Daily Review - Finding the perfect cat food!

Our baby cat Deuce is now a little over 7 months old. There are a million different opinions out there as to the best diet for cats and which foods are best. When we first got the little guy, I had looked around for some tips as to how to read a cat food label, whether dry or wet food was better (naturally finding arguments for both), how much to feed him etc. We opted for a mixed dry/wet food diet and he gets around a quarter can every morning and evening of Hill's Science Plan Kitten wet food, plus Purina O.N.E. Healthy Kitten Formula as his dry food during the day.  Our vet said he's incredibly healthy and he's obviously done well with what we've fed him so far.  Now it's time to look for the right adult food for him.

Our vet suggested we switch him to adult food around the 9-10 month range.  The question of course is which one?!  The choices are really pretty extensive and, while he's not a picky eater (the only thing he doesn't like are fish flavors), we do need to find something that he agrees is good as well as good for him.  One of the best things to look for in cat food is that there is a good amount of proper protein and not an over-abundance of unnecessary grains.  For example, if chicken is the first ingredient that is good.  Chicken meal is even better as it's already been baked to remove bacteria and excess water, therefore the actual chicken quantity that is in the food is increased.  I also found this interesting article from the FDA regarding pet food label requirements.

Premium cat foods, such as Innova and Wellness, can be very expensive.  I feel like we're looking for something in the middle, but I'll tell you that it's ridiculously overwhelming.  It's amazing how Hill's Science Diet is so popular because looking at the ingredient list, it doesn't seem to be the most appealing.  In fact, animal by-product is the number one ingredient when I'd much rather be feeding him the more wholesome bits.

There was a Nutro representative in-store at Petco today, so I took a closer look at their products, both Nutro Max and Nutro Natural (the more premium grade food).  They certainly have the benefit of using chicken meal.  The other product that I think is my first choice, although definitely on the pricier side, is Blue Buffalo Spa Select, which has both deboned chicken and chicken meal as the first two ingredients.

After all this, I still haven't truly made a decision and I haven't even started to look at wet food yet as those labels are even more confusing to read due to the "moisture content" equation!  I think it's worth looking at though.  How could I not give my furry little boy a good diet to keep him healthy and happy?

What do you use?  Do you have any suggestions?  I would love to hear them!