# What's your cat food mix?



## EllenLovesHedgies (Nov 23, 2011)

I'm about to run out of my breeder's starter mix  , and need to buy a new mix of catfood & want to see what you (hedgehogcentral users) mixes are.
So, What is your mix?


----------



## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Did your breeder tell you what was in the mix? Since you're out of the food from the breeder, it will likely be more difficult for your hedgehog to switch over to something new. It would be best if you can get at least one of the kinds of food that were in the mix he's been eating, to make the transition easier. New foods are also supposed to be introduced one at a time, and it should be done gradually. Typically it should be something like 1/4 new 3/4 old for the first week, 1/2 of each for the second week, 3/4 new 1/4 old for the third week - though sometimes hedgehogs will take immediate interest in the new food, even to the point of ignoring the old stuff entirely, so that guideline can be adjusted based on the individual hedgehog.

This is the mixture that Ares' breeder gave us when we picked him up:
Purina One Salmon and Tuna
Purina One Chicken and Rice
Natural Balance Original Ultra (reduced calorie formula)
Nature's Variety Chicken (grain free)

He's now been introduced to Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul (adult light formula) along with that mix, which he absolutely loves.
CSftCLS is a popular choice around here. There's also a sticky thread about dry cat foods, which has a list of many cat food choices along with their fat/protein ratio and (if I remember correctly) the first few ingredients. You should look for ones that are high in protein (25-33%) and low in fat (10-15%). Some hedgehogs will need a higher fat percentage if they're particularly active runners, but those ranges are what's suggested for most. Some other good brands that I remember off the top of my head are Innova, Blue Buffalo, and Nutro.


----------



## Heavenly Hedgehogs (Mar 19, 2010)

I use a mix of 3 foods. CSFTCLS, Natural balance and Nutrience usually, though I always use CSFTCLS,,the other two ingredients I have changed once in a while. When one of my babies are going to a new home, I always tell the person ahead of time what the mix is, which is the ongoing staple so they can have an easier time of using one food for the baby.


----------



## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

Chicken Soup Light and a few kibbles of Wellness Kitten. The CS light doesn't have enough fat, and the Wellness has too much, so it comes out even.


----------



## muckquenzie (Aug 21, 2011)

I use a mix of four different cat foods: Solid Gold Katz N Flocken, Wellness Healthy Weight, Purina One Chicken and Rice, and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's soul. I know that the last is high in fat, but that's purposeful as my hedgie does nothing but run on her wheel all night.


----------



## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

My hedgie is also a runner, so she has a higher fat food in her mix.

She has Blue Buffalo Adult Indoor Health (chicken & brown rice), Blue Buffalo Basics (turkey & potato), Royal Canin babycat (this is the higher fat food), and Purina One Beyond (salmon & brown rice).

Some hogs have tummy issues caused by the Wellness brand, so IMO it's better to go with something else if you aren't sure that it Wellness sits well with your hog.

If you can't get in contact with your breeder to find out what foods are in their mix, try to go out tomorrow and get the new foods you're going to start your hog on and start mixing them in with the breeder's mix right away. It's not technically good for your hedgie to have brand new foods thrown at them at once, but if you have to do it you have to do it. I personally didn't take 4 weeks to switch my hog's food over because she adjusted a lot faster than that and we have gone through more than a few food-mix changes to suit her pickiness. :idea: It might cause an upset tummy & some green poos for a few days if you switch too fast, but like I said - ya gotta do what ya gotta do.  

If you go with a Purina food, I suggest the Purina One Beyond brand over plain Purina One - Plain Purina One has brewers rice and corn gluten meal in the top 3 ingredients, whereas Purina One Beyond's first 3 ingredients are a meat, a meat meal, and a whole brown rice.


----------



## Melanie (Jan 2, 2012)

My breeder was using wellness core only and I had a bag of spikes delight so I mixed a small amount of that with the wellness and that's what she has been eating for 2 weeks or so since I got her. Since I hear they are both bad in one way or the other, I would like to slowly change her food. I want to introduce chicken soup cls light, where do I buy it? Any pet store? And is there a reason to use a mix of foods? My girl "Biscuit" is about 10-11 weeks old and weighs about 300 grams, shes looking chubby to me but shes probably perfect, our last hedgie was a runner so compared to her shes fuller figured. :grin:

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


----------



## Melanie (Jan 2, 2012)

I will post pictures soon. I know there is a list of foods on here but just wondering if there's a reason to mix. She loves her mealies but so far is refusing cooked unseasoned chicken which our previous girl loved. We haven't offered anything else yet, should we wait until we complete the food change? Don't want an upset tummy, but so car no issues with that even though shes been on wellness her whole life so far...

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


----------



## muckquenzie (Aug 21, 2011)

muckquenzie said:


> I use a mix of four different cat foods: Solid Gold Katz N Flocken, Wellness Healthy Weight, Purina One Chicken and Rice, and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's soul. I know that the last is high in fat, but that's purposeful as my hedgie does nothing but run on her wheel all night.


Sorry, made a mistake. I do not feed Purina One. I feed Purina One beyond, chicken and rice. To be honest,plain purina one is not a food I would recommend.


----------



## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Mostly people use a mix of foods to 1. offer variety (eating the sammme food, every day, for their whole lives must be kinda sucky lol) and 2. to try to cover all the nutritional bases that we may not know about. 

You can go to the Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul website and see if they have a store locator, or just type the brand name into a google shopping search. That should pull up stores in your area that sell it.

I would wait until the kibble change is complete to offer treats. It could overload her tummy, and if she were to have an allergic reaction to something it would be hard to distinguish if the reaction was caused by the kibble or the treat.


----------



## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Another reason is that since hedgehogs are so picky, if they're on one kind of food and for some reason it becomes unavailable (i.e. a recall, the maker for some reason stops producing that specific flavor), sometimes they'll be very stubborn to the point of actually not eating.

Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul does indeed have a store locator on their website. At least in my experience, it tends to be carried by mom-and-pop type stores rather than the big chain stores. http://www.chickensoupforthepetloversso ... r_locator/


----------



## EllenLovesHedgies (Nov 23, 2011)

Thank you everyone! ^__^
The breeder gave me a folder with information, and it says the base of her food is Purina One Beyond-Chicken And Rice. 
I'm going to Petsmart tomorrow to get some new food.


hanhan27 said:


> My hedgie is also a runner, so she has a higher fat food in her mix.
> 
> She has Blue Buffalo Adult Indoor Health (chicken & brown rice), Blue Buffalo Basics (turkey & potato), Royal Canin babycat (this is the higher fat food), and Purina One Beyond (salmon & brown rice).
> 
> ...


I might have to introduce it quickly.. The bag of food is slowly.... getting empty.
Thank you all again, you guys are awesome! <3


----------



## Melanie (Jan 2, 2012)

Yes thanks so much for the responses. Perfect timing since I was going shopping today. Luckily I am in the Chicago area and have 3 different pet stores in my area. 

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


----------



## hedgielove89 (Jan 5, 2012)

Right now my little guy is eating Innova low fat adult cat food and Wellness Complete Health Chicken & Rice for a little more fat. I wanna add a third one to the mix but I am waiting to see how his weight goes. He has been losing some weight over the past 3 weeks or so (I've only had him for 4 weeks today). I don't know what to add as a third food though.


----------



## hedgielove89 (Jan 5, 2012)

So I have decided to stop feeding the wellness because of the loose stools. A lot of the foods recommended are hard to find. I still have the Innova Low Fat food and I will try and find something else.


----------



## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Remember not to completely stop feeding the Wellness. Reduce the number of Wellness kibbles over at least a few days to help prevent more tummy issues.  

Blue Buffalo is a pretty easy brand of food for me to find. My hog especially likes the Blue Buffalo basics turkey and potato line.  If you have a Petco or Petsmart near you, I would give them a call to see if they have anything you're interested in. I personally have the best luck with Petco.


----------



## rexi10 (Jan 17, 2012)

My breeder fed Spikes ultra and I added Wellness Indoor Cat. She is at a 50/50 ratio right now and I would like to add another. I haven't noticed any tummy trouble. Then again we were feeding her freeze dried crickets and mealies which cause constipation so maybe the two equaled out. I am going to try getting some chicken soup also and slowly mix that in. I have unfortunately mixed the two kibbled together in a container now so I will keep this third food separate and add another and eventually take the spikes and the wellness out. It will take awhile but that's the plan. What do you think?


----------



## hanhan27 (May 12, 2011)

Wellness is a good brand and not all hedgies are affected tummy-wise by richer food. If it would make your life any easier as far as introducing new foods, etc, you could keep the Wellness, wean her off the Spike's Delight (which is a great idea by the way! Spike's = Blechhh), and add in the Chicken Soup slowly.  

I've noticed that with my hog, weaning her OFF foods doesn't affect her tummy nearly as much as starting new ones, so I don't use the full 4 weeks to take away the old food. I weaned her off the Wellness that upset her tummy in about 5 or 6 days and her extra squishy stools caused by the Wellness went away around the 4th day.


----------



## hedgielove89 (Jan 5, 2012)

I am now feeding Innova Low Fat and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. It is only day two on it so we will see how he takes to it.


----------

