Complementary wet foods/ BARF/ Supplements query - maybe for Gillian?

[Fire Fox]

Personally, if it came to that sort of choice, I would opt for good quality wet only which I think is far healthier than any dry.  The Food4Cats meats work out pretty good value and are also the right balance of meat, organs and bones, they do a taster pack for £10 refundable on your first order - might be worth a try? http://www.food4-cats.co.uk/

Thanks again, everyone is helpful here on Purrs without being judgemental: I will try that taster pack, that's a great idea. I would ideally like to keep some dry food as it's so convenient in the summer, but reduce the amount and serve it in his SlimCat ball to keep him entertained and exercising! I know boy cats especially can suffer with crystals in the bladder on all dry diets: Noah drinks very regularly even after a wet only meal which is good. Hopefully as I keep my eyes open on MSE and here the best wet foods will come on offer and I can stock up a bit.

[Gillian Harvey]

I think it's healthier to have a top quality dry and a mid quality wet than the other way around?

Personally, if it came to that sort of choice, I would opt for good quality wet only which I think is far healthier than any dry.  The Food4Cats meats work out pretty good value and are also the right balance of meat, organs and bones, they do a taster pack for £10 refundable on your first order - might be worth a try? http://www.food4-cats.co.uk/

[Fire Fox]

Thanks to both of you!

I bought the Hills Science pouches as I had a £5 voucher which meant a pack of twelve cost £1.80! But I didn't read the darn ingredients properly .... the chicken is 35% and the Turkey only 4% meat and, yes, there are cereals. Probably the same quality as the Felix he had before. We will have to eat the pouches we have and then no more: I'd only buy Hills with a voucher anyway as I don't want to support that company. Dry food we are definitely moving onto Orijen as I have already bought it, and will try Applaws dry next time it's on offer. Natures Menu is definitely cheaper than Applaws and Almo wet: if it came onto offer at Pets at Home that would be ideal! I don't really want to be using my savings for food and litter as then I won't have the reserve for household stuff and unexpected vet bills. I think it's healthier to have a top quality dry and a mid quality wet than the other way around?

[Gillian Harvey]

I'd avoid Hills like the plague! specially dry - its the carbs thing again, certainly no good for cats that are a little overweight!

Like MM said, if you are feeding good quality complete wet foods plus some raw meals, there should be no need for supplementation because his overall diet will be balanced, you are aiming for a balance of nutrients over time - rather than a precise balance at each meal. Bones are definitely good for teeth and gums as are large chunks of meat that mean they have to work their jaws. The Hi life real meat pouches are pretty good and the Purely range from PAH that you mentioned is similar (cheaper, but in 85g pouches rather than 100g pouches for Hi Life), what about Natures Menu? thats also high meat and no carb.

I expect you've seen this site, but just in case you havent, its a good site for info about amounts of muscle meat, bone and organ meat for good nutritional balance
http://rawfedcats.org/ and this one's good for general info about raw feeding http://fnes.org/

[Millys Mum]

If he IS constipated then bone wouldnt help this, i also wouldnt worry about weight until the vet sees him and gives his verdict 
Raw chicken wings do help teeth, its what i give my lot and do see a reduction in tartar  if you are giving raw as a treat rather then main diet then you really dont need to worry about balancing it with liver or heart as his complete dry/pouches will cover what he needs, however he probably wouldnt mind having some offal as a treat

[Fire Fox]

Thanks for the reply! That is what I am planning initially, bought some Hills poultry flavour (voucher!) and also Hi-Life. Maybe I am trying to make things too complicated!

I would like Noah to have some bones as he is only three and has already had to have teeth removed, I think bones clean the teeth better than dry food? Also I wondered if his belly was a bit of constipation as he doesn't really do a lot of exercise, I think bones help keep everything moving? I was also interested to read anecdotes of cats getting leaner, cleaner ears and more energetic on BARF!

Lastly I am on a low income and chicken wings are a lot cheaper than the really good quality poultry wet foods (he is insured with AXA and I would raid my savings in a heartbeat for any vet care). I absolutely don't want to jump in and feed an unbalanced diet for the sake of saving money, and I will ask the vet about his weight when we next go for his ears cleaning and his claws clipping. From what I have read on MSE pet forums the vets tend to recommend Hills dry for weight management, but I don't like their ethics and they don't seem to be hypoallergenic.

There is just so much to think about!

[Millys Mum]

I would alternative the fish pouches you are using with poultry based ones, some of which will be complete 

[Fire Fox]

When I adopted Noah I was advised that he had previously been quite itchy and often had toxic poos. He is also possibly a little overweight as he doesn't have a waist, although if you stroke his belly it feels solid, not fat. He was fed Felix wet and JWB dry as it is hypoallergenic, but I have changed the Felix to Feline Fayre and we have had no toxic poos since!  I gave him a sample of Royal Canin dry and he scratched several times the next day, the first time I have seen Noah do so: it seems something in mainstream foods does not agree with him.

I'd like to keep him on a mix of wet and dry foods, perhaps with some raw. For dry I am going to use up a few more of the (hypoallergenic) samples then move to Orijen and/ or Applaws as these are grain free. The reasonably priced quality wet foods such as Pets at Home Purely and Feline Fayre are all fish flavours and I notice FF is not complete. So I thought of occasionally feeding some raw skinless chicken wings as Value/ Smartprice are very cheap, and maybe buying some liver and heart ... I have read a few of the websites that have been recommended but they seem to be recommending American supplements, and also focussed on feeding BARF full-time which means it's critical to get sufficient minerals and taurine.

Can I add anything such as bonemeal to complementary foods to make them complete? If I mash up some raw liver and heart and freeze in an ice cube tray will that be enough to make the chicken wing meal balanced? Do I need to add any supplements to this, or does it not matter as I am not feeding BARF all the time? This will only ever be as an addition to quality complete dry food, but I don't want to blindly over or under feed essential nutrients. I assume there is enough vegetables in Orijen to aid elimination, I do have cat grass but Noah isn't interested?

Thank you!