increasing the good to bad ratio every day until he is eating what you want. This process took me two weeks to get my shelter cats from dry, to canned, to raw. Keep in mind that grain free food contains legumes which have recently been found to be taurine blockers. If you are trying to switch to grain free, add powdered taurine or see if he will eat raw chicken hearts as a separate meal a few days of the week.
Thank you for bringing this important information to all cat lovers' attention!
One of my cats from the past was fed dry food her whole life, she developed liver cancer, diabetes and then kidney failure. I know one her siblings was fed raw his whole life. He's still alive today. He's 18 years old.
I didn't know any better at the time, I was very young. Now all I can think is how far we have drifted from reality. Pet illnesses, cancers and obesity has absolutely skyrocketed. Perfectly aligned with the mass production of processed grain cookies for obligate carnivores. Me and my partners two young cats are both on raw and they will be forever. Cats deserve to eat what they are biologically built for. Not corn cookies that are cooked 3x.
I've been trying to educate my customers for years about this but a lot of people still shrug it off with "my cat is spoiled" and just go on buying trash. We sell excellent cat food at roughly the same price as this kind of garbage but customers still won't even try to switch to them because their cats are too addicted to the additives of the garbage food.
The struggle is real!! Pickiness is the #1 complaint I get. I try to explain it this way... It is much easier to prevent health issues than it is to treat. So yes it may take some work to feed better food now. But that time is worth it. Take a few months to switch food now or down the road you will likely spend lots of money at the vet, lots of stress, and now you have to give your cats pills every day. And potentially shorten your cat's life. Very daunting but that's the reality!
My cats would literally commit suicide than give up their junk food.
What is the name of your business? What foods do you recommend?
I have a cat with IBS and early kidney disease.
Thank you so much I’m so spitting mad I feel like I’ve spent at least 10 hours researching the food that I give my cat and you broke it down for me in less than 12 minutes I really really appreciate it and I really wish cat food companies and people food companies would stop putting garbage in our foods I don’t need artificial colors and flavors or other hazardous crap.
I'm glad you found my video helpful!! I've been researching this stuff since 2017 so I completely understand how frustrating it is. I saw your other comment about your vets too. It's not really their fault that nutrition isn't covered completely in vet school. After all, they are becoming medical doctors. And if they want to be a nutritionist they have to take more years of schooling after receiving their DVM. BUT! Vets should be the experts when it comes to nutrition. I'm not sure how/when that will happen so I'm filling in until then lol The raw feeding veterinary society is a great resource too!
If you want safe food for your family from the corporations/grocery stores, move to another country.
Unbelievably bad business model. Killing your own customers like MacDonald's. Not only is the cat food outrageously expensive, it makes my cat ill. They had a lifelong customer, but I'm now buying human food which is cheaper and healthier. They played themselves.
Excellent video thank you. After having two cats die recently (one 13 one 14) from tumours I have been researching cat food ready for my new cats and I am appalled at the contents of some food manufactured by so call responsible companies. I have just adopted 2 new kittens and have started them on a food from a small manufacturer that uses 85% human quality meat and fish with minimal necessary vegetable content and all the necessary vitamins, minerals etc added from natural sources. All the meat is listed by cut/type and percentage, I wish all food manufacturers (animal and human) had labels this easy to read. Yes, the food is expensive compared to the Purina crap but hopefully will mean lower vet bills and a long healthy life for my boys.😺😺
I'm so sorry for your loss! My family and I lost many cats and dogs before we realized it was the food.
You're exactly right! It's unbelievable that these products are referred to as "food" and "prescription" diets. I'm glad you found a small company that lists exact sources of ingredients.
I'm also very grateful that you are looking at the cost as a long-term investment. I would like to change this mindset for people. A common comment I get is "raw is expensive" or "not everyone can afford raw". But we need to think of good-quality food as long-term savings because our cats are healthier!
Thanks for your comment (:
PLEASE share the name of that cat food!
@@jesscaticles Mars Whiska dry cat food always gave my cats eye problems, infections. I met a
Man at pet store he was asking for eye antibiotic ointment. I said you must be using Whiska, he said he never would have thought it was from their food. And Mars has some optical deal , owns one or something on that order I once read.
I used to work in the pet industry (supply side no pets, we always recommended adoption when people were looking), and I’ve had two cats, one was an outdoor farm cat who ate hunted animals, left over human food, a bit of dry for supplementation during the winter (not picky about type appart from the one she was allergic to and all high quality from the store I worked in), and milk every other day, she lived to a ripe old 18. My new girl, is 3 months old so far and a house cat, I fought with my housemates to make sure she was going to get quality food, both fed their previous cats Friskies and Purina, so she free feeds on Acana Kitten dry food for now, if I could 100% ensure a more active lifestyle I would have gone for Orijen instead, and Merrick kitten wet food, as it’s also very high quality and milk every other day, and she’s thriving and so soft and silky. I know my housemates want to complain about the price, which is a bit more than the junk but they also aren’t the ones paying for it, one even brought a box of stuff from their old cat and I’m trying to find a way of disposing of it, because it’s littéral junk
Adult animals should never drink milk!!!
@@sarasthoughts really cause my 18 year old cat would disagree, in fact most of our cats lived to be over 12 and all of them drank milk well into their years, the only two that didn’t got ate by coyotes. Most of the reason people claim cats in particular are lactose intolerant is because they get weaned off of mums milk when they’re kittens and then maybe someone gives them some when they’re an adult and they have loose BM’s which they claim is lactose intolerance, but you introduce anything new into an animals diet and they are going to have digestion all upset.
Our cats were literally never off milk, and they never, ever had any issues and the vet agreed with us.
Everyone should see this! Thank you so much for your time! And Jericho is absolutely beautiful!
Our pleasure!
Jess, i once shared a link to the Cat food database with some friends after somebody told me to feed my newly adopted cats Hills Science Diet. I shared the 4/10 rating of the brand from CFDB and I had someone chew me out on how Hills was "highly recommend by vets" so it must be good for cats. Apparently this person has no concept of paid endorsement and contracts for vet clinics to make money selling Hills kibble. Or that a company can ride on it's once good reputation ( back when nobody cared about researching cat health). Things are changing and people are being made aware of the low quality of food these pet food brands really make.
You're absolutely right! Hill's has been around for decades and is owned by colgate lol Most vets do not know how to read labels based on AAFCO guidelines. I searched through the 31 AVMA accredited DVM curriculums available online and not one of them has a course on reading pet food labels. So they rely on the pet food manufacturer to tell them what's good. We all know how that goes... Letting a billion dollar company tell us what's good lol
You are right about Hills food, I've seen it in a few veterinarian offices. I did try it years ago for my dogs and just one bag had them scratching all the time and their coats lost shine. None of the cats I had liked the brand. So, I never bothered to try it again.
That's why you shouldn't always trust doctors and vets. Just because they studied the subject doesn't mean it's in their interest to give you best advice, cured patient is customer lost! Same as doctors will prescribe you chemical medication and not natural (because they have paid contracts with companies who produce medications) same goes with vets. Research everything you cannot fully trust anyone with health of your pets or yours. God bless
@@standingfortruth4043 Natural isn’t always better. Don’t tell people to not trust their vet or doctor. They studied more than you and are qualified to recommend products and meds for your pets well being, a random person who read a article on dogfoodadvisor is not more qualified than a vet.
@@fireclaw90a51 vets get 1 class on nutrition at vet school provided by Purina and hills usually. Be careful and question your vet, they are not nutrition experts no matter how long they went to school.
In college I had a part time job at a commercial chemistry lab that performed nutritional analysis on animal feeds as well as analysis of the bulk ingredients for cat food manufactures. The worst stinky smelling week in the lab was always when the "fish" product for cat food came through. Imagine white buckets filled with the most horrid looking and smelling fishy material.
Yucky!!
And fish is included in most pet foods, cat and dog; and I object to that mercury overload plus it spoils faster than meats.
What a fantastic video! I remember when I first got my cat when she was 1 year. She had been a junkyard cat and was rescued when she was about 9 months. Not only was she feral in the true sense of the word but she also needed socializing which the shelter did not do before I adopted her. Everything fell on me. But I don't regret it for a second. It took a couple of months of working with her to get her used to humans and today, she is a terrific cat. Gorgeous long hair Siberian (some mix). She has the biggest feet of any cat I've ever had and I grew up with cats.
Anyway, Nutmeg (her name) had trouble with tummy issues that proved to be problematic so I took her to the vet who diagnosed her with IBD and then recommended prescription food by Hills. It was specifically for stomach issues. IBD is something that HUMANS typically get. Cats should not be but if fed the wrong food, they will. I didn't know very much at that time so I bought the food (dry kibble) as he suggested. I tried it a few days and after a discussion w/ a friend, decided to look closely at the ingredients. What made it so great enough so that vets are prescribing it? After all, we trust our vets who "SHOULD" know what's best... right? Well, I didn't get very far when I saw that "whole grain corn" was the SECOND ingredient. Folks, any person should understand that corn is hard on the stomach. Not easily digestible. Furthermore, most corn in the U.S. is GMO. Making matters worse was seeing that soybean oil was used in the formula. Most soy from the U.S. is GMO as well unless organic. Nevertheless, soy is highly inflammatory. It's hard on humans not to mention cats. Suffice to say, I immediately tossed the bag. Did my research and thanks to Susan Thixton at that time, changed Nutmeg's diet and she's doing fine today. My poor fur-girl. I'm still learning but I wanted to comment and share with people to use common sense. If you don't know much about food, read up on it. It's changing dramatically and it's up to us to learn about what is healthy and what isn't. This video was superb. Raw diet is best. The dry kibble is toxic stuff and if a vet is using it they are probably getting financial kickbacks. Not acceptable. 😡
Have you done any videos on new-age cat food brands that have been popping up lately like Smalls or Cat Person? I'm really interested to see how "good" these brands really are
Imagine taking this random internet person’s advice over your veterinarian 🤡
I've been feeding my dogs and cats a raw meat species appropriate diet for over 40 years so, YES, I concur that this woman's advice is spot on. You comment snark but where is your argument disproving what she said? I think you are the one looking like a 🤡.
@@kitty.miracle you need to change vets.
@@kitty.miracle no vet is going to recommend those lol
Once I lived in an area where a lot of turkeys are raised and one of the daily duties a turkey farmer does is go through the turkey house and pick up the dead ones which are thrown on a pile until the truck comes to pick them up and take them to be “rendered” becoming animal and pet food. Since being in a turkey house I cannot eat turkey. Then I started not wanting to eat any animal that had been fed animal feed. When I see a can of cat food that says by-products I pass that up too.
Thank you so much for making this video!! I am changing my cat’s food immediately!!
I have other videos that cover good quality cat food brands. You can check the reviews here: th-cam.com/video/8aqXscLUXz8/w-d-xo.html
Please transition cat food slowly! Cats are very sensitive to food changes. I have a full guide on how to switch foods properly here: www.caticles.com/how-to-transition-cat-food/
Some people are unaware cats are sensitive so I always like to mention just in case 😻
I feel like this is just as informative for dog owners. While the names of the brands differ, everything she said could be applied.
You're absolutely right! These brands also make dog food and it's the same poor quality. Also AAFCO guidelines apply to all pet foods.
Your cat Jericho is such a good looking boy! I feel envious, because I don't have a cat at present. He has a beautiful coat -- a classic brindled tabby with swirls. He has a strong and handsome face, and he seems to have a fairly big well-muscled body. He's a beauty.
A note on Friskies wet: Friskies pate and Fancy Feast pate without extra gravy is often recommended as a food for diabetic cats. As a matter of fact, in the Facebook group I'm in for diabetic cats, it's most recommended for budget friendliness. Tiki cat and other better foods are also recommended.
I fed my diabetic cat Friskies and Fancy Feast for almost a year before losing her to her other health problems. This video and knowing the prices of foods that are actually good for your animals makes me want to start my own food brand, aiming towards budget friendliness. One can dream...
You're absolutely right! It's tough to find good quality that's affordable. That's why I feed raw. It's the most natural and cheapest if you do it right. I spend around $2-3/day which is way less than most people spend on coffee (I feel like a broken record because I say this in almost every comment). But at the end of the day, any wet food is better than dry. Cats rely on food for moisture (:
Two years ago I experienced serious Type 2 diabetes symptoms. I drastically reduced my carbohydrate intake and the diabetes reversed itself. Six months ago, one of our cats almost died from heart complications induced by diabetes. After a 5,000 vet bill, some diabetes meds and a complete change of diet, he is once again a happy bratty cat. One of the first things the vet said to do is to "go low carb." As you pointed out in your excellent video, most of the stuff out there is junk. That can be said of human food too.
Wow! So glad that you both experienced a significant change after diet changes (:
Great video. I have one special needs cat that I have been monitoring his food since he almost starved on vet recommended food. When he was wasting away he looked up at me like feed me so I got the best food I could find for him and three years later…..on heart pills….on IV every morning from kidney disease and vet can’t believe how stable he is with all his problems. Don’t stop the videos. You are doing amazing. Thanks.
I'm so sorry to hear about your baby! I have a page dedicated to kidney care here: www.caticles.com/kidney-care/ - with veterinary resources including Dr. Lisa Pierson's chart comparing cat foods and phosphorus levels. I haven't made a video yet and am hesitant to because I'm not a vet.