Feeding Two Cats on a Budget

ellyr

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Hi all -

At the moment I have one cat.  Because I have one cat, I can spoil her - I feed her Wellness wet food, Blue Wilderness or Wellness dry food, can get her nice natural litter, etc.  She can have the best, which I like.

But she is alone.  And I keep hearing about how cats like company, and having two cats is better than one.  Today I met a sweet little guy who climbed all over me and purred and seemed to be saying, "You're my human, take me home."

BUT - two cats means more money.  It's possible.  But it would mean sacrificing an all Wellness diet - maybe I'd put her back on Trader Joe's wet food (she's done it before), but keep a decent dry food?  I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of having one cat on the best food she can be, versus giving her a buddy but cutting corners.

Any thoughts?
 

Willowy

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Trader Joe's canned food is really very good. No worries there. You can also look into buying the larger cans (since now you'll have 2 eating it faster), and that cuts the cost-per-ounce considerably.

You can get EVO 95% meat food for less than $2 per 13-ounce can (and they e-mail you 10% off coupon codes once you have an account): http://www.doggiefood.com/evo-95-chicken-turkey-canned-cat-kitten-food-13oz.html

Or if you want to stick with Wellness, they have the larger cans, too: http://www.doggiefood.com/wellness-canned-cat-chicken.html

But don't skimp on the dry food.
 

txcatmom

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By ordering large cans of Wellness online by the case, I was able to save quite a bit.  And mine don't mind eating leftovers at all.  (Even with 3 cats, one big can is too much for one meal.)  Petfooddirect sometimes has free shipping offers and I try to wait for those. 
 
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ellyr

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Thanks - I will look into ordering the super large cans.
 
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ellyr

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Thanks - I was thinking I would do TJs maybe 4 or five 5 days a week, then doing Wellness on the other days. 

I'm definitely planning on sticking to a high quality dry food.
 
 

revenwyn

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We're feed Natural Balance Chicken and Green Pea formula to our kitties, it's grain free and they're doing pretty well on it. I calculated that about $40 will feed them for a month once both are full grown. You can get it from Amazon for much cheaper than at a store, and it's eligible for Amazon Prime too, which means you save $5 on shipping every month (they give you free 2 day shipping!), which pretty much pays for an Amazon Prime membership by itself, and especially if you order other stuff from Amazon.
 
 

kittylover23

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Trader Joes brand canned food is really good. :D I think that feeding two kitties Trader Joes canned and Wellness dry would be a good diet.

I feed my kitties Weruva canned food, and it is about $1.20 a can. It is a very good quality food as well. If you shop around I am sure you will find a healthy food for your kitties that's healthy for your wallet as well. ;)
 

violetxx

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Hi Ellyr,

I'm excited for you, getting another cat is very fulfilling. Cat food-wise, Trader Joe is a mediocre food, would you have access to Fancy Feast at the grocery store? I'm my opinion your better off feeding a food with animal by-products than you are with a food that contains grains. Fancy feast is high in protein and very low in carbs which is what an obligate carnivore is meant to eat. As others have already mentioned, if you are able to find high quality wet food brands in bulk online I would do that. The only downfall is depending how picky the cat there's a possibility of them not liking the food and then your stuck with a case. Also make sure you don't feed foods containing fish everyday, once a week is best (due to mercury, and urinary tract issues).

Some higher quality brands are: 

-Nature's Variety Instinct

-Evo or Innova

-Blue Wilderness Wild Delights or Blue Bistro (they are both grain-free and carageenan-free)

-Fromm

-Wellness

-Tiki Cat

-Ziwipeak

Also if possible, I would recommend getting them off the dry food if you can, it's much healthier for them that way. http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/why-dry-food-is-bad-for-cats-and-dogs/

In my personal opinion, good cat nutrition is essential for maintaining optimal cat health. It helps prevent against illnesses such as diabetes, IBD, urinary tract issues, cancer, etc. just like it is in humans. IMHO your going to save a lot of money in future vet bills if you feed properly now, but that's just me.

On another note, if you are going to get another cat, make sure that when you introduce them you do it very slowly (you can search it on TCS) basically you need to keep them separated for while and slowly allow them to get used to each others smell and then after a few days they can finally meet. Also I am not sure where you are getting this cat from, but please spay/neuter your new cat and the old cat if you haven't (very important!!).

Keep us posted on what you decide!

All the best! 
 

gloriajh

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Thanks - I was thinking I would do TJs maybe 4 or five 5 days a week, then doing Wellness on the other days. 

I'm definitely planning on sticking to a high quality dry food.
 
Just to jump in here - TJ's DRY is not a quality food - if you were considering that. 
  I once tried to buy it and after I looked at the ingredients, I complained to TJ's about the garbage in their dry.. I haven't looked at the ingredients in about 3 years, so maybe they've changed the ingredients by now??   Their canned is great - in my area it's now $.69 a can

You might look into feeding RAW - see the forum (http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-feeding-for-cats) for some experiences people have with feeding raw - someone (LDG) published the cost breakdown - and raw could be less expensive - as well as healthy healthy - for your cat(s) - I attempted to find the link, but ran out of time, sorry. 
 

just mike

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Online ordering can save you some bucks which others have also pointed out.  I don't know much about TJ's dry food.  Their wet food seems okay.  You can take a look at Nutro products at http://www.nutro.com/natural-cat-food.aspx   Nutro Max is the more econimical of the 2 lines with Natural Choice being the more high end.  I know you will do what is best for your kitties and your budget. Getting a new kitty is so much fun.  I'm at my max right now with 4 cats and 2 dogs.  But I loves 'em all
 
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