Guilty

[ashekitty]

Okay, this may be dumb, but I feel like I need to put this out there. Honestly, I feel guilty for only being able to afford grocery story brands like Sheba and Fancy Feast. I know they are actually pretty good foods, but there are better. I feel like my kitties deserve better. They rely on me completely. I feel bad for not being able to afford dentals every year even though they are supposed to get them done. I just feel like if they happened to be given to someone who had more money they could have possibly had a better and longer life. Does anyone feel like this?

 

[Columbine]

You have NO REASON to feel guilty. Sheba and Fancy Feast pates are decent budget options, and many cats live a long and healthy life on grocery store foods. Your cats are clearly happy, and that's what matters most. I fed my old boys grocery store wet food (and it was even the gravy, not the pate varieties), and they lived happy, mostly healthy lives (one was born with a heart murmur, and the other had heart issues in his final months, but that wasn't to do with the food!). I simply didn't know any better at the time! When it comes to food, the first and most important rule is this: the best food to feed your cat is the food (s)he will happily eat!

As for dentals - I'm in the UK, and annual dentals are NOT routine practice. The cats get a basic physical exam (including a quick teeth check in the exam room) when they go in for their vaccinations, but no further dental work is done unless there are signs that it's needed.

I've had cats all my life, and they've all lived long, healthy lives this way...and I fed grocery store food until a couple of years ago, simply because I didn't know any better! Admittedly, I now feed more expensive foods because I can afford to do so, and because it makes me feel better. However, if circumstances changed I would feed the pure meat grocery store foods without a second thought!

Don't be so hard on yourself. Your kitties a lucky to have such a caring, loving mom

 

[verna davies]

I agree completely with Columbine . My last cats were fed Felix and such like because I knew no better and they were healthy and lived long lives. No dental treatment just at anannual cheçk up but this is the way it works in the UK. My three young cats are also on Felix because they will not eat the better food.
I clean their teeth daily but if you use Logic gel, it works even if you put it on their lips and they lick it. A tube is not expensive and lasts ages. That might help their teeth and gums.
Don't fret, you are giving them a loving home, just enjoy them

 

[jennyr]

No, do not feel guilty. Buy the best you can afford, and do not worry. The only thing I would say is try to avoid the cheapest of the dry foods as they are likely to be full of fillers that contain no cat-useful nutrients. But wet foods like Fancy feast and Felix are not bad at all, and when I was young our family cat lived happily to 18 on a diet of Kit-E-Kat. Yearly exams are fine, make sure the vet does look properly in the mouth and ears (some can be a bit lackadaisical) and that is enough. If you are on very tight budget, try to put a small amount of money away every week (even just the price of a cup of coffee or a magazine) and you will be amazed how quickly it will add up. I keep a cat-shaped teapot in my kitchen and put my loose change in it. Then you will soon have an emergency fund and that is a very reassuring feeling.

 

[denice]

You have no reason to feel guilty.  Some cat foods are out of the price range that many of us can afford, we just do the best that we can.  

My kitties don't get annual dentals.  The vet looks at their teeth every time they are there but they have only gotten dentals done when needed.  My kitties will be 14 this year, Patches has had two dentals and Alice has had one.

 

[Winchester]

Don't feel guilty in the slightest. We've had cats for well over 35 years now and they lived on Friskies Buffet. Five of our original six RugCats lived to be in their early 20s; Ms. Pepe just turned 21 years old this past Monday. Amber Louise will be 16 in November. The rest of clan are youngsters; they're around six years old now. You feed what you can afford. 

We do do dentals on the kids, but not every year. They do go in for check-ups every year and we go by what the vet says at that time. Ms. Pepe goes to the vet now about every 4 months, just because she's an Old Cootess 

 and we want to make sure she's doing OK. She needs a dental, but we won't give her anesthesia at her age. I suppose we could as she's in excellent health otherwise, but we won't.

Honestly, sometimes I think water is more important than food....and yes, I know how crazy that sounds. But we have well water and our water isn't the best, even though we have a water treatment system in the basement. We had two male cats that ended up with crystals, one to the point where the poor guy had to be catheterized for almost a week because of bladder problems. I remember that we brought him home from the vet right before Christmas and bringing him home was our Christmas present that year.

We think it was because of our water. We immediately changed over to bottled spring water for all the animals (even The Beast) and we've had no problems with blockages since. *knock on wood* Similarly, a friend brought a male kitty home from the shelter. Within two weeks, the cat had blocked and couldn't pee. I knew what was going on because we had had the problem and told my friend to get his cat to vet. He's on city water, but he changed over to spring bottled water, too, and his cat has been fine. So in our case, we feel that water is more important than food. 

But you're doing a good job. You do the absolute best you can with the tools/money you have to work with. And that's all you can do. Don't feel guilty at all.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

I just feel like if they happened to be given to someone who had more money they could have possibly had a better and longer life.

Your concern over the well-being of your cats is abundantly clear - manifest here by the fact that you've actually voiced a concern on the forum, and the fact that your emotional attachment to your kitties is likewise clear.  A more affluent environment would have been no guarantee that they'd have been Loved and cherished as they are in your care.  As a comparison, ask yourself what's more important in your own Life - food or being Loved.  A great Heart and a gentle nature wins out every time - and what you're obviously providing for your cat Family is a thing which money cannot buy.

That said, I feed my cats what they enjoy, not what the label claims I should feed them - and my Vet, who actually did a PostDoc in Nutritional Studies - does just as I do.  Friskies canned, Fancy Feast, Sheba, Simply Nourish, Nutrish, and several other varieties of commercial canned food, and dry food which is always available to them.  I have two who'll turn 20 this coming Autumn, several in their latter teens, and every one is in perfect health.  Over the course of more than half a century, I've had two cats approach 25, and one who edged up over twenty-five years. 

Could they have lived a little longer?  Perhaps - but those few extra days come at the end of a cat's Life, when living has begun to turn into a chore more than a pleasure.

Could they have been happier?  I doubt it.  They've all enjoyed the safety and security of a home where they're Loved without bias or condition, and I suspect - knowing what little I know about how much you obviously Love your cats - that they'd have been equally happy with you.  Cats might show preferences for certain foods, but by and large, cats eat to live - they don't, as some people do, live to eat.  Most of their needs are fulfilled simply by having someone who cares for them, and being able to Love their person in return.  I suspect your cats have, already, everything they need.

.

 

[ashekitty]

Thank you all so much! You all made me feel better. I guess I was just worried that I was causing the cats to have a worse life, but that's just my anxiety. I know my kitties are happy, and I think that's what matters most.

 

[crazy4strays]

I'm sure that your kitties are doing fine on what you feed them. However, if you are interested in different brands, Fancy Feast is actually the same price as some of the premium canned foods. 

For example, if you break down the price per oz of Fancy Feast, it costs $0.20 per ounce. I can buy Blue Wilderness or Wellness in a 12.5 ounce can for 20 cents an oz.

Natural Balance canned cat food (on chewy.com) is cheaper per ounce than FF. 

Tractor Supply Company has the 4Health brand. It's all grain free and is cheaper per ounce than Fancy Feast. Their 5.5 oz cans are only 12.5 cents per ounce.

 

[ashekitty]

Thank you @crazy4strays ! I will look into that, but Sheba is a little less expensive than FF because you have to feed them less, so I may not be able to afford it. Thank again though, I will cross my fingers!

 

[plan]

Sheba's first ingredient is always real meat, for example for the chicken flavor it's: chicken, chicken broth, chicken liver as the first three ingredients. There's also no corn or grains. They do contain meat by-products or poultry by-products depending on the flavor, but I can live with that given all the other positives, the value, and the fact that you can usually find them on sale.

Sheba is actually Buddy's favorite food. The Perfect Portions saves me money because he's not picky about the flavors he likes, but he is picky about leftovers from canned food, even if I ziploc 'em and heat them up beforehand.

Bud loves Sheba's turkey and beef flavors, and I rotate those with chicken and salmon, as well as Perfect Portions from Nutro, a premium pet store brand. (Pretty sure it's the same company that makes Sheba, since they use the same packaging and PP trademark.)

For dry, I buy two big bags of Blue Buffalo Wildnerness in two different flavors, and they last for months. Right now we've got chicken and duck dry flavors.

Overall, I think it's a good combination of affordable and premium food, and the important thing to me is that he eats, he has energy, and he's happy. FWIW it's worked out really well rotating flavors and a few favorite brands, so my cat doesn't get stuck on one type of food or feeding becomes perfunctory. I want him to enjoy eating quality food, and he does.

Anyway that was a long winded way of getting to the point, which is you are doing good by your cats, and you don't need to spend tons of money to provide healthy food.

 

[ashekitty]

Thank you! @plan ! I am going to try to rotate some more premium foods in, but I can't do that too often.

 

[crazy4strays]

You could try Holistic Select. It's only $0.1826 per ounce if you get big cans and use auto ship. (You can cancel or change autoship whenever you want)

https://www.chewy.com/holistic-select-chicken-pate-recipe/dp/104490


Do you have Tractor Supply Company in your area? Their premium foods are by far the best value I've found.

 

[ashekitty]

Thank you @crazy4strays! I will look into that! Unfortunately I don't have a tractor supply near me.