MyRagdollCat.com

It’s on a forum, yes, but everything in this post is 100% spot on. Just remember that ingredients may have changed, so read labels!

Full text:

"Here’s a list of ingredients to AVOID -

Corn – It’s undigestable! This is used as a cheap filler for almost all dog and cat foods! This has almost no nutritional value, and passes straight through your pet, coming out as additional waste. Ontop of that, it’s a very common allergen in dogs and cats!

By-Product- Some by-products are worse than others, but all by-products are an inconsistant source of meat protein. You never really know what’s in by-product meal, but it can range from diseased livestock, horse remains, roadkill (!), euthanised animals from local shelters (!!!) and 4-d meats (all seen in meat by-product meal) to unfiltered intestinal tracts, feathers, brains, feet and waste (poultry by-product meal). Some say that by-products aren’t all bad. Why? Well because an animal would eat all that in the wild, right?! Nope, not necessarily. By-products can contain high traces of chemicals used in euthanasia, as well as meat rendered but still tainted with poisons and deadly bacteria. In the wild, most animals would never encounter these things, and would probably die if they did. The ‘filler’ that the animals would gain in the wild from eating other animals can be replaced with much, MUCH cleaner, healthier, and safer ingredients (seen in the second list).

Peanut Hulls, Mill Run – This is essentially what they sweep off the floor from the processing plants. It’s litereally the hulls of peanuts, scraps from trees (including bark), and whatever else employees happend to drop on the floor that day. Science Diet will tell you it’s fibre! Unfortunetly, we really don’t have the slightest idea what’s in the ‘mill run’ that day.

And here’s a list of ingredients look for -

Whole meats (i.e Chicken, Turkey, Bison, Venison) – You’re getting exactly what it says you’re getting. Whole meats, usually quality cuts of whatever is listed. This is meat alone, contains no internal organs, no mystery chemicals. Genereally the best quality meat you can get in pet food.

Fruits and Vegetables – Such as fresh blueberries (a natural antitoxidant!), fresh apples (yummy, and healthy!), sweet potatoes (reliable source of fibre, though doesn’t agree with all dog’s tummies). Again, you’re getting what it says, these are fruits and vegetables ground up in the food. This is the source of fibre and plant material that a dog or cat would normally be getting from eating the stomach of prey in the wild. It’s carefully balanced in premium foods, and is generally not a main ingredient.

Cat food: Meat vs. oh god

Cats are carnivores. In the wild, they live purely off of meat, and off of the stomach contents of their prey. In your home, they also need a predominantly meat-filled diet, though some amount of roughage and fruit/vegetable content help to maintain healthy digestive and urinary tracts. Cats do not need added carbohydrates.

High carbohydrate content makes cats fat, plan and simple. And corn is hard to digest. High-quality foods contain no corn, and little grain. Vegetable matter is fine, just not grain.

Ultra Premium
Solid Gold
Innova EVO
Innova
California Natural
Nature’s Variety Prairie
Evanger’s (makes only wet) (NOT the vegetarian formula, duh.)
Wysong? (wet)

These all come with a pretty hefty pricetag.

For the rare cat who’s allergic to poultry, California Natural and Prairie are two of the few brands of cat food that offer poultry-free formulas. (Prairie used to offer the only beef-based dry cat food I’ve ever seen, but it appears to have been discontinued.)

Be careful with Innova EVO. Though it’s an ultra premium food, it has a very high protein content and cats prone to kidney issues shouldn’t eat it. For a healthy cat, however, it’s one of the best foods on the market. I recently switched my cats to EVO from Chicken Soup (see below), and they absolutely love it. Some people report more aromatic stools, and for the first few weeks I noticed more stink around the litterbox, but now that they’ve adjusted the odor’s decreased.

I say "Wysong?" because Wysong’s website creeps me out. It seems like it’s trying so hard – something’s GOT to be wrong here. Either they’re all dirty hippies, or they’re aliens, or… something. Regardless, Wysong makes prescription diet formulas that have Hill’s beat.

And Evanger’s is just crazy. One variety is called "Whole Mackeral with Gravy." It is, in fact, an entire mackeral cooked in a gravy to make it nutritionally-complete for cats. It’s even grain-free. Other varieties are chock full of organic ingredients. And it costs less than Prairie’s canned food.

Solid Gold has impressive wet and dry food. Solid Gold wet is similar in cost to Evangers, and has the consistency, odor, and appearance as regular canned tuna. (One of my cats dislikes pate-style wet food, and Solid Gold is her favorite wet.)

Premium
Chicken Soup
Blue Buffalo
Merrick (

I would suggest keeping him on a wet/dry diet. Use the Royal Canin as supplementary and use the wet as a primary.

There i s no dry food that will improve your cat’s coat. There is really no such thing as indoor food (think about it) There is only proper food and improper food to feed your cats. Want a good coat? Want the best chance for a long healthy life? Then stop feeding kitty crack

Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingredient a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?
http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Food_Ingredient_Label
http://www.grandadventuresranch.com/articles/ingredient_definitions.pdf
http://www.acreaturecomfort.com/truthaboutpetfood.htm
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s, constipation, and a host of other problems. Male cats are especially prone to blockages
from dry food. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. ( Have a fat cat?)
An even bigger problem is that it IS dry and it dehydrates no matter how much your cat drinks
Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food. Cats are not naturally big drinkers.
95% of the moisture is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Think about it.
Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don’t use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_Just_Fine_on_Dry_Food
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn’t have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all.
THE BEST CAT FOODS CONTAIN NO GRAINS NO BYPRODUCTS
Cats are meat eaters not cereal or rice eaters
Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food.
Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=doesdryfoodcleantheteeth
http://www.felinefuture.com/?p=470ary&act=show&item=doesdryfoodcleantheteeth

Please read about cat nutrition.
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food_vs_Canned_Food.__Which_is_reall

Vetinarian diets The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Vets.htm
Nutritional Education Program website page for the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. Notice who they are receiving grants from for this program
http://mypetcarnivore.com/educational_grant.htm

We saw huge improvement when we started putting down some warmed raw ground chicken for the cats in the morning. They’d get about 2 tablespoons worth each, and their coats went very shiny, they were on a variety of dry foods at the time, anything from Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul to Wellness Core to NutraMax.

The RC foods have a protein level listed in their titles, how low is the indoor cats level? We use the Royal Canin Siamese 38 and that’s been very good for ours. Upping the levels of protein can help. Cats usually need 33% anyway. If yours is sedentary, then give less of the kibble, or encourage exercise with a laser pointer.

science plan

I would focus on making wet food the staple of your cat’s diet. Most wet foods are grain-free and contain the meat and moisture combination that is natural for a cat. Dry foods are dehydrated and often contain grains that are not a natural part of a cat’s diet. Cats evolved in desert regions and obtained moisture from the prey they consumed. Dry food can lead to kidney and urinary tract problems, because cats do not drink enough water to compensate for a dry food diet that contains the high protein that cats need. Diabetes is also linked to dry food diets, because of the high carbs. I have 13 years of experience in cat shelters, as well as caring for 5 (currently) cats of my own. I feed my cats Wellness, Innova, and the new B.G. (Before Grain, produced by Merrick) dry food. These foods have proved to be the most palatable of the "healthy" foods that I have offered my cats. I try to make canned food the staple of their diet, but unfortunately, a couple of them are addicted to dry food. All 5 of my cats have soft, shiny coats. I have 3 cats that will soon be 13 years old, and 2 cats that are about 3 years old (all rescues). I checked the ingredients listed on the label of Royal Canin Indoor formula, and they are very similar to Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care, which I use as a "junk food" mixer to encourage my cats to eat the better quality foods. One of my rescued cats is addicted to Nutro, so I mix it with Innova so that he will eat a healthier diet. Upgrade the food to a meat-based food (chicken, not chicken meal), avoid corn (and other grains if possible). This should give your cat a soft, shiny coat. If not, your cat should be vet-checked for underlying health issues. Good luck! I hope your cat’s coat improves with a simple upgrade in diet and that there is not a serious health issue.

UK, but don’t know any contacts for the USA. Keep up the good work with your cat, he sounds wonderful. My girl is 12 this year and I love her, she is great company.