Reasonably priced cat food???

[Boukhlir]

Three of my four cats are quite overweight. They’re all 8 years old.They’re not interested in any toys-including the laser pointer, or those feathers that Jackson Galaxy has so much success with.
I’m feeding them 1 can each of Purina moist a day (1/2 in a.m.-1/2 in p.m. I’m mixing in about 1/4-1/2 cup of Little Friskies. My vet said it was fine. I can’t afford much more than that. We have a large dog as well.
Everyone is talking about”grain free” & “raw” foods. They’re very expensive. does anyone have suggestions about reasonably priced foods -wet & dry?
Does anyone just cook for their cats at home? How is that working out?
Thanks

 

[Kflowers]

Not saying our experience is what's happening at your house, but just mentioning it as a possibility.

Our cat was getting bit heavy. It turned out the puppy who adores the cat was saving the cat part of the puppy's meals. We know this was why the cat was gaining weight because puppy had to go on a strict diet of half as much food as she'd been getting. At that point she would finish her meals without saving any for the cat. (Cat gets fed twice a day and is on light food that wasn't working.) Shortly after that we noticed that cat was actually starting to lose weight. During the last year Puppy has now lost 10 pounds and cat has lost 2. Dog food actually isn't good for cats, it's rather high in carbs even diet dog food. Every cat I've had loved dog food, except for Hill's Science Diet, they didn't touch that.

 

[lisahe]

Does anyone just cook for their cats at home? How is that working out?
Thanks

We do and it works out very nicely! I make cooked cat food using meat (pork, chicken, and turkey) from the supermarket and the Alnutrin supplement, which contains everything the cats need but liver, which I add. The food's not hard to make -- I make it into pate in a food processor -- and the cat who needs it most (because of food sensitivities) eats it consistently.

 

[sophie1]

If you can only afford Purina and Friskies, by all means....just cut the amount you're feeding the overweight cats.

It is possible to make homemade cat food at pretty low cost, depending on how much effort you're willing to put in. It won't be less pricey than these cheap brands, but it will certainly be healthier for your cats.

The "gold standard" recipe is Lisa Pierson's homemade chicken food, made from partially-baked chicken thighs, chicken liver, optionally chicken hearts, and assorted supplements. Alnutrin, a premix used by many on this site including myself, is a convenient alternative that isn't that much pricier than buying the individual supplements. Requires a grinder capable of handling bones. If you want to avoid having to buy a grinder, you can do it (at somewhat higher cost and with quite a bit of knife work) using boneless meat and organs, and Alnutrin with calcium.

Right now, I have a lot of demands on my time (e.g. caring for sick mom, working full time, some other things), so I can't go the fully homemade route. Instead, I pay a bit extra to buy pre-ground mixes online, then mix in supplements (Alnutrin + salmon oil, or EZComplete). It isn't that much more work than buying and feeding canned food, and the cost is a little more than half that of premium canned food brands.

There's information on raw diets on this site which should help you get started, if you're interested - feel free to post questions here!