Recommendation needed

I have two cats....17 months and 9 months.  They eat Tiki canned and Weruva pouches, also very little Orijen dry when I'm gone long hours. I'm spending about $260 a month on cat food!!!!  Can someone recommend a healthy, affordable wet food?  Thank you!

How picky are your two furbabies? What are your requirements as far as ingredients or what you want to avoid?

Both Weruva and Tiki Cat are low calorie, so I can understand how it would get so expensive feeding two young cats. I would check into Nature's Variety (both their Instinct and Pride lines).

Also, if you are not already, look into ordering online as you can often get better pricing for buying in bulk. I mostly use Chewy.com. But, there are several other sites to choose from.

You need to add something that's higher in calories, like a pate. I like Merrick's Limited Ingredients, I know others feed and like Hound and Gatos. 

CatPack said:

Both Weruva and Tiki Cat are low calorie, so I can understand how it would get so expensive feeding two young cats. I would check into Nature's Variety (both their Instinct and Pride lines).
 

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Many of Tiki's foods are actually pretty caloric: pretty much all their foods that have chicken are 200 calories or greater per six-ounce can. Some of the Gourmet Carnivore foods are very high, in the 250-calorie range. Our cats eat a lot of TIki foods and do well on them. They're small cats but big eaters!

Weruva, though, generally is pretty low calorie. Our cats mostly eat their Cats in the Kitchen foods, which are cheaper than the TruLuxe line.

Like missmimz, our cats also eat some Hound & Gatos and Merrick LID, both of which are affordable and caloric. They also eat Nutro Natural Choice before bedtime: it keeps them from pestering us at night!

Here are some recent threads with suggestions for affordable canned food:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/308964/healthy-but-affordable-canned-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/309608/cheap-grain-free-cat-canned-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/306956/new-affordable-petsmart-brand-d

Thank you for your help! I'll check out those links.  I forgot to mention that I sometimes give them Nature's Variety Instinct because I like the different protein sources, but the price is just as high as Tiki.  It's crazy how much I spend each month on food for them.

Nature's Variety has coupons for their products sometimes. You can sign up to receive them on the Nature's Varetiy web site: http://www.instinctpetfood.com/subscribe The current coupon is for the Raw Boost Mixers.

Buying by the case can save money. Independent pet stores often will sell by the case. I think with your cats a case of the 5.5 oz can would be best. Check online stores for food, too. Sometimes it's a little cheaper than at the store and t here's often free shipping if you buy over $50 or something. People here like Chewys.com and OnlyNaturalPet.com

PetFlow has been excellent recently for Tiki cans, or at least for Puka Puka chicken (the only one I've been buying, haven't checked the price of others, it can vary even by flavor!)  Assuming you can make it work with 6oz cans (already a savings over the tiny ones), they do bundles of two of the 8-packs for a slightly lower cost overall per can, then if you put it on an autoship plan you can save additionally on every shipment.

You can usually get a sizable discount off your first order too.  Here's what I did:  I ordered about 3 months' worth with something like a 15-20% discount that it seemed not to place a limit on.  I ordered it as a one-time order because I'm never sure where I'll order next. I'm always on the hunt for specials and such.  So what happens is they REALLY REALLY want you signed up for an auto-ship plan, so when you place a one-time order they will call you and entice you with a bigger discount to let them set an auto ship, even if the next shipment is 12 or 14 weeks away.  You can always change the amounts, frequency, and even what products are in that shipment later, and the discount will remain on that autoship plan.

I have two cats as well, and they eat one meal a day of this Tiki chicken, and their other meal each day is Primal freeze-dried pork.  These kitties are small, about 7lbs or so each, but I'm spending in this food no more than $4/day, which is only $120/month.  I measure out the portions carefully by weight based on the weight of the cats and the calorie density of the food.  Each 6oz Tiki can makes about 3 portions, and each 14oz bag of Primal makes about 28 portions for these two.  It's quite possible to have two big kitties who really do need twice as much food as mine, but unless they are that big, what I'm getting at in general is you may be able to save on the same foods just by shopping around more and by stocking up when you find a great deal.  I always check Chewy, Pet360 and Wag, as well as now PetFlow.  Every once in a while one will have a coupon deal, especially Pet360, and if you haven't ordered before you can take advantage of each one's first time customer savings which is usually pretty generous to get you in the door so to speak.

Thank you! I'll check it out. My kitties are 12 and 10 pounds. I'm trying to cut them down to only a can each, divided over 4 feelings. I also use only the chicken Tiki - purple cans and blue cans. I've cut out the Orijen dry food altogether. At bedtime they split a Weruva pouch - Pumpkin Lickin Chicken. So, it's costing me about $8 a day right now. Still a lot, but they love their Tiki. I switch off with Nature's Variety Instinct as well, but that averages $3 a can as well. I look for sales and I signed up for coupons. I hate using my credit card, but I will check out the sites you told me to. Thank you.

Patti511 said:

I have two cats....17 months and 9 months.  They eat Tiki canned and Weruva pouches, also very little Orijen dry when I'm gone long hours. I'm spending about $260 a month on cat food!!!!  Can someone recommend a healthy, affordable wet food?  Thank you!

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Thats insane! My four cats, dog, and I all eat well but I dont spens that much on groceries for all of us.

How about Wellness?

I know it's insane!!! I went to the pet store today and started reading labels. Everything has either carrageenan or guar gum. Tiki and Nature's Variety are the only brands I found that do not have anything bad for them in it. I looked at Canidae - guar gum. Soulistic - carrageenan & guar gum. I didn't check Wellness today, but I have in the past. I believe it contains guar gum. I just recently lost my dog to stomach cancer....I don't want to feed my cats anything that can be harmful to them. Does anyone know of a grain free wet food that doesn't have either one of those ingredients?

Try these threads:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240335/canned-food-without-carrageenan-or-guar-gum

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/291133/...nan-grain-free-wet-foods-to-feed-to-your-cats

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262990/carrageenan-free-canned-foods

Patti511 said:

I know it's insane!!! I went to the pet store today and started reading labels. Everything has either carrageenan or guar gum. Tiki and Nature's Variety are the only brands I found that do not have anything bad for them in it. I looked at Canidae - guar gum. Soulistic - carrageenan & guar gum. I didn't check Wellness today, but I have in the past. I believe it contains guar gum. I just recently lost my dog to stomach cancer....I don't want to feed my cats anything that can be harmful to them. Does anyone know of a grain free wet food that doesn't have either one of those ingredients?

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Canned food needs some kind of binder ingredients so that the food will stay in the "pate" form - I think carrageenan is the worst of the binders, I'm OK with guar gum in the food.

The only food I know that doesn't have any of those ingredients is Hound & Gatos - but it's not cheap either   

I have 4 cats, and I spend about $60 a week on cat food, so I'm having the same struggle as you right now!

What do they say is wrong with Carageenan?   I used to use it when marbling paper, and it's in ice cream. I thought it was just a thickener, makes food a nice smooth texture. I'm behind the times. From what I know of Carageenan, I wouldn't think it's harmful.  Kind of like gelatin in texture.  I think it is not used for nutrition so much. It's made of seaweed, and I always thought seaweed would be good for you.

Wendalore said:

 
What do they say is wrong with Carageenan?   I used to use it when marbling paper, and it's in ice cream. I thought it was just a thickener, makes food a nice smooth texture. I'm behind the times. From what I know of Carageenan, I wouldn't think it's harmful.  Kind of like gelatin in texture.  I think it is not used for nutrition so much. It's made of seaweed, and I always thought seaweed would be good for you.

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Carrageenan can cause inflammation in the digestive tract of some cats and is also a possible carcinogen:

http://www.examiner.com/article/cat-food-controversy-is-carrageenan-harmful

Patti511 said:

. . . carrageenan & guar gum. I didn't check Wellness today, but I have in the past. I believe it contains guar gum. I just recently lost my dog to stomach cancer....I don't want to feed my cats anything that can be harmful to them. Does anyone know of a grain free wet food that doesn't have either one of those ingredients?

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Unfortunately canned foods without at least guar gum are far and few although there are increasingly more canned foods available without carrageenan.

Most cats don't seem to have problem with guar gum, however, it is a high soluble fermentable fiber and with some cats it has a laxative effect, causing loose stools, etc.  I avoid guar gum as well - foods with guar gum, even LID foods, gave both my cats problems in the kitty box. 

Dr. Lisa Pierson DVM uses a small amount of guar gum in her homemade food whenever her cats are constipated.

A few additional canned food options, other than Tiki Cat's Gourmet Carnivore Line and NV's Instinct line would be:

Nature's Logic, also gum free but not AAFCO approved (yet) although the company indicates the food based supplements far exceed AAFCO's minimum requirements.

Foods that are gum free -- other than agar agar, in addition to H&G (check the ingredients, e.g., beef canned contains guar gum) as Missmimz mentioned:

Ziwi Peak

Bravo Feline Cafe

Spring Naturals

Lotus Just Juicy

Halo Impulse

Halo Vigor (contains grains)

Great Life Essentials (call the company to verify gum free or the inclusion of guar gum, some web sites offering this food have conflicting ingredients, here is one indicating the food is entirely gum free, including agar agar):

http://primepetsupply.com/product/great-life-chicken-and-friends-canned-cat-food/

Those are the only ones that come to mind right now, there may be more, if so I'll update.

Thank you, everyone. I think I'm going to stick with Tiki NV Instinct, and Weruva pouches. My cats do well on them. I was just looking for something more affordable, but nothing compares to the peace of mind I get with these brands. Thank you, again.

So many brands mentioned here, please add your reviews on them and you'll be helping us raise funds to help cats in need this month!

 The Grand TCS Reviews Fundraiser  

Anne said:

 
So many brands mentioned here, please add your reviews on them and you'll be helping us raise funds to help cats in need this month!

 The Grand TCS Reviews Fundraiser  

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I'm trying to add a review of Ziwi Peak via: http://www.thecatsite.com/products/category/canned-cat-food, however, I don't see any link or field to "add review", only the list of products starting at 100% satistaction.

I'm obviously missing something, likely it's staring me in the face ...

Thanks.

LisaMarie12 said:

 

Anne said:

 
So many brands mentioned here, please add your reviews on them and you'll be helping us raise funds to help cats in need this month!

 The Grand TCS Reviews Fundraiser  

Click to expand...

I'm trying to add a review of Ziwi Peak via: http://www.thecatsite.com/products/category/canned-cat-food, however, I don't see any link or field to "add review", only the list of products starting at 100% satistaction.

I'm obviously missing something, likely it's staring me in the face ...

Thanks.

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Are you browsing the site with a mobile device? I'm afraid the Reviews section isn't entirely mobile-compatible. You have to switch to desktop mode to submit a review.

Either way, I noticed canned Ziwpeak isn't on the list, so just added this for you -

http://www.thecatsite.com/products/ziwipeak-daily-cat-cuisine-canned-various-flavors