Due to fianances I have to find another brand of food

jaclyn4238

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 28, 2006
Messages
280
Purraise
1
Location
Rhode Island
For the time being I have to find something other then the wellness cans and Merrick that I have been feeding my four cats ages 6 months to 1 year. It is just too expensive right now for me and I am looking for something cheaper...but not total junk food.. please do not condemn me but offer advice. thank you!
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
these are wet
chicken soup
nutro
innova
meow mix..
the new sheba
eagle pack
some new iams
authority
pet gold
solid gold
some pro plan
all of these are simliar quality without the $$$ and no garlic


may I ask what your paying??
wellness and merrick ave about 1.50 for a six ounce here
 

tnr1

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Oct 5, 2003
Messages
7,980
Purraise
13
Location
Northern Virginia
Originally Posted by Jaclyn4238

For the time being I have to find something other then the wellness cans and Merrick that I have been feeding my four cats ages 6 months to 1 year. It is just too expensive right now for me and I am looking for something cheaper...but not total junk food.. please do not condemn me but offer advice. thank you!
Jaclyn....I feed my cats purina one. It has chicken as the first ingrediant and works well with my girl's sensitive stomache.

Katie
 

white cat lover

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Nov 17, 2005
Messages
22,206
Purraise
35
Originally Posted by Jaclyn4238

For the time being I have to find something other then the wellness cans and Merrick that I have been feeding my four cats ages 6 months to 1 year. It is just too expensive right now for me and I am looking for something cheaper...but not total junk food.. please do not condemn me but offer advice. thank you!
I know the feeling when finanaces get tight, I think many of us do. It's not something we ask for, but we do need to deal with it. If you want to continue feeding wet, sharky gave you a great list! If you want to feed half wet, half dry, you can try Chicken Soup dry, Purina ONE dry, Nutro dry. Those are all reasonably priced.
 

cloud_shade

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
2,807
Purraise
17
Location
Oregon
If you can find a Trader Joe's near you, they have some pretty decent canned foods. I think they are about 59 cents per can. All of the flavors do have fish in them though, so they won't sit well if you kitties are sensitive to fish.
 

naturestee

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 21, 2006
Messages
425
Purraise
3
Location
Sheboygan, WI
Try finding the 13 oz cans of Felidae, Innova, or California Natural. I can find them for about $1.30 per can, which is only $0.30 for 3 oz.

Chicken Soup is about the same price depending on which store I'm in.
 

gailuvscats

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Messages
2,283
Purraise
34
Location
philadelphia
I use science diet turkey when it is on sale at petsmart. 60 cents a can now, the sale used to be 50 cents a can. I also use trader joes turkey and giblets, at 49 cents a can. I checked the ingredients and these flavors have better ingredients. I buy cases when it is on sale. They are dated, so I have three cases for 11/08. I use two cans a day, they split it three ways, twice a day. then we eat a little dry. They are healthy and not hungry on this regime.

For dry we use purina one chicken and rice and purina one sensitive stomach.

This costs more than what I would prefer for three cats, but, this is as low as I can go without compromising quality. My cats don't like authority, or I would use that too.
 

yosemite

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Messages
23,313
Purraise
81
Location
Ingersoll, ON
Originally Posted by sharky

may I ask what your paying??
wellness and merrick ave about 1.50 for a six ounce here
The 5.5 ounce can of Merrick is $1.69 per can plus GST of 6% and PST of 8% which totals $1.93 CDN per can so I certainly understand needing to buy a less expensive food if finances are tight.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

jaclyn4238

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 28, 2006
Messages
280
Purraise
1
Location
Rhode Island
Right now we are paying 1.72 per can... i have 4 cats times that by 7 days 4 cans a day... its obnoxious right now. I am looking for something significantly cheaper i am going to check out sharkys list thank you all very much!
 

angelkitty

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 11, 2006
Messages
1,409
Purraise
1
Location
Indiana
I feed my girls,, fancy feast.. I usually get coupons for them, and there are very reasonable like $.50 a can. I was told by my vet that it's good wet food.

I do spend more on dry food, we've begun to buy Science Diet for the girls,, and that like $25.99 for a 20lbs bag, but it last along time...

IT's all about the budget,, this I know..
 

luckygirl

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 4, 2006
Messages
7,932
Purraise
1
Location
in a pile of open toed shoes!
Originally Posted by white cat lover

I know the feeling when finanaces get tight, I think many of us do. It's not something we ask for, but we do need to deal with it. If you want to continue feeding wet, sharky gave you a great list! If you want to feed half wet, half dry, you can try Chicken Soup dry, Purina ONE dry, Nutro dry. Those are all reasonably priced.
My 2 really like the Nutro dry....I am feeding both of them the kitten formula, cause Louie is 6 mos old....I pay $6.99 for I thing a 5-6lb bag.... but it lasts a while....I keep it wrapped tight in the bag, and then in a zip lock, and then in a cat food sealed tupperware....so it will stay fresh. I tried to feed them Nutro wet too, but they both turned their noses up to it....even though I tried to phase it into their Elegant Medleys....once I got to 1/2 & 1/2 they were sure I was up to something, and wouldn't eat...
So, I give them the Elegant Medleys, and I put about 1/4 of the large can mixed in to it....this way, they are getting some nutrition....

this was an argument between DH & I....I said, well they'll eat sooner or later when their bellies are growling....and he said your wasting your money, they don't like it....would you wanna eat peas everyday of your life??? (knowing how much I hate peas...) so we compromised. I was throwing 1/2 of their food in the trash each day, cause they'd let it go to waste....
 

yosemite

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Messages
23,313
Purraise
81
Location
Ingersoll, ON
Originally Posted by angelkitty

I feed my girls,, fancy feast.. I usually get coupons for them, and there are very reasonable like $.50 a can. I was told by my vet that it's good wet food.
Angelkitty - Fancy Feast is not a good food and you will find that most vets know little to nothing about nutrition. Feeding your kitty Fancy Feast every day is like you having only MacDonalds every day. It's basically junk food for kitties. For about the same price you can find much better wet foods - see Sharky's list above.
 

jlphilli

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 23, 2006
Messages
214
Purraise
1
Location
Raleigh, NC
I think Nutro Natural Choice Pouches/cans are some of the most affordable you can find...and good quality
 

commonoddity042

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 27, 2005
Messages
2,405
Purraise
3
Location
Under a stack of blueberry waffles.
I have 4 cats (well... I have 2 and bf has 2, but I buy the food, etc for all 4). A tip I cannot recommend enough, even with one cat is to buy cases of the 14 oz cans.

One can a day split 4 ways (which works with our cats because two are average sized and two are dainty, but approx that should be fine for you if you have all full-grown ones. two of ours are still kittens.) means that 1 case of 14 oz= almost a month of food, whereas with 6oz and lower I'd be going through 2+ cans/day, flying through the case a lot faster. In total, a month of food for my 4 is about $45 (before the dreaded "shipping")

I also supplement with raw meat/organs to keep their teeth/gums healthy (and partially because it's the only thing they consistently go nuts over), and sometimes will just substitute the 2nd meal with raw food. (I am currently considering a switch to total raw)
 

rina_marie

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Messages
249
Purraise
1
Location
Kentucky
I was reading the posts here on cat food, as we keep going back and forth about what we should feed our cats. I was very surprised to find that you guys did not consider Fancy Feast a good wet cat food, but that Meow Mix was considered a good wet food. I assumed that because FF was so expensive it was a better quality food (which just goes to show how much I know, I guess!) I was also surprised that some of you wrote that Purina ONE and Nutro were comparable... I thought that Nutro was a much better food, because it was "natural?" We have four cats, and we think that one of them has a sensitive stomach... it seems that one day her poop will be solid, and then it starts to get "goopy" again. She's on antibiotics right now, but we've definitely noticed that certain changes in diet seem to cause her more problems. We have a large variety pack of FF right now, and we feed a different one each night, so I'm thinking that's part of the problem. Okay, so ANYWAY, we would really love to find a good quality cat food that isn't horribly expensive. So, back to my original question: Is Purina ONE really a good quality cat dry food? And I'm surprised at the idea of Meow Mix being a good wet food! I know my husband would really appreciate being able to buy a good cat food at Wal-Mart or Kroger, as going to Petco means he has to re-arrange his entire schedule to get over there while they're open (he works in town, so he does the grocery shopping.)
I was also wondering if anyone could tell me what kinds of foods are NOT good for cats. I just bought a huge variety pack of Fancy Feast - all different kinds of fish - and am not happy to find out that fish might cause digestive upset!!! Are there other foods I should stay away from?
 

gailuvscats

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Messages
2,283
Purraise
34
Location
philadelphia
Rina,

You can determine what is good by reading the ingredients. I like the first ingredient to be the meat, and I will not buy anything with by-products. That is what I learned on this site. IF I remember, Fancy feast first ingredient is a by-product and then liver. The dry food purina one, first ingredient is chicken. I have seen some foods with the first ingredient "animal digest". Can you imagine? I am thinking that is something disgusting. Some cat foods incorporate dead cats. You can learn a lot on this site about good quality food. Just use the search.
 

catsallover

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2006
Messages
2,194
Purraise
5
Location
Alabama
Fish causes bladder infections for one of my cats, so none of them get fish. Walmart has a decent canned food by Natural Life Pet Products- I buy the Chicken and Veggie Platter for mine, and sometimes the lamb formula (they also have a fish formula
). My cats really like the chicken, and it is 75 cents for a 5.5 oz can.
IMHO, their dry food isn't good though, just so you know
.
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
Originally Posted by Rina_Marie

I was reading the posts here on cat food, as we keep going back and forth about what we should feed our cats. I was very surprised to find that you guys did not consider Fancy Feast a good wet cat food, but that Meow Mix was considered a good wet food. I assumed that because FF was so expensive it was a better quality food (which just goes to show how much I know, I guess!) I was also surprised that some of you wrote that Purina ONE and Nutro were comparable... I thought that Nutro was a much better food, because it was "natural?" We have four cats, and we think that one of them has a sensitive stomach... it seems that one day her poop will be solid, and then it starts to get "goopy" again. She's on antibiotics right now, but we've definitely noticed that certain changes in diet seem to cause her more problems. We have a large variety pack of FF right now, and we feed a different one each night, so I'm thinking that's part of the problem. Okay, so ANYWAY, we would really love to find a good quality cat food that isn't horribly expensive. So, back to my original question: Is Purina ONE really a good quality cat dry food? And I'm surprised at the idea of Meow Mix being a good wet food! I know my husband would really appreciate being able to buy a good cat food at Wal-Mart or Kroger, as going to Petco means he has to re-arrange his entire schedule to get over there while they're open (he works in town, so he does the grocery shopping.)
I was also wondering if anyone could tell me what kinds of foods are NOT good for cats. I just bought a huge variety pack of Fancy Feast - all different kinds of fish - and am not happy to find out that fish might cause digestive upset!!! Are there other foods I should stay away from?
Some pro plans dont have by products ( as i put some by the ones that you have to read the labels...)... Most of the meow mix is low to no grain and only a couple have some by product.... FF on the other hand only a had full have no by product or grain...

I give a mix of fish , beef , rabbit, chicken , turkey , venison, bison, lamb ... for me a variety is better if the cat will eat it ...

walmart

meow mix( best price in multi pack )
natural life ( excellent wet medeorce dry)
iams ( some)
new sheba
 
Top