Feeling Overwhelmed - Not Sure the Best Type or Brand

I've recently become very interested in not only getting my cat on a better diet, but also getting control over his weight gain. Fennwick is almost 6 years old now. For the first three years or so Fennwick was free fed. He stayed a decent weight, but some of the other cats in the house were getting horribly overweight so we switched to scheduled feedings. Of course it did little to curb the weight gain since they were fed any amount they wanted at those scheduled feeding. That's how its been and Fennwick has put on a considerable amount of weight (unsurprising). Fennwick is almost at the 15lb mark when he should be closer to 10-11lbs. I'd really like to get this turned around before it gets any worse.

Fennwick is prone to bouts of terrible constipation and also has a known issue with hairballs. He isn't picky, but does have some sort of sensitivity. Fancy Feast makes him vomit terribly as do any kitty treat on the market aside from freeze dried meats. The vet can't pin down what it is exactly, but he's been on a number of kibbles and never had an issue.

Anyways, this is my first time actually being in charge and purchasing my cat's food, so I'm completely overwhelmed. I don't know whether to go with kibble, wet, or what. I'm not confident enough to switch to homemade and the bone in commercial raw diet concerns me because of his constipation. Based on what I've been reading, I think wet may be best for him since the moisture will likely help with the constipation? That's just my best guess. Cost is also a concern since I have a dog with notable vet bills that can be low one month and sky rocket the next.

I would greatly appreciate any input and food recommendations. Suggestions on the most budget friendly places to purchase the food would also be amazing.

Thanks in advance!

Yes, wet food (whether canned or homecooked/raw) is better than dry food, especially for weight loss. Have you seen this website yet? www.catinfo.org

Unfortunately, since he has a delicate tummy, the only way to find out which canned food agrees with him is to try a bunch of different kinds. Some of the more budget-friendly brands are Innova/Evo, Dave's Healthy Naturals, By Nature, Nutro, and Triumph (well. . .I have a lot of cats so I only buy the 13-oz cans. I haven't priced the smaller cans lately. The larger cans cost less per ounce but some cats don't like leftovers). Some of those are rarely found in stores and online might be the only option. Which is fine once you know he likes it so you can buy a whole case but isn't so great for experimenting :/.

I frequently order from www.chewy.com and I like them a lot. There are a few more like www.doggiefood.com, www.petfooddirect.com, www.wag.com and others.

Now, it would be super easy if he was just sensitive to food coloring, which is in Fancy Feast and most cat treats. Has he ever eaten a kibble with food coloring and done well on it? Or has he always been on a more natural kibble?

I hadn't seen that website before. Thank you for sharing.

Fennwick was on Purina One's Hairball Formula for a few years, back during the "free feeding" phase. He did actually vomit on that one and it wasn't always hairballs. It was about twice a week I think? Then we switched to Kirkland's Weight Management Cat Food. He continued to vomit about once a week, but that was almost entirely hairballs. In the last year we switched to Kirkland's Nature's Domain. Again the hairball issue persisted, but that was it. I do have him on a Laxatone at the moment to control hairballs and as long as he takes it weekly we have no vomiting whatsoever. So does Purina One have food dyes in it?

I guess I should've mentioned what kind of budget I'm working with. I'm trying to spend somewhere between $15-20 per month on cat food. I can't go over that really. I don't mind buying in bulk and using it up over the course of a few months. With my dog I spend about $100 on food at one time and get a few month's worth. I'd like to do something similar for Fennwick.

Another thing I probably should've mentioned is that Fennwick does have feline herpes. He picked it up from another cat in the household. He's only ever had the one upper respiratory infection, but I know there's always the risk of it flaring up again. I know a good diet will help keep his immune system up, which is another part of the reason I really want to get him on a good quality food.

Mirrorakay said:

 
Another thing I probably should've mentioned is that Fennwick does have feline herpes. He picked it up from another cat in the household. He's only ever had the one upper respiratory infection, but I know there's always the risk of it flaring up again. I know a good diet will help keep his immune system up, which is another part of the reason I really want to get him on a good quality food.

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Since he is not picky  ,one thing you could do is go to Petco/Petsmart and get  a  single can of a few different brands that would be in your budget and test them to see how they agree with him .. 

Also at Walmart they sell a can cat food that is very affordable . It is called Sheba  http://www.sheba.com/Home   . It sells for about .55 cents per 3 oz can . 

Most cats get 5 to 6 ozs of wet food per day ..  

My cats eat Fancy Feast canned  & Royal Canin Oral care kibble  . They each get  a can morning & night  with 1/4 cup kibble in between . 

They seem to be happy with that .. My big boy has even lost a little weight . He is big also , 16 lbs ...

My cats will not eat their can food with water added but if yours will  you can buy a brand that comes in 5.5 oz cans and give him  1/2 can morning and night . With each meal add 2 tbs of very hot water and mix it well . This will stretch it out a bit and you would probably need about 7 cans per week .. You could give kibble in between for a snack .. 

Petsmart sells a brand called Authority that sells for .75 or .89 cents per can .. It is good food , my cats will not it eat though ..They are too picky ..

Hope this helps ..

I don't think you'll be able to feed all canned food for only $15-$20 a month :/. Or, at least, find one that agrees with him for that price. I feed my cats canned Friskies, bought in the 13-oz cans in bulk, and that's still 50 cents per cat per day, so $15 a month per cat. That's about the cheapest possible way to feed all canned (without going really low-quality, like Special Kitty or something). Anything better quality or in smaller cans is going to cost more. You might try some Grreat Choice (Petsmart brand) or Friskies, but watch the ingredients because some flavors do have colorings.

Purina ONE doesn't have coloring so maybe that is the problem. Hopefully it is, because that would be easiest to avoid!

Alright. So if $15-20 isn't enough, what is a good kibble I can use to cover the rest of his diet? There will definitely be months when I can set aside as much as $40-50 per month, but with my dog's health the way it is currently, $20 is the best I can do.

Until I know any different I'm going to go ahead with saying no to food coloring. It seems like a good enough starting point. I'm going to run to petsmart and petco today and pick up a few different brands. Are there any brands without coloring that I should be avoiding?

Also  I've read a few places that seafood is not the best to be feeding. Is that right? Fennwick's not a big fan of most fishy flavors anyway. I'd just like to know.

Yeah, too much fish isn't great. Funny mineral balance, mercury, etc. Most flavors have SOME fish, but it's best to keep actual fish flavors to once a week or so.

Maybe you can stock up during good months to be prepared for the bad months? I think you can count on about 75 cents-$1.25 a day for most middle-of-the-road brands.

Authority (also a Petsmart brand) is pretty good. Trader Joe's canned food (if you live near a Trader Joe's) is decent.

Check out any privately-owned pet stores in the area, too. Even the boutique-y doggie deli types. They seem like they'll be expensive but usually they have decent prices on food. It's everything else that costs a lot .

So the chicken and salmon (or whatever) would be fine, but the straight salmon ones are more of a treat?

I can definitely do that. Thing is, I'm starting off in the middle of a very, very bad month so at least for now I need a kibble suggestion. Unless the Nature's Domain he's on is good?

There's a nice little feed store up the road from my local petco. I'll swing by there two and see what's available.

Mirrorakay said:

 
So the chicken and salmon (or whatever) would be fine, but the straight salmon ones are more of a treat?

I can definitely do that. Thing is, I'm starting off in the middle of a very, very bad month so at least for now I need a kibble suggestion. Unless the Nature's Domain he's on is good?

There's a nice little feed store up the road from my local petco. I'll swing by there two and see what's available.

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Petsmart's Authority has no added color . It is .89 cents for a 6 oz can ..  

If you want to get your cats weight under control you either need to change to a diet that has less carbs or feed him a little less than what you've been giving him. When I got my kitties, I bought one can each of the 3oz cans of all different brands/types of food just to see what they liked. Then I narrowed that list down off of ingredients, carb content, additives & fruits & veggies.

Please don't feed him dry food as the carb content, as compared to wet food, is ridiculous. Since your cat is overweight you don't want him to get feline diabetes.

Check this site out, it will teach you how to figure out the carb content. I don't fee anything over 11% myself but that's me. I also don't look for the cheapest food to feed my cats, you get what you pay for.

http://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-how-many-carbs-in-canned-food

Good luck in making a decision.

msserena said:

 
If you want to get your cats weight under control you either need to change to a diet that has less carbs or feed him a little less than what you've been giving him. When I got my kitties, I bought one can each of the 3oz cans of all different brands/types of food just to see what they liked. Then I narrowed that list down off of ingredients, carb content, additives & fruits & veggies.

Please don't feed him dry food as the carb content, as compared to wet food, is ridiculous. Since your cat is overweight you don't want him to get feline diabetes.

Check this site out, it will teach you how to figure out the carb content. I don't fee anything over 11% myself but that's me. I also don't look for the cheapest food to feed my cats, you get what you pay for.

http://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-how-many-carbs-in-canned-food

Good luck in making a decision.

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That's why I'm moving towards canned food. I really don't like the dry food, but at the moment I am very strapped for cash. My dog spent $1,000 in vet bills in the last two weeks alone and we have more tests on the way. I only make about $1,000 a month during the summer so going all out on high quality canned food simply isn't an option at the moment. For now I'm going to do as much canned as I can, but I'll probably need some dry to fill in for what I can't afford. Once the vet bills clear up, then I'll start aiming for even better canned.

That website was very helpful. Thank you for sharing!

I picked up some Authority along with a few others that fit my budget. Good news is that Fennwick really seems to like the can of Authority we tried and it stayed down. That leaves me with one last question. Is one 6 oz can really enough for the whole day? Fennwick's ideal weight is around 11lbs. He is indoor and neutered. He isn't a complete couch potato, but he's not super active either.

Mirrorakay said:

 
I picked up some Authority along with a few others that fit my budget. Good news is that Fennwick really seems to like the can of Authority we tried and it stayed down. That leaves me with one last question. Is one 6 oz can really enough for the whole day? Fennwick's ideal weight is around 11lbs. He is indoor and neutered. He isn't a complete couch potato, but he's not super active either.

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Well  according to a few sites I have read it said a " typical " cat will eat 6 oz a day .. I would think some cats would like more or less .. My cats (15 lbs and 10 lbs) each get two 3oz cans

per day ( morning and night )with  a 1/4 cup of kibble in between for a snack They rarely eat it all ...A lot of people will advise not to give any kibble at all but my cats like to have a little crunch . .  It also depends on basically the amount of calories that is required by each cat and the type of food they are given . 

My suggestion is if you are not giving any kibble at all and you think he is still hungry after the 6 ozs , give him another 3 oz..

Here is a helpful website you may find interesting . www.catinfo.org

Here is a chart that shows the daily calorie requirement . All cats are different so this may vary for each cat .  http://www.animalmedicalcenterofchicago.com/pdf/CalorieRequirementsForCats.pdf