Affordable quality food for multi-cat house?

[moyu22]

Hello,

I just joined the site, so I apologize if this topic has been brought up many times around here.

My family and I rescued around 10 feral cats in my street a few years ago after some of the neighbors started poisoning them. At the time, only 2 of the cats were male so we started by getting one of them fixed, and by the time we got to fixing the second one, he'd already gotten 3 female cats pregnant without us knowing (oh my!). Sadly, that second male kitty died during/after the surgery, the vet we had at the time gave us a very bogus reason so we aren't sure exactly of what happened, but we found another vet after that as we didn't want that to happen again.

To keep it short, we now have 31 cats, three of which are a little over two years old (rescued at 3 weeks after a neighbor killed their mom, they're the latest addition to the family), most are 5 y/o, three are between 6 - 8 y/o,  and the oldest two that we believe are around 9 and 12 years old. We also have four dogs, so as you can imagine, buying the highest quality food on the market is not on our budget.

About three months ago one my 5 y/o female cats had a UTI (first we'd ever had) that cleared up in about two weeks after some antibiotics, and last month one of the 2 y/o males had one as well, which cleared up in roughly the same time frame but started back again two weeks ago and is still giving him problems. Also last month, our 6 y/o female cat stopped eating and became lethargic, it took us and the vet a while to figure out what was wrong, which turned out to be a hairball stuck in her intestine, which led to her liver acting up and her pancreas getting damaged, the vet diagnosed her with pancreatitis after checking her during the surgery. She has been eating 100% canned food since then and won't touch the dry prescription diet the vet recommended. Other than that, all the kitties are fine, except for one 5 y/o male who vomits often when given treats or certain canned foods, I suspect it might be a food allergy or maybe that paint he sometimes eats from the wall (anyone know what I could use in this case? I know there are some products that can be sprayed on furniture to stop cats from scratching them, but I'm not sure if that will work on the walls).

Right now we are feeding them whiskas and friskies, which I know are terrible choices so we are trying to change that. They have a fully dry diet, which is also a concern of mine, and they are used to wet canned food as a 'treat' only. So far it all sounds horrible, and I wish we'd made the jump to something healthier earlier, but there's no going back in time, so we might as well start now. As much as I'd like to transition them to a 100% wet diet or even a raw diet, it is not within our budget to feed so many mouths that way, so I'm thinking transitioning them to a 70 dry/30 wet or if possible a 50/50 diet would be good and something we could do. The cats have also always been free-fed, so to get them to eat more wet/canned and less dry food I think we might have to change that to timed meals.

I'm asking for advice and any recommendations you might have as for what food we could give our furry little ones, that is better quality than what we currently offer them but is also affordable. I live in a smaller town so the only stores available are walmart, target and petco, so not much to choose from. I've been looking at different foods I could buy but I'm not sure what could work best, my cats aren't very active so should I be looking at indoor formulas or stick with normal foods? I know most commercial brands have a lot of carbohydrates that aren't good, so ideally I would prefer something on the lower side (what would be an acceptable amount of carbs anyway? should it be lower than a certain %?).

My local walmart just started carrying 'Evolve' food and from the ingredients list it looks better than the commercial brands offered there, anyone have experience with this brand?

I also found Goodlife food at walmart and although the ingredients list sounds good to me, I haven't been able to find many reviews about it. Most of the reviews/ratings I've come across for this brand are from years ago and list a very different ingredients list (ground corn, corn as first ingredients), and the one I came across has chicken, chicken meal and brown rice as the first few ingredients (for a complete list of ingredients you can check out their website http://www.goodlifepet.com/products/chicken-recipe.aspx). Would this food be better/healthier?

I also had an interest in the Chicken Soup brand dry food, but the only place that sells it close to me (according to their website) is around 15 miles away and the one time I drove by I couldn't find the place that sells it. HealthWise food also caught my eye, but the closest place I could find it is 50 miles away from here. Are this brands worth it? I guess I could take a look at online shopping but with shipping it might end up being more expensive, and I only want to do it if the food is really worth it.

It looks like a Tractor Supply store might be opening in here, I've seen the building with the sign but so far no opening date announced and it's not listed in their website in store locator or store openings, so I'm not sure what's going on there. If it does open, I see they carry Taste of the Wild, although I've read many varying opinions on this brand so I'm not sure who to trust. Their brand, 4Health, also looks interesting with a nice ingredient list http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/4healthtrade;-all-life-stages-cat-formula-18-lb-bag, any opinions on this? They also have a grain-free version http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/sto...-potato--pea-formula-for-adult-cats-16-lb-bag has anyone tried it?

While I'm at it, anyone have any recommendations for a high protein - low carb canned food diet I could give to my cat with pancreatitis (since she refuses dry food)? I've been giving her a mix of different brands, science-diet, blue, wellness, royal-canin, etc. to see what she likes because although she is eating, she is still underweight and not eating as much as she should, and I'd like to know what food would be most appropriate for her. I'm also trying to give wet food to my male kitty with the UTI, but he's a very picky eater and only wants dry.

I'm really sorry for the extremely long post, I hope someone will have some helpful advice they could share on food recommendations and budgeting, I've been browsing the site and see some people have quite a few cats like myself, so any help would be appreciated!

 

[jmljml19]

If you want to try ordering food online, most all sites offer free shipping if you spend over $49, which you will with 31 mouths to feed. I like going  to www.chewy.com because they have pretty much all brands of food at lower prices than you'd find in stores. They have all brands of grain free or low carb or high protein in dry and wet varieties and they list all the ingredients and a guaranteed analysis to help you decide which one you'd prefer.

 

[ritz]

First, I applaud you for taking care of these cats. I assume a rigorous TNR program is in place. I'm a little confused--you say the cats are not real active. Are they indoor cats or outdoor? If outdoor, they may hunt, thus won't need as much food (calories) as an indoor cat.

I don't much about dry food and not a whole lot about canned (I feed prey model raw), but here is what I found/learned, and I'm sure others will post.

Here is a link to a good article. Within the article under the heading "Commercial Foods" is a chart (PDF format) that lists/rates the food. It's a little old, but a good place to start.

Here is a thread that talks about cheap but decent quality canned food.

Friskies Pate and Fancy Feast Classic are decent brands that are relatively high in protein/low carb. I fed my small community cat colony Friskies Pate and as a special treat FF--they love the FF but it is pricy.
Grocery stores where I live frequently have these brands on sale. Also Friskies Pate is sold in 5.5 oz size--as well as 12 or 13 oz size in PetCo/PetSmart and is available online. Given how many cats you feed, the 12 oz size would be cheaper per ounce.
I have read thta Authority (PetSmart) is a decent brand and so is Trader Joe's, if you're near one (decent price too).

Good luck!

 

[animalrescue]

interested in learning about this as well.

 

[moyu22]

Thanks Ritz! As I mentioned in my first post, at the time we took the cats in, some neighbors had been poisoning the feral cats in the area so I our first priority was to get them to safety. We built a small enclosure outside next to our house and we got the cats inside there to keep them safe; that place has since been greatly expanded so they have more space and are more comfortable, and a smaller second story was added to allow fresh air and a view of the outdoors. We average up to 120°F on summer days and as low as 2°F on winter nights, so the lower part of the enclosure has been conditioned to sustain those climate changes, it's a mostly closed space that closely resembles a house, so although the cats are technically outside, they behave like indoor cats, thus why they aren't very active, except for the running they do inside and going up and down the place. The lowest temperature we registered inside the enclosure this past winter was around 55°F, and the highest so far has been around 82°F so we've managed to make the place safe and comfortable for them.

They are all spayed/neutered and received the triple feline vaccination and rabies shot (lasts 3 years) last year; they have normal stools and drink plenty of water, I know cats aren't by definition big drinkers so I believe it's a natural reaction to the weather and it helps them freshen up, just like we do (even with the air conditioner on, we still drink a lot of water). My cat with pancreatitis had a combo snap test done (FIV/FeLV) which came back negative, so the vet believes it is a good indication for the rest of the cats as well.

I bought an assortment of Friskies Pate to see what they like, so I'll be giving that out to them over the next few days. We only have a Petco store around here and the closest PetSmart is 60 miles away, going back and forth often I think would soon take its toll on us, so I'm hesitant to start doing those trips. I contacted Tractor Supply customer service to inquire about the store in here and just received a reply this morning, it's apparently tentatively scheduled to open this Saturday, should I consider their  4Health food now that I know it will be available? By my calculations, it seems to have less carbs than Evolve, although it still is quite high (31%).

I've been reading a lot about ingredients to avoid, carrageenan being one of them, although most of the brands/canned foods I took a look at while at Petco yesterday seem to include it.. Is there a list of ingredients I should avoid or be careful with? Ingredients that are common to cause allergies  would also be helpful to know, I'll continue to do research on this topics but if anyone has insight on this, that would be great.

 

[Docs Mom]

I'm also interested in what is said about TSC'S 4 - health. My gang likes the dry(purple &tan bag) but aren't impressed with the canned. They just want their Fancy Feast Classics ! They have limited amts of the dry out all day and get their F Feast party in the afternoon. Wish I could find a wet they like in larger cans !

 

[Willowy]

I have 27 cats, I feed them mainly canned Friskies. I realize that all-canned might not be an option for others with that many cats (I have a decent job and only me and the pets to worry about). But it's working well for my cats, including those with urinary issues.

Is there a Costco in the area? If so, their Kirkland Premium pet kibble is very similar to 4Health and is cheaper (actually costs about the same as Purina Cat Chow). Even if you don't have a membership, it might be worth it to get one just for pet food (their dog food is also good). Even if you have to travel, it may be cost effective to go once every few months and stock up on kibble. The cat food is $17.49 for 25 pounds and the dog food is $26.99 for 40 pounds, if you want to make a price comparison.

If not, yes, probably the most affordable decent option you could find would be 4Health/Diamond Naturals (TSC sells both). Tractor Supply also sells the 13-oz cans of Friskies for 99 cents so that's nice. And they'll get cases out of the back for you if you ask (Walmart won't :/). Their 4Health canned food is OK and is also 99 cents a can---the ingredients look better than Friskies because no by-products---but it's very high carb due to the potatoes so I decided to stick with Friskies.

Will your cats eat kibble mixed with canned food and water? This can be a good way to get more water into them without going all-canned. You would want to make sure to only mix up what will be eaten quickly because moistened kibble gets nasty fast, but that could be an option.

This is a little OT but since TSC is new in your area---I don't know what kind of litter you use. But TSC has horse bedding that can be used as cat litter. I use pine pellets and corn cob bedding. Mostly the corn cob because the pine makes me allergic, but with a handful of pine for the pleasant scent. The corn cob is more expensive than the pine ($9 vs $5 for 40 pounds, though the volume is a bit higher) but my cats and I prefer the corn cobs so I don't mind.

 

[tdonline]

Grreat Choice at Petsmart is even cheaper than Friskies.  A member started a thread that pointed out certain GC pates are grain free.  The ingredients most likely aren't all that great but it likely isn't any worse than what's in Friskies.  Are you near a Pet Valu?  They have BOGO (buy one get one) free sales, usually for near-expiration date items.  It's a good way of buying very high end food at half the cost.  For example, I've picked up grain free Before Grain food for $1.50ish for two 6oz cans.  That's 75 cents for one can.  More expensive than Friskies but cheaper than Fancy Feast which usually costs from 52-59 cents per 3oz cans.  It's also a lot cheaper than Wellness where I pay well over $2 per 13oz can.  I stick with Wellness because it's the only premium canned food my cats will eat with enthusiasm.  To ensure they aren't overly dependent on Wellness, I also feed other premium food.  I have to mix in Friskies, FF or GC to entice the cats though.

 

[moyu22]

Hi Willowy, thanks for your helpful comments!

I do have a Costco membership, and I actually use the Litter Purrfect (green container) litter they sell, it's roughly $8 for 35lbs, it seems to work well and hides the odor but it is dusty, litter boxes are cleaned 2 times a day, sometimes 3 if needed.

Thanks for bringing up the Kirkland cat food, I'd actually forgotten about it. It caught my attention a few years ago when I was looking to change the dry kibble (they were on meow mix which started to cause loose stools and vomiting) but I read many reviews and complaints about their food causing renal problems on cats as well as the food recalls, so I've always been hesitant to try it; I will consider it as an option but will sure try to find more information on this brand.

They are free-fed at the moment, so mixing up kibbles with dry food and water wouldn't work right now, but I'm hoping to start the transition to timed meals or at least a more controlled food schedule so I can alternate dry and wet or mixed them. You mentioned you feed them mainly canned friskies, how many cans do you use a day or/and how much do you feed each cat? Do they have separate bowls? Feeding them mostly wet/canned would be wonderful, but I'd like to know roughtly how much I would use to make some calculations and see if it's in the budget.

 

[moyu22]

PetSmart is an hour away from me but I will certainly consider their food and see if making some trips might work for us. I've also heard about Trader Joe's canned food but that's sadly at least 2 hours away from me, so that wouldn't be an option. I'd never heard of Pet Valu, I just looked it up and it's mostly up north and Canada, I'm on south California so that won't be an option either.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Willowy]

My cats go through ten 13.2-oz cans and four 5.5-oz cans a day (the smaller cans are purely for my convenience because those cats are fed separately. I really should split a larger can for them but it's just so easy to pop open a small can :tongue2. I don't feed the rest of them individually; I put the food in a Pyrex casserole dish, put it down for everyone and leave it out until it's eaten (or until the next meal. The dogs get the leftovers). Fresh food put down 3 times a day---before work, after work, and bedtime. Except for the cats fed separately who get half a can twice a day. If you average everything, it comes to 5.7 ounces per cat per day. I'm sure the big guys eat more than the little girls but everyone seems satisfied and they're all in good condition.

I give them a little dry food (Kirkland) maybe once a week or so just because they all love kibble :/. I originally wanted to make it more like 80/20 canned/dry for cost reasons but they wouldn't eat their canned food if they thought they'd get any kibble that day, so I had to mostly cut it out.

I do get Grreat Choice occasionally. It's 89 cents for a 13.2-oz can, I think 39 cents for the 5.5-oz cans. Prices may be slightly different in your area. They only have a few flavors in the large cans, though, so that's annoying. If you have to travel to Petsmart it probably won't be worth going just for the GC food. Petsmart does price match so bring a receipt from Walmart or TSC if you're going to buy Friskies there, because they charge too much and the large cans are rarely on sale.

 

[jodiethierry64]

Moyu22 and Willowy thank you for saving so many!!
I'm so impressed. My little monsters keep me busy and I have far less. God bless you both!!!

 

[moyu22]

Thanks for all the helpful info everyone, and thanks Willowy for the can/day breakdown. I have a few 5.5oz friskies cans and as per the feeding instructions it seems like 2 cans a day per cat is what should be fed, but it sounds like your kitties are doing fine with less than that? My cats are mostly a little on the heavy side, and if I keep feeding them kibble daily they'll probably eat less than the suggested amount.

The one problem I'm having is that most of them refuse to eat the paté cans, no matter the flavor, they'd rather have the meaty bits or canned in gravy which I know has more carbs than the paté. I'll keep trying to get them to eat some of that but as long as they're getting some wet food, I supposed I should be thankful.

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, the recommended amount on the can is too much for most kitties. I think those recommendations are based on the caloric needs of intact cats, outdoor cats, etc. Most indoor neutered adults will eat 5-6 ounces of canned food a day, although some brands (usually the more expensive ones like Weruva, Soulistic, I think Hounds and Gatos too) are lower calorie so they'd need more of those brands.

Try mixing a can of gravy food with a can of pate food. That might help them get used to the pate foods, and give it more substance (I always feel like the gravy flavors are all gravy and no FOOD, ya know? :/)