My cat is eating filet mignon, help!

Well, it's kind of my fault.

After reading threads here, I realize I could do better budgeting for his food. Right now I feed a mix of Wellness Core and Feline's Pride (raw). A can of Wellness is $1.78, and he eats a can a day. Feline's Pride is $16 for 2.5 lbs, which is 40 oz, divided into 8-9 days, so about $1.78 - $2 a day.

That adds up to about $700 a year.

I've checked other decent brands and they're all about the same (EVO is $2.09), the cheapest is Natural Balance at $1.59. I'm seeing folks feed on less than a dollar a day for high quality food and I'm wondering what am I doing wrong? I am in the not-a-fan-of-dry-food camp, so I'd like to avoid dry. 

Wow, your boy eats a lot! Is he a kitten or a large cat? Honestly, I am not sure you are doing anything wrong. You can try to take advantage of sales and stock up. There are also larger 12 or 13oz cans of food like EVO or Hound & Gatos or Nature's Variety Instinct.

I think the high cost of high quality canned and commercial raw is one of the reasons that many of us raw feeders switched to home-prepared raw, for at least a portion if not all of their diet. Depending on your meat sources, it can be a lot cheaper. The other option depending on where you live, is ordering from places like Hare Today or My Pet Carnivore.

When pondering the cost issue when feeding obligate carnivores....its easy to see why manufacturers looked to alternative, cheaper (yet inappropriate) protein sources in an effort to bring costs down.  But its tough to get around the plain fact that protein is the most energy-intensive calorie source to produce. I feel your pain - after going through so many brands trying to find one for a picky eater - the one she likes is the equivalent of feeding meat costing $6.00 a lb!

Filet Mignon indeed.

Some people here mix in the occasional cheaper brand with the better stuff.  I think a healthy cat can take a little "junk food" once in a while as long as it isn't too junky.

ETA: I do make raw as well for my second cat - its a bit less than the pricey canned, but not enough for the word "cheap" to be used in all seriousness!

Mine only likes the wellness signature 1.99$ a can and he eats one a day and instinct dry food at 26$ a 5 pound bag...its really expensivebut its worth it in the end, right? What I do and it works, specialy with instinct, is I call them and ask for coupons, and they always send me 2-3 coupons. Wellness also sent me a 5$ coupon once and I have to ask again if they can send me more.
Try to maybe write them emails or call them and ask for coupons, that will help a bit.

Hound and Gatos is a high-protein brand that is significantly cheaper than Wellness. If you want to stick with Wellness, then online ordering is probably best. Don't forget to look at Amazon. I got the regular Wellness (not Core) there once for about $38/24 cans, plus if you set up a Subscribe and Save, you get more off.

You can order single cans of Hound and Gatos to try out at Whole Pets:

http://wholepetsholistic.com/store/department/5/Cat-Food/

I hear you! My kitten who is a 7 lb 4 1/2 month old monster averages about 14 oz. of canned food a day which cost me $120 this month since he mainly has a taste for Merrick and Weruva. So I'm looking for ways to save!

I want to try supplemening him with some high quality feeder mice too after I've seen some other people feed whole prey to their cats. I know I can get a hundred large mice for about $50 including shipping. If he's into it and will eat one a day instead of a can of food, I could save $45 a month. But that remains to be seen!

But mostly I'm just hoping his appetite is less voracious when he's full grown.

fluffybeard said:

I hear you! My kitten who is a 7 lb 4 1/2 month old monster averages about 14 oz. of canned food a day which cost me $120 this month since he mainly has a taste for Merrick and Weruva.

So I'm looking for ways to save!

I want to try supplemening him with some high quality feeder mice too after I've seen some other people feed whole prey to their cats. I know I can get a hundred large mice for about $50 including shipping. If he's into it and will eat one a day instead of a can of food, I could save $45 a month. But that remains to be seen!

But mostly I'm just hoping his appetite is less voracious when he's full grown.

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Kittens are greedy gluttons.   I've decided to make the switch to 100% raw, although having trouble finding a used freezer that I can tell its original color. 

I'm squeamish... whole prey would freak me out.

All I can say is I feel your pain. I have two 7 month old boys who would eat the entire kitchen if I let them. They both eat 9 ounces of food a day, meaning three 6 ounce cans costing me $1.69 a can. (almost $6 a day! and $170 a month.) I've tried mixing in cheaper, but still good, options like Daves Cat Food ($1.69 for a 12 ounce can isn't too bad.) Good luck with your cat! I know once I move into a house in the next 2 years I'll be making them raw and saving a bit of money.

Many online sites have discounts for your first order - I got 25% off at Wag.com and saw 15-20% off at OnlyNaturalPet.com.  Google pet store coupon code or natural cat food coupon code.  There's FatWallet which gives you a percent back on purchases from certain stores; they do 4.5% for PetfoodDirect.com (you have to start at FW and use their link to the store, then the $ is available in your account in 2 mos. or so).  And I know several credit cards let you use reward points for purchases at Amazon. 

Also I know for Nature's Variety Instinct the cat & dog formulas are *exactly* the same (I read labels and contact the company to make sure), so I got a case of the 13 oz. dog food.  Comparison: 1 can at PetCo $2.49; price per can bought by case $1.92  - before the discount!  (This is the main thing I feed but I mix in a little FF which I also got by case at PetCo with a 40% off "1 item" coupon!  And it's grain-free, fish-free, and low carb.)

And as some have said to to manufacturers' websites for coupons!  That's where I got the 40%. And of course I have all the local pet store frequent buyer cards; I mainly shop at PetCo & get cash back from them occasionally as well.  (Also they will take anything back, even opened & partially used, for example a food your pet doesn't like!)