Reasonable Foods for a College-Age Girl on a Budget?

mellencat · Aug 29, 2014

I'm always very picky about what I feed my pets, so I've already written down kind of a draft list of canned foods for Tobias and I figured I would proof it here.

I have a summer minimum wage job, and will probably get another in the winter when this one ends, but basically I can't really afford to be as picky as I would like and feed brands like Wellness all the time since I'm also working on saving money. My parents don't mind helping out with the food, since I take care of everything else, but I'd like to depend on myself for that and get used to completely supporting myself and my pet while I'm still home. Right now he's rotating between Nutro Natural Choice, Nutro Max, and Friskies while I scout out the rest of the market looking for something good for him, inexpensive, and readily available (no car, just relying on the city transportation system to get me to the stores be it PetSmart, Petco, etc.) I plan on adding Blue Freedom and maybe Blue Wilderness to the roster after a while, to keep up the variety.

Any suggestions?

micknsnicks2mom · Aug 29, 2014

i've heard good things about chicken soup for the cat lover's soul cat food. i've heard that it's a relatively high quality canned cat food at a reasonable price. i have not tried this brand for my cat though.

that's really good, that you're developing a rotation of canned cat foods for your tobias. he'll have variety, so he won't be as likely to become bored with his foods. and if there's ever a recall, a recipe change, one brand/flavor is discontinued, or if tobias decides he no longer likes one brand/flavor you'll have other brands/flavors that he'll still eat.

raintyger · Aug 29, 2014

Fancy Feast classic line and Sheba are good budget choices, but it sounds like you're looking for something in between that and Wellness. Maybe Authority (Petsmart house brand), Canidae (previously Felidae) or Hound and Gatos (you'd probably have to mail order).

After you choose brands I'd mail order cases, maybe that way you can choose something a little higher grade than expected.

Some of the better brands are hard to find without internet ordering them. There's places in my signature where you can order single cans to test the food out.

thehistorian · Aug 29, 2014

I am kind of in the same boat as you, but I am a college graduate who is sadly still trying to find a real job and trying to get into graduate school for next school year. I have been feeding half dry and half wet only because the cheaper canned foods I would feed have a questionable product in it that makes me cringe. I would love to switch my girl to mostly all Sheba Wet and use half Nutro Natural Choice which is a whole of a lot more expensive, but here is the thing. Sheba contains Synthetic Vitamin K and I have heard it is really dangerous for cats. If anyone can debunk this, let me know. It would make my life easier.

Canidae wet food is a great choice - so is their dry food if you have to go that route. The dry food is a fairly simple recipe and far more meat based than any other dry food I have ran across - even the supposedly great Evo dry food. I am not a fan of dry food, but I have found using dry food is the only way I can continue to afford my favorite better brand wet cats foods. I only have to use one can a day while using dry. I hate it and I am worried about Enya's weight, but it might work for you for a while.

2cats4me · Aug 30, 2014

Thehistorian said:
I am kind of in the same boat as you, but I am a college graduate who is sadly still trying to find a real job and trying to get into graduate school for next school year. I have been feeding half dry and half wet only because the cheaper canned foods I would feed have a questionable product in it that makes me cringe. I would love to switch my girl to mostly all Sheba Wet and use half Nutro Natural Choice which is a whole of a lot more expensive, but here is the thing. Sheba contains Synthetic Vitamin K and I have heard it is really dangerous for cats. If anyone can debunk this, let me know. It would make my life easier.

Canidae wet food is a great choice - so is their dry food if you have to go that route. The dry food is a fairly simple recipe and far more meat based than any other dry food I have ran across - even the supposedly great Evo dry food. I am not a fan of dry food, but I have found using dry food is the only way I can continue to afford my favorite better brand wet cats foods. I only have to use one can a day while using dry. I hate it and I am worried about Enya's weight, but it might work for you for a while.

@Thehistorian , I found this article on MSB . It is very interesting . I am not saying whether it is absolute truth or not . I guess you just have to read and decide for yourself .

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2011/07/vitamin-k3-menadione-in-pet-food-is-it-safe/

kittendaddy · Aug 30, 2014

I have been finding that some grocery store chains are starting to carry grain free wet food and dry. Some carry both the wet and dry versions of Purina Beyond which is a pretty good price.

mellencat · Aug 31, 2014

Thanks guys!

I made a list of all of my total options that are pretty easily accessible by bus. Those being:

Friskies Pate

Authority

Nutro Max (the Natural Choice only comes in 3 oz cans and makes it pretty expensive to get the week's worth =/ )

Fancy Feast Classics

Taste of the Wild & Felidae (there's a Pet Valu up the road from me but I'm not sure if there's a stop in front of it, although actually...I think there is.)

Blue Freedom & Wilderness Wild Delights

He doesn't seem to be finnicky at all, so keeping him on a variety shouldn't be very hard at all. I'll see how he likes some of the Friskies tonight, and go from there. I was reading the can and surprisingly it honestly isn't too bad.

purrrdy · Aug 31, 2014

Sheba pate is all meat with zero grains or fillers. It's about .50 cents per can or less on sale.

Even the high end $2.00+ brands are filled with carbs and fillers.

raintyger · Aug 31, 2014

Purrrdy said:
Sheba pate is all meat with zero grains or fillers. It's about .50 cents per can or less on sale.

Even the high end $2.00+ brands are filled with carbs and fillers.

Although Sheba is a good value food, I wouldn't necessarily say it is better than more expensive brands. I would say it is better than some higher priced foods, but it is also higher in by products. More expensive brands might offer human grade or organic meats with less by products.

fhicat · Aug 31, 2014

You didn't mention dry, but if you want, you can stretch the budget a little by adding some decent dry (not too familiar with dry, but the ingredient list should tell you) into the rotation.

Reasonable Foods for a College-Age Girl on a Budget?

mellencat

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micknsnicks2mom

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raintyger

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thehistorian

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2cats4me

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mellencat

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purrrdy

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