Pet food is a minefield I agree, that dig was largely aimed as the veterinary brands. Do as your doing and compare ingredients. Also look at the recommended feeding quantities, as the higher the quality the protein content the less the cat needs, so a better food can often be better value too. Cheap fillers are often cereals which are not a natural part of a cat or dogs diet.
I am not a vet, but read a load of scientific research on diet when dealing with a cat with chronic kidney disease and then nursing back to health a dog that nearly died from acute kidney failure. I found the online supplier zoopus very helpful in comparing different brands as they have a full list of ingedients and analysis. My dogs get luposan natural extra, which is dry food but cold pressed rather than kiln dried, with lots of natural herbs and extracts they would encounter in the wild, through eating herbivores- you feed less because of the better quality and it works out cheaper than most well known ‘premium’ brands...sadly, they don’t do cat food.
ps - that should have read don’t feed cows or other animal MILK!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Do you feed your dogs Luposan biscuits or just the supplements? Our two are coming up to 12 and 9 respectively and I'm beginning to think they may need help for joints to prevent problems - being arthritic myself I'd like to avoid it for them.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
My Ed sadly he had end stage kidney disease and was put to sleep only 5 years 9 monthsmwhich broke my heart. He was such a vibrant beautiful boy who loved snuggles and human company.
Thank you all for your info on the feeding, certainly not as straight forward as I thought. The vet was certainly pushing a high priced top of the range food which I find is out of our price range.
They certainly do, and the ‘science diets’ in particular were shown in comparative studies to have the worst cheap protien and the most fillers, I seem to recall. A good proprietary brand sold in supermarkets can be just as good of not better than anything you vet will flog you.
So sorry you lost your dear cat so early, Rebecca.
The rising incidence of chronic kidney disease in cats, and to a lesser extent dogs, is now being linked to dry food, which puts undue strain on the kidneys. Also, apart from tasting disgusting (according to my cat anyway) the kidney science diet just reduces the protien content when what they really need and actually want to eat is more high-quality protien but with reduced phosphorous -the latter being the component in meat that damaged kidneys really struggle to process. She did like the Porta 21 low-phos wet food.
For my dog with acute renal failure (cause unknown but the vet suspected poison) I’m convinced my homemade diet, phosphorus reduction programme and blend of pre and pro biotics to mimic dialysis brought her back from death’s door. The vet had sent her home to die. I got her bloods back to normal and well on the road to recovery in two weeks.
If I knew then what I know now I would never have fed any animal commercially dried biscuits.
@Obelixx, my 11-yr old has been on the luposan biscuits most of her life (on the advice of a German wolf whisperer who fed it to his wolves because it was the closest to a natural diet) also their green-lipped mussel extract, that he recommended because she inherited mild hip displasea. The HD never developed into a more serious problem as it normally would, the bone deterioration was largely halted, but whether that was coincidence or not, difficult to say. She is very spritely and energetic for her age and has a greater turn of speed than the boy who is half her age.
Sorry, bit of a hobby horse for me, will shut up now!!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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I am not a vet, but read a load of scientific research on diet when dealing with a cat with chronic kidney disease and then nursing back to health a dog that nearly died from acute kidney failure. I found the online supplier zoopus very helpful in comparing different brands as they have a full list of ingedients and analysis. My dogs get luposan natural extra, which is dry food but cold pressed rather than kiln dried, with lots of natural herbs and extracts they would encounter in the wild, through eating herbivores- you feed less because of the better quality and it works out cheaper than most well known ‘premium’ brands...sadly, they don’t do cat food.
ps - that should have read don’t feed cows or other animal MILK!
Do you feed your dogs Luposan biscuits or just the supplements? Our two are coming up to 12 and 9 respectively and I'm beginning to think they may need help for joints to prevent problems - being arthritic myself I'd like to avoid it for them.
So sorry you lost your dear cat so early, Rebecca.
The rising incidence of chronic kidney disease in cats, and to a lesser extent dogs, is now being linked to dry food, which puts undue strain on the kidneys. Also, apart from tasting disgusting (according to my cat anyway) the kidney science diet just reduces the protien content when what they really need and actually want to eat is more high-quality protien but with reduced phosphorous -the latter being the component in meat that damaged kidneys really struggle to process. She did like the Porta 21 low-phos wet food.
For my dog with acute renal failure (cause unknown but the vet suspected poison) I’m convinced my homemade diet, phosphorus reduction programme and blend of pre and pro biotics to mimic dialysis brought her back from death’s door. The vet had sent her home to die. I got her bloods back to normal and well on the road to recovery in two weeks.
If I knew then what I know now I would never have fed any animal commercially dried biscuits.
@Obelixx, my 11-yr old has been on the luposan biscuits most of her life (on the advice of a German wolf whisperer who fed it to his wolves because it was the closest to a natural diet) also their green-lipped mussel extract, that he recommended because she inherited mild hip displasea. The HD never developed into a more serious problem as it normally would, the bone deterioration was largely halted, but whether that was coincidence or not, difficult to say. She is very spritely and energetic for her age and has a greater turn of speed than the boy who is half her age.
Sorry, bit of a hobby horse for me, will shut up now!!