Which is better?

[mtm8878]

So, I am trying to incoperate canned food into my feral cat colonies diet. However, with a colony of eight, price is a big concern. I like to buy the big (13 oz or so) ounce cans, as they tend to be cheaper.

-Where do you buy your canned food, and do you buy in bulk?
-What canned food do you feed?
-How much canned food do you feed?

And what is better, Fancy Feast, Friskies, or Sophista Cat?

The cats in my colony prefer the "chunky" wet foods, not the "mashed" ones. Does anyone have names of some good "chunky" canned foods?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Willowy]

Fancy Feast only comes in those bitty 3-oz cans, so I don't even think of buying that brand, LOL. The only cheaper brands that come in the large cans (that I can find) are Friskies, Sophistacat, Special Kitty, and a grocery store brand. I just buy some of each. Only Sophistacat has chunky kinds in the large cans. But my kitties won't eat the chunks, they just lick the gravy.

Of them all, Sophistacat is probably the best, because it doesn't have any artificial colors or grains.

I buy the Sophistacat at Petsmart, the Friskies and the Special Kitty at Wal-Mart, and the grocery store brand at the grocery store

. At Petsmart, I buy a shrink-wrapped 12-pack. At the other places I just grab a few cans every time I shop.

For my indoor cats (there are 20 of them!), I open 2 of the big cans every night, and split a smaller can among some of the older cats who need individual feeding. For the ferals, I usually only put out a small can now and then, because there's rarely more than 2 cats feeding at a time. If they all came in a group to eat, I would put out a large can.

 

[mtm8878]

Thank you again for your help!

So, do you know of anywhere besides Petsmart to buy SophistaCat? I so not really like shopping at Petsmart becasue they sell live animals, and I would rather my money go to a local feed store than going towards the sale of live animals.

Also, for an eight cat colony, how much wet food should I be providing? It is not going to be a regular part of there diet due to cost, but will be a "treat" once or twice per week.

Thanks again for all of your helpful advice!

 

[Willowy]

I think Sophistacat is a Petsmart exclusive brand, unfortunately. Check the label on your grocery store's generic. Some of them are surprisingly decent.

 

[nutrolori]

My Chester only likes the chunks with gravy/sauce. He always looks at me like I am nuts when I try to give him the pate style.

He eats many of the varieties of the the Nutro canned cat food, both Max Cat and Natural Choice. You can find them at Petsmart if that is what is located near you. The cans do say on the label if it is a chunks with sauce/gravy. They only come in 3oz cans though.

Chester doesn't like his canned everyday, I have been offering it more lately. I have found that every kitty is different. If you wanted to feed it as a mid afternoon snack or a bedtime snack that might work.

Good luck!

 

[mtm8878]

Willowy- Oh darn! I may have to break my rule, and shop at Petsmart, but only for the SophistaCat. Thanks for letting me know!

NutroLori- Well, I prefer to buy in the large cans, since I am feeding multiple cats. Buying the small cans is really not economical for me. I will look around on other sites to see if other places carry those brannds in larger cans.

Thanks again for all of your help!