# Cat Food Help



## HedgyLove (Nov 4, 2015)

Hello everyone,
I just got my baby girl Jinx about 2 weeks ago and she is currently eating Spikes Ultra food that the breeder gave her. I want to start incorporating a different food and possible switching her off of Spikes completely. I was wondering which cat foods are popular? I looked at the dry cat food list that's posted on the forum but it's from 2009 and wanted too see what everyone here is actually using. Also I have seen brands that are okay but I'm a first time hedgehog owner and I'm not 100% about their nutrition needs. I tried to pick some up but there is so many different types of food a brand holds... like adult cats, indoor cats, kitten foods, so many and I feel overwhelmed. Please help me out!


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## blousykes (Dec 12, 2015)

hello! my girl Larrie, who is One now. really adores Blue Buffalo Wilderness Weight Control. I get her the Chicken flavor and she goes nuts for it !! I recommend only getting a Chicken or Turkey flavor for hedgies since they have trouble digesting meats.


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## HedgyLove (Nov 4, 2015)

blousykes said:


> hello! my girl Larrie, who is One now. really adores Blue Buffalo Wilderness Weight Control. I get her the Chicken flavor and she goes nuts for it !! I recommend only getting a Chicken or Turkey flavor for hedgies since they have trouble digesting meats.


Thank you so much! Do you just use the one type? I've read about mixes of food but wasn't sure if it was just preference or the best way to feed hedgies.


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## blousykes (Dec 12, 2015)

i do feed her a mix, usually i give her the Blue Buffalo food along with meal worms, and then the next day i give her a local pet store Hedgehog insect diet, along with a turkey treat from the blue buffalo brand. so i give her those two every other day. i do sometimes change up the treats like with apples or veggies, or give her a canned food version of her chicken Cat food.


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## HedgyLove (Nov 4, 2015)

Thank you I will try that


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

A mix is the best way to go. Two reasons - one, we don't know exact requirements for hedgehogs, so having at least a couple foods gives more variety in the diet. Two, hedgies are picky & do badly with sudden changes in diet. If one food becomes unavailable due to recall, shortage, store no longer carrying it, etc., you'll still have one food your hedgie is used to & will eat while you find the other food or one to replace it with. Sudden food changes are hard on hedgie tummies & can also cause food strikes, which are dangerous and mean you have to syringe feed - which no one likes!

We have a couple of stickies that might help you out more than the old cat food list - this one will go over the requirements for hedgies, which should give you a baseline on what you're looking for in a food - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/foru...3034-beginner-s-guide-hedgehog-nutrition.html and this one has some common brands that are easy to find, have varieties that fit hedgie needs, and hedgies usually like - http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/23042-recommended-foods-list.html

A couple other tips - you don't need to only get chicken or turkey. Other varieties are just fine. Some people try to make sure each food in their mix has a different main protein. Chicken & turkey are most common in cat foods, but you can also find salmon/fish, lamb, duck, and a couple other odd proteins. All are fine unless an individual hedgie has an issue with it.

And last thing - don't pay too much attention to the specific varieties like kitten, mature cat, etc. A lot of the time those are mostly a marketing thing and may mean nothing about the food. Look at the ingredients and the nutritional analysis - those are the important things and what will decide if the food will work for your hedgie or not.


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## milo1210 (May 21, 2015)

My hedgehog likes Purina One cat food. Its great because it is high in protein but low in fat as well which is the best for them.


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## HedgyLove (Nov 4, 2015)

I tried to pick out a food based on the nutrition list you provided and even made a previous post about ones I thought were okay which weren't. That's why I'm asking which brand and specific food everyone uses to kind of go from there. If you could tell me what you use that would be great.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

My girl is still on the mix the rescuer was feeding her, and I'm planning to switch her to a raw diet, so I can't weigh in with much. I do like Solid Gold as a brand. I'm not a huge fan of Blue Buffalo (personal opinion of the company), but many people use their foods, they have a large variety of acceptable foods to use with hedgehogs, and a lot of hedgehogs seem to like their foods pretty well, so that would be a good one to check out. I also like Natural Balance and Wellness. All of these foods can be found either at Petco, Petsmart, or both.


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## HedgyLove (Nov 4, 2015)

Thank you  maybe I'll try again tomorrow to find a new food for her


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## wushu1987 (Dec 26, 2015)

I got my girl on natural balance green pea and duck (will post a pic of it). And she loves it. I am switching her off of the food the breeder had her on.. I'm going to be adding another food soon so hopefully she likes it.. It is blue buffalo freedom dog food (for small breeds).


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