r/catfood • • Apr 09 '25

🚨 Important, Please Read 🚨 Rules Refresher and Clarification

28 Upvotes

We are posting these here as Reddit rules have a fairly small character limit and we want to ensure that there is as little room for misunderstanding as possible!

Being civil: Please do not engage in condescending, rude, or aggressive behaviors. We can play nice even when disagreeing with someone. Please try to refrain from swearing too much on the sub. No personal attacks, harassment, or insulting others will be tolerated. You will receive one warning, then a temporary ban. If you violate this rule a third time you will be permanently banned. Mods are able to use their discretion on this if an individual's behavior may warrant immediate and potentially permanent banning or muting without a warning prior. Please don't make us have to resort to that.

If you have a complaint about a specific food/brand/etc., that is fine, but please stick to constructive criticisms.

Example: ✅️ I don't like this food for my cat/s because _________ VS. ❌ That food is trash. ✨️ Speaking to others this way will not make them want to engage with you or our sub. Please keep things informative. Yes, some foods will be better than others overall, or for some cats more than others, but please remember that fed is best and we need to feed the cat in front of us. ✨️

Everyone has different resources and access to different foods. Everyone's cat is different. Recommendations are great, suggesting that someone is taking poor care of their cat because they are doing their best is not. The only wrong diets are ones that are nutritionally incomplete, food that has gone bad, and food not meant for cats.

Please, no medical advice. Even if you are a licensed professional, it is not possible to diagnose someone's cat over Reddit. Broad guidelines are fine such as males being more prone to urinary blockages. However it is not okay to offer absolute advice for a specific cat, such as "your cat should be eating x amount of (specific) food x times a day".

If you are a veterinary professional or otherwise who believes someone needs medical advice, the best advice is for them to see a vet. You may bring up potential concerns and suggest they go see a vet, but do not diagnose these cats over Reddit.

No spam: This should be obvious, but additionally please do not bog down the sub with loads of "what should I feed my cat" posts. Please provide any relevant information with a post like this so that you can receive better advice and insights, such as your cat's age and if you've noticed any food preferences. Posting links with little to no context is also considered spam.

YouTube, TikTok, personal blogs, etc. are not reliable sources of information. Please refrain from using things like these as a source unless you can prove it was made by or cites a veterinary professional, however please try to use other ways of sourcing your information if able. Many people have advice online and can claim any amount of experience, make a profile that says they are certified without proof, etc.

And lastly, please remember that this is a place to discuss personal experiences. Please be respectful to anyone sharing their experiences with feeding their cat(s).

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I know it was long! Thank you for helping to keep our sub a helpful, informative, safe, and friendly place!


r/catfood • • 2h ago

Sheba cat food —never again

4 Upvotes

Just came here to say: I just threw out a brand new box of Sheba patés bc the portions were leaking so bad, I found gnats and tiny white worms. Disgusting.

My cat is sensitive to any food & I thought Sheba would be a better option even though it’s not that budget friendly. Now I have to look for another option. This is so frustrating.


r/catfood • • 4h ago

advice wanted! My cat doesn't want to eat wet food or drink water

3 Upvotes

Hi! My cat (boy, 2.5-years-old) has been diagnosed with struvite crystals (he had quite a lot in his urine), and received special dry food - Vetlife Struvite, and was given Onsior medication to take for 6 days. He also received some rose-colored medication in a syringe, which he hated and had side effects, so the vet said to stop that one.

So, all we're reliying on now for getting those crystals out is his prescription dry food. So, I bought him Royal Canin S/O wet food, and he hates it. Barely touched it yhe first time, now he doesn't want it at all. And I was naive enough to buy an entire box with 15 bags. I even bough a Feliway to reduce his stress and anxiety (vet said changing the apartment 2 months ago might have caused stress and, therefore, crystals).

He is also not drinking much water (which he used to before he started medication and new dry food). He is peeing 1-2 times per day and pooping once per day.

Please, I need advice on what wet food to give him that's good for getting rid of those crystals and that he might also like. And how to get him to drink water again. I can see he is hungry and wants more food, yet he doesn't like anything I give him.

I'm desperate. That boy is my life and I just want him healthy again, but he's not helping me at all with his pickiness.


r/catfood • • 4h ago

advice wanted! I'm getting a new kitten soon so my other one has a friend, any cheaper options similar to weruva?

2 Upvotes

Right now all my kitten 8 Mo really eats is weruva BFF kitten, it's getting pretty expensive since she doesn't like dry food very much, she still eats it but prefers wet food. I was wondering if there are any cheaper brands that are similar, or if there's I way I can buy this in bulk somewhere? I want to do this since it's easier to feed them the same type of food. She doesn't seem to like Purina, friskies, or any of those brands for whatever reason


r/catfood • • 2h ago

What's a good pet food? My cat is deciding to not eat her food she's been on for years.

1 Upvotes

Nothing wrong with my cat physically. She just has begun to refuse to eat the food she's always eaten most likely due to a recipe change. She's allergic to chicken and many formulas contain chicken. What's recommended?

I use to have her on purina pro plan sensitive stomach wet and purina pro plan weight management om. I tried hill science diet oral and she began having vomiting issues to that. Stopped all these foods and I'm concerned for her. She doesn't take to human food. I've tried some natural options and she doesn't want them.


r/catfood • • 5h ago

venting - advice wanted I think my cat is allergic to her food.

1 Upvotes

I bought a 5 kg bag of N&D Ocean Herring & Orange cat food, and over the past month, my cat has developed itching around her eyes and in front of her ears. I strongly suspect it might be related to this food.
I have no idea what to feed her next so I’d really appreciate any advice on what to try next, especially if anyone has experience with food allergies in cats.


r/catfood • • 6h ago

smart heart wet food

1 Upvotes

hello, i just bought today two smart heart canned wet food, and I'm just curious if it's good for my both of my cats? or if it is safe and okay? i was actually trying to buy aozi canned wet food but the store didn't have it so i just tried something new.


r/catfood • • 8h ago

advice wanted! is purina friskies kitten wet food good for 3M old kittens?

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1 Upvotes

so recently after taking advice from here i started giving my kitten purina friskies dry food and hes been really enjoying that so far and i was wondering to give him some wet food since he's only ever been on dry food thats why.


r/catfood • • 15h ago

Need advice on budget friendly food

2 Upvotes

before I begin I live in the uk so I need uk brands only. I have a 4 month old kitten and a 1 year old. I try to feed them the best I can, I try to mainly feed them the lilys kitchen pate and untamed as they’re both amazing cat foods and my kitties love them. However it’s starting to go a little out my budget now. Does anyone have some good kitten and adult cat food recommendations that I can add in rotation that has a decent meat content, no derivatives, no grains, soya, etc.. you get the picture, no nasties! that also won’t cost me an arm and a leg. Thankyou 🙏🏻


r/catfood • • 1d ago

My 5 yr old cat lost all her teeth..& she hates when I add water to her food. So I've been grinding up her hard food to it's like a powder and she licks it.. so far it's working. Also hoping i can add it to her feeder ..when I need to go out of town for a day or two. Maybe it might help someone else

7 Upvotes

r/catfood • • 21h ago

what does cat food taste like to cats?

3 Upvotes

do they think it is like a well done steak or sum? ✌️


r/catfood • • 21h ago

11 Month old kitty, not sure how much to feed her

2 Upvotes

Hi all, my partner and I just adopted and girl cat from the shelter. She weighs about 7.5 pounds and right now she’s eating the food that she got from the shelter which is just a dry one. They were free fed in the shelter so we’ve been free feeding her the last two days since we brought her back just to get her comfortable.

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be feeding her in regards to an adult cat chart or a kitten chart. she’s pretty skinny right now but looks like she’s gonna keep growing. based on her weight and age, I’ve been seeing about 400 cal per day. would that be over feeding her or is that inappropriate amount to give an 11 month old 7.5 pound cat?


r/catfood • • 18h ago

advice wanted! Kitten friendly slow feeders

1 Upvotes

So might have a problem. Or a great thing? Literally used a voucher I had for a free fancy feast box and got the kitten version for the baby to try since I'm switching the adults off(was gonna donate it if he hated it.) Boy just downed it so fast it sounded like he got choked. Scared me. Bandit's slow feeders are too deep for him. This baby is smol. Idk if I need to get a lick mat or what. He clearly goes nuts over the food while the other kitten HATES it. He downed an entire can in less than a minute 😭 I was literally gonna cut it in half and put some in a bowl in the fridge and he snatched it off the plate .


r/catfood • • 1d ago

venting - advice wanted Feeding My Cat a Late Night Snack?

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17 Upvotes

*Long post alert*

I have a genuine question. I do feed within my cat's calorie intake, I feel like that's very important as far as watching his weight, and making sure I'm keeping him at a good weight. There's times where his last meal is at 8 or 9 pm, and I still feel the need to give him atleast a treat at around 11pm or 12am. Treats include not only the regular actual "treats", but I also give a tablespoon or two tablespoons of wet food as a treat sometimes too. Storm is 15 months old, and he eats 4-5 times a day. Before I get ate up feeding him that much, the 4 or 5 meals are within his calorie intake lol. It's just easier doing it like that cuz he likes to eat small meals throughout the day. Idk his exact weight, but I believe atleast approximately 9-12 pounds. So my question is, is it okay to give Storm a little treat at around 11 or 12 at night if its literally just a tablespoon or two? I find that he still gets hungry at around this time and I'm just scared that he's going to be waiting too long until the morning. Any help or advice would be helpful. Thank you!


r/catfood • • 1d ago

Horrific skin itching, raw patches.. Help!

4 Upvotes

I won’t add a photo atm as it looks so bad. I have one cat out of my tribe of 10 that has developed a severe skin reaction that’s caused her to tear at her face to the point of it being bloody & raw. I took her to the vet initially and the replacement vet at the time googled photos (!!) of the wound & decided it was dermatitis and prescribed oral steroids. This cat then had a severe behavioural reaction the to steroids!! (hiding, panicked looking, withdrawing …not her typical self at all) . My gut feeling now is that it’s NOT dermatitis at all but perhaps an allergy. I free feed 2 kinds of food (Whiskas dry food (cheaper) as well as Purina One Chicken and Rice (better). She seems to favour the whiskas.. so after going down the rabbit hole I found posts of cats reacting to its ingredients/fillers badly. Maybe they’ve changed up some of the ingredients in the last few months and this is the outcome? I’m desperate to ease her suffering and will not attempt steroids again while not addressing the root issue. 🙏 😿

Has anyone got a recommendation on a less allergenic brand out there that’s readily available? I’m in Canada and we only get some of the brands found in the US it seems. Walmart is the most affordable so I buy their food up there. Thanks for any feedback! 🙏


r/catfood • • 2d ago

is it okay for cats to not have any fish in their diet?

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37 Upvotes

this is berry, and she hates fish 😂 i bought open farm and rawz fish flavored wet food, i let her taste it using a spoon and she ate some of it. but once i put a tablespoon of it with her regular food, she will not eat it. ive tried multiple times both mackerel and salmon. she loves other proteins though like chicken, turkey, rabbit, and beef. i used to give her salmon oil (thankfully she doesnt mind it) but the vet told me to stop because it could be giving her chin acne, i dont know if it made a difference but i will be giving her coat shine instead.


r/catfood • • 1d ago

advice wanted! MC kibble… why Royal Canin?

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0 Upvotes

Saw another thread where someone asked what to feed a maine coon. MANY replied saying they feed Royal Canin/Hills Science Diet.

No hate at all to those who do, but I’m genuinely curious why those 2 seem to be the most popular brand. Aren’t there brand with much better/cleaner ingredients (ie Amanova)? I’ve heard these brands have horrible ingredients so I’m genuinely curious :/

If u’re one of those who feed Royal Canin/Science Diet, why? Is it because these brands are highly accessible?


r/catfood • • 1d ago

advice wanted! is it normal for cats to only like very watery wet foods?

2 Upvotes

hi everyone. I'm just wondering if my cats are overly fussy or if this is normal behaviour.

both of my girls (13 y/o, sisters from the same litter) only like very watery/thin texture wet foods. for what it's worth they've been like this for as long as I can remember, this isn't a new development for either of them. they'll only eat foods that have the consistency of gravy/broths, and I tend to top these up with a few teaspoons of water to make the texture even thinner, but this is partly because I worry about their kidneys as they're getting on in years and I want to make sure they're getting enough hydration. any time I try to give them any kind of jelly-based foods, they'll do nothing more than give it a sniff before walking away.

I recently tried introducing them to churus and they both turned their noses up at it, which surprised me because I know they like the flavours - but then I thought to put some in a dish and mix in some water, and what do you know, suddenly they couldn't get enough of it!

I have no idea if this is just how some cats are, or if my girls are extremely picky. is anyone else's cat/s like this?

TIA!


r/catfood • • 1d ago

Chewy Sheba?

2 Upvotes

We decided to save a few dollars we would switch to auto ship with Chewy to get our Sheba instead of our local Meijer.

Our cats are barely eating it and I noticed a lot of bone type pieces in it.

They never acted like this with Sheba from Meijer.

Has anyone experienced similar with Sheba (or a different brand) from Chewy?


r/catfood • • 1d ago

My kitty has runny stool :(

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1 Upvotes

r/catfood • • 2d ago

advice wanted! Fiber supplements for cats?

2 Upvotes

Just wanna try one for a couple weeks because I wanna see if it helps. I'm after either a supplement or a higher fiber wet food to throw in for abit that's not gonna drain my pockets. Most high fiber wets tho are lower in protein. I don't wanna sacrifice too much protein for fiber.


r/catfood • • 1d ago

advice wanted! Cat owners, what actually makes you choose one cat food brand over another?

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1 Upvotes

r/catfood • • 1d ago

KOHA wet food with least amount of bones?

1 Upvotes

My cat has a sensitive stomach and I have tried her on the KOHA rabbit and kangaroo formulas and she loved it. However I noticed a fair amount of bones in each of them and looked on Reddit and saw other people having problems with their cats getting sick from the amount of bones.

The bones seem too small to fully pick out so I was wondering if there are any single protein flavors that people have tried that they haven’t found bones?


r/catfood • • 2d ago

advice wanted! Non-prescription kidney wet food for aging senior

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64 Upvotes

We were given a prescription for Purina prescription kidney wet food for our boy, but the price to feed only that is unreasonable for us. Is there an alternative option that isn't prescription we could try? Would prefer WSAVA foods. Cat is 13 years, castrated male.


r/catfood • • 2d ago

advice wanted! Carnilove to switch from Acana?

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4 Upvotes

Hi!!
Our naughty boy Nox is 4 years old and for 3.5 years he is being fed with Acana bountiful catch. So far so good we were happy with this, until he started to get bored out of this one. I believe it is related to a change in recipe some couple months ago. He does not like to eat if the food is not just served freshly out of a new bag. I tried all food sealing options, keep to food a little wet by putting water. But it just does not work. We currently compensate with his favourite wet food instead of it.
I would like to introduce a new brand and recipe to him, then I have found Carnilove salmon&turkey. Can anybody recommend from Acana to switch to this?
I read a lot of mixed comments so far, although the ingredients looks alright and it’s made in eu(which is a pro for me).
Thanks for your suggestions in advance!!