OK there HAS to be a cheaper way to feed my cats

sharky · Jun 9, 2009

Originally Posted by mschauer

I think that is the problem with giving cats a food formulated for dogs. The formula may be appropriate for cats at one time but the manufacturer isn't under any obligation to keep it that way. They could change it at any time without notice so that it is still appropriate for dogs but maybe not so appropriate anymore for cats.

If the dog food only makes up a part of the cats diet, maybe the dog forumla would always be close enough to a cat forumula that the other cat food fed would make up for any difference????

that is what I talked with the vet about prior to use and she said yeah it would be fine... By the way the cat and dog cans are identical NOW as I just compared the CORE last week

... I read labels prior to buying every case just in case whether it is labeled cat , dog or both for changes...

another pt on this topic since I feed a "variety " diet of dry , cat and dog canned , freeze dried raw and what ever cooked or raw meats they will eat ,I also add taurine and lysine to supplement

auntie crazy · Jun 9, 2009

I switched my five cats from canned foods to all raw and cut my cat-food bill in half. Literally. Went from paying $100 every two weeks to barely paying $50.

You can read about the transition here.

Good luck!

A.C.

sharky · Jun 9, 2009

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

I switched my five cats from canned foods to all raw and cut my cat-food bill in half. Literally. Went from paying $100 every two weeks to barely paying $50.

You can read about the transition here.

Good luck!

A.C.

it is quite the journey if you can gets the kitties to cooperate .. In my case I would double to triple the food bill by going all raw and have at least two cats starve to death... in my house the ones who like and eat get raw about 2 times a week

zoeysmom · Jun 9, 2009

Nance, Taste of the Wild and Acana would be good to try if you want to stay grain free. If you're willing to try a little grain (I've decided I'm OK with rice, just not corn or wheat), then Kirkland is a very cheap choice! I decided I needed to cut down and tried my girls on Kirkland. We're half and half with Orijen right now, and things have been fine. Haven't decided if I want to keep them split, or just switch over to Kirkland completely. Splitting is a good option too, if you're not wanting to completely switch over.

I'm not sure where you live in Ontario, but Pet Valu may have TotW (mine doesn't, but I know others here get it there). Global Ryan's has Acana, as does my local independent store. Check the locator on the websites....I found pet stores near me that I have never even heard of!

mschauer · Jun 9, 2009

Originally Posted by sharky

it is quite the journey if you can gets the kitties to cooperate .. In my case I would double to triple the food bill by going all raw and have at least two cats starve to death... in my house the ones who like and eat get raw about 2 times a week

And of course it's easy to find those who say the same thing about switching from dry to wet or from grocery store wet to better quality wet. Kitties just aren't always cooperative about switching foods regardless of the from what to what.

sharky · Jun 9, 2009

Originally Posted by mschauer

And of course it's easy to find those who say the same thing about switching from dry to wet or from grocery store wet to better quality wet. Kitties just aren't always cooperative about switching foods regardless of the from what to what.

Very true ... Kitties are unique ...and as I Have ALWAYS put it get the best you can afford and are willing to feed and YOUR CAT WILL eat , the best of course is different for all

auntie crazy · Jun 10, 2009

As I watch my five dash around the house like their tails are on fire, chasing each other and slaying hapless flies (no fly has lasted even 60 seconds after discovery) and listen to the neighbors complain good-naturedly abou the noise, I remain quite grateful for the relative ease I had in transitioning my crew.

Heck, their first meal was half-frozen chicken breasts and didn't last much longer than the flies do!

sweetpea24 · Jun 10, 2009

Originally Posted by zoeysmom

Nance, Taste of the Wild and Acana would be good to try if you want to stay grain free. If you're willing to try a little grain (I've decided I'm OK with rice, just not corn or wheat), then Kirkland is a very cheap choice! I decided I needed to cut down and tried my girls on Kirkland. We're half and half with Orijen right now, and things have been fine. Haven't decided if I want to keep them split, or just switch over to Kirkland completely. Splitting is a good option too, if you're not wanting to completely switch over.

I'm not sure where you live in Ontario, but Pet Valu may have TotW (mine doesn't, but I know others here get it there). Global Ryan's has Acana, as does my local independent store. Check the locator on the websites....I found pet stores near me that I have never even heard of!

I know Global or Ryans in Burlington and Oakville have TOTW but I've never seen a Pet Valu have it. I've only seen Wellness as their premium food. Ren's Pet Depot is getting more and more premium foods so you (Nance) may want to try there too.

Snake Lady, when you listed the ingredients for dog and cat Core, you bolded the ingredients that you were concerned about. Both the cat and dog formulas have manganese Proteinate but you only bolded the one in the dog food. Did you bold it because you didn't like the MP in the dog food but it's okay in the cat food? Just wondering...

nance · Jun 11, 2009

The only pet supply store in my town is basicly PetValu...I can go over to the next town and they carry Orjien/Go and again wellness core...but this store wellness core is even more...I think like $1 or $2 more....
I went back to PetValu again last night and asked them to order me the larger bag of wellness core...its 12 lbs and is $52 plus tx...As it stands now I pay 12.99 for the 2lbs and 34.99 for the 5 lb bag...So I can save by buying the larger bag... How long would a bag that size stay fresh ? Does anyone freeze their dry cat food ?....However my cats eat mostly canned grain free and they won't give me a deal if I buy a case...I think I am going to have to switch to raw...seems like the only way to save some money...Or switch them off of the grain free canned...which I really would rather not because they are all doing so well on it....even my cat prone to crystals..I'm still looking for an online supplier...I just gotta cut the cost of my cat food...

snake_lady · Jun 11, 2009

Originally Posted by SweetPea24

Snake Lady, when you listed the ingredients for dog and cat Core, you bolded the ingredients that you were concerned about. Both the cat and dog formulas have manganese Proteinate but you only bolded the one in the dog food. Did you bold it because you didn't like the MP in the dog food but it's okay in the cat food? Just wondering...

Nope, I didn't see it in the catfood... Thanks for pointing that out

(can't edit that post now). So in that case its just the salt that is different. (plus the taurine and the other vit/mineral that the cat food has and the dog does not)

My PV doesn't carry Core canned, but I bet they could get it. Although I did have a look at the prices on regular wellness canned, and they were the same in both cat and dog food, so I have a sinking feeling it would be the same in Core. D'oh.... I didn't check the size, maybe the dogfood was slightly bigger, not sure.... the can size "looked" the same but I'll have to check next time I'm in.

My pet valu always has TOTW.... sometimes you have to ask, generally if they can bring it in, they will. I've asked for a couple of things, unfortunately they are not available. But they already stock TOTW in both cat and dog foods

zoeysmom · Jun 11, 2009

Originally Posted by Nance

The only pet supply store in my town is basicly PetValu...I can go over to the next town and they carry Orjien/Go and again wellness core...but this store wellness core is even more...I think like $1 or $2 more....
I went back to PetValu again last night and asked them to order me the larger bag of wellness core...its 12 lbs and is $52 plus tx...As it stands now I pay 12.99 for the 2lbs and 34.99 for the 5 lb bag...So I can save by buying the larger bag... How long would a bag that size stay fresh ? Does anyone freeze their dry cat food ?....However my cats eat mostly canned grain free and they won't give me a deal if I buy a case...I think I am going to have to switch to raw...seems like the only way to save some money...Or switch them off of the grain free canned...which I really would rather not because they are all doing so well on it....even my cat prone to crystals..I'm still looking for an online supplier...I just gotta cut the cost of my cat food...

If you're going through the small bag as quickly as you mentioned in your original post, your large bag should last more than long enough. You may want to invest in an airtight storage container if you're worried about it being fresh. You can buy them at any pet store. I've just been using large ice cream tubs (4L) and my cats haven't seemed to mind. They are just a pain to store!

Try www.petacular.ca. They are London-based and you can order online. Not sure what their shipping costs are like, but they do offer "by the case" prices. The websites a little tricky to navigate through....you might originally end up at the dry food, but if you scroll all the way to the bottom of each brand page, they will usually have links to other products of the same brand...ie. canned, larger cans.

snake_lady · Jun 11, 2009

Originally Posted by zoeysmom

Try www.petacular.ca. They are London-based and you can order online. Not sure what their shipping costs are like, but they do offer "by the case" prices. The websites a little tricky to navigate through....you might originally end up at the dry food, but if you scroll all the way to the bottom of each brand page, they will usually have links to other products of the same brand...ie. canned, larger cans.

I did investigate them, but found their case prices to be similiar to single can and not worth it to pay shipping... end up paying more per can. (37.99 case of Wellness, or 3.19 per can which adds up to 38.28....savings of 29cents)

baloneysmom · Jun 11, 2009

I hate to hijack this thread, but I have been following it closely, with lay offs at my work I will potentially need a plan to cut costs.

Sharky: I notice a lot of people mentioned Taste of the Wild, but I always find you never comment on it. Even if the spreadsheet Sohni so nicely created for us did not include Taste of the Wild. Why is this out of curiosity?

Thanks!

followedbydolls · Jun 11, 2009

Originally Posted by SweetPea24

I know Global or Ryans in Burlington and Oakville have TOTW but I've never seen a Pet Valu have it. I've only seen Wellness as their premium food. Ren's Pet Depot is getting more and more premium foods so you (Nance) may want to try there too.

Snake Lady, when you listed the ingredients for dog and cat Core, you bolded the ingredients that you were concerned about. Both the cat and dog formulas have manganese Proteinate but you only bolded the one in the dog food. Did you bold it because you didn't like the MP in the dog food but it's okay in the cat food? Just wondering...

Pet valu is starting too, obviously i cannot speak for all of them but mine and fwiw small town, now has chicken soup and TOTW came in with it since their the same company.

I find most of the stores sell the same products.. it is a new thing though, like last mth or so.

sharky · Jun 11, 2009

Originally Posted by BaloneysMom

I hate to hijack this thread, but I have been following it closely, with lay offs at my work I will potentially need a plan to cut costs.

Sharky: I notice a lot of people mentioned Taste of the Wild, but I always find you never comment on it. Even if the spreadsheet Sohni so nicely created for us did not include Taste of the Wild. Why is this out of curiosity?

Thanks!

I have used taste and use it in the mix .. the chart likely when many of us switched we did not go back and add to that thread

kscatlady · Jun 11, 2009

Is 16 lb as big as you can get Taste of the Wild?

sharky · Jun 11, 2009

Originally Posted by kscatlady

Is 16 lb as big as you can get Taste of the Wild?

yes to date it is

nance · Jun 11, 2009

I have ordered from petacular in the past..they didn't have wellness core at the time..I ordered some go canned for my dogs...they wouldn't eat it...so thinking what am I going to do with 12 cans...fed alittle to my cats...and one got very sick...$ 400 vet bill...lesson learned not to feed dog food to cats....I did get the cats merrick and they liked it but could only get small cans they were eating 2 a day so it only less than one week....And with shipping I didn't save any money ...

OK there HAS to be a cheaper way to feed my cats

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