My cat keeps getting constipated. How can I stop this?

I have a cat I keep indoors. It's not something I would ever have approved of, it's like keeping them imprisoned, but when I moved to the city I let someone talk me into thinking it would be ok to have an "indoor cat". Well..I will never do it again. He clearly knows he is missing going out and playing and running, and now that he is 8 years old, and chasing strings and laser lights and balls is no longer interesting to him, well he just isn't getting enough exercise, he's gaining weight, and he keeps getting constipated.

My first instinct if I have a health concern for myself, is to go to the doctor. Better safe than sorry. But for my cat my instinct is to NOT bring him to the vet unless he is in a life-threatened situation, because he found that - I was told - record-breakingly traumatic. (Oh the vet said I had the worst behaving cat ever, and she badmouthed him with that reputation to the pet store across the street, and the other vet in town too. Well, my cat is actually VERY well behaved, and I blame that vet for being incompetent to the point of being unfit. She traumatized him. He was just a purring little kitten, and she put gloves on up to her elbows, and chased him around with a towel that she eventually bagged him in. (But she found it a mystery as to why Captain Meow was pissed at her.) When i got him away from her she gasped, "he might hurt somebody!" as I picked the poor frightened thing up and gave it a cuddle. Wow. We are not going back there! So...the thing with my cat is I try to avoid a trip to any vet if I can. I don't like vets. All they're interested in is worrying or guilting you into repeatedly bringing the animal in unnecessarily, so they can fleece you at regular intervals. $345 is too much for a permission slip to buy worm medicine that I can get online for $40! And..oops, I thought I was done being angry about her. Lol Guess not!

mm So my first course of action, I go online, I seek advice, so long as his condition isn't life-threatening: NO VET.

Really, I was expecting "the cat whisperer" *, when I took him there, and instead I got someone who is afraid of animals!, and treats them badly as a result. She even charged me for cutting his claws. I NEVER TOLD HER TO DO THAT! It isn't okay! But she did this without asking, as if her safety was at risk, working on him. What a creep. IT WAS JUST A KITTEN!! And she was putting him under anyway. Seriously, she told me $200, and when I retrieved him, suddenly it's $400, or we keep your animal! If we didn't have absurd laws that say a vet can keep your loved one, your pet (and a mechanic can keep your car) if you refuse to pay for services rendered, when there's a dispute, I would NEVER have given her a dime for what she did.

Alright..I just wanted to dissuade folks from automatically suggesting "bring him to the vet", because it isn't going to happen unless he's dying.

I need to know....how do you keep a sedentary 8 year old cat from getting constipated all the time?
I was told one thing is he needs more exercise. I get that. But it isn't so easy.

Another suggestion was to put a few drops of olive oil on his food, to 'grease the path'.
So I did this and now his coat is too oily, so....maybe that's good to get him moving if he's stopped up, but not as a preventative measure to administer all the time.

I'm looking for a change to make to his diet that will help him not get constipated.

He is the type of cat that pees A LOT and poops a little. He turns everything into water somehow! Seriously, I never see him drink! I buy him bottled spring water, and I change it at least once a day, if it as much as gets dust in it. But he almost never touches that. All that peeing he does, I don't know where it's coming from!

But he gets constipated, and this last time, it was bad, and he couldn't pee either. He crawled into the couch and wouldn't come out. I thought we'd have to go see that witch doctor vet after all. But he pooped finally. It was huge (and no wonder it couldn't come out!). And then later he peed a quart!!!!! ..as if not being able to poop had stopped him from being able to pee. (Seriously, how could he have HAD a quart of stinky yellow pee in that small body????? No wonder he was in such discomfort. Wow.)

So I'd love to bring him to the vet and have him thoroughly checked up, see if it actually ISN'T just constipation from being sedentary. Maybe he has other issues internally. Maybe this incident damaged his bladder. I don't know. But - I told you about the vet. and TWO - I love him dearly. But I'm not someone who can fork over three thousand dollars for a tummy ache!
(an overnight stay for an intestinal infection... My friend had to pay $3200 for his dog. No surgery. Just a couple nights stay. $3,200.00 The dog had a tummy ache. I can't fritter money like that just "trying t be a good owner". I'm kind of poor.

Anyone got any tips? I just need him to not get constipated again.

And ok, if I really should take him in, say so, but don't suggest it as a routine precaution. It's a big deal having to do that. The LAST thing I want to do to my little friend is trap him in a box, and have strangers traumatize him when he's already feeling worse than he's ever felt. I wish that situation were different. I wanted to like the vet. Rely on her. But ...


*There was a movie called the Horse Whisperer, in which the vet had a seeming magic power to calm an animal and work with it.

What do you feed him?

You do need to explain what you're feeding him, as that may be problem. I'm no expert on kitty constipation, so someone else here on the site will have to help you. But if it doesn't clear up, then find another vet. If you're in a city, there have got to be many of them around, and take him to one who won't traumatize him.

He eats cans of Purina Fancy Feast, seafood variety (won't eat beef or chicken, just fish).
Monthly I switch from the classic to the grilled, to mix it up for him ("grilled" has flakes in gravy,
"classic" is a pate.)

He also has a bowl of dry food always available (Meow Mix 'original choice'). And a bowl of spring water
I keep fresh for him (I wouldn't give him tap water, it's terrible here).

So the routine is we get up and he gets his box and food freshened up,
and I give him his first third (or quarter) of a can of Fancy Feast. He eats that,
and if he feels he didn't have enough, he continues eating some dry food to augment his breakfast.
Over time, this canned food went from an occasional treat to becoming all he wants. He comes to me
at three hour intervals for another spoon of it. He gets a total of a can and a half a day this way (I'd like it
to be just a can and no more as he has gained weight, but - just as the vet felt he was unusually resistant
to doing things he doesn't want to do - so also does he seem to be a cat that REALLY wants what he wants
when he wants it! So I give him smaller portions now, because he's asking too much. He finds it delicious.
He's a little bored. Sometimes he meows insistently for an "opportunity eat" , simply because I went in the kitchen.
But in all, he's eating a can and a half or a can and a third daily, with a small amount of the dry Meow Mix, and barely
any water ever at all. (He must be drinking some of it, but the bowl doesn't seem to go down, from my eyes).

For a treat, once a month he and I get to have tuna. I give him a couple tablespoons worth. Yesterday, on some advice
I read, I gave him the water from a can of tuna (packed in plain water). THAT got him to drink more than usual! which is
what I was after. But I don't know how often we can do that (if it's a good idea). I was thinking perhaps weekly, I will give him
the water, but only one time each month he will get some of the actual tuna, since the government insists that it contains
mercury.

Recently, when he could not poop - again, on some advice I got on line - I put 5 or 6 drops of olive oil in his food, three times,
yo get him to poop. He pooped. But I dont want to give him olive oil regularly, as it is fattening and even just 20 drops of it over
a day and a half seemed to make his coat a bit oily.

He's fine right now. He's his old self, and happy for all the extra attention he got for not dying and being so very sick (oh, he ruined the floor)
(it started with him throwing up clear liquid, which never happens, and I thought that was concerning, but we did our usual morning routine
anyway. BUT on the way to his food, he stopped in mid-step, as if he had internal discomfort, and any further motion would hurt.
He paused like that for a portion of a minute, then went to food and ate it. But he threw it up a few minutes later. He threw up a total of
4 times, and I kept seeing him trying to poop and failing to. After that last time he threw up, he crawled into the couch and wouldn't come out
the next morning . I thought he was either dead or very ill. But he came out finally, and managed to get a poop out. It was way thicker than
normal with a little blood -but that didn't seem surprising because of its size. An hour later he peed more than I can understand he could
have in his whole body. IT WAS A LOT. And it smelled terrible. But...this was what got him back to normal. Apparently having all that stuck in
there was giving him great discomfort and distress, so he just wanted to hide somewhere safe. Well I couldn't just let him of that, as constipation wont resolve itself, it takes some help to get things moving again, and this is when I was told about the olive oil. And we seem to have succeeded with it.

Captain Meow has been getting constipated once or twice a year for oh probably as long as it's been since he was young enough to think running back and forth chasing things was still interesting (about three years). He doesn't get enough exercise any more. And the advice I got about constipated cats always includes that he should get more exercise. So this I get. But what to do about his diet, I don't know...

(I did try switching him to IAMS Indoor Health food for 'hairball control' and "indoor cats". But he seems to have lost almost all interest in anything but canned, so I have been trying other dry foods. This month i got him a bag of Purina. It isn't like I keep switching him all the time,
but once in a while I give him a change, because well who wants to always eat the same thing? So his regular dry food is the Meow Mix. We tried IAMS a couple times and he lost interest, so back to the Meow Mix. And now we're trying Purina, because it costs twice as much and I was hoping it may actually have good nutrition in it (I don't trust products anymore, because corporations are all run by avericed jerks who make products worse and worse while charging us the same or more. And as this trend continues, I can't imagine why they wouldn't also be using cheaper crappier ingredients in the cat food and still charge as if it's good. (And maybe pay off any regulatory agency that might check on this for us). So, no, I never know what food to trust now. But this is what he's been eating. Sorry for the length.

Ah geez, sorry for the typos. I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to edit those after posting.

Try mixing a quarter teaspoon of Miralax in his food. That should relieve his constipation. It also would be better if you looked for another kibble that is grain-free. Meow Mix has a lot of carbs, and grains, in it, and that could be causing his constipation.

You should be able to edit after posting. There is a little pencil at the bottom of your post; click on that.

I'd cut out the dry completely. Cats with constipation issues usually have more problems with dry and since he likes canned food better that shouldn't be hard to do. He would probably need 2 cans of Fancy Feast pate or 1 can of Friskies pate a day. The grilled kind has fewer calories so he might need a bit more of that. Most cats who eat canned food only get all the moisture they need from their food so they don't drink much water.

Cats, as a general rule, don't need fiber, and fiber can actually cause constipation. Canned foods have very little fiber so that's good. BUT, some cats whose guts aren't working right will need a little fiber to move things along. So try just giving canned food for awhile and keep an eye on his poop habits. If he still seems constipated, add a little slippery elm to his food. Something like this could work: https://www.chewy.com/honest-kitche...6lJMoy3Um35CQWlfljlJzT7z_hv7MH9G6HBoCulXw_wcB

If that doesn't do the trick, you might have to give him a little Miralax. I would recommend finding a good cat-focused vet if it gets to this point, to make sure you get the dosages right. You can also find IBD cat groups on Yahoo, many of the owners in those groups have had extensive experience with keeping kitties pooping properly .

If you use the Miralax (or generic equivalent) as suggested, you have to give it correclty. Mix the dose (usually 1/8 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon) of the dry powder into some water to dissolve for a few minutes. A few spoonfuls of water is plenty. Then add canned food to the mixtures and mush it around a bit. This will prevent your cat from becoming dehydrated which will also cause the constipation to become worse. Miralax once or twice a day should do the trick. You may want to double check with a vet about using Miralax and the correct dosage for your cat.

Limiting or even removing the dry food from the diet may help. Meow Mix is not a good brand to feed at all becuse it has junk quality ingredients. It's cheap but the ingredients are horrible.

Where in MA are you? There are a couple members that I know of who live in MA (eastern half mostly) and could recommend a good vet who may be close to you.

Yup, I live in Eastern Mass. 

I use the miralax the way @LTS3  has suggested. It was advised by 2 different Vets. 

We do have members here from several areas in Mass.

I agree, any of us would be willing to recommend a Vet. I seriously do feel your cat should be seen or at least have a Vet. How old is he? 

I also add some water to my guys wet food. It does help a bit with the constipation. I have had to increase the dose of miralax, considerably, but while under the supervision of a Vet. 

Not all Vets are like the one you went to. 

I am thinking you live in a smaller, more rural area. I could be wrong. 

This was hard to answer. I've been doing a lot of thinking about finances and what it costs to be responsible for a pet's life. It's considerably more expensive than I expected it would be, when I got him eight years ago. But things were different then. Now.. I'm on Social Security, and going steadily broke because of political thievery. I'll spare you the details, but..essentially, I bought insurance in good faith, and they stole the money I payed, and now they lie instead of paying it back. So I get cut and cut and cut. And I will not be enjoying retirement after all. I will be lucky to get through it without feeling too degraded, by being "poor". But enough of that.

I can't let Captain Meow down. A deal's a deal. We're in it for the duration! He and I will soldier on.

To answer you, I live in Worcester. We have two vets, and Tufts Animal Hospital (which is also a school) within reach. One of the two vets I obviously have no confidence in. But the other would do for a visit that would cost a few hundred. And if he gets to needing thousands of dollars worth of treatment, then we will go to Tufts (the animal hospital, and school). I looked into this today. They provide very low cost services (dentistry even!) to anyone financially disadvantaged. And I'm guessing being on Social Security counts as that. (Now it does.)

So I got that much figured out.

I will have to buy him a larger carrier to make going less distressing for him (lol, he still wont like it!)

If we do have to go to the Animal Hospital, even at the reduced rate, it will take every nickel. The only thing I really have to offer Captain Meow solidly is that if I had to sell my music equipment to save him, I actually would. And we really would sit in an empty apartment afterwards, on the one remaining chair, in front of the empty TV stand, and I would say to him, "I wouldn't have it any other way". (I dearly hope I never have to actually do that. But I would. I couldn't just let him die. That's not ok.) So I'm not well off by any stretch, but I will try harder than most ever need to. And we'll soldier on.

As for what to feed him, and how he is now.... I like what I learned here yesterday about giving him tuna water to get more water into him. And I found a couple VERY helpful articles on this site, about keeping them hydrated, and about constipation. I also saw a link to an article about good foods and bad foods. So I'm grateful this site is here. I've been getting a lot of needed help from it.

All I gotta worry about now is finding out if he had anything else wrong. It could have just been constipation, which in turn blocked his urine, and now it's solved. But that urine blockage was pretty intense and painful to him, and I wonder if he has a urinary tract problem, or if this could have caused some damage. And it may even have been something else that caused it all. But right now I am watching for if he pees ok. He's pooping well. But I don't know about the peeing. I think he MIGHT be finding it a bit difficult to squeeze it out. But I don't yet know (well, you have to just happen to be there so you can watch!) (I'm watching.)

EDIT: Oh, oops, This was supposed to be a quote-answer (to LTS3) (Well, I did find how to edit! Thank you.)

I've always heard good things about the vet hospital at Tufts Veterinary School  They're expensive but do offer financial aid.

Have you tried the VCA vet hospital in Worcester? I found these Worcester area vet hospitals on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=vet&find_loc=Worcester,+MA Looks like there's a Banfield one but I've never heard anything good about that chain You can look into low cost vet clinics, too. http://mrfrs.org/low-cost-programs/

Adding water to canned food will help keep your cat well hdyrated. Plain water is fine.

LTS3 said:

I've always heard good things about the vet hospital at Tufts Veterinary School :nod: They're expensive but do offer financial aid.

Have you tried the VCA vet hospital in Worcester? I found these Worcester area vet hospitals on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=vet&find_loc=Worcester,+MA Looks like there's a Banfield one but I've never heard anything good about that chain :uuh: You can look into low cost vet clinics, too. http://mrfrs.org/low-cost-programs/

Adding water to canned food will help keep your cat well hydrated. Plain water is fine.

Click to expand...

Oh, bless your heart, thank you for doing that!
I looked at and saved all those links. I like Yelp. I kind of trust that people who post reviews are telling it straight, from their experience.
So it's reassuring to see the Mill Street vet (the 'West Side Animal Clinic') rated at 5 stars, "the best". because that's the vet I'll go to now.
Oh and the vet I went to before.. ee..I so much hate to badmouth anyone. It was ok when no one knew her name *shrug* but...yea that vet
is on the Yelp list too, with only one star (dead last). The comments mirrored my experience there exactly. I should probably post a review
there myself, as I have Yelp account and they do ask. But...I just don't have that in me. She harmed my cat, robbed me for things I didn't ask for,
threatened to keep Captain Meow as a hostage (they can in this state) if i didn't want to pay due to a bill dispute. ..or for any reason. They can keep your cat if you wont pay.
And if you try to take it anyway, cops will arrest you! (I hate that law. It's just wrong!) And...she quoted $200, then demanded $400 at paying time, and then threatened me this way as I was pointing out she had done things I never asked for and certainly wouldn't want (example: she filed his claws down to smooth useless nubs! When we got home he fell off a chair (landed on his back!) because how was he supposed to know! which is exactly why I would have said no that that quite firmly. But she never asked, she just did it (as one of the yelp reviewers said too) "for her own convenience, not for the animal at all"). I'd be in my rights, and would have every reason, to defame her right out of business if I could, but... I don't have that kind of thing in me. If you hurt someone, even if they have it coming, it cannot be taken back. Leave that to someone else. I will just wish for her an epiphanous experience to change her outlook..

But again, so very nice to see the other vet got such high praise from folks. Thank you for showing me that. If Captain Meow needs to go there, we'll go. I'll have Wal-Mart ship me a larger cat carrier now, so it's ready just in case. (the carrier I have is from when he was tiny. Oh he isn't tiny now! )

LTS3 said:

I've always heard good things about the vet hospital at Tufts Veterinary School :nod: They're expensive but do offer financial aid.

Have you tried the VCA vet hospital in Worcester? I found these Worcester area vet hospitals on Yelp: {LINK} Looks like there's a Banfield one but I've never heard anything good about that chain :uuh: You can look into low cost vet clinics, too. {LINK}

Adding water to canned food will help keep your cat well hdyrated. Plain water is fine.

Click to expand...

Huh. Well I answered you and thanked you very much but my answer didnt post.
because I'm new, so not allowed to post links it said. (quoting you, contained links.)
The pop-up said they'll post it after moderator review though.
Short story for now, thank you for finding me those

Artiemom said:

Yup, I live in Eastern Mass. 

I use the miralax the way @LTS3
 has suggested. It was advised by 2 different Vets. 

We do have members here from several areas in Mass.

I agree, any of us would be willing to recommend a Vet. I seriously do feel your cat should be seen or at least have a Vet. How old is he? 

I also add some water to my guys wet food. It does help a bit with the constipation. I have had to increase the dose of miralax, considerably, but while under the supervision of a Vet. 

Not all Vets are like the one you went to. 

I am thinking you live in a smaller, more rural area. I could be wrong. 

Click to expand...

He will be eight years old on Halloween. Yup, I have a black cat, born on Halloween.
He was in a litter of 7, and no one wanted him. Others I suppose had prettier coats.
But superstitious fears leftover from 500 years ago still have influence amazingly.
People think they're "bad luck", or symbolize evil somehow.

You know, as much as I say I "hate vets", truth is I have had two great friends who chose a life of taking
care of animals. One lives in Europe somewhere (Croatia)- an area that has castles. The pictures are cool!
But anyway, I think of her because she told me they have to plead with people to adopt a black cat, because
so many never get homed and have to be euthanized. Also, on Halloween every year they put out warnings to
keep black cats indoors. (My other vet friend in Indiana told me this same thing.) They get a lot them with arrows through them
that time of year. "More than usual." Unbelievable. :|

I'm not in a rural area, but I'm from one. Probably still shows in my outlook I suppose. But now I live in a city (Worcester).
A dirty scary city which I never wanted to go to for any reason, lol, but I had to give up my car to afford retirement. And I moved to
where there's public transportation. It's not the worst thing; I discovered the internet at that point and have found it interesting
and challenging for some years. Made a couple friends.

Sure would be nice to be able to let the cat out though!
And me! (oh you cant walk around here, people get shot)

I made a note of the Miralax, and saved a few links for more info about that.
Adding water to his food is our new thing now.
But I never knew that dry food isnt actually good, and that canned food is recommended, and he will get enough water eating just that.
Well , he doesnt eat much dry food anyway. And we're adding water.

I'm watching to see if he has any trouble peeing now, because I'd like to say it's just dehydration-related constipation and call it case closed
because he's alright now, but he had an awful lot of pee trapped in a body not big enough to reasonably hold it all! I'm concerned if it did some damage,
or if there is a urinary issue to begin with or some other cause of this whole incident.

It's entirely possible he'll get a new carrier in two days (I'm having one shipped), and we'll go the West Side clinic and meet his new vet!
You are right. He should be checked.
I'm watching him and making arrangements.

I currently have Walgreen's generic version of Miralax. It costs a little less. The ingredient is the exactly the same as brand name Miralax, polyethylene glycol 3350. Other store generic brands will work, too, just make sure that there isn't any flavoring or other ingredients in the product.

This is off-topic but have you seen the cat exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum? http://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/meow/ I hear that it's really good and there are even live cats there Your local library may have a free pass to the musem that you can check out for the day.

Willowy said:

I'd cut out the dry completely. Cats with constipation issues usually have more problems with dry and since he likes canned food better that shouldn't be hard to do. He would probably need 2 cans of Fancy Feast pate or 1 can of Friskies pate a day. The grilled kind has fewer calories so he might need a bit more of that. Most cats who eat canned food only get all the moisture they need from their food so they don't drink much water.

Cats, as a general rule, don't need fiber, and fiber can actually cause constipation. Canned foods have very little fiber so that's good. BUT, some cats whose guts aren't working right will need a little fiber to move things along. So try just giving canned food for awhile and keep an eye on his poop habits. If he still seems constipated, add a little slippery elm to his food. Something like this could work: https://www.chewy.com/honest-kitche...6lJMoy3Um35CQWlfljlJzT7z_hv7MH9G6HBoCulXw_wcB

If that doesn't do the trick, you might have to give him a little Miralax. I would recommend finding a good cat-focused vet if it gets to this point, to make sure you get the dosages right. You can also find IBD cat groups on Yahoo, many of the owners in those groups have had extensive experience with keeping kitties pooping properly .

Click to expand...

Thank you. Wow, I have a lot to learn that someone with a cat oughta' just know.
It's a surprise to me that the dry food is bad/ and the wet food is good (I thought it was the other way around. I thought the canned food was like feeding him treats for dinner!)
It's too bad I picked such a bad vet when I started, because a good vet could have told me more, and gotten me to come back once in a while.
Well he'll be seeing another vet now, one with a much better reputation.

It seems I should just switch him to all canned food, but there is one thing....that bowl of dry food which is always there with some in it, that's so he can nosh in the night if he wants, without waking me (he would!). And it's just good that if i got detained getting back from somewhere, you know? I was taught they cant really go without a meal like a human can. But I'm gonna look for a better dry food though. Let him have all the canned food he wants, get better dry food. There was a link to an article (here) about the different brands of food somewhere....

LTS3 said:

I currently have Walgreen's generic version of Miralax. It costs a little less. The ingredient is the exactly the same as brand name Miralax, polyethylene glycol 3350. Other store generic brands will work, too, just make sure that there isn't any flavoring or other ingredients in the product.

This is off-topic but have you seen the cat exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum? {LINK} I hear that it's really good and there are even live cats there Your local library may have a free pass to the museum that you can check out for the day.

Click to expand...

Oh yea they do have those passes! I'll look at that after dinner, thanks.

Don't beat yourself up about the food. It wasn't all that long ago that the standard convention was to feed dry and wet as a treat. Vets sometimes aren't trained in nutrition so you wouldn't necessarily get a good answer on the food. That's starting to change so for example, a vet school would probably work on convincing you to go to wet food completely.

I also highly recommend Miralax or its generic as a way to attract moisture to his bowel. It will make passing a stool so much easier.

My cats also love Fancy Feast and I offer mostly the pate versions. A lower cost but pretty good quality is Sheba pate. Your cat might enjoy those too. Purina also makes Friskies canned which comes in 5.5 oz sizes and the pates are decent quality for the price (less than 50 cents a can usually). One can is a 1/2 ounce less than 2 cans of Fancy Feast.  My cats like the Turkey and Cheese and Seafood. T The gravy has wheat gluten in it and even though generally you want to eventually steer away from that (they put it in for protein source) the gravy may offer some more moisture to help correct the constipation issue. The popular gravy versions are the shreds for my kitties. I will admit that I give them the Friskies as a nighttime treat with their main meal in the AM and PM including higher end canned food (that they usually snub). They eat the Friskies with gusto though.  When cats start to get older the ash content in the grocery brands starts to be an issue with aging kidneys. At 8 your kitty is still probably okay but the pee issue may be a concern.
 

Sometimes putting water in a different container helps. Cats love drinking water out of cups and glasses. The novelty may help encourage him. But mixing in a bit of warm water to the canned food is a very good suggestion.

I also agree to completely absolutely stop the Meow Mix.

How much does he weigh? That  can help you decide how much he needs to feel good.

You can check the Nutrition forum for recommendation on food. Here are some budget friendly canned foods:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240054/cheap-yet-quality-grain-free-canned-cat-food

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

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

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

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/253771/very-inexpensive-grain-free-canned-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/292890/4health-now-has-affordable-grain-free-wet-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/316254/best-big-box-store-canned-food

Fancy Feast Classci is just fine It's decent and affordable. Friskies is another brand. Some peple like to rotate in a higher quality food once in awhile for variety.

If you can feed mostly canned food with only a little dry left out for snacking on, that would be ideal. Here are some threads on good dry food brands:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/293602/which-of-these-brands-of-dry-food-is-the-best

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/306063/what-is-the-best-dry-food

Chain pet stores will have some decent quality brands of dry foods like Wellness and Blue Buffalo and Nature's Variety. Independent pet stores will have the high end premium bands which tend to be pricey.