# I am so confused!



## Tink (Sep 4, 2012)

I am confused when it comes to what is ok to feed cat food.
I *Understand* that:
-protein has to be 30%; can not be more than that(?) <~ is that last part right?
-fat has to be 15-16%
-should have *real meat* but *not* pork or beef  so what's left besides Chicken?!
-a meat name(like chicken not poultry)or meal = "clean flesh"
-a "by-product" should be as far down the list as possible
-preserved is ok with *mixed tocopherols*
-avoid artificial sweeteners

*how do you know you can use 2 or 3 cat foods together & that they won't harm your hedgie??*
also, I really didn't understand the cat food list *shrug* *HELP*
I was going to use:
*purina one chicken & rice* 50/50 with *purina indoor cat* with 25% *natural balance*
Does that sound ok?? I'm just not sure


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Protein: around 30%, 35% is the highest, but most people cut it off around 33%.
Real meat: chicken is the main meat/protein for something like 90% of the options, but there are also other protein options, like turkey, duck, and lamb.
Fat: 15% is the highest recommended for an "average" hedgehog. Extremely active hedgehogs (wheel-crazy marathon runners, etc) sometimes need a higher fat percentage. There are some recommended cat foods that are 8-9% also. Just somewhere in that range.

You also want to avoid fillers. Corn, corn meal, and corn gluten meals are the ones to watch out for.

I'd suggest staying away from any of the Purina options with the exception of the Purina One Beyond line. ("Purina One" and "Purina One Beyond" are different things.) Except for One Beyond, Purina has fairly crappy ingredients. The big list on the sticky is awesome for seeing all your options, but I know it can also be intimidating and confusing. I have an abridged list of the best options on my website: http://www.volcanoviewhedgehogs.com/kib ... oduce.html It includes the most popular ones, and also some others that aren't as well known but that fit the ingredient/fat/protein requirements as well.


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## Tink (Sep 4, 2012)

Ok but how do I know what foods to mix? Do I mix a high, low, and medium??<~ this is what has me confused
And I had gotten the 3 types of food as being "good" to give from an article on a different Forum: Hedgehog World.http://www.hedgehogworld.com/content.php?187-What-Should-I-Feed-My-Hedgehog


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

You can pick any two or three that meet the specifications in terms of fat, protein, and good ingredients. Some people like to choose at least one food for the mix that's not chicken-based, to give the mix some variety.


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## Tabi (Jun 24, 2012)

I have a list of high quality kibbles here http://cutequills.webs.com/hedgehog-care at the bottom. All of those are good for hedgehogs. Blue Buffalo is my hedgehogs' favorite. Many people feed Chicken Soup for the cat lovers soul. Just your preference.


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

I feed extra lean ground beef occassionally. I didn't think that was a no-no.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

There's nothing wrong with pork or beef, as long as it's in moderation, because they're high in fat compared to poultry. A food with beef or pork as the main ingredient would be high in fat also. I've never heard it explicitly said that you shouldn't choose a food that has beef or pork as the protein, you just probably wouldn't find any that are in the correct fat/protein range. I can't even think of any cat foods at all that are made from pork or beef.


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## Tink (Sep 4, 2012)

Can I feed just 1 cat food? Do I feed a high/low to balance it out?


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

Just one is fine. 2-3 is suggested to avoid any problems that might come up if you're using just one food, and the formula changes or there's a recall - since hedgehogs can be very picky and stubborn, and hunger strikes aren't unheard of. It's best to start them on just one anyway, so if you decide to use more than one, you can always add that sometime later on. If you'd rather use just one, it's not a problem from a health standpoint as long as the one you pick is good quality (not crappy ingredients) and meets the fat/protein needs.


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## ktdid (Aug 7, 2012)

moxieberry said:


> Protein: around 30%, 35% is the highest, but most people cut it off around 33%.
> Real meat: chicken is the main meat/protein for something like 90% of the options, but there are also other protein options, like turkey, duck, and lamb.
> Fat: 15% is the highest recommended for an "average" hedgehog. Extremely active hedgehogs (wheel-crazy marathon runners, etc) sometimes need a higher fat percentage. There are some recommended cat foods that are 8-9% also. Just somewhere in that range.
> 
> ...


That's a really nice helpful list to see with brands broken down by fat and protein. Since you mention the fat percentages being tied to their running I am wondering if because Fitz doesn't run much if I should look into purchasing food with a lower fat percentage (He is using the Beyond at 14%).


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

If he ends up being not such an active hedgie as an adult, I'd say yes, he'll most likely need the fat content to be lower. There are some great foods that are at 8-9% fat, which are better suited to hedgehogs with a lower activity level. But, since your boy is still pretty young, I'd wait and see. For one thing, babies and young hedgies sometimes aren't as active and then will become interested in their wheel more when they're a little older. Quilling sometimes has something to do with it. For another thing, he's still growing at that age, which means the higher fat is going toward that growth, and even if his activity level stays the same, the higher fat isn't going to do any damage and he probably wouldn't become overweight from it at this point. If he starts to look a little chunky, then yes, you should alter the diet at that point. Instead of switching him completely to a different food, you could try mixing the One Beyond half-and-half with a food that has lower fat - any of the ones on that list that are 8-10% fat. For instance, if you were to change him to a mix that's 50/50 with One Beyond and Solid Gold (which is 10% fat), that would put his overall diet at 12% fat instead of 14%. He could end up still needing it to be lower than that, but that would be a good place to start, if he starts to look a little chubby or doesn't start to use his wheel more in the next few weeks.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

@ Tink: Pet food is really confusing. When I first started learning how to read ingredients I was very overwhelmed and annoyed by the pet food companies for making it so difficult. And for tricking people with commercials that indicate that corn is healthy for your animal (to be honest humans don't even process corn that well there are much healthier vegetables). 

Everything you stated first is basically correct although I would avoid by-products all together that's just a personal preference of mine because there is no rule on what the by-product is. It's just anything that people wouldn't normally eat so although it could be things that might be healthy for animals to eat like organs, and ground bone it also could just be feathers. :roll: 

My suggestion is keep reading about pet food any kind of dog or cat food. Learning how to read labels of commercial foods will help you so much as a pet owner. Research until you think your brain will explode, and go to pet stores, compare a food that is on the good list Like for instance any food by the Wellness brand with something else like science diet or a food at your grocery store. You'll see the difference. It takes time but the more you research and read labels the more you will understand. Eventually it becomes second nature. 

Once you figure this out it will help with choosing food for your dog or future cats or future hedgehogs. The work you're doing now will pay off. 

SIDE NOTE: All foods by Wellness are good quality but you shouldn't feed "Wellness Core" to a hedgehog as the only food (too high in protein). It's also not the most popular food for hedgehogs, some hedgehogs don't like the shape. However for research purposes it's perfect because it is fairly common in pet stores and it's an easily recognizable brand and non-of their products have the bad ingredients so you don't have to worry about which variety is which or what you are comparing to bad food. Seriously though, go to stores and read labels you'll be surprised how much you already know.


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