[ang79]

Our vet thinks my oldest male has IBD and that he is allergic to chicken and beef, which is found in most cat foods. We've been using Natural Balance LID Duck food with success, feeding mostly wet, but he does get dry if we are gone for the weekend, or as a treat (he loves the dry but I think he has a bit of trouble digesting it as he seems to have litter box issues after having a lot of dry). We've branched out to the Natural Balance Venison which he likes, and I also have some Salmon to try. We actually have both adult cats on the Natural Balance, strictly for ease of feeding (they eat out of each other's dishes and I hated keeping him in the basement by himself for feeding times with separate foods). While the Natural Balance is doing well, its also super pricey to feed two cats that full time. There don't seem to be many options for foods without chicken in them though, or beef. Any ideas a cheaper brand to try? Or cheaper place to order? I've been ordering the duck either through wag.com, or petsmartdirect.com when I can order enough to get free shipping, or some kind of discount.

 

[Alpaca]

You can also try lamb. Duck and Venison tends to be pricier. Feeding fish isn't exactly a good idea. Do a search on the forum for threads on this topic.

 

[ang79]

Ooh lamb, forgot about that one, will research companies that make it. It looks like the large cans of Evo might be slightly cheaper to get than the Natural Balance for the duck and venison.

While DH said he's all about getting a gun and shooting rabbits (I think he really just wants an excuse to buy a gun!), I am the one that feeds them and I am not ready to deal with a raw diet at the moment, so we'll be sticking with cans for now, maybe forever!

 

[ang79]

Is fish OK as an occasional treat? I have two cans of Salmon sitting in the pantry to try. Ideally if I can find several flavors that he likes, I'll do a rotation, as I think he tends to get easily bored with his food and doesn't eat much then. He loved the duck for the first few weeks, but now after having venison, neither one of them are excited about the duck anymore!

 

[coyt]

Ooh lamb, forgot about that one, will research companies that make it. It looks like the large cans of Evo might be slightly cheaper to get than the Natural Balance for the duck and venison.

While DH said he's all about getting a gun and shooting rabbits (I think he really just wants an excuse to buy a gun!), I am the one that feeds them and I am not ready to deal with a raw diet at the moment, so we'll be sticking with cans for now, maybe forever!

I'm definitely *not* an expert with the raw diet, but I've seen pre-made frozen raw meals at pet stores.. so that might eliminate some of the work/prep if that's what's keeping you from trying it?

 

[Pandoragem]

All of Ziwipeak's canned formulas are chicken and beef free (lamb, venison, rabbit/lamb and venison/fish)but are more $ than natural balance ($31.99 for a 12 pk of 6 oz cans vs $24 for 24 3 oz cans of NB). Better quality though.

Ziwipeak is the only venison food Hannah will eat.