Purina Kit n Kaboodle

[aine93]

I just got a call from someone who got a hedgehog from me a year ago, saying that hedgie is super etc, but that his wife bought "Purina Kit n Kaboodle" and what did I think. The fact that the first ingredient he read me was ground yellow corn was a bit offputting, but i told him the only thing i could. I do not know the food, I have never tried the food, and I have no idea how it is for hedgies.
I did google it and apparently its helpful for weaning kittens, but this is an adult male the owner was referring to. I told him that I didnt know it and I did not want his hedgehog to be the test subject on this food. If he has his recipt take it back and stick with whats worked well for you. I do plan to get a bag of it and see what its like etc, but its lower protien and fiber than purina kitten for example.
So, if anyone knows about this food, good, bad or purple, I'd really appreciate the input. My mini trial under less than lab perfect conditions is not going to be conclusive by any means, and if its come up once.....it will again

Thank you in advance
Elana

[nannyogg]

I recently tossed some in my mix, and it has the red dye that makes for very bright output. I'd never use it as a staple; I got it to use it as an add in to increase the fiber of my food mix. My cats hate it; they'll pass it up and tear into and eat a third of a loaf of bread instead... and the next night, tore into a plate of home made sugar cookies that were left covered on the counter (yes, true story). Seeing the cats' response, I don't think I'll purchase it again, even for an add in.

[aine93]

Tig, thank you so much for the information. I havent been able to find it here but its worrying

[leaveittoweaver]

If you look at the first few ingredients:Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, meat & bone meal, animal fat preserved with mixed tocopherols

Corn, corn, soybean. All of those are fillers that are used to up the protein and bind the food and have no real nutritional value. They also don't specify what type of animal fat is used and what animal the meat and bone meal is from which is rather deceptive of the company. In general I'm not a fan of Purina foods, they almost always contain lots of fillers and bad preservatives. I've made an appropriate food list if you'd like to take a look, it'll give you some ideas of good brands to feed

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...VE&output=html

[CThogs]

In general I'm not a fan of Purina foods, they almost always contain lots of fillers and bad preservatives. I've made an appropriate food list if you'd like to take a look, it'll give you some ideas of good brands to feed

I would not really use the kit n kaboodle, however there are other Purina foods that the hedgehogs do really well on. In general, if you feed too many premium foods to your hedgehog like the ones on your list, you run the risk of developing liver and kidney issues in your hedgehog. I have done a lot of research on foods and spoken with a lot of animal professionals regarding foods and the Purina brand is very highly regarded among people who work with animals, both baby and adult, on a regular basis.

[Stasi]

I agree with Ann. Weaver - the premium foods you list are GREAT foods - for a cat...not so much for hedgies unfortunately. Adding a little of one or two of those would be fine, but I'll stick with much of the Purina in what I feed mine.

[leaveittoweaver]

I understand that, and I should have clarified that Purina's new beyond line is pretty good. I just really don't like the other foods they use.

Out of curiousity Ann, why do you like Purina foods?

[Stasi]

Hedgehogs have trouble with complex proteins - they do better on the broken down simple proteins.

[CThogs]

Out of curiousity Ann, why do you like Purina foods?

We've been using the Purina brands for the hedgehogs even before we began breeding. The hedgehogs like the the food and do well on the food. They have a proven track record among breeders who feed many more hedgehogs in a day or year than the average pet owner ever would. I ask a lot of questions of people all the time( drives you all crazy, I'm sure) and a lot of people with animal knowledge who I know and trust use or recommend Purina.

[HamorHollow]

I'm in complete agreement with Ann and Stasi. Hedgehogs do very well on most Purina brands. I would stay away fro the Kin-N-Kaboodle, it's scraping the bottom of the barrel. I try to avoid dyes as best I can, although a lot of foods use the dyes and it is tough to avoid them.

Let me share my experience with you regarding the 'top shelf' meat 1st ingredient brands: When I first got into hedgehogs, I read everything I could from every site and every diet suggestion. Many were recommending the premium foods, and since I wanted what was best for my hedgehogs, I went and purchased a few of those premium foods and mixed them together. I remember that Feilidae and Chicken Soup were two of the ones I always used, but there were a handful more. Anyway, back at that time I necropsied every hedgehog that died here, no matter what the cause. What I found was that every single one of them had fatty liver, even the ones that did not appear to be over weight. So I changed my mix to a more moderate, mostly Purina mix. Since then my hedgehogs are healthy, more active, and have easier births and higher survival rates.I still have a few fat hedgehogs, but mostly they all maintain a really good weight. The fatty liver has also disappeared in the majority of the herd.

That's my experience and why I switched away from the foods you listed.

Kelly