Quick Question

Hi guys. I have two cats. I feed them mainly dry food, so this question relates to that. I have been throwing wet in, just not nearly as often as they get the dry.

I had been putting out 1 cup of food in the morning (they eat from the saem bowl). It was working nicely. They paced themselves throughout the day, and it never totally ran out. This was Nutro Max food.

I moved recently and switched the time I was feeding them to the evening, because it worked out better with my schedule. I noticed they seemed to be starting to eat a little more food.

Fast forward tto last week when I got laid off. I've been, regretfully, switching them to a little cheaper of a brand simply because of financial reasons. Since this has started, I've noticed they've been finishing the bowl really early.

If I feed them around 5:30 to 6:00pm, the food will be totally gone by the next morning (10amish).

Do I have anything I need to worry about here? Do I need to switch back to a morning feeding time? Do I need to increase the amount of food they are getting by a little bit? Should I divide it into a morning portion and an evening portion?

Is there any clear choice for brands among the cheaper end of dry cat food?

Thanks all.

They need to eat more of a cheaper food to get the same nutrition they would get in a better quality food. That's why it often does not come out any cheaper to feed a lower quality food. They use the litter less with a better food as well so you save on litter as well.

what is your budget for a month for food?? where are you shopping?

Haven't had time to work out a budget yet. I can shop anywhere though. I have a petsmart very close so the selection is decent. Online is always an option.

I had been feeding them the nutro max indoor weight control variety, because both of the kitties were just a little big when I got them. I was attempting to switch them to something much cheaper (Friskies indoor delights, don't get on me too bad for that please ).

I hadn't thought about the point Yosemite made about needing more of the cheaper brands, but it makes sense.

I suppose I'll try to transition them back to something a little better quality. I guess this is as good of a time to ask this as any.

I know Nutro has had some problem with their food. if I'm going to switch my kitties back to something, using the Nutro Max price as a relative guideline, what food would you guys recommend? For two cats that should probably weigh in the 8-10ish pound range, what amount should I try to go with?

Petsmarts authority is Very similiar to Nutro s max line and often a good price on sale ... My little tip for saving money is buy a bag for two months.. ie generally 1 cat eats 3-4 lbs of dry a month ... so two cat s would eat 6-8 which means a 16lb( which most 20 lbs have turned into ) could be bought and generally will save you a few $$ ...

I would also suggest NOT a wt control formula as many of these are higher in carbs than a regular or even and indoor food... also compare guidelines wt controls often say feed more

Originally Posted by gherrick0918

I had been putting out 1 cup of food in the morning (they eat from the saem bowl). It was working nicely. They paced themselves throughout the day, and it never totally ran out. This was Nutro Max food.

I moved recently and switched the time I was feeding them to the evening, because it worked out better with my schedule. I noticed they seemed to be starting to eat a little more food.

Click to expand...

Since no one answered why they were eating more on an evening schedule before you switched foods, I'm going to offer a suggestion as to why they did this. Cats are more active in the evening and at night. During the day they were probably napping while you were gone.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Since no one answered why they were eating more on an evening schedule before you switched foods, I'm going to offer a suggestion as to why they did this. Cats are more active in the evening and at night. During the day they were probably napping while you were gone.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the aadvice on that. I'll maybe try to get them back to something earlier in the day so I can test this.

Originally Posted by sharky

Petsmarts authority is Very similiar to Nutro s max line and often a good price on sale ... My little tip for saving money is buy a bag for two months.. ie generally 1 cat eats 3-4 lbs of dry a month ... so two cat s would eat 6-8 which means a 16lb( which most 20 lbs have turned into ) could be bought and generally will save you a few $$ ...

I would also suggest NOT a wt control formula as many of these are higher in carbs than a regular or even and indoor food... also compare guidelines wt controls often say feed more

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice on that. I may go check out authority and see what its all about. I currently have a nearly full 10lb container of the friskies/nutromax mix.

I'd love to go ahead and just get better stuff (as you can see I'm a little late on my research), but it be quite a waste off moeny for me right now to just get rid of this mix. Once I get it down a little was, I'll maybe check out a bag of authority and start working some in.

For now the little ones seem happy and healthy, so unless that changes, I think I have a decent plan.

your not late ... you are doing it so