Food Recommendations

[Luvmysphynx]

Does anyone have any food recommendations for Sphynx? Right now I'm feeding Oogie ProPlan because that's what he'd been eating when he came to me, but I know it's not the best food. I'm starting to research different brands, but I know Sphynx are different then most cats, and I don't want to rich of a food that's going to make his skin to oily or cause clogged pores. The rescue Scarlett is coming from has her on Wellness CORE, but I'm having a hard time finding that locally - Any recommendations for a really good quality food for sphynx. Cost really doesn't matter - I find the more expensive the food, the less you have to feed, not to mention the health benefits over the years, the cost of a great food probably evens out when you weigh in everything else!

 

[admin]

Hi luvmysphynx,
We prefer Science Diet, here is a link to a thread here on Sphynxlair discussing food brands, I hope this helps! http://www.sphynxlair.com/showthread.php?t=60

 

[kerrie78]

I feed Kramer Royal Canin; but actually Proplan is a very good food. Purina has come along way over the years.

 

[PitRottMommy]

There are many foods much better than Science Diet and Royal Canin. They've been surpassed in quality by many companies that don't use fillers (corn, wheat, soy, etc). I would recommend looking into Innova, Wellness (core), Merrick no-grain, Weruva, Smart Kitchen, Nature's Variety, Primal, Canz, etc. I can give you more details on how to know you're picking a good food, if you so wish.

I, personally, feed Baldwin a diet of raw rabbit made by Nature's Variety. I feed my dogs a raw diet that I make. I have chosen the manufactured raw diet for Baldwin because of the link between taurine deficiency and HCM (some might refer to the diagnostic as DCM since it's theoretically reversible with diet correction, whereas HCM is not). All diets that are AAFCO approved come fortified with taurine, so you practically cannot go wrong with a choice from one of their approved foods, if you're concerned about taurine. However, many vets are recommending a diet of soft food anymore (and routine dental cleanings) as many domestic cats are chronically dehydrated. A problem when they're young? No, but it can lead to early renal problems and kidney failure. You want to have a cat that is 16 with elevated kidney enzymes, not 8. I have spoken with a few dieticians that say raw is the best way to go, but this truly depends on the pet and certainly isn't for everyone. Baldwin has an extremely sensitive GI tract and the raw rabbit has been the only food that has been successful for him. Had I not been turned on to raw for Baldwin, I likely wouldn't be feeding it to my dogs...but I would not go back to anything else after I've seen the benefits.

I don't mean to discredit anyone that posted above me, I've simply spent the last 18 months speaking with veterinarians in other clinics, speaking with dieticians, developing diet plans for Baldwin with the vets I work with, etc. Proplan, Science Diet and Royal Canin are making attempts to become increasingly aware of feline needs, but they're still behind the times when it comes to overall long-term health.

Good luck in finding a food that works for your baby

 

[PitRottMommy]

Here are a few links to help:

Top rated canned foods: http://cats.about.com/od/catfoo1/tp/tpcannedadult.htm

An excellent link on how to pick a HQ diet: http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/contrast.html

Top rated dry foods: http://cats.about.com/od/dryfood/tp/premdrycatfood.htm


Hope those helped!

 

[Luvmysphynx]

Thank you for all the helpful advice! Pitrottmommy, I'm sending you a PM. I feed my dogs raw, but have never had luck getting a cat to eat raw! I suppliment with canned food, but find that canned food alone makes for really smelly poop!

 

[PitRottMommy]

We, too, have found extremely malodorous feces from feeding Baldwin anything but raw. My BF swore, intially, we weren't going to spend $60/month for raw for Baldwin...but once I tried a switch and he realized how much Baldwin hadn't stunk up the house before...he was sold. I love raw.

 

[PitRottMommy]

Also, have you tried Petco for Wellness Core? They're selling it now in Oklahoma. You might check locally to see if they have it. Just read over the fact that you're having difficulty finding it. Their website should also have a distributor locator.

 

[Luvmysphynx]

I just checked Petco and they do have it! That must be something new, because I know they didn't use to. My last cat I fed Innova EVO, but that's also hard to find where I'm at! I ment to PM you and I haven't yet - Will do that soon! I use to feed my dogs raw, only reason I stopped was because I moved into a small house and didn't have the storage room to buy in bulk and feed raw the way I was, it's hard to get alot of the stuff I like to feed locally, so I've got them back on a mix of home cooked and kibble now, but I may end up taking the whole crew to raw again!

 

[PitRottMommy]

You're welcome

I saw it in passing when I went in search of something the other day. I was as shocked as you were. Petco...selling decent food? SINCE WHEN?! I was quite amazed.

On the flip side, Petsmart has been marketing their Blue Buffalo (not quite as high quality as Wellness, but at least they're trying) and I'm sure that's where Petco decided to jump in. I can only hope they start carrying some higher quality brands. They also sell Dick van Patten products which are also a good choice in food.

I used to feed my dogs Innova before switching to raw. I liked it much better than Science Diet especially in regards to gas. OMG, my dogs could run you out of the room! Since switching to raw...it's more like "What gas?". Even with all the road trips, you never have a moment where you look at your passenger and eyeball them..."It was a skunk, right?". lol.

 

[Luvmysphynx]

ROFL Well, since I show my dogs - I have to admit, I know EXACTLY what you're talking about LOL I have an Afghan that I recently rescued out of a shelter, he came to me with a number of issues, but the worst of it was Giardia - I had to put him on Hills I/D to stop the diarrhea, but WOW THAT GAS! I could barely stand to take him anywhere unless I rolled the windows of the car down!!!!!

 

[ElGatoLoco]

Whoops, I totally missed this thread. I have a post under the health and nutrition topic discussing the exact same issues. Apologies for the repeat info.

http://www.sphynxlair.com/showthread.php?t=306

 

[mynakedcat]

Visit this link

 

[admin]

Please do not link to similar sphynx sites.
Thank you,
Aministrator

 

[nbolin]

I feed Kreacher Goodlife Recipe. He LOVES it and it's good for him. No fillers or any other "Crap". Plus it's cheaper than Science diet.

 

[PitRottMommy]

I feed Kreacher Goodlife Recipe. He LOVES it and it's good for him. No fillers or any other "Crap". Plus it's cheaper than Science diet.

I'm afraid Goodlife is full of fillers. Here are the ingredients with the fillers high lighted. You will notice that most of the food is filler, it's the first ingredient.

GROUND CORN, CHICKEN-BY-PRODUCT MEAL, CORN GLUTEN MEAL, ANIMAL FAT, CHICKEN, WHOLE GRAIN BROWN RICE, NATURAL POULTRY FLAVOR, DRIED PEAS, DRIED BEET PULP, WHEAT FLOUR, RICE, BREWERS DRIED YEAST, SALT, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, WHEAT GLUTEN, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, DRIED SPINACH, DRIED TOMATOES, DRIED CARROTS, SKIM MILK POWDER, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, TAURINE, dl-METHIONINE, MINERALS (ZINC SULFATE, COPPER SULFATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE), IRON OXIDE, VITAMINS (dl-ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN E], FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN A ACETATE, L-ASCORBYL-2-POLYPHOSPHATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN C], VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, NIACIN, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT [VITAMIN B2], d-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, BIOTIN, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE [VITAMIN B6] ), VEGETABLE OIL (SOURCE OF LINOLEIC ACID), CHLOROPHYLL, NATURALLY PRESERVED WITH MIXED TOCOPHEROLS, MARIGOLD MEAL.

I've looked over the Salmon, chicken and "indoor" recipes. They all contain the same fillers. It's important to analyze the contents of the food, not just accept what televised advertisement tells you about the food. Obviously for Goodlife, their advertisement does not follow what they actually put into the food.

 

[PitRottMommy]

I should also add on the Goodlife food that it has added SALT, which cats do not need. Added salt can lead to heart and kidney problems/failure.

 

[Haji the Sphynx]

Trying not to make another thread, but I have a question...

Do most sphynx owners feed their cats canned food and dry food? Haji was eating both when I got him, and I just kept it up.
He eats about 1/4 cup EVO canned food a day and then he has Nutro Natural Choice free food.

Does he need the canned food? He really really likes it and I aim to please, but I've heard that canned food may be bad for his teeth in the long run.

Also, a part of me feels he "needs" the extra food because of the high metabolism.

Thoughts?

 

[PitRottMommy]

I think there was a thread started on this already, but I can't remember...so I'll answer anyway.

Everyone is different in their feeding preferences. You'll find some feed kibble, some canned, some raw.

I recommend feeding either raw or canned because cats that eat dry food are usually chronically dehydrated which puts stress on the kidneys and leads to early age kidney problems/failure. I've seen it enough in daily veterinary medicine that I've switched away from kibble altogether. On the flip side of that, dental health is a concern with felines always because it seems no matter what we feed them--it never gets rid of their tartar. Even the dental diets (I figured someone was going to ask). The best thing to do, in my professional opinion, is to either feed raw or feed canned altogether or with a little supplementation of kibble. And after the age of 1, begin doing annual dental screens and, if needed, cleanings. I've mentioned in other threads that you want either sevo sedation and iso maintenance or propofol sedation with sevo/iso gas maintenance. Do not allow your vet to use ketamine, rompun or acepromazine on your sphynx.

As far as metabolism, feed so that he looks healthy in weight. Don't be so concerned about numbers on the side of the cup as you are about the numbers on the kitty scale.

 

[ilovemysphynx]

Trying not to make another thread, but I have a question...

Do most sphynx owners feed their cats canned food and dry food? Haji was eating both when I got him, and I just kept it up.
He eats about 1/4 cup EVO canned food a day and then he has Nutro Natural Choice free food.

Does he need the canned food? He really really likes it and I aim to please, but I've heard that canned food may be bad for his teeth in the long run.

Also, a part of me feels he "needs" the extra food because of the high metabolism.

Thoughts?

I think when people say can food is not good for teeth in the long run they mean if that is all the cats eat. If you give can and dry, and treats now and then your kitty will be just fine.
We free feed dry and give wet 2 times A day, also some greenies once a day.

 

[PitRottMommy]

I thought I'd add a little more information, in case anyone wants it:

Regular dental cleanings are necessary in maintaining good dental health, as I mentioned above. Unlike dogs, cats don't have anything in their normal diet that removes tartar. Most pets require annual dental cleanings once they've reached the later adult and geriatric years, requirements up until that point vary on the pet, genetics, diet and age.

Poor dental health has been linked to kidney and liver disease, heart disease (mainly bacterial myocarditis), stomatitis, FORL (feline odotoclastic oral resorption lesions) and improper alignment of the teeth (sometimes due simply to plaque buildup).

As a sidenote I'd like to mention, also, that age and diet sometimes has very little to do with how much buildup there is on the teeth. I had the pleasure of experiencing this in my own house right after Buck was adopted as he easily would have been aged as a 7 year old cat simply because of his teeth. At that time, he was 1.5 years. And his entire life prior to my adopting both he and Buffy, simply because I was able to make contact with their previous owner, I learned that they were on nothing but kibble. Obviously, it didn't do near what most owners would be expecting--so make sure your vet checks teeth every year and makes a recommendation on when a dental should be performed.

 

[Brooke]

As a sidenote I'd like to mention, also, that age and diet sometimes has very little to do with how much buildup there is on the teeth. I had the pleasure of experiencing this in my own house right after Buck was adopted as he easily would have been aged as a 7 year old cat simply because of his teeth. At that time, he was 1.5 years. And his entire life prior to my adopting both he and Buffy, simply because I was able to make contact with their previous owner, I learned that they were on nothing but kibble. Obviously, it didn't do near what most owners would be expecting--so make sure your vet checks teeth every year and makes a recommendation on when a dental should be performed.

I can vouch for this - my girl Helen, an 8 year old cat, probably never had a dental cleaning in her life, has the cleanest, whitest teeth you've ever seen. They look like kitten teeth. It must be genetic. Walter, on the other hand, just 2 years old, is already getting some brown stains on his teeth. They eat the same food!

(Side note about Helen, she also never gets wax in her ears or requires a bath. She is truly my maintenance-free sphynx! The rest of them are making up for it, though.)

 

[Maximus]

Pitrottmommy, what about Felidae?

 

[Brooke]

Pitrottmommy, what about Felidae?

Since you're asking about Felidae, I thought I'd let you know that it is a great food, especially for a cat that might be on a restricted diet for heart health because the only sodium in this food is what occurs naturally in the ingredients they use - they don't add any extra.

 

[Maximus]

Ok awesome, cause I didn't see it mentioned...that's what the boy eats and he loves it!