Cube mk2 and WIR

[Old Speckled Hen]

Sorry if this has been asked before. I'm new to the forum, did a quick search and found little.

What do you feed your cats and dogs? Idly perusing the contents of a packet of FISH cat food in the supermarket queue the main ingredient seemed to be MEAT and MEAT derivatives. To my horror I realised this probably meant broiler chicken. So I returned to the shelf and found only one brand that had fish and cereal only.

That prompted an internet search for a kinder option. I found a veggie site so will give that a go. They even supply "taster sizes" to try.

It would be great to pick your brains, you all seem so knowledgeable. I never considered you could feed a cat a veggie diet but I'm open to conversion.

[Stevie]

I was always led to believe that cats cannot be fed a vegeterian diet as its detrimental to their health.Chicken will always be the main ingredient in pet foods as its the the cheapest meat available.

 

Although i have chickens myself-i dont have a problem buying poultry based pet foods.I feed my Bullmastiff on various brands like Autarky,Bakers,JWB,Omega and they all contain chicken in some degree.

[Egluntyne]

I'm pretty sure that cats need an substance called Taurine which can only be found in meat products.

[Sandychick]

I'm pretty sure that cats need an substance called Taurine which can only be found in meat products.

 

Absolutely essential. Cats need taurine (an amino acid) to maintain healthy heart and muscle function and for vision. I really wouldn't recommend putting a carnivor on a veggie diet.

 

It is difficult to find an ethical cat food, but I know for sure that my cat is not an ethical shopper....she wants meat!! It does bother me too though when I look at the ingredients, many of which only contain 4% meat anyway.

 

If you really want to go to town, I have read about making your own cat food. I'm sure there will be some info on the web. I've thought about this, making it in bulk and keeping it in the freezer.......but I really don't have the spare time right now

[chicken crazy]

My cat misty has loads of problems with shop sold food and has to stay on food that can only be supplied by the vet! Which is of course loads of £'s!

 

I thought about trying her on a homemade diet but didnt want to make her ill again.

[Nuggywoo]

Cats are the only true carnivores. A dog can live on a vegetarian diet - a cat can't. You can't feed a cat a veggie diet, they need meat to live. Regardless of whether they like Jaffa cakes, peanut butter or sweetcorn...

 

Read & Digest

[Guest]

the cat food could be made with spent free range hens. Better for them to be used than discarded?

[Milly]

I tried organic cat food as it's one way to ensure that meat is free range (particularly chicken). But it's more expensive and there isn't much variety (there is more choice if you use dry biscuits, but my cats prefer moist food).

 

I considered buying meat and cooking and freezing it, but I'm sure I read somewhere that cats need more than just meat. On a wild diet they eat skin and fur and small bones, giving them more than they would get from meat alone.

 

There was a discussion on this topic a few months ago. http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19406&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc (if the link doesn't work try searching on chicken-friendly cat food)

 

Milly

[Troy]

Applaws make a cat food that is something like 75% meat and chicken is organic with no hormone additives.

I was told to keep fish to a minimum because of the salt content and that naturally in the wild a cat wouldnt be eating fish.

Cats are straight up carnivores with a digestive system even different to dogs. (Dogs can live on veg matter I believe) Cats must eat meat.

 

I do think that more and more companies are 'cleaning up' their feeds and its just a question of reading beyond the label sometimes.

 

troy

[mrsm_jones]

I have never given it a second thought til you mentioned it but incidentally, we have just bought a veggie food for our border collie from Costco. It ontains a lot of herbs etc and is supposedly good for their breath etc. However, my dog has just had the squits (sorry ) which may be down to the new food or may be caused by him eating sour unripe apples The veggie dog food was cheaper than meat based ones, but not the cheapest (we've all had to make cutbacks!)

[Nuggywoo]

Cats are the only true carnivores. A dog can live on a vegetarian diet - a cat can't. You can't feed a cat a veggie diet, they need meat to live. Regardless of whether they like Jaffa cakes, peanut butter or sweetcorn...

 

***READ THIS LINK & DIGEST!!***

 

oops meant to edit, not quote my own post Sorry.

[Old Speckled Hen]

I understand that veggie cat foods are supplemented with vitamins A and D and with taurine. http://www.veggiepets.com/ do a variety so I'm going to try that. Having chickens of my own and hoping to home a few battery hens I can't seem to reconcile feeding my own pets intensively reared birds. It's something I haven't till now given much thought but I must admit it's been brought more to my attention reading the posts here and on the BHWT website.

 

Well, I will give it a go and thanks for all the useful info.

[Old Speckled Hen]

Oh, and PS to Troy

Your Chicken set up is an inspiration!!!

Lucky chickens!!!! and they are so beautiful!!!

When I get my little bit of land next to the garden I will fox-proof fence it in, plant a small orchard and buy a cube for the ex-batts-to-come. PURPLE, I think. That will wind my husband up nicely.

[jools+6]

we feed our dog a holistic dried kibble called burns and try to keep him on the fish one . it's dearer but as a pup he had a really dikie tummy and it was only burns and james wellbeloved kibble he could eat and not squirt out the other end rapid fire burns is the cheaper of the two . i never thought about the cat food but i'm sure a decent pet supplies / shop could point you in the right direction . our pet shop helped us work our way up price wise for ollies kibble rather than just sell us the dearest .

[Olly]

must admit I've closed my mind to this ... the chicken used in cat-food is certainly a by-product of the battery/broiler industry, and I feel it's better to make sure I don't support that industry in any way.

 

The Burns feed is around £8.00/kilo - plus delivery charges, as I don't know anywhere round here that sells it - and they only do dry food, whereas my cat prefers moist food. Admittedly, on their guidance a cat only needs 30-50g per day, rather than the two sachets of Whiskas I'm feeding at the moment but it would still be more expensive.

[chelsea]

Just switched to Burns dried kibble and wet tinned food (mix)

 

It states "no caged hens" used in its chicken variety

[Nuggywoo]

"VEGETARIAN DIETS FOR CATS?

 

At the Feline Advisory Bureau’s annual meeting 2007, Dr. Kit Sturgess, a veterinary nutritionist from Surrey, talked about the dangers of feeding vegetarian and vegan diets to cats.

 

He believes it is nearly impossible to provide a suitable vegetarian or vegan diet with adequate nutrition for cats. Amongst other nutrients, a cat has a limited capacity to produce the amino acid, Taurine. It is found in animal tissues but is not in plant material, therefore vegetarian diets fail to provide sufficient amounts of this nutrient. A deficiency can lead to visual impairment which may cause the cat to bump into things, failure to reproduce successfully and heart disease.

 

Commercial vegetarian and vegan diets use synthetic Taurine, however Dr. Sturgess believes that synthetic compounds may not be as easily utilised by the cat and that a cat on these diets will probably not be as healthy.

 

In his words: ‘If you want to feed your pet a vegetarian diet, have you thought about owning a rabbit?’"

[Sandychick]

Some good info there Nuggywoo - completely agree. Nothing would encourage me to risk my cat's health.

[MadMitch]

When one of mine was ill recently he stopped eating anything that we used to give him so tried him on James Wellbeloved (recommended by a forum member) and they have both eaten this ever since, they love it.

[chickenanne]

Why would you want to have a cat on a a vegan /veggie diet? After all they are massive hunters of garden birds and mice etc, and the types kept are completely domesticated: if you have one then surely most keepers accept that garden birds and mice etc will be affected by that choice.

 

To be absurd: I'm sure that if cows ate bluetits then it would be a major argument adopted by the PETA or whoever against dairy farming.

 

Could you buy meat off-cuts from your butcher to cook up to make your own catfood? Our local butcher sells this type of meat for people to use as pet-food - it's very very cheap. Same for fishmongers? Otherwise it's the same argument for/against battery chicken for human consumption- cost vs ethics.

[mrsallen08]

hi have you tried Natures Menu? Our pup has been on this since day one as it contains 60% meat and no additives /preservatives. I know they also do cat food as well but are really good.

 

We are free range all the way in our house but really it is not feasible for us to buy free range dog food (if it exists). The broiler house chickens are not bred specifically for dog/cat meat its for the 2 for £5 tesco chickens. If you watched jaime's chicken run demo it showed how dog/cat meat is actually just all the old bits of chicken/gelatine/gross bits.

I think there is only so much you can do to be free range...

Just being over-conscious like this shows how you care!!!

[wenhen]

I've been looking at the different foods available, there have been some great suggestions for brands on this thread.

 

Can anyone confirm for me if Organic Chicken is automatically a free range chicken? I have assumed that it would have to be?

[spratly0]

Yes it is. To be certified organic strict requirements have to be met - free ranging is one of them.

[spratly0]

My poor dog can't digest the rich pre made foods any more and the vet suggested 'chappie' or chicken and rice - i couldn't condone chappie (broiler chickens) so have gone the chicken rice route. He has one whole organic chicken mixed with rice and a vegetarian dry food per week and twice a week coley with the rice / dry food mix it cost about the same as we spent when he was on regular organic dog food and his bowels are much improved - thank goodness! It's more effort but worth it for him. Cats i think are a different problem - i think the balance is much more difficult to reach for a healthy diet.

[wenhen]

Thanks spratly0!!