new cat owner - canned food suggestions requested

 Recently adopted 2 cats - an 11 month old female named Sophie and a 5 month old male, Ollie.  I've done some research into cat nutrition and I'm feeding them mainly canned food with some Orijen kibble during the day while i'm at work.  I've had mixed success with the cats and would like some additional food options.  Also,  if you have suggestions on ways to save $ or equivalent brands that are less expensive that would be great too.

I currently feed our cats:

Wellness (cats love it but I need to feed them more as it doesn't seem to fill them as much as others)

Wellness pouch grain free (cats LOVE but very $$$)

Nature's Variety Instinct - best so far

Evo - they tolerate it but don't love it

Wild Calling - so far I'm not having a lot of luck, cats don't enjoy it

Performatrin Ultra

I've also tried the tiki cat which my Sophie loved but Ollie not so much and I've tried purrfect bistro but they seem to have a lot of gravy.  I even tried raw but they didn't go for it and I don't feel strongly enough about raw food to force it.

So, any suggestions on additional brands to round out their feeding schedule?  Any suggestions that are slightly cheaper would also be appreciated. and finally, anything in my current rotation that isn't up to the quality of the rest or that I should reconsider?

By the way I'm in Ontario, Canada so I'm not sure I have access to all the brands I read on this forum.

I live in US and rotate brands daily, this prevents boredom and helps in a good recall. My two are opposites. Girl is fussy and boy eats everything. I also use Orijen but no free feeding. I put it down am and pm and late evening. My girl likes pate best. Here is my rotation.
Wellness Core (only) chicken, turkey,liver
Merrick duck or chicken pate
Natural balance ultra or chicken liver
Innova cat and kitten
Weruva Peking Ducken(shreds)
Natural balance catatouille stew (shreds)
Fancy feast classic liver & chicken
Fancy feast classic chopped gril
Tiki cat puca puca (shreds)

***One resource that I have found invaluable is the canned cat food chart.*** 

Lisa Pierson, DVM analyzed and posted this long chart showing the carbs, fats, and proteins of many brands. Amazing! Here is the link http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf . I always pull it up on my phone when I shop.

The interesting thing is that cans only give minimums required by law -- that's why all cans will say "Min 12% crude protein" or something. But what's amazing is the variation. Even within a brand like Wellness, you might have 40% carbs, 40% fat, 20% protein in one flavor, and for another flavor, you might have 30% carbs, 60% fat, and 10% protein. For my diabetic cat (even when in remission), I always look for under 10% carbs and less fat than protein. So within a brand, there could be one or two flavors that are great for him, and 10 that are terrible. You really want to look at the ingredients! You kind of learn some things over time, too, like sometimes "grain free" is full of potatoes, i.e. carbs. Sometimes the foods with gravy are loaded with carbs and fats.

For your young kitties carbs aren't right now a huge issue. At least you are not feeding dry. I used to give about a whole can of wet (two meals) plus quarter cup of kibble as a snack -- the kibble just to save the budget. Orijen is a great dry food. Acana too. Very high protein for dry.

Canned food can certainly be pricey. But, I think that quality food saves money in the long run. Look at all of the bladder infections and urination problems people have with cats -- they are dehydrated from kibble!

Ok and if you do want to know our favorite brands and flavors: Tiki shredded chicken; Wellness core grain free chicken and chicken liver; Nature's variety chicken; CA Natural salmon; Weruva Funk in the Trunk (seriously); First Mate Chicken and Friends (that one always makes me laugh). A few others...

Good luck.

I feed my 2 picky eaters a rotation that includes:

Wellness Divine Duos

Natural Balance pouches

Nature's Variety Instinct (not by itself. With a topper/ mixer)

Nutro Natural Choice minced and sliced varieties (mainly used a topper/mixer for the above and others)

Pride by Instinct

Nature's Variety Homestyle

Soulistic Good Karma and Harvest Sunrise (Petco brand made by Weruva)

Weruva Cats in the Kitchen Chicken Frick a zee

I try not to give them the same thing 2 meals in a row and I do mix foods. The NNC is a good mixer/topper with pretty much any of the others with the exception of the Wellness Divine Duos. Those get served as is because they already have the pate on the bottom and the chunky variety on top. This is Lilith's #1 favorite. Sophie favors the shredded kinds like the Weruva and the Soulistic but will eat everything on the list above. It was a long road to get a good rotation that they will both eat but we did get there. Seafood varieties are given sparingly. Beef also. They get chicken, turkey, duck and rabbit more often. 

Hey! I feed my girl the following:

One 3 oz. can of one of the following every morning: Nutro Natural Choice Chunky/Soft Loaf Chicken Pâté, Nutro Natural Choice Chunky/Soft Loaf Turkey Pâté, Nutro Natural Choice Soft Loaf Duck Pâté, Natural Balance Venison Pâté, Sheba Beef Pâté.

I give her 1/4th a cup of the following dry food: Canidae Pure Elements.

I hope this helps with suggestions for food.