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Monkey Monkey is my- name, and- droolin's my- game
Purred: Tue May 13, '08 4:30pm PST
Yipes LoL
I went out of my way to price the cans of premium in my area to Wal*Mart special LoL I did this because I too was trying to keep from breaking the bank...
What I found was that the cheapest food with OK ingrediants ran about 69 cents per 3.3oz can VS 89 cents per 3.3oz can of any type of holistic... Some were more, but none were less then 89 cents...
The article about the real deal says this on both sides of the coin...
Wet Food
Wet or canned food begins with ground ingredients mixed with additives. If chunks are required, a special extruder forms them. Then the mixture is cooked and canned. The sealed cans are then put into containers resembling pressure cookers and commercial sterilization takes place. Some manufacturers cook the food right in the can.
Wet foods are quite different in content from dry or semi-moist foods. While many canned foods contain by-products of various sorts, they are “fresh” and not rendered or processed (although they are often frozen for transport and storage). Wet foods usually contain much more protein, and it’s often a little higher quality, than dry foods. They also have more moisture, which is better for cats. They are packaged in cans or pouches
Comparing Food Types
Because of the variation in water content, it is impossible to directly compare labels from different kinds of food without a mathematical conversion to “dry matter basis.” The numbers can be very deceiving. For instance, a canned food containing 10% protein actually has much more protein than a dry food with 30% protein.
To put the foods on a level playing field, first calculate the dry matter content by subtracting the moisture content given on the label from 100%. Then divide the ingredient by the dry matter content. For example, a typical bag of dry cat food contains 30% protein on the label, but 32% on a dry-matter basis (30% divided by its dry matter content, 100-6% moisture = 94%). A can of cat food might contain 12% protein on the label, but almost 43% on a dry-matter basis (12% divided by its dry matter content, 100-72% moisture = 28%). Dry food typically contains less than 10% water, while canned food contains 78% or more water.
This is the most disturbing to me of the article...
“Natural” and “Organic” claims.
The definition of “natural” adopted by AAFCO is very broad, and allows for artificially processed ingredients that most of us would consider very unnatural indeed. The term “organic”, on the other hand, has a very strict legal definition under the USDA National Organic Program. However, some companies are adept at evading the intent of both of these rules. For instance, the name of the company or product may be intentionally misleading. Some companies use terms such as “Nature” or “Natural” or even “Organic” in the brand name, whether or not their products fit the definitions. Consumers should also be aware that the term “organic” does not imply anything at all about animal welfare; products from cows and chickens can be organic, yet the animals themselves are still just “production units” in enormous factory farms.
“Meat is the first ingredient” claim.
A claim that a named meat (chicken, lamb, etc.) is the #1 ingredient is generally seen for dry food. Ingredients are listed on the label by weight, and raw chicken weighs a lot, since it contains a lot of water. If you look further down the list, you’re likely to see ingredients such as chicken or poultry by-product meal, meat-and-bone meal, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, or other high-protein meal. Meals have had the fat and water removed, and basically consist of a dry, lightweight protein powder. It doesn’t take much raw chicken to weigh more than a great big pile of this powder, so in reality the food is based on the protein meal, with very little “chicken” to be found. This has become a very popular marketing gimmick, even in premium and “health food” type brands. Since just about everybody is now using it, any meaning it may have had is so watered-down that you may just as well ignore it.
Special ingredient claims.
Many of the high-end pet foods today rely on the marketing appeal of people-food ingredients such as fruits, herbs, and vegetables. However, the amounts of these items actually present in the food are small; and the items themselves may be scraps and rejects from processors of human foods — not the whole, fresh ingredients they want you to picture. Such ingredients don’t provide a significant health benefit and are really a marketing gimmick.
I post this part of the article because it is important to note that the by-products stated for dry foods do NOT apply to wet foods!! That is significant to those that can't afford the more expensive dry... Maybe if you feed the cheaper wet food that has little or no grains added, then you can breathe a little easier? Maybe?
That is a good site isnt it Monkey? Opens up your eyes, but I say if you are feeding your cat any food to the best of your ability, then they are a lucky cat. There are so many homeless cats out there.
So if you feed Friskies canned and that what you can afford then great, better than they starve.
I feel bad for the economy right now that the USA is having, and not to mention your health care system, I watched that video SICKO by Michael Moore, it was shocking to say the least(sorry if some of you dont agree with him) I have emailed him to do a film about the pet food industry. Wouldnt that be intresting? lol!
Sorry to get a bit off topic, but just so you know I understand if you cant afford the more expensive brands. Its rough times out there right now.
I agree with Wilson that any cat that is getting fed is a lucky cat. There are sooo many homeless cats scrounging for themselves.
Times sure are hard now and probably going to get worse, so just do your best to feed your kitty the best YOU can.
It doesn't hurt to get educated on the ingredients in pet foods. It only helps you to be able to make better choices when you are reading through the ingredients on the labels.
yeah its a good thing to know that any "textures" like chunks, or grilled, or what have you, usually have bad stuff in them so they get that right texture...better to stick to regualr "loaf" ones.
miss Tiny certinly would prefer i get her wellness healthy indulgences in a pouch, EVO canned venison or EVO chicken. those are her favs. Well that and those stinky fishy 'purely fish' whiskas and Sheba...that they oh so love untill they are puking up buckets from all that fish.
Have you looked into Natural Balance? Before switching to grain free (and breaking the bank), that's what we ate. The cans are cheaper than many of the other premium foods, but are still a good quality. In many pet stores, you can start a frequent-buyer account and get a free case for every 10 cases you purchase.
Just worth mentioning... food is a very personal subject and many on here feel very strongly about it. But I have always been of the mind that you have to buy the very best food in the price range you can afford. With gas prices going through the roof, food prices following and the economy looking very shaky, I don't look negatively at anyone wanting to watch their expenses very carefully. After all, you still have to have enough money for bills, your own food, and any emergency that might arise - cat or otherwise. Just do the research and make a decision that you feel comfortable with that fits your budget. Don't worry about what others think!
(P.S. Monkey, as always, has provided so much good information!)
Tigger V is an old cat, and started throwing up anything with grain in it, so we switched to Wellness, and now Natural Balance. Because they're so expensive, I also feed him partially cooked chicken liver and cheap water-packed tuna, a couple of times a week. I even mixed the chicken liver with cooked brown rice and he liked that. His overall health has improved greatly since switching to the better food.
My kitties must clearly be of the Smart Variety, then, cause they *never* have liked that "textured" stuff.
just normal wet food that looks a bit like cooked hamburger for us, please. Oh, and mommy, don't forget to add more water. remember, we like teh juices best!
Mimi finally had to quit agonizing over this one and just let it go.
After years of feeding all her pets good, average, best, cheap and expensive, she believes the best test is one of good health. If your little ones do well on whatever then why change it?
There are exceptions. Our resident weenie dog, Candy-O has a weight problem and Mimi pays attention to that. Our little Peaches is a diabetic with hip dysplasia and special attention has to be given to her nutrition.
If yer little petsters are doing well and feeling good, trust yer judgement, knowledge and common sense. Try not to agonize over yer choices.
There are a lot more considerations to take when choosing wet cat food than price and size. First not all by-products are the same. Poor quality by-products of questionable origin will be listed simply as meat , beef , chicken by-products. Quality by products will be listed as such ( Chicken by-products ( organ meats only ) or specifically ( liver, kidney, bone, cartilege, heart, etc ) BIG BIG BIG difference. The other HUGE difference is that the low quality pet foods derive their by-products from sources that have been UNFIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION because of disease, rancidity, toxins, etc. All high quality by-products are not only specifically named but are all of USDA inspected quality from foods deemed fit for human consumption.
Secondly, low quality supermarket and big box brand cat foods are listed by formula such as platter, dinner, or with chicken / lamb/beef, etc. Here is what you can epect to find from the low quality foods out there :
Pet Food Label "Rules"
* The 95% Rule: If the product says “Salmon Cat Food” or “Beef Dog Food,” 95% of the product must be the named ingredients. A product with a combination label, such as “Beef and Liver for Dogs,” must contain 95% beef and liver, and there must be more beef than liver, since beef is named first.
* The 25% or “Dinner” Rule: Ingredients named on the label must comprise at least 25% of the product but less than 95%, when there is a qualifying “descriptor” term like “dinner,” “entree,” “formula,” “platter,” “nuggets,” etc. In “Beef Dinner for Dogs,” beef may or may not be the primary ingredient. If two ingredients are named (“Beef and Turkey Dinner for Dogs”), the two ingredients must total 25%, there must be more of the first ingredient (beef) than the second (turkey), and there must be at least 3% of the lesser ingredient.
* The 3% or “With” Rule: A product may be labeled “Cat Food with Salmon” if it contains at least 3% of the named ingredient.
* The “Flavor” Rule: A food may be labeled “Turkey Flavor Cat Food” even if the food does not contain such ingredients, as long as there is a “sufficiently detectable” amount of flavor. This may be derived from meals, by-products, or “digests” of various parts from the animal species indicated on the label.
Next and foremost... check the ingredient list to see which ingredients are listed first.. is it SUFFICIENT WATER FOR PROCESSING or is it LAMB/CHICKEN/FISH/BEEF broth ?? Or is a MEAT listed first and THEN the source of water/moisture 2nd , 3rd or 4th which is OPTIMAL and the BEST choice. Also... CATS CANNOT DIGEST GRAINS. They are OBLIGATE CARNIVORES so foods that contain anything more than meat/bones/organs/cartilage are less desirable. Veggies are good but NOT necessary, grains are totally UNnecessary.
Most foods like Fancy Feast, Sheba and pouched foods also continue to use BHA/BHT, Ethoxyquin and Menadione.... all dangerous ingredients.
The best wet food for the price is Natural Life found at WalMart or Petfooddirect. Wellness Grain Free can be found for as little as $1.20/ 5.5 oz can and I even get California Natural Salmon and Sweet Potato in 13.5oz cans for as little as $1.70 can and will feed my 4 cats each 3 meals.
So, there are a number of factors to consider when choosing pet food. Price alone is never a good way to go. Also consider this.... poor quality foods have long term effects on health and the cost of the problems caused by those effects could realistically double, triple or quadruple the cost you spend on food. That cost also includes the cost of unnecessary things like flea control, mite remedies and all the other over-the-counter things to battle digestive, skin, eye, ear, coat and other problems that are virtually NON-existent with high quality diets.
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you all get what i mean now.
