cheapest wet food?

[KitayCat]

Looking for the CHEAPEST wet food available (that is hopefully not just full of absolute junk).
I'm at the point where, after over three years of grinding their food, looking into their nutrition, trying to provide every damn thing under the sun, and constantly doing calculations as to what they need...
I'm DONE.
Bottom line is THEY ARE NOT WORTH THE TIME, HASSLE, TROUBLE, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL FATIGUE.
Basically I just need them healthy enough so as to not have to take them to the vet for something stupid (as has already been the case anyway on a raw food diet) and they can live the next, IDK and IDC, 6 years or so and go away.

 

[maggie101]

From your response,do you not want your cats?

 

[WillowMarie]

Some people posts deals in this thread, which has been very helpful to me affording cat food. I've found some higher quality foods at an affordable price, and often rotate brands and flavors of what fits into my budget. So my cats get a mix of average to higher quality.
Cat Food Deals Forum?

There is also a site that shows breakdown of quality of ingredients and nutrition: catfooddb.com The site is helpful (mainly check when an item I'm not familiar with is on sale), and also check out the ingredients myself if they have mostly meat products without added items they don't need.

That's my strategy and within my energy levels and time, which may not answer your specific question, but if you set the food deals thread listed above to watch you should get notifications when others have posted and it may help you find more affordable food in a lower effort way.

 

[Kat0121]

Do you really feel that way about your cats or are you just venting? No judgement, just asking.

I have really picky eaters so I know how hard it is to find foods that they will eat that are budget friendly. With my two girls, Friskies wins. I've tried countless brands, flavors etc and have thrown out more cans than I care to think about. While Friskies is not the cheapest, they are better than some cheaper brands out there IMO and come in many varieties. Even picky eaters seem to like it.

Again, no judgement, if you really feel that way about the cats, you may want to consider re-homing them. Cats are intelligent, sensitive creatures who are able to pick up on our emotions. This is not good for anyone. I understand how frustrating this can be. I wanted them to eat better food but at the end of the day, they decide what they want to eat. I just accepted that it was better that they ate what they wanted because it was better than them not eating at all. I supplement the canned Friskies and dry Dr. Elsey's (Lilith must have it. She demands it) with plain roasted meat like chicken, turkey and beef. Good luck.

 

[verna davies]

Having pets can be very stressful and your pets pick up on the stress. I may be wrong but I get the impression that you are not sure you want to keep your cats in which case maybe it would be better all round if you could find suitable homes for them. As far as cheap cat food is concerned, it's usually full of additive and junk that does the cat no good which could result in vets fees therefore is a false economy. Think about yourself and your cats and consider rehoming them if you don't wish things to continue as they are. I wish you luck

 

[fionasmom]

I wonder if you have been overworking with feeding your cats and are experiencing some burnout. It sounds as if you have tried very hard to give them a home prepared diet and, yes, that is a lot of extra work. If you want to rehome your cats, that is one possibility. If you are just frustrated, which might be understandable, I would switch to prepared cat food. I have cats who eat Friskies, especially the ferals outside, and several lived into old age with few medical issues.

 

[Norachan]

K KitayCat Raw feeding is a lot of hard work and can be very time consuming. If people think their cats do well on that kind of diet and are prepared to put in the extra work, that's fine, but the jury is still out on whether it's actually better for them health wise than canned food.

I suggest you pick up a couple of different brands and flavours that are within your budget and see which ones your cats prefer. Once you've got a few favourites you can come back and ask more specific questions about those particular brands and your cats, in terms of age, previous health issues etc.

If you're finding caring for your cats really stressful and are considering rehoming we might be able to help there too.