Best Big-Box Store Canned Food

Hi, I'm new to the forum, and I was wanting to adopt a cat soon. I was wondering what canned food brands are the best that you can buy at places like Petco and Petsmart?

Unfortunately I don't have the time to make raw food, and I don't have the time OR the money to drive 50 miles to a specialty store to get high quality human grade organic canned food.  

The best, in terms of ingredients, is probably Soulistic. But it's pretty low-calorie, so you probably would want to get something higher-calorie for a kitten, or you'd have to feed several cans a day ($$$!). Nutro, Merrick, Natural Balance.

I don't know if all of the big-box stores do this, but the Petsmart and Petco I go to have the food kind of in order of quality (actually it's probably sorted by price, lol). So if you stay in the better-quality aisle, probably most of them will be fine. Read the ingredient list!

Merrick LID pates and Soulistic good Kharma chicken in green can are both carageenan free. Whole earth farms by Merrick is a little less expensive. Also impulse by Halo quail or rabbit is very good, These are all sold st Petco. Nutro natural choice chunky chicken loaf is also popular, sold both places I believe.

Others have already mentioned the same brands I'd list--we also feed Merrick LID, Nutro Natural Choice, and Soulistic--but definitely watch the carb levels and fish ingredients in Soulistic. The food is very decent quality, but they tend to use a lot of tuna (which our vet doesn't approve of) and some of their foods have tapioca as a thickener, which really raises the carbs. Our cats love their chicken/pumpkin foods so I drain some of the gravy, which is ok to do occasionally, for a small part of the diet. As W Willowy mentioned, you'd want higher calorie counts for most of a kitten's diet, anyway: the Nutro foods are fairly high-calorie and popular, even with picky cats.

Whole Earth Farms. My cat prefers to Merrick and its 50¢ less per 5 oz can.

Not a big box store food, but I'm also shocked to discover Robin went NUTS for I and Love and You's "Holy Cow". At least as much as he did Merrick/Whole Earth farms. He actually jumped on my kitchen counter looking for more--and he was given 3/4 of a 3 oz can, and INHALED it.

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

Nature's Variety Instinct is good. You can find it at Petco but the selection may be limited. Petco also has Soulistic.

You'll find other suggestions here, although not all mentioned are available at big box stores:

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

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/241131/healthy-affordable-wet-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/313700/budget-friendly-can-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/272192/affordable-canned-food

Lots of people order online from places like Amazon.com and Chewy.com and PetFoodIDirect.com That may be an option for you.

Unless you live out in the middle of nowhere, I'm sure there's at least one independent pet store that is fairly close by, not 50+ miles away  Pet food companies often have store locators on their web site. You might find a local store.

There are commercial raw pet foods you can buy if you can't make it yourself. Just throwing that out there Petco sells some of the Nature's Variety frozen raw foods but selection is limited. An independent pet store will have a larger selection. Or you can buy whole cuts of raw meat from the supermarket and grind or chop it yourself or buy from a raw pet food supplier like Hare-Today.com, and then add in a premix such as Alnutrin or EZ Complete and water to make it a complete diet. I just made up a batch of raw yesterday. It took 15 minutes

I am new also, so I chose to read several internet articles about cat nutrition.  Like you I am on a budget, although I enjoying cooking so giving my gal fresh protein is no problem.

You're going to find that most cat food the supermarkets and big box stores include grains/carbohydrates as a significant ingredient.  Many owners avoid those foods.  Decide for yourself.  I give my gal a combination of dry and wet.  Dry is more affordable.  My cat likes Rachael Ray Nutrish but really she eats anything.  I also give her Purina One kitten formula, which has the highest protein content of Purina's "mass market" brands.  She also gets Purina's Beyond, one of Purina's premium brands of pet food.  I review all labels for minimal grain content.  For Grain-Free dry, I have discovered Evolve GF Chicken.  It's a bargain, at least in my area.

For wet canned food I give her Fancy Feast, supplemented with various Friskies and 9 Lives flavors.  Many of the Friskies and 9 Lives flavors are essentially "McDonalds in a can," but some of the formulas are decent.  Remember to read the labels.  If there is a 'Tractor Supply Center" nearby, their cat food is reportedly healthy and inexpensive.  Also, the Stop n Shop supermarket chain has a house brand of Grain Free pet food called "Companion."  Good luck to you.

I live out in rural country, with no pet stores very close by. The closest one is 25 miles away, I think. 

However, one advantage of rural country, is farm stores everywhere! Both Family Farm and Home and Tractor Supply carry grain free canned foods. Tractor Supply has their own store brand--4Health, that has extremely healthy ingredients and is very affordable. 

Also, you can find some premium foods at mainstream retailers. Meijer's, in my town, carries Organix grain free canned food & I and Love and You grain free canned food.