Best affordable cat food for my cat?

Hi, I'm new here, first of all, so not sure if there's already a thread answering this, or what, but thought I'd go ahead and ask.

So my cat is a 2 yr old Maine Coon female. She's indoors, but I will be taking her outside on a leash when she moves in with me - she's currently staying with my grandma, but I'm going to pick her up in 2 weeks. She's currently eating Purina One Hairball formula dry food, and Fancy Feast (I think) canned food.

I've looked at nutritional values and tried to do some of my own research on different cat foods that would work, but I can't quite decide.

I'm a college student, and I'll be living in a town without a petsmart or petco, so the food has to be available at Target, Walmart, or Fleet Farm. I've been looking at Buffalo Blue and Natural Balance, but I'm not sure if they're worth the extra money, or if I'll be able to find NB. I'm also wanting to switch over her canned food to something more nutritional, but I've no idea where to even start, there. So any opinions on which cat foods are the best nutritionally, that will also be affordable for a college student? Thanks!

Hi there!

I think Blue Buffalo and Natural Balance are both great brands! Another good one is Wellness. Some people like Instinct, but I'm just personally not a fan of their wet food style.

Sadly most of the "grain free" "premium" foods aren't super affordable. Usually around $20 for a 7lb bag. Purina is an OK brand - most of my cats ate Purina growing up and all did fine. But, I know many people like to stay away from by-products and fillers, which Purina definitely has. I, personally, haven't been a fan of them lately because they spear headed a couple petty law suits against other food companies. (But I digress, haha!)

I currently have my kitten on Blue Buffalo dry and wet. He does fantastic on it!

A thing to note when switching your food is that both Blue Buffalo and Natural Balance are grain free so they are very high in protein in comparison to Purina! Which means it will be a rich switch on the tummy! Make sure you switch the food over SLOWLY or your kitty may experience vomiting or diarrhea! Start with 75% Purina and 25% of the new brand for the first few days, 50/50% for the next few days and then 25% Purina, 75% New brand for the last few days. I would say take at LEAST a week to make the switch. Even during a slow switch it's still possible for kitty to have some soft stool. If you feel like it has shown up and is persisting for more than a day or 2 make sure to have a Vet visit just in case! =]

 I'm a college student, and I'll be living in a town without a petsmart or petco, so the food has to be available at Target, Walmart, or Fleet Farm. I've been looking at Buffalo Blue and Natural Balance, but I'm not sure if they're worth the extra money, or if I'll be able to find NB. I'm also wanting to switch over her canned food to something more nutritional, but I've no idea where to even start, there. So any opinions on which cat foods are the best nutritionally, that will also be affordable for a college student? Thanks!

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I don't feed dry so can't comment on it but as far as decent wet food at a reasonable price  I recommend Fancy Feast classic.   There are 3 flavors which are grain & fish free.  FF turkey & giblet,  liver & chicken, and chopped grill feast.   There's also sheba pate.  The pates are grain free. 

These 2 brands are available at a walmart, target or your local grocery shop at a reasonable price.

Have you considered buying online?

Lokhismom said:

 
I don't feed dry so can't comment on it but as far as decent wet food at a reasonable price  I recommend Fancy Feast classic.   There are 3 flavors which are grain & fish free.  FF turkey & giblet,  liver & chicken, and chopped grill feast.   There's also sheba pate.  The pates are grain free. 

These 2 brands are available at a walmart, target or your local grocery shop at a reasonable price.

Have you considered buying online?

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FF makes a plain chicken pate too. I don't feed dry either except for the rare occasion that I have to leave home for a day or 2. Then it's Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Diet turkey. They like it very much. It's not cheap though and not available at WM, Target or grocery stores. I agree about buying online. Since you have limited stores near you, it might be your best bet. You can get good deals at Chewy.com, Wag.com, Amazon.com or through Petco and Petsmart. All of these retailers offer subscriptions. You can set them up to deliver as often as you like and they do offer discounts when you do that. Free shipping usually starts at about $49 depending on who it is. Amazon offers free shipping with their subscribe and save.   I haven't had any luck with Blue Buffalo wet. My girls hate it and my boy threw up from it the few times he's had it. Natural Balance is pretty good. My girls like the platefulls pouches and they like the Catatoullie too. 

Most big name brands of food are complete balanced diets for cats so don't stress out over nutrition Some foods are supplemental (treat) only so avoid those. Fancy Feast Broths and Appetizers are two such treat foods.

Fancy Feast Gourmet / Classic is fine to feed and easy on the budget. So is Friskies. The big plus of Friskies is that you can get the 5.5 oz cans which is more cost effective than 3 oz cans. And I think there is a Friskies variety available in a 12 oz can. Wal Mart's Special Kitty brand of canned food is similar to Fancy Feast and cost even less, but again, those little 3 oz can do add up over time.

Is buying food online an option? Some places have free shipping if you buy X amount of stuff.

LTS3 said:

 
Most big name brands of food are complete balanced diets for cats so don't stress out over nutrition

Some foods are supplemental (treat) only so avoid those. Fancy Feast Broths and Appetizers are two such treat foods.

Fancy Feast Gourmet / Classic is fine to feed and easy on the budget. So is Friskies. The big plus of Friskies is that you can get the 5.5 oz cans which is more cost effective than 3 oz cans. And I think there is a Friskies variety available in a 12 oz can. Wal Mart's Special Kitty brand of canned food is similar to Fancy Feast and cost even less, but again, those little 3 oz can do add up over time.

Is buying food online an option? Some places have free shipping if you buy X amount of stuff.

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Friskies is available in a 13 oz can that you can get at Wal Mart for $1.08. Dollar Tree has it too for $1. Target should have it too but I don't know what they get for it. I'd stick to the pates with Friskies also. If you have a Tractor Supply Company store near you, they have their own brand 4Health that is pretty good too. 

Thanks everyone for the replies! From what you've all said, I'm thinking I'll stick to Fancy Feast classics canned food (I've heard bad things about friskies and I don't feel comfortable using it). In terms of dry food I'm still a bit unsure. I'd rather pick things up in person than order online, if I can. I know the Fleet Farm has Blue Buffalo, so I'm really torn between Blue and PurinaOne, I guess. Is Blue worth the few extra dollars in the long run?

drxcos said:

Thanks everyone for the replies! From what you've all said, I'm thinking I'll stick to Fancy Feast classics canned food (I've heard bad things about friskies and I don't feel comfortable using it). In terms of dry food I'm still a bit unsure. I'd rather pick things up in person than order online, if I can. I know the Fleet Farm has Blue Buffalo, so I'm really torn between Blue and PurinaOne, I guess. Is Blue worth the few extra dollars in the long run?

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I personally really like Blue. My cat does fantastic on it. But there is nothing wrong with Purina One and it is easier on the wallet. =] they are both AAFCO approved brands, which means they are complete balanced nutritional diet. Just depends on if you want extra fancy stuff like cranberries, oatmeal and veggies in your kibble. That's the main reason it costs extra.

drxcos said:

 
Thanks everyone for the replies! From what you've all said, I'm thinking I'll stick to Fancy Feast classics canned food (I've heard bad things about friskies and I don't feel comfortable using it). In terms of dry food I'm still a bit unsure. I'd rather pick things up in person than order online, if I can. I know the Fleet Farm has Blue Buffalo, so I'm really torn between Blue and PurinaOne, I guess. Is Blue worth the few extra dollars in the long run?

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You can add in Blue Buffalo or any other higher quality food into your cat's diet every so often That would give your cat a good variety in the diet plus not break your budget.