good quality wet food for around $1.50 a can?

hi guys! i've been doing as much research as i can regarding canned food - just when i think i know enough something throws me for a loop!

i've been feeding Natural Balance with success for some time now, but i would like to switch to a better wet food that focuses on proteins, not fancy veggie fillers. i so wish i could stretch my budget more for human grade like Ziwipeak or Tiki Cat, but it's not in the cards... i'd like a second cat at some point and so $1.5 a day per kitty is about where i'm at.

i want to feed a rotation of brands and this is where i'd like some suggestions. Hounds & Gatos is just about the only sure thing on my list right now.  i was looking at Wellness Core but it has the same issue as Natural Balance in that it uses potatoes etc. 

i coooould sneak in some higher priced brands like Instinct but i've noticed some serious price-creep recently & would like to avoid that. i don't want to have to watch sales to make sure a brand is within budget that month. still, if you know of something that isn't too far off from $1.5, i'd like to hear about it.

any suggestions are appreciated! even if it is to just tell me i am being unrealistic

It can be hard to find good foods without vegetable fillers at decent prices! But you're not being unrealistic.

Have you tried Merrick's LID foods? They're pates without peas, potatoes, or other vegetables. Our cats love them and they sell for $1.49 in a local independent store. (They're more at Petco...) Merrick's Whole Earth Farms foods are also reasonably priced: the duck also has chicken but is priced about the same as the LID. Just be sure to read the labels on Whole Earth Farms because some of those foods have potatoes.

Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen canned foods are a little higher in price (though shopping around is key, at least where I live, and some stores give bulk discounts) but they're meaty, veg-less, and our cats love them. (We only feed the chicken flavors that don't have fish. The pouch foods are just occasional treats: they're pretty carby because of the tapioca.)

Good luck!

that helps so much, thank you! the Merrick tip is exactly what i was looking for. i also found Wild Calling which has some novel proteins and comes out to $1.6ish. two to add to the list

i really want to try weruva but i have read a lot of confusion over the (lack) of calories. i understand that's due to it being all protein though. have your cats seemed satisfied with the normal 5-6 oz a day?

thanks again!

I have been researching as well, since I'm bringing home a new kitty soon, and I found at Walmart they have "pure balance". Both the dry and the wet food have excellent ingredients, especially the wet. It's high in protein and uses nearly no fillers. It's a little over a dollar I think, but they have a 12 pack for $11. I'm going to start buying it as soon as she's old enough for adult food!

We have a very modest income, so our cats subsist mostly on 4Health (Tractor Supply Company store brand) grain free canned food. It's very good quality food for the price point ($0.69 per 5.5 oz can) and they love it. I love how it's mostly meat and vitamins. With the exception of the potato starch thickener for the gravy varieties, I don't think that it has any vegetables in it.

Hi Kttn

thank you for asking this=I too am also trying to get better quality foods without breaking the bank.

My question is do we know the food source of the ingredients in these? I always worry that a company is not totally honest with us about where they get their ingredients from or am I being too silly?

I have had good luck with Fancy Feast classic flavors but for now that is all my elder cat will eat. but we have not tried Tiki cat or that other one with a "w". My biggest issue with expensive food=they come in chunks instead of meatloaf. I usually have to mash these up and add water but they still don't care for them..So I don't know if texture is an issue.

I also have seen folks buy freeze dried and use as a topper. They love the chicken one that my friend sent us..

For a better quality of food options, supplement commercial cat food with easy home made meals.

Simmer chicken breast portions in water (do not boil) in a saute pan.  Do not overcook.  When done, let it cool and chop into bite-size portions for kitty.  Do not add seasons.  Seasonings such as onion powder and garlic are unhealthy for cats.

Also, pan fry some ground beef, add chopped zuchini or chopped broccoli florets.  Cook the beef until rare to preserve as must moisture as possible.  Very healthy for your cat.

Crazy4Strays said:

 
We have a very modest income, so our cats subsist mostly on 4Health (Tractor Supply Company store brand) grain free canned food. It's very good quality food for the price point ($0.69 per 5.5 oz can) and they love it. I love how it's mostly meat and vitamins. With the exception of the potato starch thickener for the gravy varieties, I don't think that it has any vegetables in it.

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wow, that's a good one. admittedly i'm curious what the catch is, but even if they're using sourced meat from similarly priced competitors it's worth buying just to avoid the other garbage ingredients. and i'm guessing it's a much smaller marketing budget which saves $$. thanks for posting about this one.

foxxycat said:

My question is do we know the food source of the ingredients in these? I always worry that a company is not totally honest with us about where they get their ingredients from or am I being too silly?

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no, that's absolutely not silly. i wonder that too. there needs to be transparency especially if we're paying a lot (and i do believe $1+ a can meets that requirement). often there's only the ingredients list to go by  the Hounds & Gatos about us page says "For example, we are happy to report that we finally found a manufacturing cannery partner that shares our health-minded philosophies. In fact, they are one of the top-rated canneries in the world. They help us source the best ingredients, including the highest quality US meats. " crossing my fingers that's true!

To help keep cost down, have you looked at ordering online? I (as well as others here) use Chewy.com. I use them both personally and for the rescue I help run. The prices are typically quite a bit cheaper than when purchased in stores.

Chewy has excellent customer service and offers full refunds if your cat doesn't like a food or if there is something wrong with your order.

As for other suggestions:
Evo
Red Barn
Halo (Impulse and Vigor)
Newman's Own Organics

The only catch that I'm aware of with TSC branded foods is that you have to drive to a TSC store to purchase them.  I really haven't heard much in the way of negative reviews. 

Ordering online is an excellent option as well.

I look at how much something costs per calorie because the calorie amounts can vary depending on the brand and the protein. Holistic Select has several powdered fruits in their ingredients, but otherwise there's not too much fiber or starch and the rest of the ingredients are good. If you get the 13 oz cans, the chicken, turkey, and liver and lamb formulas all come out to around .5 cents per calorie. Nature's Variety Instinct LID, in comparison, is 3 times that at about 1.5 cents per calorie. Hounds and Gatos and Whole Earth Farms are both about .7 cents per calorie. My cat only likes pates so I haven't calculated Tiki cat or Weruva amounts, but I'm sure they're much more expensive.

(This is all based on ordering them from Chewy in bulk so shipping is free.)

kttn said:

 
that helps so much, thank you! the Merrick tip is exactly what i was looking for. i also found Wild Calling which has some novel proteins and comes out to $1.6ish. two to add to the list

i really want to try weruva but i have read a lot of confusion over the (lack) of calories. i understand that's due to it being all protein though. have your cats seemed satisfied with the normal 5-6 oz a day?

thanks again!

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I love Weruva (and my cats do too). We buy the 6oz cans from chewy.com.

I can't say whether my cats would be satisfied with one can a day since they don't eat just wet food. I feed them 1/4 of a (6oz) can of Weruva in the morning. 1/4 cup of Nutrisca (dry food). Then at night they eat another 3oz can (of something else) split between both of them and another 1/4 cup of dry food. I never feed just Weruva. My cats get a variety of canned foods depending on the day. What I can say is that Weruva is my cat's absolute favorites and they don't seem extra hungry if I feed them this instead of something else in the morning.

kttn said:

 
that helps so much, thank you! the Merrick tip is exactly what i was looking for. i also found Wild Calling which has some novel proteins and comes out to $1.6ish. two to add to the list

i really want to try weruva but i have read a lot of confusion over the (lack) of calories. i understand that's due to it being all protein though. have your cats seemed satisfied with the normal 5-6 oz a day?

thanks again!

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You're welcome, kttn! We feed our cats Weruva at night, before bed, and it does seem to get them through the night. The ones we feed are 151, 147, 124, and 88 calories per six-ounce can. I suspect it holds them because the carb calories are pretty low. The lowest-calorie one, Quick 'n Quirky, has lots of "gravy" and is more expensive than it should be but the cats love it so I buy it for them as a treat; it still seems to work for them, though, maybe because it's all protein?

I wish our cats liked Wild Calling! They looked at me like I was crazy when I tried feeding it to them.

foxxycat said:

I have had good luck with Fancy Feast classic flavors but for now that is all my elder cat will eat. but we have not tried Tiki cat or that other one with a "w". My biggest issue with expensive food=they come in chunks instead of meatloaf. I usually have to mash these up and add water but they still don't care for them..So I don't know if texture is an issue.
I also have seen folks buy freeze dried and use as a topper. They love the chicken one that my friend sent us..

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Texture is a huge issue for our cats: they tend to prefer shreds to meatloaf-like pates. They do like certain pates, though--notably the Merrick LID and Hound & Gatos lamb--but they'll eat anything with freeze-dried chicken on top. Maybe I should try that with Wild Calling!

kttn said:

that helps so much, thank you! the Merrick tip is exactly what i was looking for. i also found Wild Calling which has some novel proteins and comes out to $1.6ish. two to add to the list

i really want to try weruva but i have read a lot of confusion over the (lack) of calories. i understand that's due to it being all protein though. have your cats seemed satisfied with the normal 5-6 oz a day?

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Mine get 7.5 to 8 oz no dry