Completely starting over - 4 cats on a budget

My cats eat Meow Mix. There, now I've gotten the worst out of the way!

I've been reading through the forums & cat food articles, looking at pet food prices online, and have concluded that a great diet is simply not within the budget. A 17ish pound bag of Meow Mix is about $12, while EVO 95% is $22 for twelve 13.2 ounce cans. It's 2am, and I'm too tired to make calculations, but my guesstimate is about 5624% increase in pet food cost  With four cats and four dogs (plus hundreds of dollars recently spent in various vet bills, leaving jobless me even more broke), this simply isn't possible.*

The vet says my senior kitty (11yo) has a vitamin deficiency. Her iron came in low, though thankfully everything else is fairly healthy (and no anemia—yet!). He doesn't think supplements are necessary, just a change in diet since Meow Mix is junk. I'm positive the other kitties would benefit from the change as well, though they're younger and not yet showing any signs of poor nutrition (9yo, 4yo, 1yo). He gave me some pamphlets for Science Diet and a Purina brand—I'm not sure these are much better!

A homecooked raw diet really wouldn't work since I'm vegetarian, and I'm not sure I could bear handling meat every day.

I have a few questions—

Is it possible they will eat less food if I switch them to a higher quality? I keep their dishes full, and they all eat small meals throughout the day. They used to be on Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula but once they had a taste of Meow Mix (cheap reserve food), they decided they'd eat nothing else. They've been on it for a few months, and I've noticed they seem to eat more of it. I don't know if it's because they like it more, or they need more to feel full.

Would it be better to transition them to a regular feeding schedule instead of letting them eat whatever they want, when they want? None of them is overweight, so I think they're good at limiting themselves. I'd be worried about feeding them too little (since I know they likely won't eat too much), but I think I could figure it out with some research.

Most important, does anyone have suggestions for a healthy, decently priced kibble? I'd be happy to mix in some canned food, but I'm not sure I can afford a 100% canned diet. Like I said, Meow Mix is $12 for a 17lb bag: preferably, the new food wouldn't be much more than twice that price.

I'm currently eyeing Nutro Max. I feed my chihuahua their small dog formula, and while he's been doing fine, I'm not 100% convinced by the ingredients and have thought of switching him to something else. I wonder if the cat food is better. I got a sample of Kahoots-brand dog food, and the ingredients are surprisingly not bad (from the little I can tell after reading pet food articles!). I wonder if anyone is familiar with their cat food? I can't find the ingredients list online anywhere.

* Please don't think my family are hoarders  All of our animals are strays or kids of strays, many times adopted right off the streets. We're doing the best we can for them with no help. There are no shelters here, and you can literally not walk two blocks without seeing an emaciated cat or dog. It feels terrible to just pass them by—and sometimes, we simply can't.

I'm so tired, but here we go!!

If you are jobless, it is entirely understandable that you would not be able to afford better foods right now. Just keep in mind that a healthier diet usually means less vet trips. :nod:

As far as I can remember, quite a few of the members here are vegetarian AND feed raw. You also have to keep in mind that when you are pouring the dry food into the bowl, its not that much different from pouring tiny pieces of chickens in there.

They will indeed eat less food with a higher quality diet! Less stinky poops too.

Yes, schedule is much better. :nod: It makes keeping track of how much they are eating much easier. I've gotten into the habit of using a dry-erase marker to jot down when I last opened a can so Grim doesn't secretly trick me into feeding him more than a can a day.

The words 'healthy' and 'kibble' don't really collide with me, but some kibble that would be better would be basically the same brands recommended for wet. Innova, Evo, Avoderm, Wellness, etc.

I'm not going to give an opinion on Nutro because I've never tried it, but I can tell you one thing: formulas that are optimised for 'indoors' 'seniors' 'breeds' or 'small/large dogs' are a gimmick. All cats and all dogs have the same kinds of insides and don't need different kinds of foods. There is a difference when you have a sick animal, but in that case you should be adding supplements to the diet, not having to change the whole formula. :2cts:

*LOL, no one here is going to think you are a hoarder for having 8 pets. I'm pretty sure you are breaking no record around here.

Since the budget is SO slim right now, I'll suggest things that are generally lower quality than I would normally. Maybe once you're employed again you can go up a few steps in quality. Sometimes you just have to keep bellies full.

Do you have access to the same selection as in the U.S.? If so, I recommend Purina Cat Chow Naturals. It's the same price as regular Cat Chow (in most stores)--which is only slightly more expensive than Meow Mix-- and actually has chicken meal as the first ingredient. If you get the largest bag you'll pay less per pound. Purina ONE would be my next pick, but it's more expensive. Nutro Max would be tied for second, and costs about the same as Purina ONE. Depending on the availability in your area, there are a few more in this price range--Chicken Soup, Diamond Naturals, 4Health, etc.

I would try for half canned food. It is more expensive but it should help prevent a few vet bills. Most canned foods are OK, even Special Kitty isn't too terrible. Avoid added sugar and grains too high on the ingredient list.

Minka said:

I'm not going to give an opinion on Nutro because I've never tried it, but I can tell you one thing: formulas that are optimised for 'indoors' 'seniors' 'breeds' or 'small/large dogs' are a gimmick. All cats and all dogs have the same kinds of insides and don't need different kinds of foods.

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<scratching head>  Did you mistype this or what?  "All cats and dogs have the same kinds of insides and don't need different kinds of foods"?  What?  And BTW, there are different nutritional requirements for different life stages in any pets life but for the most part a premium quality adult food will suffice with cats... at least that has been my experience and the advice of my vet.  For dogs it depends upon the breed.  But dogs and cats don't have the "same kinds of insides" and do have different nutritional requirements.  You did say you were tired so I assume you did not word this the way you wanted to.  Actually I'd bet the house on it

She didn't mean "cats and dogs are the same", she meant "all cats are the same" and "all dogs are the same". Which is true. No, it doesn't depend on the breed.

I feed Blue Buffalo, and I love it. I am on their grain free wilderness formula for my 2 kitties, and they eat far far less than they did on Purina Naturals. Like I would go through over 2 10lb bags of the Natural a month, and Blue Wilderness I go through a little over one 7lb bag a month. My cats are also free fed.

That said, Blue is expensive even for the normal formulas...like 17.99 or so at Petsmart for a 7lb bag. However IMHO 7lb of premium kibble is equal in terms of how much they would eat to a 15lb bag of junk. Reason being, they just poop out all the fillers in Meow Mix so they have to eat more, whereas Blue has more nutrition per kibble. 

I do not recommend Nutro, I work in pet care and I can tell you for sure Nutro produces the STINKIEST poop I have ever had the displeasure of smelling. No no and no. I recommend Wellness or Blue, and if you need to go cheap cheap Purina Naturals because they don't add as many bad fillers. 

Willowy said:

She didn't mean "cats and dogs are the same", she meant "all cats are the same" and "all dogs are the same". Which is true. No, it doesn't depend on the breed.

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Yes, that's what I meant, thanks

I used to feed my cat Purina Naturals and would recommend it as a low-cost alternative. No stinky poops, and I only use unscented litter. Chicken meal first ingredient and 38% protein.

Thanks for the great suggestions! I'll be going to a big pet food store tomorrow, and if I'm unable to afford a premium food (I'm thinking I should just try for a bag, see how they do on it, how long it lasts, and, of course, if they actually like it), I'll be looking for Purina Naturals. They love canned food, so I think it'll be pretty easy to make it a part of their regular diet - have to see what's available and how often I can afford to split the food between four cats. I still have about 1/3 of a bag of Meow Mix left, so I'll be able to transition them over gradually. Hopefully, they won't make too much of a fuss!

Edit: I don't believe the dog food I buy my chihuahua is branded as being "for small dogs," per se. It just advertises "for dogs who prefer a smaller bite size." I always figured the main difference between their big-dog food and small-dog food was the kibble size. The ingredients are the same. I saw at the vets' a Royal Canin formula "for chihuahuas." That really confused me!