Cheapest/Most affordable Grain free or healthiest canned food

Hi there,

I posted an SOS on the Cat Health forum around a very stressful situation with two cats and possible rehoming.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/327661/...fellow-cat-owners-lovers-considering-rehoming

1st cat - Qi- urinates outside the litter box

-originally only ate dry food (Prescription Hills c/d Urinary Care) for years as per the vet's recommendation (I fed his brother, Magic, that as well)

- I never liked feeding this to them as per my research, the ingredients, the cost (I'm sure if you are versed in the benefits of homemade/raw food then you will know about the terrible ingredients of Prescription Hills food)

- However, Qi (who has the history of urinary tract issues) did not had an infection in all those years he has been eating the Prescription Hills food, but still displays symptoms, when a urine analysis is done nothing comes up so it is most likely a combination of some inflammation of some kind with stress/behavioral (I really don't know what it really is and I'm at my wit's end)

- Every website, book, person, vet I consulted, said Qi needs to eat wet food and that would hugely help the urinary issue. He would never touch wet food and then suddenly, one day, (several years later) he started eating his brother's wet food! Which was hugely exciting. Unfortunately, that has not resolved the urinating outside the box issue...And now he will only eat that particular wet food (Weruva's chicken - $2.49 Cdn/ can)

(Behavioral side note worth mentioning: When he started eating his brother's wet food, he would go over to Magic's bowl and start eating from his bowl.  When I placed a second bowl down for Qi, he wouldn't go to eat...It's like he only feels safe eating what his brother is already eating, even though it is the exact same thing. I finally got him to eat from his own bowl, as I set them down, and he doesn't seem to need to check out his brother's bowl first)

2nd cat- Magic- eats various canned foods, prefers wet food, isn't as picky as his brother, but much prefers wet to dry

- Overweight

-I bought them RAYNE dry food from the vet http://www.raynecanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FE_AdultRSS_Dec8.pdf as per my vet's recommendation

- I bought the dry food to try and supplement the cost of the wet food as well, but now Qi will not eat the RAYNE dry food and Magic will only eat a few pieces

-I know this is REALLY complicated, I'm honestly trying not to over complicate it...It's just become this complex issue.

I just want to feed them the cheapest/most affordable/ healthiest food I possibly can and try to resolve the urinating outside the box issue as well as Magic's overweight issue.

If you read my original post, linked above, you will see that now is probably not the best time for me to transition them to homemade/raw as it's just added stress, even though it seems like it would resolve the financial issue and the health issues, I've already tried to cook some organic, antibiotic free chicken thigh for them and sneak a few pieces in their Weruva food and Qi wouldn't touch it. It's like he gets offended and just walks away immediately. Magic only had a few licks and was over it....

Thanks for reading. Desperate for any help.  Any information, suggestions, guidance would be so greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

One stressed out, urine cleaning machine

Throw out the dry food, especially because you have a cat with urinary issues. When was the last time you had a urinalyis done on this cat? I would start giving him d-mannose. How many litter boxes do you have? What kind of litter are you using?

More info on d-mannose.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/urinary-tract-disorders-in-cats/

Have you tried giving Fancy feast classic? Chicken and the turkey are decent for cheap and they entice picky cats. Weruva is good food. Have you looked at ordering from somewhere like Chewy? Their prices are very good for a case of food. 

If you want to go cheap you should look at making your own food, raw or cooked. EZcomplete is a great place to start. It's not stressful to switch to homemade or raw. I think you're going to have to make a leap here if you want to solve the urine issues and money is a factor. 

http://www.foodfurlife.com/

I second the recommendation for buying food from Chewy.com, they have the best price on the more expensive cat foods. And get rid of dry food absolutely. I do NOT, agree with starting Fancy Feast...my experience is once cats start eating that you can't get them to eat anything else very easy at all. It does have a stronger smell than other food which is what attracts them, but the quality isn't there. I'm still trying to get my cats off Fancy Feast. If he's willing to eat Weruva that is awesome! My vet recommended Hills to me once for something and I flatly refused saying I will not feed my cats corn, period....whatever it was, the cat got over it without eating Hills. I tried for a very long time to get my cats on better quality food and did try the raw. A couple of the cats were a little interested in Nature's Variety Instinct but then refused it. Then I tried something from the health store called Aunt Jennies. Was the most expensive raw out there. They ate it for a while then stopped. I found some good canned food imported from New Zealand that they loved but then all of a sudden you couldn't get it anymore. It is very frustrating and I don't blame you for not wanting the added stress of trying homemade recipes. Stick with just the best quality you can afford and that they will eat. I know you have to throw some away when in this stage of experimenting, but that's just how it goes. Try different flavors and most importantly some unusual proteins like duck, rabbit, lamb. That is really good for them. Try out brands and flavors from upscale pet stores and when you find ones they will eat order them from Chewy.com by the case. I am having some luck right now with Cat Max Nutro from Petsmart. They have duck, lamb, etc. in pate' and chunk styles and you can get it by the case from Chewy. Don't know if it's much better than Fancy Feast but at least it's different protein which seemed to help my cats digestive issues.

Urinating outside the box could be many health issues, maybe as simple as a urinary tract infection that some antibiotic will clear up. But if the cat is so used to peeing outside the box even when the health issue gets fixed you might have the behavior issue to deal with.

What I use to boost my cats appetite and sprinkle it on their wet food is - Cat-man-doo Bonita flakes, Cat-man-doo Life Essentials freeze dried chicken, & Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Boost Mixers....no funny ingredients in any of them and really helps my cats' appetite. Also helped my sister convert her cat from dry to wet food.

Thanks so much guys for your thoughtful suggestions and resources. I really appreciate your time and energy.

They are currently just eating the Weruva wet food with feline fish oil supplement.  No dry right now. 

The last uranalysis was in June. Thank you for the d-mannose recommendation, I am going to give that a try for sure. 

I have 5 litter boxes in a 1 bedroom apartment. I originally had 3 but placed 2 more in the areas he had started to urinate when I moved here in May. Everytime I add a new one where he is peeing, he will stop his peeing outside the box binge. But then eventually he will start peeing near the last one I added. He is just moving down the hallway in the apartment, he pees with his behind to the wall, near the baseboards and it forms a large puddle on the ground. He then scratches around it and most times slightly in it. 

I am then cleaning the puddle up and spraying the enyzymatic cleaner and then cleaning up all of his wet paw prints he is leaving around the apartment. 

Now I am putting down training pee pads, which he pees on because I can't physically clean up as much as he is peeing (I have my own chronic illness). I worry, however, that he likes the pee pads and that it encourages him to pee outside the box. 

I am using World's Best Cat Litter and have been for several years. It's very expensive for me and I would like to find a more affordable option but worried about switching litters at a time like this. 

I will look into Fancy feast classic, have not tried that. And I will look at Chewy thank you! I live in Ontario, Canada, so I'm not sure if it is applicable to me but will look into it either way. 

My ultimate goal has always been to make them home made/raw food. I tried just last week to get started on that. Unfortunately, with all the urinating outside the box and the expense of the food, I feel so overwhelmed I don't think I can get the raw or semi- cooked stuff started right now. They are so picky. I put a couple pieces of semi-cooked chicken thigh in their already Weruva chicken food and they wouldn't touch it/go near it. 

Thanks for reading and hearing me out. It's really stressful and I'm finding it super difficult to manage all of it. 

qiqimoomoo said:

 
Thanks so much guys for your thoughtful suggestions and resources. I really appreciate your time and energy.

They are currently just eating the Weruva wet food with feline fish oil supplement.  No dry right now. 

The last uranalysis was in June. Thank you for the d-mannose recommendation, I am going to give that a try for sure. 

I have 5 litter boxes in a 1 bedroom apartment. I originally had 3 but placed 2 more in the areas he had started to urinate when I moved here in May. Everytime I add a new one where he is peeing, he will stop his peeing outside the box binge. But then eventually he will start peeing near the last one I added. He is just moving down the hallway in the apartment, he pees with his behind to the wall, near the baseboards and it forms a large puddle on the ground. He then scratches around it and most times slightly in it. 

I am then cleaning the puddle up and spraying the enyzymatic cleaner and then cleaning up all of his wet paw prints he is leaving around the apartment. 

Now I am putting down training pee pads, which he pees on because I can't physically clean up as much as he is peeing (I have my own chronic illness). I worry, however, that he likes the pee pads and that it encourages him to pee outside the box. 

I am using World's Best Cat Litter and have been for several years. It's very expensive for me and I would like to find a more affordable option but worried about switching litters at a time like this. 

I will look into Fancy feast classic, have not tried that. And I will look at Chewy thank you! I live in Ontario, Canada, so I'm not sure if it is applicable to me but will look into it either way. 

My ultimate goal has always been to make them home made/raw food. I tried just last week to get started on that. Unfortunately, with all the urinating outside the box and the expense of the food, I feel so overwhelmed I don't think I can get the raw or semi- cooked stuff started right now. They are so picky. I put a couple pieces of semi-cooked chicken thigh in their already Weruva chicken food and they wouldn't touch it/go near it. 

Thanks for reading and hearing me out. It's really stressful and I'm finding it super difficult to manage all of it. 

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Look at trying Cat Attract litter.  

https://www.chewy.com/dr-elseys-precious-cat-attract-cat/dp/32365

What was his urine pH? A high pH can trigger urinary issues. 

I bought that cat litter. Put in the box and he started eating it...not even joking. It wasn't very common when I started searching that. Of course my cat starts eating the litter lol....But I read that it's not good for them to eat litter at all, so I had to take that back. 

He was more interested in eating it, then going inside the litter box to pee. 

I will have to ask the vet for the pH of his urine on the last urinalysis. 

I saw that there are strips you can buy on amazon to test the pH of cat's urine....but I'm iffy about it. Do you know anything about those? If they work/accurate? 

Thanks again! 

Oh man! Chewy.com is amazing. I just checked and they don't ship to Canada! That would have been such a good option. Woe is me! 

qiqimoomoo said:

 
I bought that cat litter. Put in the box and he started eating it...not even joking. It wasn't very common when I started searching that. Of course my cat starts eating the litter lol....But I read that it's not good for them to eat litter at all, so I had to take that back. 

He was more interested in eating it, then going inside the litter box to pee. 

I will have to ask the vet for the pH of his urine on the last urinalysis. 

I saw that there are strips you can buy on amazon to test the pH of cat's urine....but I'm iffy about it. Do you know anything about those? If they work/accurate? 

Thanks again! 

Click to expand...

Get copies of all his urinalysis tests and look at his urine pH. What about blood work for kidneys and thyroid? I don't really know anything about testing strips, I've never used them. To be honest with you I don't think these types of issues are behavioral to me it sounds like he has something medical going on. 

Sounds to me like the urinating out of the box issue is behavioral.  I think if he were marking territory the pee would end up higher on the wall.  Could it be that the box is too small for him?  Is it covered, and he prefers an open box?   If he is pooping in the box, then he's probably ok with the litter but you could try an unscented clay (e.g. Dr. Elsey's) in just one box and see what happens.

Quality canned food is expensive, but I suggest concentrating on getting them onto a canned diet rotation that works for all of you before branching out into raw or homemade.  A mix of Weruva and at least one other brand that appeals to you (and is affordable) might be good to aim for.  Try a gradual transition to the new brand, starting with just a half teaspoon mixed into the weruva and then increasing slowly, e.g. by 1 tsp per day or less.  If you can't afford more than Fancy Feast or Friskies pate, then by all means do that.   Just keep in mind that cost isn't price per can, it's how much you have to feed per day.

When you've got the above issues sorted out, if you're interested in raw feel free to come back here for advice.  We'll wait!

Hi everyone, 

Thanks so much for your responses, suggestions, and advice. Appreciate it. 

Been in touch with the vet again and will see if she can speak to me on the phone. Get her feedback on whether or not a urinalysis is necessary and what other tests might help us get to the bottom of this. I've decided I'm going to no longer eat out and try to save as much money, continue to put on credit card. I really want to do everything I can. It's just been so stressful lately, which is why I've considered rehoming and felt ill because of it. I think there are many other things I can try before I further consider rehoming. 

I added a 6th box where he was urinating and he went poo in it but as I expected, he urinated in front of that box. He just keeps moving down the line. He will pee in a spot, I will place a litter box there and he will just pee in front of that.  

I now have 6 litterboxes in a 1 bedroom apartment. They are all uncovered because he prefers uncovered I think. And they are all large enough to accomodate his size (again, I think). He has certain litterboxes he prefers...well actually just 1 he will go in out of all 6. 

I bought a rubbermaid bin and made a litterbox out of it and he wouldn't go in it....so I tried something much larger and that didn't work or seem to suit him. So far it's the corner trays with high sides from Walmart he is using just one of them. 

He doesn't really squat to pee when he is in the litterbox, he starts squatting and then sort of rises up...I've read about this. I think they call it an "elevator" pee or something lol

So he kind of pees on the side of the box. I clean the pee and then wipe the side of the box with enzymatic cleaner everytime he pees or at least twice a day. 

I went to Pet Smart ( I live in Ontario, Canada) and I'm going to try out some grain free foods with him and his brother.

So far a Walmart brand of grain free called Pure Balance would not be touched by his brother Magic...I know when his brother Magic smells it and won't even let it touch his lips that it's just not happening... cause Magic loves wet food (Wuruva and Wellness...he has expensive taste)

I was shown a couple grain free wet foods that are much cheaper than Wuruva at Petsmart (which are their store brands) Authority and....something with the word garden and nature in it. Going to see if either of them will eat that to save costs. 

And lastly, they have an off brand copy of World's Best Cat Litter and it's pretty much the exact same. It's 9 dollars cheaper than WBCL. The cats knew it smelt a bit different but Magic still went in his box with the new litter.

That's a full update. Thanks for listening. Once again really appreciate the support. Don't have any other cat owners or lovers in my life who would get how much effort it is to keep these guys alive and healthy. 

qiqimoomoo said:

 
I bought that cat litter. Put in the box and he started eating it...not even joking. It wasn't very common when I started searching that. Of course my cat starts eating the litter lol....But I read that it's not good for them to eat litter at all, so I had to take that back. 

He was more interested in eating it, then going inside the litter box to pee. 

I will have to ask the vet for the pH of his urine on the last urinalysis. 

I saw that there are strips you can buy on amazon to test the pH of cat's urine....but I'm iffy about it. Do you know anything about those? If they work/accurate? 

Thanks again! 

Click to expand...

The strips are invaluable!  Yes, they work.  I used the strips extensively when "curing" the cat the shelter and vets had given up on.  I got my strips from eBay and tested her urine many times a day.  When her pH was high, i.e. 7.0 which is neutral or even higher, which is alkaline and undesirable, she would always pee outside the box which made it easy to check it.  I would then do an acidifying routine I learned from another TCS member, giving her Braggs Organic Apple Cider vinegar mixed with water (4 parts water to 1 part vinegar), 1 ml. of the mixture every half hour until her pH got back to 6.5, then further apart until it hit 6.25, because her problem was struvite crystals which irritated her bladder, and struvite crystals cannot form in acidic urine and will actually dissolve if the pH is around 6.0.  The other kind of crystals that can form are NOT sensitive to pH, calcium oxalate crystals.  They won't form a stone, however, unless the urine is concentrated beyond a certain point, which is why wet food is recommended as the only food for cats who have had bladder stones.  I feed both wet and dry to my other cats, but this one is not allowed dry.  She finds some pieces the other cats missed and that won't hurt her, but I don't want her getting back in the habit.  She was raised on nothing but dry food and that's what I had to break her of before she could live a normal unmedicated life. 

Consuming meat and fat makes the urine tend to be acidic.  Consuming grains and carbs tends to make it alkaline.  That's why so many dry food manufacturers now add DL-methionine or another acidifier to their foods, to counteract the carbohydrate effect.  L-methionine is the NATURAL form of that amino acid, and it's found in MEAT.  You can get it at health food stores in crystalline form and sprinkle just the tiniest amount on their food, just like we would do with salt.  It tastes good to them.

I have a lifetime supply of strips, I think, because she has had no problems for an entire year.  I would be glad to send you a pack tomorrow if you send me your name and address VIA EMAIL because I may not get back on TCS again today.  My email is [email protected].  She still pees in odd places like the bathtub or washing machine once in awhile and every time I test it, its 6.0.  Her diet consists of about a tablespoon of  Tractor Supply Company's 4Health Grain-Free Turkey & Giblets wet food (69 cents per 5.5 oz. can) plus a teaspoon of Beech Nut baby food chicken or beef (don't use Gerber's, they add starch to theirs!) three to four times a day (feeding 3-4 times a day also avoids the "alkaline surge" which happens about 6 hours after eating.) 

The strips are cheaper on eBay than Amazon and cheapest if you get them directly from singapore (75 cents a pack), but buying for just one cat, it shouldn't be a problem.  Here are the ones I have used for a year, no reason to spend more than $4.99 for two packs, and as I said, I will gladly mail you one tomorrow if you don't want to wait a week for this seller.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Laboratory-...998788?hash=item2a461e0484:g:pDoAAOSwirZTxOdv

Thank you thank you Red Top Rescue! Just sent you an email! ​