wanting some advice on food for church

right now i give church dry kitten food, whiskas kittens food its the best i can afford originaly my friends were telling me to feed him dollor stor cat food but i dident think that would be good. i wont to know if i should be feeding him wet food to and what good but cheep brand is available out there. i gave him whiskas perfectly chicken pouches the other day and he loved it, i picked it because it looked like real meat. any one have any recomendations. and no raw food i can barly afford raw meet for my self, i havent brought my self any thing from the meat market in months,

You don't want cheap canned food either. I'd go with something like Max Cat canned - its a little higher then average, but would be a good canned food to feed. I use it (as well as the more expensive Natural Balance).

Friskies is not really that bad and I used to use it with no problems, till Charlie got the UTI. Friskies is not the worse food, but probably a good average quality that is more reasonable in prices.

What country are you in??

Do you have any BIG pet stores ??

i live in ny but i dont have a pet store close by, and i cant afford exspensive cat food, i work at walmart and dont make much and live 30 minutes from work so alote of my momey goes to gass,

walmarts maxxium is very good....

maxximum? havent seen it there dont forget church is a kitten

How old is Church?

I had a veterinary technician tell me that if a kitten could physically eat dry food then it was fine to feed him the dry food. He also told me that dry food was better than wet food because wet food causes cat’s teeth to rot. Although, I don’t know if I entirely trusted him, because he was just a vet tech and he didn’t seem very knowledgeable.

I found this article that says you can feed a kitten dry food at 7-8 weeks, and prior to that you can blend kitten milk and dry food to make a mush. http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=906

Also, check online for cat food deals. Once you decide on a brand of cat food, google the brand along with terms like ‘coupon code’, ‘discount’, and ‘free shipping’. It takes quite a bit of searching for a valid coupon, but it’s worth the sleuthing.

You often receive coupons when you subscribe to a brands email list. So embrace the junk email and look for deals. =)

Hope this helps.

Wal-Mart carries Iams Kitten and Purina One Kitten, which in my opinion are decent kitten foods if you are on a budget. I have no experience with Maxximum, but the label makes it look good. I am pretty sure there is a kitten formula of it. Wal-Mart also carries Friskies canned kitten food and Iams canned kitten. I worked at a shelter for a few years, and they used the Friskies canned kitten food to supplement the dry food for kittens.

In my opinion those are good foods if you are on a tight budget. Also, you can contact Purina and Iams and ask for coupons.

Edit, I forgot to add - check to see if your small pet store carries Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul kitten food. That one comes in around the same or less than Iams, but is a better food if you can get it.

Walmart does make a Maxximum Nutrition in kitten type. I would go with Friskies or meow mix wet if on a budget, of course friskies will be cheaper. Plus don't you get a discount for working there?

If you're near a Petsmart, you might want to check out their Authority brand (wet and dry). Or, Nutro Max isn't too pricey. One thing to remember is that sometimes the food that's initially a little more expensive ends up costing about the same, since you may feed a smaller amount of the pricier food.

But, don't kick yourself if you can't buy some super-duper organic, made in teeny tiny lots by loving hands food - many many cats have lived long and happy lives on less expensive, grocery store food like Friskies- besides, you've got to budget for your baby's health care, as well keeping a roof over both your heads! Also, in many instances words like 'natural', 'human grade', etc., have no real definition in pet food at this time. Sounds good, makes us feel good, may not really be a difference in the actual food.

In any event, check for the AAFCO certification on the food you buy. That is a standard nutritional definition - per Wikipedia, "In the United States, cat foods labeled as "complete and balanced" must meet standards established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) either by meeting a nutrient profile or by passing a feeding trial. Cat Food Nutrient Profiles were established in 1992 and updated in 1995 by the AAFCO's Feline Nutrition Expert Subcommittee. The updated profiles replaced the previous recommendations set by the National Research Council(NRC)."

Honestly, I wouldn't buy anything at the dollar stores food-related, human or pet, without checking very carefully the sell-by date and the manufacturer. Remember that Chinese toothpaste that was bad for people that the dollar type stores were selling?

But, I know what you mean - I feed Nutro and I swear my cats are eating better than I am these days!

Originally Posted by HerbalHeidi

How old is Church?

I had a veterinary technician tell me that if a kitten could physically eat dry food then it was fine to feed him the dry food. He also told me that dry food was better than wet food because wet food causes catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s teeth to rot. Although, I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know if I entirely trusted him, because he was just a vet tech and he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem very knowledgeable.

I found this article that says you can feed a kitten dry food at 7-8 weeks, and prior to that you can blend kitten milk and dry food to make a mush. http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=906

Also, check online for cat food deals. Once you decide on a brand of cat food, google the brand along with terms like ‘coupon codeâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji], ‘discountâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji], and ‘free shippingâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]. It takes quite a bit of searching for a valid coupon, but itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s worth the sleuthing.

You often receive coupons when you subscribe to a brands email list. So embrace the junk email and look for deals. =)

Hope this helps.

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OK - firstly the vet tech really doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.
Studies have shown that wet food is a healthier diet than dry food. Also, cats do not chew, i.e., their jaws do not go side-to-side, only up and down and unless the chunks of dry food are large, they are usually swallowed whole thus doing absolutely nothing for the teeth. I compare it to we humans eating dry crackers or beef stew - after we finish which one has left more residue in our teeth? The crackers of course.

Also, it is not a good idea to moisten dry food unless you take it up within a half hour. It spoils quickly when moistened.

There are good quality foods for reasonable prices and Sharky has mentioned them a number of times. It's often the case of paying the same price you currently pay but getting a better quality food. Do a search on this forum for food and you'll find plenty of information.

Originally Posted by darlili

If you're near a Petsmart, you might want to check out their Authority brand (wet and dry). Or, Nutro Max isn't too pricey. One thing to remember is that sometimes the food that's initially a little more expensive ends up costing about the same, since you may feed a smaller amount of the pricier food.

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i 2nd the Authority - i fed it to mine this past fall, when i was on a strict budget. the dry runs about $11 for 8 pounds [this is kitten] & the 6 ounce can runs $0.61 [& i bet you get 2-3 feeding from it, as well].
for supermarket wet, meow mix pouches & tubs aren't bad... just really fishy!
compare ingredients - Authority kitten dry: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavor, Beet Pulp, Ground Corn, Dried Egg Product, Canola Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Corn Oil, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2 Polyphosphate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamin Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Fish Oil (a source of DHA), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine.

Whiskas dry: Ground Yellow Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with BHA/BHT), Natural Poultry Flavor, Wheat Flour, Rice, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Turkey By-Product Meal, Caramel Color, Calcium Carbonate, dl- Methionine, Taurine, Trace Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Iodide), White Fish Meal, Vitamins (dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate [Source of Vitamin E], Folic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Niacin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Vitamin D3 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6]), Red 3, Ethoxyquin (A Preservative).

Sharky mentioned that Walmart's brand "Maxxium" is a good food. Do they give you an employee discount? That would get you a good food at a good price. Just a thought.

I would buy something at Wal-Mart with your discount but I wanted to point out that right now, PetSmart is having a major sale on Nutro Max cat/kitten food. I believe the sale ends on June 28th (?). It has pretty good ingredients.

They don't sell the kitten wet food in the large 6oz cans, which is too bad because you can save money by buying in larger sizes. The 3oz kitten wet food cans I think are about $0.40 right now on sale (the pouches are $0.30 on sale but you need 2x as many pouches to equal 1 can), if I remember correctly. I would supplement whatever dry food you buy with cans of wet food. Wet food is better but it can be more expensive, but I would still try to feed a little bit of wet food. You could alternate and feed wet food 1-2 days a week and dry food the other 5-6 days during the week.

For inexpensive dry food, do you have a Costco? I think that their store brand (Kirkland) cat food is supposed to be pretty good for the price, though I don't know if they make a kitten formula. Does Wal-Mart have a good price for Iams Kitten? I like Iams. PetSmart's Authority brand is also good and less expensive than others.

The Whiskas pouches are expensive! $1 each and you need twice as many pouches as you would cans. If you fed only those to your kitten, you'd be spending $4 a day on Whiskas Pouches and the ingredients are not ideal.