My cats eat Meow Mix. There, now I've gotten the worst out of the way!
I've been reading through the forums & cat food articles, looking at pet food prices online, and have concluded that a great diet is simply not within the budget. A 17ish pound bag of Meow Mix is about $12, while EVO 95% is $22 for twelve 13.2 ounce cans. It's 2am, and I'm too tired to make calculations, but my guesstimate is about 5624% increase in pet food cost
With four cats and four dogs (plus hundreds of dollars recently spent in various vet bills, leaving jobless me even more broke), this simply isn't possible.*
The vet says my senior kitty (11yo) has a vitamin deficiency. Her iron came in low, though thankfully everything else is fairly healthy (and no anemia—yet!). He doesn't think supplements are necessary, just a change in diet since Meow Mix is junk. I'm positive the other kitties would benefit from the change as well, though they're younger and not yet showing any signs of poor nutrition (9yo, 4yo, 1yo). He gave me some pamphlets for Science Diet and a Purina brand—I'm not sure these are much better!
A homecooked raw diet really wouldn't work since I'm vegetarian, and I'm not sure I could bear handling meat every day.
I have a few questions—
Is it possible they will eat less food if I switch them to a higher quality? I keep their dishes full, and they all eat small meals throughout the day. They used to be on Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula but once they had a taste of Meow Mix (cheap reserve food), they decided they'd eat nothing else. They've been on it for a few months, and I've noticed they seem to eat more of it. I don't know if it's because they like it more, or they need more to feel full.
Would it be better to transition them to a regular feeding schedule instead of letting them eat whatever they want, when they want? None of them is overweight, so I think they're good at limiting themselves. I'd be worried about feeding them too little (since I know they likely won't eat too much), but I think I could figure it out with some research.
Most important, does anyone have suggestions for a healthy, decently priced kibble? I'd be happy to mix in some canned food, but I'm not sure I can afford a 100% canned diet. Like I said, Meow Mix is $12 for a 17lb bag: preferably, the new food wouldn't be much more than twice that price.
I'm currently eyeing Nutro Max. I feed my chihuahua their small dog formula, and while he's been doing fine, I'm not 100% convinced by the ingredients and have thought of switching him to something else. I wonder if the cat food is better. I got a sample of Kahoots-brand dog food, and the ingredients are surprisingly not bad (from the little I can tell after reading pet food articles!). I wonder if anyone is familiar with their cat food? I can't find the ingredients list online anywhere.
* Please don't think my family are hoarders
All of our animals are strays or kids of strays, many times adopted right off the streets. We're doing the best we can for them with no help. There are no shelters here, and you can literally not walk two blocks without seeing an emaciated cat or dog. It feels terrible to just pass them by—and sometimes, we simply can't.
I've been reading through the forums & cat food articles, looking at pet food prices online, and have concluded that a great diet is simply not within the budget. A 17ish pound bag of Meow Mix is about $12, while EVO 95% is $22 for twelve 13.2 ounce cans. It's 2am, and I'm too tired to make calculations, but my guesstimate is about 5624% increase in pet food cost
The vet says my senior kitty (11yo) has a vitamin deficiency. Her iron came in low, though thankfully everything else is fairly healthy (and no anemia—yet!). He doesn't think supplements are necessary, just a change in diet since Meow Mix is junk. I'm positive the other kitties would benefit from the change as well, though they're younger and not yet showing any signs of poor nutrition (9yo, 4yo, 1yo). He gave me some pamphlets for Science Diet and a Purina brand—I'm not sure these are much better!
A homecooked raw diet really wouldn't work since I'm vegetarian, and I'm not sure I could bear handling meat every day.
I have a few questions—
Is it possible they will eat less food if I switch them to a higher quality? I keep their dishes full, and they all eat small meals throughout the day. They used to be on Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula but once they had a taste of Meow Mix (cheap reserve food), they decided they'd eat nothing else. They've been on it for a few months, and I've noticed they seem to eat more of it. I don't know if it's because they like it more, or they need more to feel full.
Would it be better to transition them to a regular feeding schedule instead of letting them eat whatever they want, when they want? None of them is overweight, so I think they're good at limiting themselves. I'd be worried about feeding them too little (since I know they likely won't eat too much), but I think I could figure it out with some research.
Most important, does anyone have suggestions for a healthy, decently priced kibble? I'd be happy to mix in some canned food, but I'm not sure I can afford a 100% canned diet. Like I said, Meow Mix is $12 for a 17lb bag: preferably, the new food wouldn't be much more than twice that price.
I'm currently eyeing Nutro Max. I feed my chihuahua their small dog formula, and while he's been doing fine, I'm not 100% convinced by the ingredients and have thought of switching him to something else. I wonder if the cat food is better. I got a sample of Kahoots-brand dog food, and the ingredients are surprisingly not bad (from the little I can tell after reading pet food articles!). I wonder if anyone is familiar with their cat food? I can't find the ingredients list online anywhere.
* Please don't think my family are hoarders