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'Over the counter' cat food

post #1 of 14
7/2/11 at 1:59pm
Thread Starter 
I am wondering what 'over the counter' cat food (as in from grocery store or walmart) is the best to feed ones cat. Keep in mind that I am on a bit of a budget. Thanks!!!
KM
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post #2 of 14
7/2/11 at 2:51pm
Cheaper cat foods contain more fillers, so cats end up eating more and using the litter box more.
The savings you see at the register will only be short term as you'll end up going through more feed and more litter.

Better to look at a low to mid level premium, some of which are actually cheaper than grocery store feeds.

Do you have big box chain petstores or feed stores in your area?
Like petco or petsmart?

Some of the low/mid premiums that are affordable on a tight budget are Taste of The Wild, Nutro and PetSmart's Authority brands.

I feed Taste of the Wild and its actually cheaper than Cat Chow around here.
16 pounds lasts my three 2.5 months, which is great as we are both unemployed.
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post #3 of 14
7/2/11 at 4:00pm
The Costco house brand is considered pretty good, and pretty reasonable, about $15 for 20 lbs. Keep in mind, however, that the cheapest store food is probably healthier than what a cat would eat in the wild, exposing it to fewer diseases, parasites, etc.

And the best food in the world is no good, if your cat won't eat it.
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post #4 of 14
7/2/11 at 5:35pm
Thread Starter 
True mrblanche. But if the only foods your cat will eat are VERY not good for them (though not actually poisonous) then what? Also, to the first poster. I have petvalu and pets ulimited, but not petco or petsmart.
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post #5 of 14
7/3/11 at 3:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
The Costco house brand is considered pretty good, and pretty reasonable, about $15 for 20 lbs. Keep in mind, however, that the cheapest store food is probably healthier than what a cat would eat in the wild, exposing it to fewer diseases, parasites, etc.

And the best food in the world is no good, if your cat won't eat it.
Uh...
The cheapest food is going to be mainly carbs, the complete opposite of a cats natural diet, and the cause of many non-typical diseases in cats. Not to mention those foods are frequently caught up in recalls for Salmonella and the like. (In fact, Purina is having a recall for their food including Friskies, because of possibly Salmonella contamination right now)

Their stomachs are specifically designed to be able to kill any diseases present in the prey they eat, so them getting sick of their natural diet is not a common occurrence.


To the OP: I was going to recommend Authority which is very cheap, but if you don't have a Petsmart, then I don't know what to recommend. :[
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post #6 of 14
7/3/11 at 7:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minka View Post
Their stomachs are specifically designed to be able to kill any diseases present in the prey they eat, so them getting sick of their natural diet is not a common occurrence.
Really? Then how do they get roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, giardia, coccidia, etc?

I agree we should feed the best food we can afford and that is available. I personally feed our cats the Costco Kirkland brand (supplemented with a fairly inexpensive but reputable wet food).
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post #7 of 14
7/3/11 at 1:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kittymama2000 View Post
True mrblanche. But if the only foods your cat will eat are VERY not good for them (though not actually poisonous) then what? Also, to the first poster. I have petvalu and pets ulimited, but not petco or petsmart.
Taste of the Wild is sold at Pet Valu, although I do find Pet Valu to be a bit more expensive than Global. The staff at Pet Valu is usually pretty knowledgable - unless they are just opening or have temporary staff in, then they're completely oblivious.

Off the top of my head (for posters that are unfamiliar with what Pet Valu sells, so they can give recommendations) they sell TOTW, Royal Canin, Wellness, Nature's Variety (some stores have freezers for the RAW), the "cheap" brands (Iams, SD, etc), Before Grain, EVO, Solid Gold... that's all that I can think of right now, but I'm stopping in there tomorrow to get dog food and cat litter so I'll check then. They also have a store brand, but I can't remember what it's called - I'll try to get the ingredients list tomorrow.
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post #8 of 14
7/3/11 at 6:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
Really? Then how do they get roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, giardia, coccidia, etc?
Roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms are animals, not diseases..
Giardia and coccidia are caught from sharing the litterbox of a carrier cat.
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post #9 of 14
7/3/11 at 7:17pm
An infection with a parasite can be considered a disease, but, not to split hairs, all those parasites are picked up from eating infected prey animals (although tapeworms have an intermediate carrier, the flea). Giardia is most commonly caught from drinking infected water, and while one variety of coccidia in cats is acquired from fecal contamination, all others are caught from prey animals.

But my real point is that we shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. A cat eating any national brand of cat food is better off than one eating live animals or table scraps, which were the norm before the pet food industry was started not all that long ago.

Coccidiosis and giardiasis in cats
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post #10 of 14
7/5/11 at 11:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
An infection with a parasite can be considered a disease, but, not to split hairs, all those parasites are picked up from eating infected prey animals (although tapeworms have an intermediate carrier, the flea). Giardia is most commonly caught from drinking infected water, and while one variety of coccidia in cats is acquired from fecal contamination, all others are caught from prey animals.

But my real point is that we shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. A cat eating any national brand of cat food is better off than one eating live animals or table scraps, which were the norm before the pet food industry was started not all that long ago.

Coccidiosis and giardiasis in cats
Agreed! Everyone is on a different budget. Some pet foods are better than others that is for sure. But if someone is on a really tight budget, the pet will get what it needs from any national brand. That is why AAFCO is around.
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post #11 of 14
7/7/11 at 8:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by NutroMike View Post
Agreed! Everyone is on a different budget. Some pet foods are better than others that is for sure. But if someone is on a really tight budget, the pet will get what it needs from any national brand. That is why AAFCO is around.
I don't necessarily believe that, as I've seen some VERY unhealthy cats from eating store-brand generic dry food (yes, it's AAFCO certified), Meow Mix, or Alley Cat (the worst brand name cat food available). The AAFCO test is whether the animals are still alive after eating the food for 6 months, they don't care how healthy they are.

If you were absolutely stuck with Wal-Mart/grocery store foods, Purina ONE or Purina Naturals would probably be your best bet (Purina ONE is sort of pricey, though, and by the ingredients I actually think Naturals is better anyway). If your Wal-Mart still sells Maxximum Nutrition (some do, some don't), that's pretty good.
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post #12 of 14
7/8/11 at 6:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Willowy View Post
I don't necessarily believe that, as I've seen some VERY unhealthy cats from eating store-brand generic dry food (yes, it's AAFCO certified), Meow Mix, or Alley Cat (the worst brand name cat food available). The AAFCO test is whether the animals are still alive after eating the food for 6 months, they don't care how healthy they are.

If you were absolutely stuck with Wal-Mart/grocery store foods, Purina ONE or Purina Naturals would probably be your best bet (Purina ONE is sort of pricey, though, and by the ingredients I actually think Naturals is better anyway). If your Wal-Mart still sells Maxximum Nutrition (some do, some don't), that's pretty good.
I think you misinterpreted my meaning when I mentioned AAFCO. I said the cat will get what it needs, meaning a sustainable existence. I did not intend for my statement to come off that the cat will be in the peak of health. Sorry if I did not make myself very clear

I really don't know what pet foods the discount stores carry anymore because I don't usually look in the pet section when I shop these stores. They probably carry the brands you mention and probably Fancy Feast maybe. I'm not familiar with Maxximum Nutrition.
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post #13 of 14
7/8/11 at 12:39pm
Well, that's just it. . .I don't believe generic food or Alley Cat DOES provide a sustainable existence, any more than eating out of a dumpster would. The cats I've known who ate only that kind of food didn't live very long.

The usual dry cat food selection at Wal-Mart is Special Kitty, Friskies, Cat/Kitten Chow, Purina ONE (and recently Purina ONE Beyond), Purina Naturals, Meow Mix, Alley Cat, and, at some locations, Maxximum and Newman's Own. Newman's Own is good, but expensive. Maxximum is good, but availability is so spotty. Purina ONE Beyond is OK, but also expensive. If I were on a strict budget and couldn't shop anywhere but Wal-Mart, I wouldn't have a problem feeding my cats Purina Naturals.

Canned food selection is Friskies, Fancy Feast, Special Kitty, Nine Lives, Meow Mix, and Sheba (and some places Newman's Own). Honestly, I don't consider any of them to be so awful I would never buy them. There are some flavors of some brands I wouldn't buy (added sugar or "wheat middlings"), but if you read the labels carefully you can usually find something not too horrible.
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post #14 of 14
7/9/11 at 6:16am
Do you have a pet valu? they sell chicken soup which is fairly reasonable. They have there own foods called performatrin..

Cat chow naturals is not in Canada, so that option is out. Felidae is quite reasonable to.. but it's spotty on which pet valu carry it.
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