multiple cats.. what to feed?

Im afraid I dont know as much about cat nutrition as I do dogs.

My BF ussually buys the cat food.. and he typically gets it at walmart (we work there, its easy to just pick up stuff after work). This time he got Friskies indoor delights.. and its given the cats gas.. ick. Bastet crawled in bed last nite and was stinking it up under the covers.

With 4 cats, we go thru food fast. What brands do you think are the best "bang for the buck"? We live in a small rural area, and there's only a few small stores that carry decent foods.. so Im limited by what's actually available.

Is Diamond a decent brand? I believe TSC carries that one... I know its not the "best" brand.. but better than 9 lives or friskies?

We dont have a costco, sam's club or anything like that. There's 2 small pet-supply stores in town- both carry a small, but slightly different selection.. and the TSC.

Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul is made by Diamond & I believe it is a very good food.

Diamond is a solid premium.... IMHO some of them are better than some "super premiums"

Originally Posted by nekkiddoglady

There's 2 small pet-supply stores in town- both carry a small, but slightly different selection.. and the TSC.

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That's more than I have in town. TSC = Tractor Supply? If so there are some great foods there. I pick up Taste of the Wild dry from there and use that for the cats that can eat it. At ~$22 for a 15lb it's not the cheapest but it's a great price for a quality food. They also have Blue, diamond as you noticed, nutro, and one called 4health that didn't look too terrible.

The basics for proper dog nutrition and cat nutrition are not that different. Often if a brand makes a great dog food, they'll have a good or even great cat food, too. Only difference you have to remember - dogs do well with some grains and veggies, cats really don't tend to need that in their food.

TSC is tractor supply.

Yes chicken soup is good.. but I dont think anyone here locally carries it... Ive never seen it anyways.

One issue I found.. is that alot of places around here carry the "good" stuff in the smaller bags.. which would be fine if you've only got one cat to feed.. but when you've got multiple cats, you kinda need the big bag. I know I saw the diamond in the larger bag at TSC.

I know for dogs, diamond is considered a good "bulk" food if you've got large dogs or multiple dogs. Not the best food out there, but good for the price if you cant afford the super premium stuff.

Diamond, I believe, is the same company as Chicken Soup, Taste of the Wild, and Premium Edge. I don't feed Diamond Naturals b/c it has caused problems with high urinary pH/UTI issues in both cats & dogs at my house. I do feed Taste of the Wild & Premium Edge, though.

If they carry small bags, you can ask if they can special order large bags. I drive an hour to get to a pet store (one way), so I know the feeling of not being able to get decent food anywhere. They special order me large bags of food as well as kitty litter (they carry Dr. Elsy's cat attract & order the precious cat ultra for me). So it wouldn't hurt to ask if they can order in larger bags.

If you do buy food from Wal Mart, IMO Purina ONE & Purina Naturals are decent. My Wal Mart has ONE in larger bags.

The ONE is one of the more expensive brands at walmart.. issue will be convincing the BF to pick up that brand LOL. I can get it when I buy the cat food. They also have Iams. My opinion on those brands is that for the same price, I can find something better.

They have another brand, goodlife recipie.. its not as expensive as ONE, but not much more expensive than friskies is.. http://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Goodli....5-lb/10451118

The one supply store will special order foods, but I had an issue with them a few years ago when I tried to order merricks for my dog. Alot of times they would not get the order in, even when I made the order far enough in advance.. so it would be another week till they'd get it in.. and I didnt ussually have enough dog food to last another week... I'd end up having to go out of town to get the brand, or buy something else.

Goodlife is a fraction better than Friskies... One as mentioned is decent .... I prefer Natural if you are shopping at walmart

Tractor Supply should have larger bags of cat foods, too. But may not stock as many of them as they do the smaller bags. Go to their site, look at what foods they have, find the number for your store then call. If they're like they one near me you should get a helpful person on the phone that actually knows their store very well.

I buy Taste of the Wild and 4Health at TSC. They have never been out of the large bags when I've gone, even at the very small town TSC I sometimes go to. Once I wanted 3 bags of TOTW, and they had to go in back to get the other 2 bags, but they did have it. And they're always sending me 15% off coupons in the mail! I think TSC is your best bet (and be sure to sign up for their coupon mailing list!). Some of the Diamond formulas are pretty good, but I haven't tried them personally--read the ingredient list to be sure. And I don't think they cost any less than 4Health. I think for a basic food, 4Health is solid and is fairly inexpensive. It's $19.99 for 18 pounds here. The all-life-stages formula is better than the indoor formula.

If you're stuck with Wal-Mart, Purina Naturals and Purina ONE are best. Naturals is $15-something for 14 pounds and ONE is $21-something for 16 pounds. Naturals is a bit better, IMO.

I have also noticed that foods with a lot of food coloring really cranks up the stink meter! Point that out to your boyfriend so he knows not to buy the techni-color kibbles. Anything that looks like Froot Loops is out! It's a simple rule. . .LOL.