Diamond Naturals Premium Real Meat Recipe Dry Indoor Cat Food with Protein from Cage-Free Chicken, Antioxidants, Probiotics to Support Healthy Immune and Digestive Systems 18lb

UPDATE June 2015: I'm going to leave this review up so others can benefit from all of the time and effort that went into researching this food; however, we took our older cat off this food a couple months ago because she had become a bit UNDER-weight. We put her on Blue (yep) "Healthy Aging" food and she has done really well on it. She gained a pound in about a month, seems a bit more energetic (for an old cat who never did much more than hold the carpet down, that is), and her coat is noticeably softer. That said, I still think this particular Diamond food is a good quality, reasonably priced food for cats who need restricted carbs. I just don't think our cat, in her old age, was benefiting from this food any longer. We will see if she ends up gaining too much weight on the Blue now!Original review:I bought this after a TON of research on cat foods. I thought I'd help out other detail-oriented shoppers by sharing what I've found:I tried Blue and they ate it (mixed with their old food), but after reading and researching even more, I decided Blue was not only too expensive, but that it was possibly too fancy. All those vegetables and potatoes (which are apparently questionable for cats) started to seem more like a marketing ploy for pet parents than good nutrition for cats. I'm not totally against veggies for cats since one of mine happens to go nuts for carrots and I know they like to eat greens, but I think some pet grass is a better answer to that with a good basic diet. I have been guilty of trying too hard to do good things for my pets and then those things backfire. So I think this food is a good way to get them on a high protein diet without going overboard. My vet was happy with the high protein, no filler concept though she didn't appear to know anything about this brand specifically.My cats love this food. When I first opened the bag I thought I'd just give them each a piece like I would a treat and see what happened. They both ate their piece right up and wanted more. They didn't care when I gave them a piece of their old food (Authority) and walked away from that. I thought, well maybe it's because it's a novelty. So I occasionally try it again to see if they will still eat it as a "treat"--and they do. Every time, even though it's sitting in their bowls all the time. And with their old food they ignore the piece offered. Every time. I just went up to half old food and half new food. I think it's very important for their digestive system to change slowly, but I know they would eat this food without their old food mixed in no problem. Still, I'm changing slowly for digestion's sake.I was hoping to find a food with no fish in it, because of mercury, but all of the ones I could find had corn or other garbage in them that seemed worse than a little fish. I would not do a food that fish is a main ingredient of, but it doesn't seem to be in this one, after talking with the manufacturer. Plus, I found out from the manufacturer that the "fish meal" used in this food is from menhaden fish, which are not considered dangerous to humans, at least, and I would prefer to have a real source of omega 3 anyway in there, since apparently cats can't get it from flaxseeds like humans can. This is all based on articles I've read. There is so little out there that are true scientific studies on cat food, it's difficult to say anything with certainty. This is another reason that I think simple is best at this point. A good, basic food (that I can afford on a student budget!) without any fillers and without anything fancy that is made mainly of things cats would eat in the wild plus the vitamins and minerals they need is what I was looking for, and this seems to be it.I wanted to find something with chicken as the first ingredient, not "chicken meal," but I did some research and spoke with the manufacturer and found out that their chicken meal is made of what cats would eat if they caught a chicken outside and nothing they wouldn't (they do, apparently, eat bone in the wild--it's actually good for them, from what I've read). This is what the vet on the Diamond team wrote:"Chicken meal, according to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), is the dry rendered product from a combination of clean chicken flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from whole carcasses of chicken, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet and entrails.[1] A meal in general is "an ingredient which has been ground or otherwise reduced in particle size."[2] Chicken meal is ground up chicken meat that has been carefully dried to a moisture level of 10%. The protein content is 65% and the fat level is 12%. Regular chicken contains about 70% water with 18% protein and 5% fat. To create chicken meal, ingredients are placed into large vats and cooked. [3] This rendering process not only separates fat and removes water to create a concentrated protein product, it also kills bacteria, viruses, parasites and other organisms. It is difficult to say what percentage of the meal is the chicken meat that we traditionally eat, but it is very digestible animal protein."I think that makes sense. The Diamond vet actually did not recommend this for my older cat who is decidedly NOT active, but I've asked around on blogs and read reviews and the anecdotal evidence that the high protein actually helps them not become overweight seems to overrule the fact that this is higher in fat than most senior cat foods. It's enough for me to try this and see if my older cat gains weight. [UPDATE: My older, sedentary cat has not gained weight, and in fact lost some weight. UPDATE #2: My older cat ended up underweight after several years on this food, and we have since changed her to a different brand.]I think this is the least gimmicky, best protein food for an affordable price out there (actually, at any price, from the research I've done). And I have LOOKED. It will be this (ONLY the ACTIVE variety--the others in this brand have corn fillers), and the Soulistic Good Karma Chicken and Autumn Bounty pouches, unless we have any new issues arise.[UPDATE: It turns out my younger cat is allergic to chicken, so she's on Rx food :( but our other cat is still happy with this. PLUS the cat who is still on this used to regurgitate her food frequently and have hair balls all the time--like weekly or even more often. She hasn't regurgitated food since we started her on Diamond Active 6 months ago! And she rarely has a hairball now too. SO happy about this!]

My cat has a very sensitive stomach and any other hard food I tried so far would make him vomit. Not only does he digest this one well and keep it down completely, but he loves the taste of the formula so much I have to make sure he doesn't over eat it! It has a very mild smell, and a color that looks more like real food than other cheaper alternatives.

My Cats came from a private shelter and we're already being fed this, so we continued. We feed this as a supplement to their wet food. Both of my cats love this. They eat it all and have little waste. If you add water the pieces go very soft, so that's an option for cats with dental issues or need extra water in their diet; keeping a water supply around the house is always essential to encourage cats to drink enough. The formula doesn't have wheat/barley grains which are a major cause of urinary and kidney problems. Not does it have "junk" meat products. An 18lb bag has lasted 4 months. I seal the bag well after opening and it stores well. It is also reasonably priced when compared to other specialty dry foods. I'll keep using as long as the cats love it.

I hopped around a lot of cheaper foods when I first got my cat, trying to find one where I felt I could contend with the ingredients based on how much I got for what I was spending. Cat Chow, Meow Mix, even eventually feeling that working my way up to the Rachel Ray stuff was splurging. I used to work at a pet store so I knew the risks and knew what to watch for. My cat never had a bad reaction to those foods, per se, but she never ate as much as I felt like she should, and while she wasn't skinny, she was more lean that I thought she should be. September 2019 was the first time I ordered this food for my indoor cat (on Chewy), and as soon as I got the mixtures down, I noticed an improvement. After a few days of doing the 10% increments, I could tell she was picking around the other foods to get to the Diamond Naturals kibble, so I just made the jump one day and haven't gone back. My cat is about 9 pounds and pretty strictly indoors (her only outdoor time is on a small 10' x 5' second floor patio to sit in the sun, no exercising out there) and she free feeds, meaning I have a big bowl of this kibble out all the time for her to pick at as she wants to. She's missing some teeth from when she was abused by a previous owner/as a street cat in Brooklyn, so this kibble is perfect for her- small and easy to chomp on. The indoor recipe means there isn't more protein in it than she needs, as over-feeding a protein-heavy food to an indoor cat that doesn't need it can lead to liver/kidney damage, plus weight gain. I spend about $25 for an 18 pound bag, free feeding and refilling her food bowl about once a week or so, and this bag has lasted me 4 months and looks like it should last me at least 5. (This is, again, for a single cat who free feeds throughout the day from a 3-cup bowl that gets filled about once a week.) An excellent value, especially for how good this food is. I took her into the vet in October for scratching, and the vet assumed it was due to her food- until I named "Diamond Naturals indoor formula" as the food, and she was pleasantly surprised and gave me kudos on choosing a good food.I love this food for my cat- fantastic formula, great value, well worth the money, even if the bag lasted a fraction of what it does for me.

Had planned on transitioning from Regal Cat food which my cats do very well on but it is hard to get at times - being out of stock - to this food. Also transitioned my feral kitties to the active version of this, and the foxes and racoon seem to love it as well! My 2.5 yr old and 15 yr old like the food and the kibble is a great size for my senior but...both have been getting sick almost every other day since transitioning. since i just bought A LOT of this, i am hoping it's just temporary while they adjust?