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Cat food and cat litter
Medopine
__BANNED USERS regular
__BANNED USERS regular
So H/A cat owning denizens, I seek advice on two cat related matters.
What kind of food do you feed your cat? I currently am using Pet Promise dry food.
and
What kind of litter do you use? My current brand is TidyCat scoopable kind, but it's not completely serving my needs (after a couple weeks it stops clumping and starts smelling, despite adding new litter to the mix).
Pictures are optional but highly recommended to accompany your advice!
What kind of food do you feed your cat? I currently am using Pet Promise dry food.
and
What kind of litter do you use? My current brand is TidyCat scoopable kind, but it's not completely serving my needs (after a couple weeks it stops clumping and starts smelling, despite adding new litter to the mix).
Pictures are optional but highly recommended to accompany your advice!
Medopine on
0
Posts
My kitty likes the food and the litter seems to control odor the best out of the brands I've tried.
For litter I use Tidy Cats Scoop for multiple cats. I've never run into the "stops clumping" problem you seem to be having though. Maybe it's because I have one of those automagic cat boxes though. Those are great, by the way.
pleasepaypreacher.net
Also, for food, I use Authority brand. The primary ingredient is actually meat, it doesn't use corn or wheat fillers, and is vitamin-fortified for cats. (I used to use Science Diet but they changed their formula a couple of years ago and aren't quite as good as they used to be.)
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Mah kitteh:
As far as litter, I second the Fresh Step. It works a lot better than Tidy Cat, but I DO think you're supposed to change the litter every week or so instead of adding more.
I can has cheezburger, yes?
As for food, my two cats get a mix of raw food nuggest from Primal, and Weruva wet food. One of them is a kibble freak so he gets a mix of Origen and Before Grain, with more of the Origen in the mix.
I'm a big proponent of high quality pet food. Typically reduces health problems, gives them more energy, makes their coats shinier and their poop less stinky.
Do they really work? I've always wondered if it was worth the cost to get one
Also, I hear that there's this thing called catgrass that you grow in a little planter, and is good for cats' digestive systems. I think you can get them at petco.
They work, but some cats don't like them and won't use them.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Litter-wise I can't remember.
He gets the occasional table scrap. He loves french fries, but only gets a nibble every now and then.
Occasional treat/tuna. No telling what he gets into while I'm gone.
As far as litter, I use cheap dollar store kind. Works best in odor, the grains are a bit finer so it clumps better, and I don't step on hard little rocks whenever I walk around the bathroom bare footed.
EDIT
Zeke!
Our litter box, however, is one of these bad boys:
http://www.breezeforcats.com/?CMP=ILC-BRZ-TC-BrzLink&HQS=TCHome+Sml&D=363949&T=4593054
Basically, the pee goes through the non-clumping litter and grating into a bottom tray with the equivalent of a puppy training pad in it. You scoop the poop out as needed (and can just flush it). We change the pad about once a week or so and the litter you add to as you need with a complete litter change monthly. In the end, it's cheaper than our old Tidy Cat Multiple Cat litter.
The litter we use is Scoop Away Multi-cat. We don't use the one with the crystals though because it doesn't seem to clump as well as the non crystal version.
I use Freshstep with flavor crystals or something like that. It's pretty cheap in the big bags, and it works. We scoop it daily and replace the litter completely every month.
The Wellness is definately not cheap, and not extremely easy to find in stores compared to some things we could be feeding them.....but it's high quality, and neither of them have had any health problems whatsoever, lots of energy, shiny coats, etc.
I usually order it online from The Hungry Puppy these days, and i've also used PetFoodDirect with few problems, though their order processing & shipping seems to be slower.
Pics of the kitties - they're a Russian forest cat breed (like Maine Coons) called the Siberian:
Ummm.... wow. I just have to say, those are some beautiful cats.
Very loving and snuggly cats, although far too independent and stubborn to do anything like going to shows as their parents did.
My cat would have to shit gold nuggets to justify science diet.
$20 a month is too much for you to pay for cat food?
I mean, I'm no fan of Science Diet (I think it's overrated) but I don't think it's particularly expensive.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Maybe I'm thinking of a different product of theirs. I remember being shocked at the price when a friend who works at a vet clinic offered to pick us up some for our cat who was recovering from surgery.
Zeke's on prescription food and it's something like... 12 bucks a bag.
IIRC, it's also Science Diet.
They do have huge 50$ bags, though.
Ah I see... that makes more sense.
Well, like I said, I personally think overrated. It used to be some of the best cat food on the market but they started using meat by-products and wheat filler and now it's not worth the expense.
There are now better brands for the money.
Anyway, I have an adult active female cat about 10 pounds. I don't ration her food, since she's good at controlling her own eating, and I think I go through a $25 bag of Authority every month and a half or so. And I also give her wet food occasionally, and I go through about $5 of Authority wet food a month, if that. Good cat food isn't all that expensive.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
P.S. give me back my cats...
Hill's brand also vends special needs pet food (like for animals with kidney problems and such) and those can be quite a bit more than "regular" pet food.
Science Diet's not cheap, but not expensive either.
My kittehs get solid gold or natural balance. And 1 poops outside, and the other gets the Petco refill-your-own litter.
It's not the cheapest cat food, but she's four years old and has never had any health problems.
Freaky, my grey cat does that exact same pose all the time
she's doing it right now
She's telling you to get off the internets and scratch her tummy.
dare you ignore the tummy?
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
You NEVER ignore the tummy...
I use Fresh Step and a Litter Robot... both awesome. I also use a mix of Iams kitten food and Costco brand Maintenance Cat... but I don't know if that's a good combo. The kitten food is for the new addition, but I'm thinking about looking into Authority thanks to this thread. >.>
Sarcasticat Guen
The new kitten - Lint
Just to add: The Litter Robot has lasted me at least four years now, so they are a wonderful investment.
How long ago did they do that?
For food we use the Costco stuff too - "maintenance cat" or whatever... The first ingredient is "chicken" so I figure that's good enough :P It's cheap and she seems to like it, so no point switching.
The Best in Terms of Pants on JCCC3
For kitty litter, I use the PetCo store brand, Pet Gold, I think it's called. I have the Booda Dome, which isn't automatic, and I scoop nightly, and change and wash it once every 4-5 weeks. I've had no complaints about the litter. It clumps nicely and doesn't stink. I'm not sure I'm so happy about the dome, though. My cat likes to pee on the edges, and due to the round shape I can't scrape it off easily without breaking up the clumps.
He likes the Purnia Natural and there's been less throwing up, so win!
Sigg
Loki
The cats don't seem to mind at all. In fact, they get confused if we give them other stuff.