What's the best cat food for my Maine Coon's health and diet?

Cats can be feed either once or twice a day depending on their appetite and your schedule. I like Purina brand foods, but Science diet or Royal Canin are also well balance and healthy. They make several different formulas. For him I would recommend hair ball control base on his breed.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are several diets available in the market as you have probably noticed. I personally prefer Purina, Royal canin and Science Diet foods as they are of high quality and have research to back up their use. Any of their variations should be good for Maddi. Good luck and have a great day!

Thanks for reaching out! Your kitties are adorable. I agree that an American Shorthair should not weigh as much as a Maine Coon. I would recommend following packing instructions for each kitty. Your Maine Coon should receive about 388kcal/day and the American Shorthair should receive 373kcal/day. I found the Iams chicken dry contains about 373kcal/cup - so each kitty if only getting dry would get ~ a cup a day. Adding wet food makes determining the ratios a bit harder. Without knowing the specific formula of wet food I cannot tell you how much of each to feed. I would recommend feeding set amounts of their diets twice a day where you can monitor their intake. Consider cutting back the dry food intake for your Shorthair if it seems excessive.

Hi! Mars is super cute! As I am sure you are aware Maine Coon's are in general large cats. With that said, large does not equate overweight. It's difficult to assess ideal body condition from simply looking, you will need to put your hands on Mars. Ideally, what you want is to be able to see a bit of a wait taper behind his rib cage. You want to be able feel his ribs through a layer of fat. You shouldn't be able to count the ribs and they should also not be buried under so many layers of fat that you cannot feel them at all. Below I have included a link to The Ohio State Veterinary School's webpage with lots of great information on body condition and nutrition. I have personally worked with their board-certified nutritionist who is phenomenal, so the information provided here can't get much better. Hope this information helps you an Mars! https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/companion/our-services/nutrition-support-service/body-condition-muscle-condition-score-charts

Wellness, Weruva and Royal Canin are all good choices. When it comes to a canned food, look for one with a named protein source of animal (not plant) origin. Choose a food that comes from the can looking like a hockey puck. Avoid foods with gravies or sauces. These are typically higher in carbs which can predispose a cat to obesity. Avoid meat meals, by-products as well as store or discount brands. These latter two contain low quality ingredients and more fillers.

This last decade has brought an incredible amount of new products to the shelves and I know it must be daunting and very confusing to consumers. Unfortunately, most information about these foods comes from the pet store employee or an equally unqualified source on the internet. It's very wise of you to ask an expert. The truth about most of these foods is that their claims usually amount to nothing more than that of a fad diet (i.e. paleo or atkins) and are not supported by sufficient evidence (even though they will make it sound like it is). As scientifically trained practitioners, us vets prefer to offer evidenced based treatment and the same goes for feeding suggestions. Wet food will encourage water intake and may make the stools more soft, but does not cause diarrhea. Lightly cooked, grain-free, natural, etc. are really just marketing gimmicks meant to increase sales. They mean essentially nothing and normally do not have any good evidence to back their claims. The most important thing on that bag is a tiny bit of writing under the guaranteed analysis called the AAFCO statement. This statement tells you what actual research went into making the product. Below is a link to an article that will help explain this more and give some other info about feeding your cats: https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ High protein is nice and all of the foods with an AAFCO statement have the minimum necessary amount of protein (around 30%) in the diet. More importantly, they will have ensured the necessary amino acids are in the correct quantity. I know the answer may still be somewhat vague, but if you stick to the basic principles of choosing the right food, then you should be successful in feeding a good and nutritious food to your cats. Below is a link to another helpful resource with good information about pet foods. https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/ucm047113.htm I hope that helps and all is well for your cats.

A purebred Maine coon should eat kitten food until they are 15 months old so Goliath should probably eat kitten food till he is about 12 or 13 months old. Since he is a mix, he is not likely to get as big or grow as much as a purebred Maine coon. When he is a year old, have him examined by his veterinarian who may be able to get a good idea of how much more growth you should expect from him or if he appears to be done growing. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.