[Tae]

I've noticed a lot of threads talking about expensive health cat foods that sound like they're better than what /I/ eat. :shock: And expensive, too! I know that these by-product free, natural foods are better to eat for pets, but they're, well... expensive.

I checked at my local shelter and they feed the animals Iams, so when i adopt a cat or kitten that's what she'll be used to.

But does anybody have a suggestion on what cat foods combine good pricing with good nutrition? I'd prefer it if I could buy cat food without going online or driving an hour to Petsmart.

 

[Aonir]

..Ok.. Choose anything but Iams. I'm terribly against it. Iams test animals and don't care what happens to them... They are simply horrible..

 

[RayOfAsh]

My cats eat dry cereal, anything, they get healthy coats and live happy lives. I think any thing that says its cat food is good. I want to put them on some canned cat food , i know thats better for the coat then the dry cereal, but then they get teeth problems =/, so i stick with the cereal.

 

[Aonir]

BTW, what IS expensive cat food? Is it really expensive? compare this: a month of catfood to what one human eats in a week.

 

[RayOfAsh]

Exactly, i am constantly stating that the cats eat better then i do =/.

 

[Aonir]

*pats her tummy* I've gained 20 pounds, so I think I eat better than them, lol....

My cats got switched over to Wellness Cat Food. My animals will get good food as if they were a child needing proper nutrition... If my fiance likes it or not.

 

[AngelZoo]

I love this question

I battled with this same thought as you for years!

But... Now I've found out the simple answer.

In MOST cases (I can not garuntee all, and neither can anyone else) a cat who eats a higher grade food will eat LESS each day, and therefore your bag of cat food will last LONGER then some cheapo brand.

An example...

Meow Mix (you can even do this with Iams if you want or any other low grade brand.)
Meow Mix - $9.00 per bag est.
Felidae - $29.00 per bag est.

With my 3 cats all adults, one 20 pound bag of Felidae will last them about 3 months.
If I fed them Meow Mix (about 18 pounds), or any other similar low grade food, I would have to buy 3 bags over a period of 3 months.

So after 3 months you would spend.

$27.00 for low grade food (meow mix)
$29.00 for Felidae, which in the long run will can also help prevent expensive health problems which the low grade foods wont.

Is a difference of $2.00 every 3 months really that bad, to have your cats be extremely well fed and healthy?


You can even take a food like Solid Gold (another one of the best kibbles out there.)

Over 3 months you would pay..

$16.99 - Solid Gold
$27.00 - Meow Mix

You are actually SAVING $10.01 by buying a better food!

I hope you can find something availble to you that works well for your cats, and I hope I have helped to ease your mind about good health food being "too expensive"... Good luck!

 

[opokki]

Do you have any small feed stores in your area? Feed stores are more likely to carry the better brands. Find a few brands your interested in and check their websites for a store locator to see if they are available in your area. I found several feed stores which carry wonderful brands that I did'nt even know existed and were nearby when I did this. Iams is the same $ per pound as Innova here.....yet Innova has higher calories and lasts longer so its actually cheaper for me to buy it over Iams.

 

[Tae]

Wow. I had no idea that the difference of food that must be eaten was so different. :shock: I'm definetly going to go after some more high quality food, for my dog and my future cat. And plus, I found a small pet store only five minutes drive away that I never noticed, and they probably have some good pet foods. Now all I have to do is do some research on websites and other threads. Felidae, Solid Gold, Chicken Soup, Innova... so many choices. @@ Looking at the cat food per day estimates on websites and here, I wonder why I didn't think of that before!

 

[AngelZoo]

RayOfAsh

I am very confused by your post.

What do you mean by you feed your cats dry cereal?
What kind of cereal are you feeding them?

Not all designated cat foods are equal, and really... not all of them are good. About the only thing worse you could feed them then a low end cat diet would be inappropriately maintained vegitarian diet.

As for the canned food, I hope you find something that's good for them, and that they like, canned food is not necissarily better for a cats coat, any more so then a good dry kibble.

 

[AngelZoo]

Tae: Lol, I know it's so confusing. I'm always conflicted to try the next thing! (same as kitty litter). =p

However, if you want to know which is best, purely based on ingredients, that would be Felidae, there are others close to it, but none better. However, the main part is to find one your cats like and do well on.
If you lucky you can find a local pet store or even sometimes health stores that have samples of these higher grade foods you can take home to your cats and test out.

 

[kristi]

I'd like to switch to a better food than Meow Mix, but I'm concerned about the higher calorie content of the super premium brands (Felidae, Wellness, etc.). I want to switch them to a more natural, meat-based food, but I don't want them to gain more weight as they're already a little heavy. I currently free feed and don't want to go to scheduled separate feedings for 4 cats if I can help it. Any thoughts/experience on this?

 

[Rayona]

You can still free feed, just free feed LESS.

Also, the reason the cats eat less on a high quality food is as much due to higher nutrient density as it is to higher calories. It takes less food to satisfy all the needs of the cat (vitamins, minerals, proteins...). So if you measure their intake, a good food shouldn't make them eat any more calories.

 

[opokki]

I used to free feed Purina Cat Chow and I have to tell you my boy, Hoggle, was a fat jelly bean. He slimmed right down upon switching to a higher quality food and has remained nice and slim ever since and is still free fed but in measured amounts.

 

[opokki]

BTW, if calories are a big concern.....Royal Canin has several formulas that are lower in calories (low to mid 300's).

 

[cookie]

when you switch do you have to slowly mix them together? or just go cold turkey to the new stuff?

 

[opokki]

Its best to do a gradual switch to avoid digestive upset. I usually do a slow switch over about 2 wks.

 

[Jeanie]

I agree with Opokki.