cats

Our Favorite Cat Food and Feeding Resources

Continuing on with our favorite dog and cat supplies, I’m going to be discussing cat food and feeding resources today! Let’s just start this by saying that cats can be picky eaters. Like to the max. We haven’t experienced that too much with our cat, Malcolm, but he has snubbed a few things here and there.

As I said in my last post, I personally think the best thing you can do for your pet in terms of feeding is to figure out what works best for you and them in terms of quality, price, and enjoyment! With that said, here’s what we have found to be the best foods for our cat Malcolm!

The best cat food

1. Rachel Ray Nutrish
This is the dry cat food that we currently feed Malcolm and he chows down on this. He enjoys this so much that he never leaves a crumb in his bowl. The formula that we use is for indoor cats and the first ingredient is chicken. A 14 pound bag costs around $20.

2. Sheba Perfect Portions
This is the wet food that we currently feed Malcolm, and just like his dry food he completely cleans his plate when we feed him this. I love that the food comes in individual portion packs because it’s so convenient. The perfect portions are formulated without grain or corn, and a case of 24 twin packs costs around $17.

3. Cat Sip
A friend from church got Jimmy and I into buying these for Malcolm, and they’re such a neat concept. It’s a little carton of real milk specially formulated for cats and kittens that is easy on their stomachs. I really like knowing that Malcolm is staying hydrated when he drinks Cat Sip. A six pack costs around $9.

4. Whole Earth Farms Grain Free Kitten Food
This was the dry food that we fed Malcolm when he was a kitten and we had a great experience with it. He never had any digestive issues and ate really well when we brought him home. A 10 pound bag is about $24, but I think the price point is worth it because the quality is high, which is especially important for a growing kitten!

5. Whole Earth Farms Grain Free Cat Food
Another great food from Whole Earth Farms! We have bought the salmon flavor of this food and Malcolm enjoyed it. This food is formulated for indoor or outdoor cats, which is nice if you have one or the other (or both!). I really like the fact that Whole Earth Farms makes their food in the USA. Again, this one is a little on the pricey end, at about $24 for a 10 pound bag.

6. Fancy Feast Poultry and Beef Pate
The Fancy Feast Pates are another wet food we’ve had a great experience with. Malcolm has really enjoyed these, and I like the fact that a case of these provides variety of flavors like beef, chicken, and turkey. And of course, each can is formulated to provide balanced nutrition and essential vitamins and minerals. A 24 pack costs around $13.

7. Fancy Feast Broths
Fancy Feast Broths are actually considered a compliment to a cat’s meal, so we use these as an extra treat for Malcolm from time to time. The broths are little pouches of wet cat food with ingredients like mackerel, tuna, sardines, and more in a broth. When we first gave Malcolm one of these, we were impressed with the contents inside the pouch. We saw whole shrimp, sardines, and tuna flakes. Malcolm really enjoys these and finishes a pouch in minutes, if not seconds! A 12 pack costs about $14.

Cat food and feeding resources, books, and websites

1. Dinner PAWsible
Dinner PAWsible is a cookbook filled with homemade meals for cats and dogs written by a veterinarian certified in food therapy. It has over fifty recipes and a lot of useful information on which nutrients are important to cats and dogs. I’ve owned this cookbook for a few months now and love referencing it when I’m making homemade food for our pets.

2. CatFoodDB
Cat Food DB is a website that is basically a database of unbiased cat food reviews. It has lists of over 2,500 products and more than 150 brands. If you’re wanting to learn about feline nutrition, allergies, ingredient quality, and more, this website is a great research tool that does all the work for you.

3. Catster
Catster is a magazine and website that is all about cats. I like that their website has a category dedicated solely to cat food. The articles in their cat food section are mostly about feeding habits, weight loss, and other health issues that deal with feeding. This website is helpful if you have specific feeding questions.

4. Chewy
Chewy is a website that sells cat and dog food, treats, and supplies. The prices are always amazing, and if you spend over $49, you get free 1-2 day shipping. Another great (and convenient!) way to save on Chewy is to set up an autoship of your dog’s food that is automatically shipped to you every 1-16 weeks (you can choose when and even delay or speed up the autoship). When you set up an autoship, you save 5%! I’m literally on Chewy at least a few times a week and highly recommend checking it out!

Other Thoughts

  • Talk to your vet if you have questions about feeding your cat!
  • Along with Malcolm’s dry and wet food, we sometimes feed him scrambled eggs, cooked meat, and cooked salmon. He devours it 🙂

Our Favorite Cat Toys and Puzzles

I had so much fun putting this list of our favorite cat toys and puzzles together! We’ve been owned (yup, you read that correctly) by our cat, Malcolm, since September 2016. He has definitely made it known what he likes and dislikes, as I’m sure many cat owners can understand. Here are six toys and puzzles we use and love for our fur baby, Malcolm!

The best cat toys and puzzles
1. Laser Pointer
Ah, the good old laser pointer! This is something cats tend to love because of their prey drive. This is also a great way to get them exercising. It amazes me how high Malcolm will jump up a wall to try and get the laser!

2. Kitty KONG Treat Dispenser
As I mentioned in my last post, our dogs love their KONGS and Malcolm loves his! We fill it with wet food or canned pumpkin puree and he has fun trying to get the food out. I will note that this can be messy. The first time we gave Malcolm his KONG, I made the mistake of putting it up high on a counter where he usually eats. Like any normal cat with a new toy, he promptly knocked it down and food splattered everywhere. Lesson learned 😉

3. Feather Catnip Birds
Cats can go one way or the other with catnip–apparently a cat’s love of catnip is an inherited gene. If they don’t have the gene, they won’t go crazy over catnip like some cats do. Malcolm doesn’t really cat about catnip, but he is obsessed with this toy. Obsessed. The first time we brought it home, he went crazy and had a blast ripping all the feathers out until just the head remained. You can watch him (and Lola!) in action in this vlog. We then called the toy Mr. Chicken Head.

I’m convinced there’s something magical about this toy because our dogs are obsessed with it, too. All of our animals fight over this toy, and it’s literally just a head now!! The only warning I have about this toy is that it is messy if your cat pulls the feathers out.

4. Toy Variety Pack
If you aren’t sure what kind of toys your cat likes, I’d recommend getting a variety pack that has toys in different shapes and sizes. Some cats like toys that make noise, and Malcolm especially loves mice that make a rattling noise. Our dogs love the mice, too. In fact, Lola and Mavis were (playfully) fighting over one of Malcolm’s toy mice last night while Malcolm sat above them on a side table and watched, haha.

5. Feather Teaser
Feather teasers are another toy that really play off a cat’s prey drive. I like feather teasers because they really get you and your cat playing together. We have gotten Malcolm to jump so high while playing with a feather teaser and he just loves “hunting” that feathery string!

6. Food Dispensing Ball
If your cat is a fast eater or likes to play with their food, I’d suggest trying out this puzzle feeder. You can put dry food or treats inside and your cat has to roll the ball around to dispense their food or treats. It’s a wonderful way to get them exercising, too!

It’s funny how picky cats can be sometimes. We’ve bought Malcolm fancy toys and he has been so-so about them, and then we find him playing with things like Q-tips, rubber bands, water bottle caps, ear plugs, rolls of washi tape, and more. You just never know!

A few other things we’ve found that Malcolm loves are ping pong balls, Lola’s toy hedgehog (which is hilarious because it’s basically half of the size of Malcolm and he carries it around!), and a crinkle tunnel that he uses to hunt Mavis LOL.