WHAT to feed 71 cats?

little red

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We have rescued cats for the last 11 years and we now care for 71 cats...yes you read that right--71 :D We've bounced around from good food like taste of the wild & blue to horrible food like cat chow but we've never been able to financially keep them on the good food. They weren't eating less like all the reviews we read & they actually seemed to be eating more. On the good food we were spending about $600 a month on food alone. On cat chow---which we're currently feeding, unfortunately--we're spending about $305 a month. We buy about 22 bags a month of cat chow & were buying about 20 bags a month of the good stuff.

We've read about raw feeding & homemade feeding but we've never done it before so we don't exactly know where to start or if it would be financially possible to go this route with all the mouths we have to feed.

I realize the chances of meeting anyone else who has this many cats--or near this many--is slim to none but if anyone who has a multi cat household--no matter the #--could help me out or even those who don't have a multi cat household that would be great!

With this many cats what kind of food would you suggest that is healthy & yet affordable? Thanks guys!! I, like so many cat owners, love to show off my babies so I added some pictures :D

  
   
ARIEL                                                            ALEERA                                     WIGGLES                                                    LOUIS(left) & DAPPY

     

KNOX                                                            JONESY                                                    MAXIMUS

   
CARLY                                                           BOOTSIE                                                   BANANA BOY


  JORDAN                                                     LESTAT                                PETER                                                     RENESMEE

 

  RINGO                                                      RYKER


   (left) SARABI & SCAR
 

ldg

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Aw bless you for what you're doing for so many kitties!

Sadly, raw - like canned - doesn't compete at all with kibble. The only way to properly feed so many is to provide ground, if you want to consider raw at all. And having worked on a budget for someone feeding 15 cats, I can definitely say that feeding raw will in no way come close to what you want to spend feeding them.

What you CAN do is feed up to 15% of their diet with unbalanced meat. I don't know if you can afford to provide a few "treat" type meals for the cats. It certainly doesn't have to even be 3x a week. But whatever fresh food you can provide would be good. Think.... eating pizza all the time, but sometimes eating an apple. No matter how much pizza you eat, the apple is still good for you. :)

But here are things to consider. Assuming an average "treat" meal would be 3 ounces of food per cat, with 71 cats, you'd need *about* 13.5 pounds of food - just to provide one 3 ounce meal to each cat.

So .... do you ever see pork trim on sale at the supermarket? Perhaps have a chat with the butcher. Maybe they'll hold it for you. It usually sells for around $0.70 a pound or so here. That would still be almost $10 for just that though.

We're friends with the owner of the local gourmet shop: pastries, home-made deli type and specialty foods. They freeze all the leftover chicken for us and we pick it up every couple of weeks. That adds up to a lot of chicken backs. We often toss the rest of the bones, but we do make bone broth with it at times. That would be a rather daunting task for that many cats though. :lol3: Don't know if you want to ask around, but you may be able to pick things like that up for free.

Keep an eye out for gizzards on sale. These aren't the most nutritious food in the world, but they have a lot of glucosamine and chrondroitin, very good for joint health, and they've very chewy and gritty, so great for dental health.

Sardines are chock full of omega 3s. If you see them on sale (either frozen, or in tins: packed in water, no salt), consider feeding those as treats - a very healthy addition to the diet.

W Willowy is caring for over 20 cats. She may have additional ideas for you. :)

I have 9 inside (all feral rescues) and 10 (now 11, actually, a new one turned up a few days ago, so the trap is out) in the feral colony outside. I don't feed the outside cats raw. Just the leftovers. I feed them Friskies pate foods, which I buy in the 13 ounce cans. We live in a rural area. I put out 3 cans twice a day. They have to supplement their diet with whole prey they hunt. ;)
 
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peaches08

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LDG presents a good point about feeding one good meal every so often.  I know some members here order their food online to get the best deals...that might be an option for you.

With feeding dry, I'd encourage the use of fountains so they drink enough.  And wow, thank you for what you do!
 

chwx

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I'd check Craigslist or similar for free meats. Hunters especially will often clear out freezers to whoever wants it. I've made 300+ POUND hauls this way, 100% free aside from gas to pick it up.

Do you have any Tractor Supply or local owned feed & seed stores around? Most will give you a discount on food for buying in bulk.

Bless you for what you're doing!
 

Willowy

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Well, ya got me beat ;).

I'm currently feeding mine (all 27 of 'em) canned Friskies almost exclusively. Mainly because some have urinary issues and it's easier to feed everybody the same thing rather than try to feed those cats separately. I use about 12 of the 13-oz cans a day, and I pay about $1 a can so it's about $360 a month. Figuring it for your cats that would come to about $950 a month so I guess that isn't an option :/. This is the cheapest way to feed something other than dry food that I have been able to figure out. Even the cheapest way to do raw would cost twice as much.

I'm also starting to have trouble with sourcing (Walmart is not very good at keeping stocked) so I'm going to have to look into pre-ordering or ordering a whole pallet or something like that. Tractor Supply is probably the best bet for that, as I'm pretty sure Walmart won't be cooperative and Petsmart charges more.

Cat Chow is, IMO, the best of the cheap kibbles. But if you have a Costco in the area, their dry food Kirkland Premium actually costs about the same as Cat Chow (Cat Chow @ $12.50 for 18 pounds is about 70 cents a pound, Kirkland at $17.50 for 25 pounds is also 70 cents a pound) and is higher quality. It might be worth getting a membership just for that reason. That's what I buy for my cats' occasional kibble snack.

I also buy chicken thighs at Costco ($1.25 a pound for bone-in, $2.25 a pound for boneless/skinless) and cook up a batch for the kitties about once a week (more of the cats like cooked than raw or I wouldn't bother cooking it). Since it's only a small percentage of their diet I don't have to worry about balancing it.

I was making up ground raw food for a while, everything all mixed in, I would make up about 20 pounds at a time. But right now I'm in the process of moving and haven't had time to make any. So I guess I'll stick with cooking up a little chicken now and then until things settle down.

If you want to increase their moisture intake, one thing I've considered for if/when I can no longer afford all canned food is to mix kibble, water, and some canned food all together. That would accomodate the FLUTD cats but be cheaper than all canned food. You can only make up what will be eaten quickly, because wet kibble gets nasty fast.

There are ways to get cheap meat but I've never been able to find a source. If you hunt or know a hunter, you can feed the cats whatever the humans don't want. You can talk to custom butchers and privately-owned meat shops to see if you can get short-dated meat and/or scraps for cheap. If you don't mind cutting it up yourself, you can talk to farmers, see if you can get livestock who died from non-disease reasons. Or contact the highway authority, find out if you can get a permit to collect roadkilled deer (some raw-feeding dog owners and exotic animal owners do this). If you feed more than 15% of the diet this way you will have to figure out how to make it balanced but if it's just a small part of the diet you won't have to worry.
 
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little red

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Thanks guys! We're going to take these suggestions and see what we can do & I'm hoping we can come up with something because the cat chow keeps their fur looking so horrible and makes them shed terrible. It also gives them all horrible diarrhea all the time. Have any of you ever used diatomaceous earth (DE)? We want to use it as a natural dewormer & put it in their food everyday but we're afraid of some eating too much of it & others not enough since they all eat together. Thoughts? Also, with this many, what's the easiest/best way to use for flea control?
 

ritz

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Yes, thank you for what you do.
I have read that diatomaceous earth (DE) is used for de-wormer (mix in wet food). You can also spread it around the area where the ferals congregate to mitigate somewhat flea problem.
My other suggestion is: ever thought of filing the necessary paperwork for a non-profit? You might then become eligible for grants, etc. (Any lawyers in the family : )
I volunteer for a non profit cat sanctuary. All cats are indoors. Some are in the FIV room, some in the FeLK room. Rest free roam. About 110 cats. They are free fed kibble, any brand that is donated or sometimes Hills. And once a day they all get some wet food with L-lysine mixed in. You might consider adding l-lysine to the food; it is relatively inexpensive on Amazon (get the powder form, not pills).
 

catsallaround

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Keep in mind Petsmart price matches.

I have 28 cats.  Been feeding them Meow Mix dry because I found amazing coupons and it was on sale at Petsmart.  IMO DO NOT TOUCH Petsmarts house brand dry.  I had ALL my cats refuse it-Grreat Choice I think it is.  The wet was fine.  3 eat canned only and the rest get it as a treat when I have extra money(...)

Friskies routinely has coupons for both wet(usually $1 off 24 cans) and the dry has been $1 off 2 bags or $1.50 or 3 bags.  Pain in the butt but...  Also look into if anyone offers any case discounts or pallet discounts as that may help you out if you have means to move it.

For fleas I break down large dog Advantage.  I usually treat about 10 cats and the 2 dogs and flea free.
 
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little red

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Yes, thank you for what you do.

I have read that diatomaceous earth (DE) is used for de-wormer (mix in wet food). You can also spread it around the area where the ferals congregate to mitigate somewhat flea problem.

My other suggestion is: ever thought of filing the necessary paperwork for a non-profit? You might then become eligible for grants, etc. (Any lawyers in the family : )

I volunteer for a non profit cat sanctuary. All cats are indoors. Some are in the FIV room, some in the FeLK room. Rest free roam. About 110 cats. They are free fed kibble, any brand that is donated or sometimes Hills. And once a day they all get some wet food with L-lysine mixed in. You might consider adding l-lysine to the food; it is relatively inexpensive on Amazon (get the powder form, not pills).
We want to file for nonprofit status but we haven't had the extra $500 to do it yet. No lawyers in the family but a co-worker has a husband who is a lawyer & when we get to where we can file we're going to ask her if he would be willing to help us out.
 
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little red

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Yes, thank you for what you do.

I have read that diatomaceous earth (DE) is used for de-wormer (mix in wet food). You can also spread it around the area where the ferals congregate to mitigate somewhat flea problem.

My other suggestion is: ever thought of filing the necessary paperwork for a non-profit? You might then become eligible for grants, etc. (Any lawyers in the family : )

I volunteer for a non profit cat sanctuary. All cats are indoors. Some are in the FIV room, some in the FeLK room. Rest free roam. About 110 cats. They are free fed kibble, any brand that is donated or sometimes Hills. And once a day they all get some wet food with L-lysine mixed in. You might consider adding l-lysine to the food; it is relatively inexpensive on Amazon (get the powder form, not pills).
We want to file for nonprofit status but we haven't had the extra $500 to do it yet. No lawyers in the family but a co-worker has a husband who is a lawyer & when we get to where we can file we're going to ask her if he would be willing to help us out.
 

catsallaround

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Be sure to know your local laws before applying in case there are any limits/to be limits.  Better to stay under radar then have to fight city/county.Found out AFTER moving here and being here a few years I live in a 2 PET per house city.  If any go out look into laws on that. Also Rabies shots on a city,county and state level.  Lets face it many think your nuts after the first 2-4 cats.  My brother is one who thinks more then 1 cat is insane...

Keep all spay/neuter receipts, especially if you go to more then one clinic/vet.
 

Willowy

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Keep in mind Petsmart price matches.
Will they do that for normal pricing or just sales? Would I just show them a Walmart receipt to prove the price?

For fleas, I sprinkle borax in the carpets (DE will work too), and split large dog Advantage to treat the cats. If you find a good price on Advantage you can keep the per-dose price under $1. I make sure the dogs stay treated all the time (the cats don't go outside) and I don't treat the cats unless I actually see fleas on them (I run a flea comb through a few cats now and then, and watch for flea dirt). I haven't had to treat the cats for the last 2 years, but the way the weather is shaping up this year I think it'll be bad for fleas :/. I can't treat all the cats because some are feral and some are just plain hard to treat but it seems to work anyway. If the fleas are bad, I'll crush up a few large dog Capstars and put that in their food (1 tablet per 8 cats, and it's safe if one cat eats more than the others).

I used to feed my outdoor ferals cheaper kibble, and they refused both Grreat Choice and Hy-Vee (grocery store) brand generic. So I guess those must be super cheap and nasty! So I stuck to Cat Chow, 9 Lives, and Friskies, until Costco opened and I started buying Kirkland. If you can find Purina Cat Chow Naturals, that might help with the tummy trouble, as it usually seems to be the food coloring that bothers a lot of cats. If you have a Tractor Supply Co, I think regular Diamond cat food costs about the same as Cat Chow and it doesn't have food coloring.

Some sardines or fish oil added to their food might help with the dry skin/fur.

I've never tried DE for internal parasites, but if you mix it evenly with their food, consumption should be reasonably consistent too.
 
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catsallaround

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They have matched sale prices and normal prices no issue at all.  Shoprite(our major grocery store) often does a 10 for $3.99 on the 5.5oz cans and Shoprite will have a limit of 4 offers/40 cans total.  I have gone into Petsmart and have them match 10 cases no issue at all and taken 10 coupons on it($1 off per 24 cans).  I take the ad with me but have showed them a receipt for the same exact can or a pic off my phone(pretty low quality but price was easily visible).  
 

peaches08

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Do you have a feed & seed type store around you?  Where farmers get seed, cow feed, etc.?  That's where I get food grade DE.  Also, since they're small business owners, they might be willing to work out price cuts if you order a box of shots, etc.  Just a thought until you can get nonprofit status.

I don't use DE as a dewormer, I just don't feel it really works well.  I use it for ants, etc.
 
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Willowy

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I'm not really sure getting non-profit status would be worth it, unless you know there are a lot of grants/discounts/donations available. I talked to the lady who runs a local cat rescue, she had just gotten their non-profit and wasn't sure it was worth it because it made a lot of extra work needing to account for every penny, some things aren't allowed so she couldn't make all the decisions, etc., and there aren't a lot of local grants/discounts/donations for cat rescues. So unless you're SURE it would bring in a lot of money, it may not be something you want to do. Lots of paperwork.
 
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nora1

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Do you have a PetSmart near you? Sometimes they donate "expired" or opened bags to local cat rescue sites - registered for non-profit or not. Depends on the manager at the store. Might be worth a shot to ask the big box store pet stores if they'd donate their broken/opened/expired foods to you :)
 
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little red

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The way you had to account for every little thing is also another reason I don't think it's worth it. I talked to a lady who runs a rescue as well & she's been doing it for several years & she said they have never gotten a grant they apply for. So, I really don't think it's worthit--especially like the one person said about staying under the radar. We live in a farm area and we have no free roaming cats--all in an enclosure we built--so I think that's helped as far as neighbors go.

We do have a TSC in town but I've never asked about bulk food/litter discounts because I figured we'd have to be NP first. Anyone know how I could word things if I decide to ask them? The DE we bought is food grade. We ordered a 10# from Revival Animal. We were buying the large dog doses & breaking them down but even that gets expensive each month so when we read about the DE & how you can treat all ages by just rubbing some into their fur we thought that might be best??
 

chwx

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TSC discounts are for EVERYONE! Ours even had signs up advertising it. As long as you buy a certain amount of bags in a visit, you should qualify for the discounts. Just go in and ask if they have discounts for bulk buys to double check with yours and if so find out what the minimum is. I believe the one I went to was a 10 bag minimum to get the discount for bulk buys.
 
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