What do you think of Whiskas, 9Lives, MeowMix, Friskies wet cat food?

[avathecat]

I know these brands all have a variety of products out there, but I'm just wondering general thoughts on them. If anything, which of these brands is the best of the worst so to speak?

Here's the deal:

My cat is currently eating Sheba wet cat food with a little bit of grain free dry food on the side as she is a growing kitten. Originally, I chose Sheba for her wet food brand, because it is grain free and the price is about right.. until she started eating more. I found that Sheba and FF Classics are about the same price, so I can alternate those as they go on sale. But she's been eating about 12 -15 oz of wet cat food a day with dry food as a supplement (eats around 1/3-1/2 cup a day). She's eating like a cow and it's getting hard to afford. So I'm wondering if it's acceptable to feed her these brands? I know that's opinion based obviously, but I just want to know what the general thought on that would be. If i fed her Sheba, FF, and maybe a couple of the cheaper brands in alternation? I wouldn't want to feed them exclusively due to the content not being as desirable. Thoughts? She also doesn't like dry food much, so I really don't want to feed less wet and force to eat more dry unless I have to. I figure after she is done growing her appetite will taper off; she's 5 months old right now. She also can't tolerate salmon based cat foods (gives her the runs and she refuses to eat it now), so I'm wary to try her on other oceanfish flavors. I have her on turkey, chicken, and beef in alternation at the moment.

 

[avathecat]

Sheba and FF seem to run about $15 for 24 x 3 oz cans in my area. So I'm paying at least $15-20 (or more) a week on wet cat food. It's a bit much for my budget. I've looked into buying bigger cans, but it doesn't appear to be any more economical, just about the same when calculating price per ounce. I've been trying to coupon for her food and get the price down. Ideally I wouldn't spent over $50 a month on food. I'm on a very limited budget. The only way I see it working without cutting out the wet altogether, which would make my kitty so sad, is to cut down the quality.. which makes me sad too as Sheba isn't the best to begin with.

 

[theyremine]

I'm sure others more experienced than I am will chime in, but 4or 5 cans of FF plus 1/3 to 1/2 cup of  dry a day seems like an awful lot of food for one kitten.   Has your kitten been wormed?

 

[avathecat]

Yes I adopted her about four weeks ago and I have all of her vet records. She was dewormed and has all of her vaccinations and tested negative for any diseases. Although, they did say she didn't have ear mites and she did! She is growing rapidly though, she is definitely gaining weight and just overall becoming larger. I can see it every day. I think she must be in a growth spurt this last week. Normally I had her on 6 oz of wet a day with her dry. But now she's just whining so much, and she's a growing kitty so I feed it to her. She has a vet appointment Friday, so I can ask about it. I'm not knowledgeable in the symptoms of worms, but she seems to be a very healthy kitty. I'll definitely look into it though just in case.

 

[avathecat]

She definitely doesn't eat that much consistently every single day, aside from this last week she seems to be starving. She always eats at least 6 oz, some days 9, and others more. Lately a lot more lol! It depends. I've never known her to overeat so far, she leaves her wet and dry alone when she's full and just won't finish it if she doesn't need it.

She even has pretty pointy shoulder blades at this point still, even though she's at a healthy weight. She's certainly not fat and she has a very long tail I think compared to most cats. She's just a standard stray DLH, but I'm thinking she might end up being a larger sized cat. Her bone structure is about the size of a small full grown cat already at 5 months old. She is very active and sleeps a ton naturally. 

Our standard schedule is 1.5-3 oz wet in the morning, noon, and night. I usually give half a can and then the other half if she bugs about it. Sometimes she will end up with two breakfasts, or a late dinner if she cries excessively. Which lately, she has a case of the "meow meows". She has a tiny bowl of dry food out that some days she will eat a lot of and other days not touch so much. Lately she's been eating a good bit of it though, because I've been refilling it more.

Anyways, I certainly hope it's not worms and it's just a growth spurt. She has doubled in size in the short time I've had her, so I haven't questioned it too much. I have to say getting a cat has cost a lot more than I planned; not that I mind. I figure after she's a year, the food at least will decrease in amount consumed significantly. 

 

[wasabii]

Have you looked at the friskies pate to help cut costs? I believe its cheaper to get 5.5oz of friskies than the 3oz of Fancy feast (~48 cents a can at walmart for the friskies). Its what I use because the small cans are just not economical at all for me, lol.
And if you have a tractor supply they have a good brand that is .69 cents for 5.5 oz which is still cheaper than the FF per ounce.

 

[avathecat]

I think the Friskies pates are what I have decided to add in with the Sheba and FF. Unfortunately, in OR we do not have tractor supply. We do have some similar local feed and farm stores and I plan on checking those out. I know Petsmart and Petco have their own brands, and so does Trader Joes. So those are things I may look into as well. She is just a little eating machine! Thanks for the reply

 

[oldgloryrags88]

Yes. I feed my cats 9Lives, Meow Mix, and some times Whiskas. I'd say 9Lives is the worst of the 3, but the most affordable. Four 5 oz cans are sold in a pack for $1.75 where I live. My cats like all 3 brands and I do use those along with the higher end brands. It's good to rotate (would you want to eat pasta everyday for the rest of your life?) I also roate kibble brands but I rarely use the lower end brands unless I'm broke.

Are you in the United States? Do you have a SAM's Club membership? I do and I get 48 cans (they're 5 oz cans) of Friskies for $21. Also, Friskies has 2 flavors in my area that are 13 oz cans and run for $1.


Good luck!

- oldgloryrags88

 

[lisahe]

Since Ava was a stray, it's quite possible her incredible appetite is partly because she feels insecure about her food, wondering if she'll get another meal. Our two cats were extremely underfed when we adopted them -- they were 10 months old -- and they definitely had insecurities about their meals. They also ate absolutely ridiculous amounts of food for some months as they grew into their frames and appetites!

Without knowing exactly what your local choices are, I might suggest, in generally, trying her with the highest-calorie canned foods you can find since she's a kitten and kittens tend to need a lot of high-calorie food. (This is why kitten food is generally high-calorie.) Since you're already feeding her grain-free, that's a good start since carbohydrate calories are less likely to satisfy her. Friskies pates, though, are a good addition since the price is good and the only carb ingredient is rice, and it's fairly low on the list. I know some Cat Site members have also mentioned grocery store brand pates: if you can buy any that don't have wheat or corn gluten, those might be a good choice, too!

Good luck!

 

[thegreystalker]

I keep a handful of 9 Lives pate to occasionally offer to my cat.  If I have another brand that she initially doesn't care for, I mix it with 9 Lives and she usually devours the combination promptly.  I would stick to the 9 LIves 'Meaty Pate' line of recipes, specifically Poultry Supper because it lacks corn, wheat and soy.  9 Lives is inexpensive for a reason; the prime ingredient in all of their recipes is Meat By-products, which are a cheap source of protein for pet food manufacturers.  MBP can include organ meats and chicken feet, which are perfectly fine for omnivores like cats.  That said, I wouldn't feed my gal 9 Lives every day.

 

[DreamerRose]

I just noticed that Friskies pate comes in large dog-food size cans for $1.25 each. That would be a good cheaper alternative. I do think you are feeding her way too much, and at some point, you are going to have to reduce her food, no matter how much she complains. One can of Fancy Feast and 1/2 cup dry food per day is plenty for an adult cat.

 

[Kat0121]

 
I just noticed that Friskies pate comes in large dog-food size cans for $1.25 each. That would be a good cheaper alternative. I do think you are feeding her way too much, and at some point, you are going to have to reduce her food, no matter how much she complains. One can of Fancy Feast and 1/2 cup dry food per day is plenty for an adult cat.

The big cans are also carried at Dollar Tree for $1. They carry the turkey and giblets pate and a chicken bits in gravy or something like that. 

 

[oldgloryrags88]

I keep a handful of 9 Lives pate to occasionally offer to my cat.  If I have another brand that she initially doesn't care for, I mix it with 9 Lives and she usually devours the combination promptly.  I would stick to the 9 LIves 'Meaty Pate' line of recipes, specifically Poultry Supper because it lacks corn, wheat and soy.  9 Lives is inexpensive for a reason; the prime ingredient in all of their recipes is Meat By-products, which are a cheap source of protein for pet food manufacturers.  MBP can include organ meats and chicken feet, which are perfectly fine for omnivores like cats.  That said, I wouldn't feed my gal 9 Lives every day.

Cats, (like ferrets) are carnivores not omnivores.

 

[thegreystalker]

I misspoke.  Meant to say carnivores.

And yes, the national chains of dollar stores often sell the 13oz cans of Purina for a buck or less.  I've got a few 13oz cans of Poultry Platter at home right now.  I prefer the Poultry Platter recipe over the Turkey & Giblets Dinner, which is primarily MBP.  Incidentally, if you live in the mid-Atlantic states, you can find the 'Companion' brand Turkey & Giblets recipe at Shop & Stop supermarkets and Giant supermarkets.  It seems to be identical to Purina and the 13oz can regularly sells for 80 cents.

 

[oldgloryrags88]

I misspoke.  Meant to say carnivores.

And yes, the national chains of dollar stores often sell the 13oz cans of Purina for a buck or less.  I've got a few 13oz cans of Poultry Platter at home right now.  I prefer the Poultry Platter recipe over the Turkey & Giblets Dinner, which is primarily MBP.  Incidentally, if you live in the mid-Atlantic states, you can find the 'Companion' brand Turkey & Giblets recipe at Shop & Stop supermarkets and Giant supermarkets.  It seems to be identical to Purina and the 13oz can regularly sells for 80 cents.

Oh lol. No worries.

 

[avathecat]

Yeah she definitely is eating too much I think! For now, I will be watching her weight and trying to keep her happy. If she starts getting chunky I'll cut down. She's 5 months now, so I figure I'll get her adjusted to a proper amount of food by a year old at the latest, since she is still growing. I do plan on eventually having her on a pretty strictly timed wet food schedule and leaving out a measured amount of dry. I think this last week or two is an exception I hope. I'm figuring her appetite will settle down a bit, if it is a growth spurt.

I've heard about food insecurity too, as someone else mentioned above. That might be a factor I hadn't considered. But she hasn't eaten this much until recently, so I'm not sure. I hope I'm not fostering bad habits by giving in to her. I certainly can be tough on her and let her cry it out if I need to, but I just haven't seen a reason to. If that isn't the case let me know. I will be looking for some cheaper pates to mix in with the Sheba and FF if the budget gets tight and rotate brands. I will stay away from grains if I can. I will definitely see if my Dollar Store has the large Friskies pates for $1. If I could average her food cost to be $1-1.50 a day I would be thrilled.

_______________________________________________

Yeah, so I just checked the feeding instructions on her Sheba canned pates (chicken entree) and it says "feed a kitten up to 4-1/2 cans daily"

I'm just confused it they mean four, half cans (meaning 2 cans/6 oz), or four and a half cans (meaning 13.5 oz).

Her Sheba perfect portions (chicken entree) say to "feed a kitten up to 5 servings twice daily"

1 serving is 1.3 oz (says on front of package), so 5 servings is 6.5 oz and twice daily would make it 13 oz total. 

So maybe she is on point for this particular food? Unless I am interpreting wrong? I am assuming since they are the same flavor that up to about 13 oz is considered "okay" for kittens?

 

[amber varner]

I took Ava to the vet today. She's 5.2 lbs and a healthy weight according to the vet. The vet said just keep feeding her when she's hungry and she will likely grow to be a 10-11 lb cat by a year old. I also went to dollar store after the vet and picked up a few of each friskies pate flavor to try in the large cans. Hope she likes them. I also got a 24 pack of Fancy Feast for $13 at Petsmart, so that's not bad. Makes it about 54 cents a can.

 

[babserd]

I shop at chewy.com FFC is $11.49 for 24/3oz cans. They have free shipping on orders of $49 or more. I order 3 cases of FFC and a 40lb box of A&H double duty cat litter. This leaves $2-3 left over (to get to the $49) so I get them a toy. They love this arrangement and so does my wallet! I guess the only person that might not agree is the fedex driver that has to lift the box. Another great thing is the items arrive in 1 to 2 days!!

 

[Kat0121]

 
I shop at chewy.com FFC is $11.49 for 24/3oz cans. They have free shipping on orders of $49 or more. I order 3 cases of FFC and a 40lb box of A&H double duty cat litter. This leaves $2-3 left over (to get to the $49) so I get them a toy. They love this arrangement and so does my wallet! I guess the only person that might not agree is the fedex driver that has to lift the box. Another great thing is the items arrive in 1 to 2 days!!

That's a good price for FF. I wish Chewy took Paypal. 

The USPS, UPS and Fed Ex drivers must hate me. I've had all kinds of big, heavy stuff delivered to my house.