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Don't Pay Too Much For CatFood!!

post #1 of 14
10/15/03 at 11:27am
Thread Starter 
Ever wonder about that inexpensive store brand of cat food? I did for a long time and this is what I discovered:
I'm a truck driver and I got a load assignment to pick up at the DLM plant in Bloomsbury, Pennsylvania that was to be transported to Louisiana.
It was 45,000 of cat food and what I learned was this:
*Del Monte is a division of Heinz Foods

I was also wondering what they were doing loading the Wal-Mart brand of cat food called "Special Kitty"
As it happens, 9 Lives is a division of Del Monte foods AND they also make the Wal-Mart brand of food. The only difference is a different cut to the food pieces and the coloring. Aside from that, it's the same ingrediants, made at the same plant by the same people.

I visited a Wal-Mart store later that day and found that the 9-lives four can package was selling for $1.09

The Wal-Mart brand was selling for $0.81 for a four pack of the same size cans.

For those of you with muliple cats, if you extrapolate the savings over what you'd spend on a major brand, you might be wondering why you've been spending more money for the same thing, made at the same plant.
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post #2 of 14
10/15/03 at 11:37am
Hi Jimmy! Thanks for the info! Give Zoey a scratch from me!
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post #3 of 14
10/15/03 at 3:17pm
Wow that is interesting. And somehow I am not surprised!
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post #4 of 14
10/15/03 at 5:14pm
I figured there isn't much difference between major brands and store brands. I have been told by my vet though, that there is a difference between, say 9 lives and Science Diet. He says that brands like Science Diet, IAMS etc. are consistant in the ingredient quality and where they get them from. So the cat's diet isn't changing all the time. I'm not sure I'm convinced of this either but I buy into it anyway!
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post #5 of 14
10/17/03 at 12:37am
I pay about $8.00 for a bag of Science Diet and it's worth
every penny because patches will not eat store bought food
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post #6 of 14
10/17/03 at 12:03pm
Our cat won't eat anything bought in a supermarket, but you can also save a lot on "people food" and toiletries, etc., by buying store brands or "no-name" products. A lot of consumer groups publish lists of "branded goods" that are sold under other names by discounters. The lists I've seen apply to Germany only, but the information is out there - try "Googling" "no-name products". My tip for premium cat food - check out several on-line suppliers, and take advantage of their specials - most are more than happy to send you an email whenever they're having a promotion. I buy in bulk for our cat and a couple of neighbors' cats, and often save up to 20 cents a can when buying by the case. Ditto as far as dry food is concerned - it's easy to divide 20 lbs. of dry food if there are a lot of hungry mouths. The mailmen/women do give you funny looks, though, when they drop off 180 cans of cat food or 80 lbs. of litter!
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post #7 of 14
10/17/03 at 6:56pm
I have been feeding cats WalMart's Special Kitty, for many years and they have ALL thrived. I buy the 12 oz cans @ .38 per. A case of 24 cans lasts almost a month, as I mix dry Special Kitty in with it.

In addition, I've had three dogs on Ol' Roy, for the same amount of time. The two, that I have now are lean and well-muscled, with EXTREMELY high energy levels.

My previous Dalmatian ate Ol' Roy, for 10 years. During her lifespan, she had one cold, one melanoma on her ear (AZ sun) and her final, fatal stroke. Not bad, for a dog raised on "off-brand" dog food.

I have had cats, who lived 13-14 years, on Special Kitty. If my pets are healthy and I can save a bit of money - why not?
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post #8 of 14
10/17/03 at 7:28pm
The funny thing is, my cats won't eat the so-called "healthy canned foods that you buy at PetSmart. If I buy that, or Science Diet or Iams canned food, they just let it spoil, and I can't afford to keep throwing food away. My cats will eat Friskies canned food, and in some instances Whiska's and 9 Lives. However, they do like the "good stuff" in dry cat food.
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post #9 of 14
10/18/03 at 6:11am
Thread Starter 
One thing I CAN tell you for certain is this:
I have loaded at Friskeis Plants, Heinz, which makes the 9-lives line of products and the MasterFoods plants which makes Wiska's.
All of the plants where these brands are made are CLEAN! I mean REAL CLEAN! They are all VERY PARTICULAR about the trailers that haul their product as well, trailers must be swept out, and if they're too dirty, washed out and allowed to dry. If there's a bad odor in the trailer, it ain't hauling their frieght.
You'd also be suprised to know that most of the grocery distribution centers are clean as well.
The stores I avoid are Piggly-Wiggly and I feel sorry for Military Dependants because I've been to MVD-Nash/Finch which does the grocery distribution for the Navy Commisary, that place is DISCUSTING!<BR>
Another thing I can share is, I don't transport pet food that is very old, it doesn't have a lot of dust on it and I know that it isn't stored for months and months.
When I pulled a reefer-trailer, I use to haul the raw materials into some of these very same plants and even the raw materials have their in-transit temps monitered to assure that the factory isn't getting a bad product. They actually have temp recorders that are stuck to the inside walls of the trailer with a piece of scrolling paper that records box temp like an E.K.G.
When the truck arrives, you have to let them look at the recorder scroll and if it's under a baseline temp across the whole scroll, then you get to unload. A pain-in-the-pants for any truck driver, but in America, even our PETS eat well.
I just thought folks would like a little insight into some of the things that are done to assure your pets have healthy and safe food.
I'm proud to be a link in THAT food chain.
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post #10 of 14
10/18/03 at 6:28am
Quote:
In addition, I've had three dogs on Ol' Roy, for the same amount of time. The two, that I have now are lean and well-muscled, with EXTREMELY high energy levels.
My dogs have eaten Ol' Roy for almost 8 years. There is one type that has the same exact ratios of proteins, etc. as Science Diet (I can't remember which right now, I know what the bag looks like). My dogs are very healthy - Cookie will get bladder infections from time to time, but she got them on Science Diet also. They seem to be more related to stress than anything (like when we've moved, etc.) Warren had an attack of pancreatitis once a long time ago, but it has never recurred. Cookie also got some skin crud once (never did get a technical name for it), but that also has never come back.

It's a nice bonus that the Ol' Roy is way cheaper than the Science Diet (like $50 month cheaper), but if I thought it was not keeping them healthy I would change back in a heartbeat.

I feed Simba Iams dry food, mainly because he has a trememdously touchy stomach. It is the only food I can feed him that doesn't upset him.
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post #11 of 14
10/18/03 at 8:44am
If my pets were puly, scrawny and losing hair (more than usual), I'd switch them, in a heartbeat. The dogs play, from about 5:00 a.m. until bedtime and they are lean and very well-muscled. Their teeth are sharp, white and shiny and the vet gives them a clean bill of health.

All three cats have sleek, shiny coats and, likewise, sharp shiny, white teeth. No lack of energy, there either.

I DID have to switch to Purina Special Care, some years back. A past cat was prone to urinary blockage and that kept him clear. Even so, that only ran me about $15.00 a month. I wish that Bill and I could eat that cheaply!

Another kitty got old and constipated, so we had to switch to canned food. Giving a cat an enema is NOT an easy or pleasant thing to do!
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post #12 of 14
10/19/03 at 6:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by katl8e

Another kitty got old and constipated, so we had to switch to canned food. Giving a cat an enema is NOT an easy or pleasant thing to do!
<BR>And I thought giving my cat a bath was unpleasent!<BR>Kat, I'd be willing to bet that there's a <I>very special</I> place in Heaven for you after that!
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post #13 of 14
10/19/03 at 8:13am
WOW Uncle Fester , it is very interesting how things go with trucking and loading and to make sure all is clean . And to most people it is important to know that it is save and clean to go in a store and buy the protuct in a clean and healthy invirioment (sp) . Thanks for sharing all that with us .
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post #14 of 14
10/19/03 at 11:02am
Quote:
Originally posted by Uncle Fester
<BR>And I thought giving my cat a bath was unpleasent!<BR>Kat, I'd be willing to bet that there's a <I>very special</I> place in Heaven for you after that!
Not exactly - I opted to pay the vet to do it. As it was, I got Peanut back, covered in his previous contents. That way, he was only p****d at me, for the bath and not the enema.
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