Best dry food for value?

dragoriana

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Ok no one poke me, but ever since i can remember, all of our cats have been eating the budget dry food such as Whiskas, Snappytom and Friskies. Although they all loved them, when i started coming onto this forum i got a bit worried people might judge me for not getting more expensive brands or making their diets better (we've never had overweight kitties).

Now i went to a HUGE store yesterday called Petstock, and it is local to me now that we've moved house. I had a look around and decided to try some new food on Charlie. I'm starting small, and i may try different brands to see what the effects are.

I bought a 400gm bag of Royal Canin indoor 27 (for 1-10 year olds) and same size/brand of tartar control (not just for teeth but makes stools less smelly and helps with fur digestion)

Now i know as well there are indoor ones for different weights, and light ones for lower physical activities and more. And frankly, i'm a little overwhelmed at the moment how many choices of brands there are as well.

I paid about $12aus for the two. I'd like to know for everyone here, what dry foods are the best value for you, and what has the best results in your eyes.

Charlie is still going to be eating the budget tinned foods because he likes them, and frankly, it will start getting a bit expensive for me to change everything over.

Also, because i got two different ones, i've mixed them together into a container, instead of giving him a different one each day (also lasts longer i think) Do you think this sounds like a good idea? (he's already happily eaten this new food last night and this morning).
 

littleraven7726

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We're using Iams Healthy Naturals right now. The price is good. I've seen improvement in the coats of my cats, and they are digesting it better than the rice/wheat-based foods. And it's a moderate calorie, moderate fat food without being diet food (Stimpy doesn't need high calorie foods, but won't eat "diet" or "indoor" formulas). I also like that Iams has been pretty regularly putting out coupons, and I can coordinate them with Petsmart sales.
So I got our last 17 lb bag for $20-$21.

And we've tried about everything out there. They just are doing better and liking this food better than the more premium foods. I'd rather have them happy than picking at their food like it's cold lima beans.
 

laureen227

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i got some RC for mine just last week, & i really think i like it - no soft poops, Pixel & Java [my dry-only girls] like it... & it has lysine added for my herpes girl Pixel. i got the Royal Canin Special 33.
 

followedbydolls

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Nutro?

i have the natural choice indoor formula and it does well with my cats, you could also try their max line of foods.. all is quite reasonable price wise.
 

white cat lover

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I guess I dislike Iams, Royal Canin, Science Diet, etc. Just way too $$ for the quality.

What is available to you? I guess I have no clue what you can get there!
 

sharky

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IN many areas

Nutro Max
Chicken soup
Solid Gold
Diamond naturals

are the solid premiums without a $$$$$
 

yiplong

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Originally Posted by Dragoriana

Although they all loved them, when i started coming onto this forum i got a bit worried people might judge me for not getting more expensive brands or making their diets better (we've never had overweight kitties).
No one should be judged based on what he feeds his cat, unless the food is toxic.
There is absolutely no solid evidence that more expensive food is better for your cat, or that the extra $$$ can be recouped by later savings (from vet visit, etc). Frankly, if any food is commercially sold, it should pass at least some regulatory scrutiny, and your cat will do fine eating it.
I think Purina, Iams and Max Cat has really good value for the $$$.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by yiplong

Frankly, if any food is commercially sold, it should pass at least some regulatory scrutiny, and your cat will do fine eating it.
depends on the cat... i find mine do much better on some foods than others.
 

mrblanche

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Originally Posted by Dragoriana

Ok no one poke me, but ever since i can remember, all of our cats have been eating the budget dry food such as Whiskas, Snappytom and Friskies. Although they all loved them, when i started coming onto this forum i got a bit worried people might judge me for not getting more expensive brands or making their diets better (we've never had overweight kitties).
I think it's great you want to get the best you can, but we, too, have had good luck with cheaper brands. I wonder what a good "value for quality" measure would be? Not cents per calorie, surely. Maybe cost per feeding? I don't know, really!

It's kind of a moot point with us, anyway. We have found exactly one kind that Punkin will eat, and that's Science Diet. So, that's what we're going to buy.
 
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dragoriana

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

What is available to you? I guess I have no clue what you can get there!
How about a list for wet/dry?


In Oz we have:
IAMS
Eukanuba
Royal Canin
Purina
Science Diet
Whiskas
Snappy Tom
Friskies
Dine
Cat Meow
Fancy feast
Optimum
Kit e Kat
Gourmet
Lovitts
Ultimates
Wow

YES i went searching on the woolworths online shopping! Lol

Charlie will eat ANYTHING but when i read the ingredients for these premium foods they seems to be a bit better suited for his digestion and spay sway


Who knows, maybe i won't see a difference, only time will tell.
 

sharky

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of that Royal canin gets a nod ... Iams and Eukanuba may be IMHO better quality than here..

can you send links to there Oz sites??
 
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dragoriana

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sharky

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The testing issue is something I do not deal with... Iams and Eukanuba are both the same company proctor and gamble .....

I DO NOT like by products , so I would do the RC ....
 
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dragoriana

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Originally Posted by sharky

The testing issue is something I do not deal with... Iams and Eukanuba are both the same company proctor and gamble .....

I DO NOT like by products , so I would do the RC ....
Ahh yes i know. Ooh RC is the first one i picked up, if they're ok then i think i'll stick with them. They also seem to have a few more options than what i've seen on other brands (outdoor/digestion/tartar control etc)
 

kitytize

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I have been feeding Eukanuba Hairball for 7 months with the best results I have seen on my cats. Before Eukanuba I fed Royal Canin Special 33 for about 9 months with no problems. And before Royal Canin I fed Purina One Urinary Tract Health for 9 years with no problems.

As long as your cats are doing fine on Whiskas and Friskies I don't see a problem feeding them those brands. My mom has been feeding her cats Friskies for over 5 years and they are all very healthy and the oldest one will be 11 years old this year.

Now I have had problems feeding California Natural and Nutro Natural Choice but I am sure that was an individual cat thing but it does make me feel not confident in those brands.
 

wendyr

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I feed the three cats a brand called Arden Grange. We don't really have a lot of choice where we live and have no car, so I bought them because it seemed good and I could carry the bags home (always important!). When we first took the kittens in, my husband had bought a box of Go Cat dry food and seriously - they went through a box in about 2 days. With the Arden Grange, it takes over two weeks for them to go through 2.5 kilogram bag. They love their dry food, so it makes me happy that they like this one. I think I pay about 14 Euros for a bag.

My husband's family had cats his entire life. They were all dry feed on Go Cat or Whiskas and ate wet Whiskas. The last one to die (about 2 weeks ago) lived to 19. His mother lived to 17. Buy what you can afford and what your cat likes.
 

missymotus

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Advance is okay and mid-priced. Just get the chicken one, not the fish. They have several different ones, weight management, hairball, dental etc. You can get it at petstock.
 

artgecko

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I know absolutely nothing about most of those australian brands (as I live in the U.S.). But I would like to say a couple things:
1. Switch over foods slowly, or risk serious tummy issues.
2. Take a look at the cat's poo in the box (gross I know). If they have small, compact, and hard poo (not soft and in big clumps) your cat should be digesting it well.

My cats are now eating a grain free food (EVO) and although they did well on nutro (a medium priced good quality, with grain food), their poos are smaller and more compact than they were...so I figure less is coming out which means that more of the food is digestible. Also, You can usually feed less of a better quality food because it is richer.. Look for meat or meat meal as the first few ingredients and you want as little grains, starches, and by-products....so those should appear lower on the ingredients list than the meats.

HTH,
Art
 

plainjane

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I've yet to try many dry foods aside from Royal C., Wellness, and Science Diet.

Jack hated Royal C. and Wellness so I stopped mixing either with the Science Diet. He also refuses to eat kitten formulas of dry Science Diet, so I buy the Light Hairball varity. I then give him a small amount of wet food, kitten formula/Science Diet, every morning. I have to admit that I'm not sure if Science Diet is the best I could be feeding him, and I wonder about it whenever I enter the pet food isle.

I'm interested in trying the EVO and formulas similar to that, but I'm not sure how he'll take to it. I also want to do more research into which food is reviewed as the best overall...
 
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