Starting an all-wet food diet with timed meals - some questions

Hey all,

Thanks to you guys I've done a bit of research on cat food/nutrition and now that I'm back to my apartment after the holidays I'm going to make the switch to wet food from dry for the sake of my cat (now 6 months) and I have some questions with respect to feeding. So currently meals are done by feeding kitty approximately 3 meals a day, each consisting of: 

1/3 5.5oz can purina friskies chicken dinner pate (has rice  ) - looking to switch out of it once we finish the batch

1/4 cup dry food for free feed grazing

(roommate bought colorful purina cause it was on sale , unfortunately, while I was gone for the holidays and no wet food was available- will stop this once its done)

1. I want to switch kitty over to a brand I found at my local pet store (http://petvalu.com/product/23932/beef-dinner-health-diet)  but am unsure whether this is a better option than purina friskies pate. The major concern I have is that it has fish in the ingredients and this is common across most, if not all, the flavors. Is this still a better option than Purina Chicken Dinner? I noticed that it is not at the top of the list so I'm sure it does not contain much, but I don't want to feed my cat things that are blatantly bad for him... Looking to avoid buying 85g cans since they are pricier overall. 

2. I plan to feed kitty 2 cans of food a day (11 Oz total) until 1 year, then switch to 1 5.5Oz can a day after that. Is this enough? I've seen some posts around here and other forums and people seem to be feeding feasts to their cat -  my cat seems fine on the current diet and doesn't really beg unless its his mealtime. I'm a college student so I'm scared of the costs associated with some of the extravagant meal plans I've been seeing online. Not sure what to think here.... 

3. I want to start timed meals, since he is 6 months I've read it's okay to start treating him like a big boy and going for 2 meals a day. Good idea? Should I stick to 3-4 smaller meals instead?

Suggestions on how to approach this switch and resources I should look to would be great!

Feel free to inquire and share your disdain for that weird colorful cat food, 

Cheer

Yea i fed my kitten 2x a day around that age. I think 5.5 oz a day for a grown cat is kinda small. But depends on the cat i guess. I wouldnt cut it down so drastically just because he turns a year. My kitten is 9 months and im not planning on cutting down his food intake unless he starts getting chubbs. Fish is fine but probablt not everyday,its better if its just part of your rotation and you serve other canned foods with no fish on other days.

I too am feeding a growing kitty. If you want a great product that has good calories, no grains, no rice, vegetables, carageenan, etc in it for a really low price, I would suggest Sheba Pates. My cat loveeees them! I rotate a lot of different foods (some expensive, some not so much), and Sheba is one that he never ever gets sick of. At the petsmart near me it is about .50 for a 3.3 oz can! Which is just $1.00 for 6.6oz! To me it's one of the best choices if you are on a budget and want to feed canned. I wouldn't feel bad about feeding a cat Sheba at ALL. 

Fancy Feast (classics only) are also a decent option if you are on a budget.

I'm also in college.... I swear my cat eats better than me sometimes. Today he had free range raw chicken and I had a .98 cents can of chili  . 

Are you in Canada? that food doesn't really look good, if you ask me. The first ingredient in your food should be meat, or at least not a by-product. I'm not really sure what's available in Canada vs. US but maybe someone else can suggest some other fair priced wet foods. 

I feed my kittens (ranging from 6 months or 10 months) 3-4 times a day. AM, lunch, PM, snack and bedtime. 

missmimz said:

 
Are you in Canada? that food doesn't really look good, if you ask me. The first ingredient in your food should be meat, or at least not a by-product. I'm not really sure what's available in Canada vs. US but maybe someone else can suggest some other fair priced wet foods. 

I feed my kittens (ranging from 6 months or 10 months) 3-4 times a day. AM, lunch, PM, snack and bedtime. 

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Haha yes, unfortunately our selection and prices are horrid compared to the US. I'd love to feed him "premium" brands of cat food but the cost is simply too high. If there are other foods I can look to that would be great. By-product meal seems to be common in more affordable brands so it might be unavoidable (maybe not as main ingredient, at least). I'd like to keep under $40/month if possible - not sure if that's asking too much for too little money for one cat. 

GhibliTheCat said:

 
I too am feeding a growing kitty. If you want a great product that has good calories, no grains, no rice, vegetables, carageenan, etc in it for a really low price, I would suggest Sheba Pates. My cat loveeees them! I rotate a lot of different foods (some expensive, some not so much), and Sheba is one that he never ever gets sick of. At the petsmart near me it is about .50 for a 3.3 oz can! Which is just $1.00 for 6.6oz! To me it's one of the best choices if you are on a budget and want to feed canned. I wouldn't feel bad about feeding a cat Sheba at ALL. 

Fancy Feast (classics only) are also a decent option if you are on a budget.

I'm also in college.... I swear my cat eats better than me sometimes. Today he had free range raw chicken and I had a .98 cents can of chili 

. 

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Sheba isn't available in Canada . Haha I feel like that just might be my life soon, I'd like to avoid that though! I know about fancy feast but it's actually pretty pricey here and only comes in 85g cans which doesn't scale well in price compared to 5.5Oz. Thanks for the suggestion! 

Cheers

awsomepatates said:

Haha yes, unfortunately our selection and prices are horrid compared to the US. I'd love to feed him "premium" brands of cat food but the cost is simply too high. If there are other foods I can look to that would be great. By-product meal seems to be common in more affordable brands so it might be unavoidable (maybe not as main ingredient, at least). I'd like to keep under $40/month if possible - not sure if that's asking too much for too little money for one cat. 


Sheba isn't available in Canada . Haha I feel like that just might be my life soon, I'd like to avoid that though! I know about fancy feast but it's actually pretty pricey here and only comes in 85g cans which doesn't scale well in price compared to 5.5Oz. Thanks for the suggestion! 

Cheers

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Personally, I'd much rather feed byproducts than wheat gluten or corn or peas! And you could do a whole lot worse than Friskies pate, even with the rice.

My only real advice, given that I don't know much about the Canadian pet food choices,would be to go for the highest protein and lowest carbs that you can afford. We feed our cats many times a day (I work at home and one gets stomach issues if she gets too hungry) and know that small meals work well for a lot of other people, too. It sounds like your kitten is pretty self-regulating on food, so I'd probably just feed him however many meals seems right for you and him. And as much as he wants, since he's still a kitten. Ours, by the way, never quite leveled off much on their food: they're almost three and still very active and hungry most days so watch out!