I know its not that good with 4% decent meat and the rest mashed up birds feet and other rubbish a human wouldn't eat, but at least there aren't as many added chemicals.


I don't see it as a long term solution.

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Also mum to Mr Kane, a 9yr old ginger boy

Nope, it isn't that. Firstly, just because they declare a minimum of 4% of whatever flavour "meat" they are using doesn't mean that this is actually "meat", i.e. muscle meat or what we humans would understand meat to be. It could equally well be by-products. The operative concept being that it is something from the flavour animal.

Secondly, there is nothing wrong with bird feet and absolutely nothing wrong with cats eating stuff that we humans would baulk at eating. If you think about it, they typically eat the whole of a mouse - brain, eyes, lungs, thyroid etc - and other small prey. BUT it depends on how much of that stuff they use and how well it is declared so that consumers can make informed decisions.

And this is where they fall short - just like the big buddies. When asked (repeatedly) to declare how much meat vs organ/offal they use they replied that it is sensitive information.

However, they are quite willing to declare that their food contains about 50% meat (meat here meaning meat and by-products), the rest is jelly, binding agents etc - so not much different to Whiskas chunks in jelly, for example, who told us about the same.

Going by the price, I would bet my last dollar that the food contains more by-products than muscle meat (the latter is more expensive) as well as a load of rather nutritionally poor jelly.

And don't be mislead by their claim that they don't use any colourants, preservatives etc or what you call "chemicals". They do; just not "artificial" ones but "natural" ones instead - such as iron oxide to bring their beefy tins back to a more reddy colour instead of the grey that the meat would turn during the manufacturing process. Not that cats would mind - they are simply pandering to the human server.

And the above observations apply to most, if not all, of the big food manufacturers.

You're probably right, though unlike Felix & Whiskas, Classic has no cereal content so is useful for a cat intolerant of cereals, as was the case with one of of my previous cats.

As well as food intolerance my cat also had CRF but refused to eat Renal Prescription Diet foods. Classic being low in protein suited him, and he liked it, which I can tell you was a relief, as I had tried him on so many different foods without success after he became ill....

But I agree the quality is not exactly of the best

When my bengal (now 2 years old) was a kitten he was on wet and dry food but soon developed cystitis and the vet told me to cut out the dry food completely. He hasn't had any UTI problems since I stopped the dry.

I've fed him now solely on Butchers Classic (apart from treats) for as long as I can remember. When he went for his vaccines a couple of months ago the vet said he was very healthy with a beautiful coat and teeth. She said she hadn't seen a cat in such good condition for a while. So I'm very happy with that. He doesn't get runny poos on it or any problems at all. In fact I've just weaned my two kittens onto the Classic - one of them suffered with the runs constantly and he couldn't shift the problem no matter what I gave him, except for when I tried the Classic. He hasn't had a runny poo since. So all 3 are on it now. I find it difficult doing online food ordering as it's not feasible for me to be waiting in all day for deliveries etc. I get the Classic from either Tesco or Pets at Home.

It works for me perfectly, others may disagree and I accept that there are probably better foods out there but if it aint broke and all that

However, against the general consensus on here, Whiskas and Felix aren't full of cereals. It depends on what range you go for - so Classic still remains in the same range as them in my book.

Debonaire, true, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I subscribe to that too but it depends on what you want from food. There are plenty of happy Whiskas and Felix and Gocat and BC feeders out there, who probably also get told by their vet that their cat looks healthy - because they more likely than not are.

And I think most people on here would respect their feeding choices - actually as a forum I think this is by far the most tolerant but sadly also, at the moment, the most uninteresting and dull when it comes to food and food discussions.

So, it is great that you have found a food that suits you and your cat. However, as you yourself say, there are plenty of "better" foods out there that I personally feel people should be encouraged to explore.

At the end of the day it is what "better" foods means to people though. For some, it means higher meat content, for others it means better declared ingredients, for others it means that it is organic, for others it means that the meat doesn't come from Thailand, for others it means that the manufacturer/company doesn't do animal tests.

Anyhow I am rambling...