Cat food getting really expensive!

Hi all,

Just wanted to vent and get your opinions on this please. We have 2 cats, Dexter & Pixel. We feed them Maxcat by Nutro. They like it and it's really really good for them. Anyway I buy a 14 lb bag at a time and it lasts me a few months or so. Well I recently went and the price went up yet again. It's now $57+tax (here in Canada) for a bag up from about $40 since I started buying it.

Funny thing is in the summer when gas was super high, the pet store said "well the price went up due to gas" now gas is back down and the price rises yet again. My question is should I switch to a cheaper brand and if so what brand is almost as good quality for a less price?

I was looking at Iams and it's about 1/2 the price, I know it's not as good but I was hoping to find a happy middle.

thanks

I don't know how to answer you. I feed Merricks at $1.69 CDN per 5 oz can and Orijen which costs me over $60 per bag. Yes, our kitties are spoiled.

Originally Posted by Slipstream

Just wanted to vent and get your opinions on this please. We have 2 cats, Dexter & Pixel. We feed them Maxcat by Nutro. They like it and it's really really good for them. Anyway I buy a 14 lb bag at a time and it lasts me a few months or so. Well I recently went and the price went up yet again. It's now $57+tax (here in Canada) for a bag up from about $40 since I started buying it.

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You know when I think about the cost of feeding my cats I think about it in terms of cost per day. You say $57 buys food for the 2 of them for "a few months"? That's less than $1 a day for them both assuming it lasts 2 months.

I know everyone has to be budget conscience these days but I would be delighted at only spending $1 a day to feed my cats.

I hope you find what works for you!

Oh I totally agree with you, it's just that it keeps going up and up and with tax it's like $67 so ya it can get pricey. I don't mind but IF there was a food out there just as good and could save me $$ then I'd probably jump at that. I was thinking Eukaneba or Iams or maybe Science Diet. I dunno..

Originally Posted by Slipstream

I was thinking Eukaneba or Iams or maybe Science Diet. I dunno..

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Quality wise - no, no, and no.

If you have a Costco membership or someone who does, Kirkland cat food might be a decent option for you.

Or Chicken Soup - which is supposedly available in some farm supply stores in the US. I haven't seen it in Canada, but I haven't looked all that hard either.

Otherwise, maybe you can find some coupons or sales and buy a few bags when it's a little cheaper.

Can you list brands and prices in your area >>??

I am also in the wish it only cost a 1 $ a day to feed mine

Originally Posted by zoeysmom

Or Chicken Soup - which is supposedly available in some farm supply stores in the US. I haven't seen it in Canada, but I haven't looked all that hard either.

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Pet Value has it Bout $40 for the large bag.

Taste of the Wild is also a good brand, $40 for the large bag.

I feed a mix of both.

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

Pet Value has it

Bout $40 for the large bag.

Taste of the Wild is also a good brand, $40 for the large bag.

I feed a mix of both.

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Dang....I need your Pet Valu. Mine doesn't carry either....and the folks there have never heard of it.

Taste of the Wild is a really good food. It is grain-free and made by the same company that makes Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul which is recommended by several breeders. I have seen many posts that say Costco's Premium cat food is comparable to Chicken Soup in quality for less cost.

Ingredients of Costco's Kirkland cat food:

I would say that the offset in vet bills is enough to justify the price per day if you can swing it. (at least that's what I tell myself when I fork over for the big old bag of wellness)

Wish we had a costco..that food looks pretty good.

I use the Kirkland food and I really like it. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t afford the more expensive foods right now but my two boys do really well with the Kirkland.

Costco sells it in 25lb bags for ~$16, and I estimate I will get 4+ months out of one bag based on my current usage since Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been feeding off of one bag for about 6 weeks now and am only around 1/3 the way through.

My cats also get Friskies canned food every day. I use a friendâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Costco card to buy the dry but even if I had to buy a membership ($50) the Kirkland would still be less expensive.

I must say I like the ingredient list on that Kirklands as well as the price. I don't know anyone with a Costco membership so I would have to shell out for one as well as drive about 20 minutes to our nearest Costco.

Someone here also mentioned in another thread that Costco has a good litter for really cheap as well. Maybe it might be worth it to get a visitors pass to make sure my boys and girl like it before getting a membership. Do they even have visitor passes?

And yes... Nutro really has me frowning with their price increase. We had to switch due to it going out of our budget range. The canned price increase really had me down and to make matters worse they stopped stocking the 5.5 oz cans in everything but oceanfish.

Originally Posted by zoeysmom

Dang....I need your Pet Valu. Mine doesn't carry either....and the folks there have never heard of it.

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Hmmm, that stinks. I asked mine about Orijen and they heard of it but can't get it. I went into a PetSmart in London, and they didn't have any of the 3 brands (TOTW, CS, or Orijen).

Originally Posted by KatGoddess

Ingredients of Costco's Kirkland cat food:

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carbs for Kirkland: 37%


Here's Chicken Soup: ($40 at Pet Valu)

Ingredients
Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), ocean fish meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid

Protein: 30%
Fat: 20%
Carbs (figured out by me) 36%

Nutro Max Cat Chicken: ($60 as per stated)
Chicken Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Flour, Ground Rice, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Ground Whole Wheat, Natural Flavors, Chicken, Yeast Culture, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Menhaden Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Taurine, Zinc Sulfate, Dried Cranberry, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Inositol, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Manganous Oxide, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Potassium Iodide, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Dried Blueberry, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite.

Protein: 30%
Fat: 15%
Carbs (figured out by me) 31.5%

Taste of The Wild ($40 at Pet Valu)

Chicken meal, peas, sweet potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potato protein, roasted venison, smoked salmon, natural flavor, ocean fish meal, methionine, taurine, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin (vitamin B2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Protein: 42%
Fat: 18%
Carbs: (figured out by me) 27%

To the OP:

My question is should I switch to a cheaper brand and if so what brand is almost as good quality for a less price?

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If you find that $60/bag is too expensive for you, then yes, switch to a cheaper brand. TOTW is a cheaper food ($40) and a much better food than the Max Cat IMHO.

Originally Posted by zoeysmom

Dang....I need your Pet Valu. Mine doesn't carry either....and the folks there have never heard of it.

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If this is a store that you frequent for your cat food, often they will order in a particular brand of food for you. I live in a small town and the pet store there started ordering Orijen for me as well as Merrick's canned - now they have other customers buying those products as well.

It's worth asking about.

I feed my 23 cats Kirkland signature (Along with my 10 dogs). I like it, the cats have wonderful results on it. Its a very decent food, and for a amazing price! (Considering crappy brands like Science diet WAY overcharge!).

I would recommend it to anyone.

In Greece cat food is sooo expensive !!! you can either buy cheap food or super expensive one, nothing decent bellow 6-7 euro / kilo....

cheap brands cost from 1.50 to 3 euro/kilo
purina / iams around 5 euro / kilo
my orijen 7.5 k bag costs around 48 euro = 60 usd...

RX foods i buy, renal for hija cost 24 euro for 2 k and 1.1 euro per can/pouch
RX dental food cost around 18 euro for 2 k.

cans of good quality wet food - 85 gr each cost 1 euro cheap supermarket brands 400 gr cost the same...

I have a Costco membership, so I haven't verified this, but I was told by someone that you can go into Costco without a membership to buy a gift card and using that gift card, you can also get in without membership to buy what you need.

If this method really works...problem solved!

aw, yes i know all about that.. although i don't think the max has gone up as bad as the nutro natural choice i feed both so i am about choking at their increases.

I also have nutrience here as well, by hagan it's not cheap, but i do find less than the nutro products are as of late.

http://www.nutrience.com/english-eu/cat/index.html

they have not updated their site but they recently improved the cat line of foods...

offhand 1st couple ingredients of the one i feed

chicken meal, chicken, brown rice

i also keep hearing about costco but i too am not a member so it's not an option, however i do know in the past you have been allowed a visitor pass to check the place out, because we have done that.

I have a Costco membership, so I haven't verified this, but I was told by someone that you can go into Costco without a membership to buy a gift card and using that gift card, you can also get in without membership to buy what you need.

If this method really works...problem solved!

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They still need to see your Costco card, the gift card would just be your method of payment