Best cat food?

We all know some brands are better than others. Most of the time the better brands are more expensive, but often they totally worth the extra money. You get what you pay for. It is the same for cat food. Better cat food provide better and more balanced diet, which can promote better health in cats. In the long run, it might in fact save your money because the more healthy cat won't be sick as often, thus it cut down the more expensive vet bills, right?

From what I heard, cats need a lot of water. Does it make canned wet food such as these (canned cat food #1 and canned cat food #2) better than dry food?

In your opinion:
What brands make the best cat food?
Why do you think they are the best?
What do you look for when you pick your cat food?

Since my fiancee and I moved in together with her cats, she has always purchased Iams adult cat food weight and hairball control. Apparently, these guys have been fed this brand of food all their lives and it seems to be working because these guys have never been seriously ill, are in great shape and seem quite young for their age (9 and 4).

We look for cat food that doesn't contain certain elements that are really bad for you, like corn oil (I think that's the name, but I could be wrong).

The price doesn't seem to phase her at all, but it's still reasonable ($8 for a medium-sized bag that lasts about two or three weeks).

I use mostly purina pro plan, mixed with some of the Vibrant maturity. I try to go with foods that are higher in animal protein, and lower in all of the corn and grain.

Yeah, I figured the most used ingredient should be chicken, fish, etc. high protein food.

Is there a specific reason why you both try to avoid corn?
I know corn is a filler and we don't need a lot of filler, but you two sound like it is bad for cats. Why is it bad for cats?

Well, I don't know if corn is bad per se, or that much worse than the other fillers. But, in the U.S. at least, with all the subsidies corn farmers get, they try to stuff it in everything. They have some form of protein they have engineered out of corn, and use that in place of animal protein in some foods. I just think it's pretty unnatural, and if corn is the main ingredient in cat food, that food is most likely being made in the absolutely cheapest way possible. Almost all of the main brands have some corn in them.

Cats are primarily carnivores. And corn is not a very nutritious vegetable to begin with.