Cheapest 'decent' canned cat food

[Susan_P]

I think when looking at any pet food, you are going to pay more for quality because good stuff costs more. But the best way to identify quality is by the ingredient list.

Blue Buffalo is probably one of the best quality foods readily available, but if your cat will eat from the store, add real meat and it’s probably cheaper. Just be careful about other flavors or ingredients such as garlic and onion or those things that are not safe for animals. But you could add some kinds of veggies. Maybe you could make a cat food soup, maybe blend it and see if they like that. You could probably add a bit of rice or barley to thicken it, choose the fruits and veggies that are on the label of Blue Buffalo and make a small batch. I think cats love chicken and they love gravy for sure.

[Big_Grey_hunter]

[QUOTE=Susan P;5606905]
I think when looking at any pet food, you are going to pay more for quality because good stuff costs more. But the best way to identify quality is by the ingredient list.

Blue Buffalo is probably one of the best quality foods readily available, but if your cat will eat from the store, add real meat and it’s probably cheaper. Just be careful about other flavors or ingredients such as garlic and onion or those things that are not safe for animals. But you could add some kinds of veggies. Maybe you could make a cat food soup, maybe blend it and see if they like that. You could probably add a bit of rice or barley to thicken it, choose the fruits and veggies that are on the label of Blue Buffalo and make a small batch. I think cats love chicken and they love gravy for sure.[/QUOTE]

I may see if parents will go for blue buffalo, I do like the food.

But, I would not purposefully add fruits, vegetables, or grains to a cat’s diet. They, unlike dogs, are obligate carnivores and cannot digest plant material

[jewll27]

[QUOTE=Big_Grey_hunter;5605400]
What’s right about it? It is loaded with by products, carbs, preservatives, artificial coloring, gluten and unidentified/ low quality ‘meats’. Cats foods should have high meat content and low grain, especially low quality grains like corn. Animal fat and meal shouldn’t be the main protein sources. The first ingredient in the dry food is corn! Corn isn’t good for cat’s in any quantities, let alone as a first ingredient.

The reason cats love it is the same reason people love junk. It is loaded with fat and other yummy junk. Any wet food is better than no wet food, but you shouldn’t feed junk foods unless the cat won’t eat anything else.[/QUOTE]

lets not forget that its made in a mill with very low standards…whatever they get they put in. so one week the corn might be great, the next week it could be total crap. Purina is the same way.

Pick up a bag of pet food and look-- if the first ingredients are corn or some kind of meal or by product, you dont want to feed it.

I get the outside cats eating whatever since they eat whatever to begin with. But my kitties live inside and to me its work spending the extra $5-10 on a better quality food. Less hair balls, less shedding, less vomiting, poop isnt so stinky, and it lasts longer b/c it fills them up faster than the cheap stuff.

I feed taste of the wild,which is totally grain free, wet and dry. A 15lb bag of dry food costs me $23 and lasts 4-6 weeks for 4 cats. A case of 24 cans of wet food costs me $23 and lasts a month (I have a kitty with terrible teeth who needs to eat wet food daily, the others do just find with only dry) which is as much as I was spending on the meow mix food per month. Its not the super expensive stuff, but its higher quality than friskies or purina and the kitties love it.

[Chief2]

Searching around for a better food that the cat will eat can get expensive. My indoor cat turned down bags of Wellness, Iams and Royal Canin until we found one she would eat, and did the same for cans of Wellness, Royal Canin, Weruva and Solid Gold. We wound up breaking the cycle with cans of tuna fish, and then trying again. She now gets Royal Canin Beauty dry and wet. It is the only food she is not allergic to and will eat. Everything she turned down went to the barn cats, or to a friend with multiple cats. They all ate very well on my dime.

[wendy]

you really shouldn’t feed dry food to cats regardless of the ingredients. Yes, some manage to survive on it, but there is a lot of evidence to support the idea that dry cat food dramatically increases their risk of developing diabetes and kidney disease in their teen years. Your cat might get it, might not, why risk it?
Any canned food is better than dry. Even Friskies.
There are a number of brands that contain nothing but meat, but you’re unlikely to find them in say, Petsmart or the grocery store. Generally pet foods sold in grocery stores are complete garbage, and ditto for the brands sold in the big chain pet stores.
If you’re really concerned about price per can look for Evangers- they have balanced all-meat diets that are cheaper than any equivalent I’ve found anywhere.

[sk_pacer]

It also bears mentioning it depends on what the cat WILL eat. If you can convince the cat that you are not trying to poison it, more power to you.

[RougeEmpire]

[QUOTE=wendy;5607209]
you really shouldn’t feed dry food to cats regardless of the ingredients. Yes, some manage to survive on it, but there is a lot of evidence to support the idea that dry cat food dramatically increases their risk of developing diabetes and kidney disease in their teen years. Your cat might get it, might not, why risk it?
Any canned food is better than dry. Even Friskies.
There are a number of brands that contain nothing but meat, but you’re unlikely to find them in say, Petsmart or the grocery store. Generally pet foods sold in grocery stores are complete garbage, and ditto for the brands sold in the big chain pet stores.
If you’re really concerned about price per can look for Evangers- they have balanced all-meat diets that are cheaper than any equivalent I’ve found anywhere.[/QUOTE]

My vet says the exact reverse of that. My fathers ex wife has been a vet for more than 20 years. She says ditch the canned food and stick to dry. So does my current vet.

[gaitedincali]

@RougeEmpire;5607513

My vet says the exact reverse of that. My fathers ex wife has been a vet for more than 20 years. She says ditch the canned food and stick to dry. So does my current vet.

Yeah, my small animal vet doesn’t keep up to date on the latest cat nutrition research either.

Luckily for my cats, I do.

[RedMare01]

@RougeEmpire;5607513

My vet says the exact reverse of that. My fathers ex wife has been a vet for more than 20 years. She says ditch the canned food and stick to dry. So does my current vet.

That is completely wrong info; they should look into current research.

I cannot tell you how many cats I’ve seen with kidney issues at 9 or 10 years old that have been on a all dry (usually Science Diet) diet. :no:

I don’t know what the cheapest good quality canned food is; it’s a good question. My three have been on just about all of the good quality foods at different points…they will eat one for awhile and then tire of it. Right now they are loving the Earthborn food, both wet and dry. But it’s pretty much the same price as Wellness, et al.

I can tell a huge difference when they’re on a quality food vs. low quality with corn and by-products. Last year my hubby bought a bunch of Friskies wet food because it was on sale…I figured a month or two of it couldn’t hurt…eh, by the end of a month, their fur wasn’t nearly as soft or shiny anymore. It’s a subtle difference (if you’ve never fed a good quality food, I can see how you wouldn’t notice, because they didn’t look bad…just not nearly as good, if you have something to compare it to). But back on the good food, their fur is amazing. I can actually tell how good it is by the ear tufts on my Balinese. Crappy food, no ear tufts. Great food, we have fluffy inch long tufts. :lol: Hey, it works.

Caitlin

[wendy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by RougeEmpire
My vet says the exact reverse of that. My fathers ex wife has been a vet for more than 20 years. She says ditch the canned food and stick to dry. So does my current vet.

Yeah, my small animal vet doesn’t keep up to date on the latest cat nutrition research either.

In general vets are the WORST source of nutrition information.
You want nutrition information, consult a nutritionist.

[jewll27]

[QUOTE=RedMare01;5607554]
That is completely wrong info; they should look into current research.

I cannot tell you how many cats I’ve seen with kidney issues at 9 or 10 years old that have been on a all dry (usually Science Diet) diet. :no:

I don’t know what the cheapest good quality canned food is; it’s a good question. My three have been on just about all of the good quality foods at different points…they will eat one for awhile and then tire of it. Right now they are loving the Earthborn food, both wet and dry. But it’s pretty much the same price as Wellness, et al.

I can tell a huge difference when they’re on a quality food vs. low quality with corn and by-products. Last year my hubby bought a bunch of Friskies wet food because it was on sale…I figured a month or two of it couldn’t hurt…eh, by the end of a month, their fur wasn’t nearly as soft or shiny anymore. It’s a subtle difference (if you’ve never fed a good quality food, I can see how you wouldn’t notice, because they didn’t look bad…just not nearly as good, if you have something to compare it to). But back on the good food, their fur is amazing. I can actually tell how good it is by the ear tufts on my Balinese. Crappy food, no ear tufts. Great food, we have fluffy inch long tufts. :lol: Hey, it works.

Caitlin[/QUOTE]

and science diet is crap food, so it follows that part of our theory. However, I was always told and in my own research found that good quality dry food is actually good for your cats and that you should be supplementing with wet food b/c of cat’s usually minimal water intake. The dry food keeps their teeth healthy and sharp, wet food cant do that.

My cats do great on good quality grain free dry food and water; they are great drinkers. The only reason I have wet food in my house is for my kitty with bad teeth. And even she loves the dry food and eats what she can.

If your cat is a poor water drinker, then wet food is really important for their hydration.

[wendy]

However, I was always told and in my own research found that good quality dry food is actually good for your cats

cats are the ultimate carnivore and should never eat plant-based foods. It’s true the biggest problem with feeding dry food is that cats don’t drink water very well, but the other problem with dry foods is that even the grain-free versions have a fairly high carbohydrate content from some plant- potatoes, rice, something, all kibbles have it. That’s what kills the cats- the lack of water and the blood sugar bounces from the carbs destroys the kidneys/ causes diabetes. Cats do not need and should never be fed any plant materials because many cannot handle such unnatural foods.
Canned foods, even the worst canned brands, are full of water and usually have far less carbohydrate/plant content. There are a number of canned brands that have practically no plant content and that is ideal for cats. Actually what is ideal is feeding them fresh whole mice and birds but that is too expensive and too much work for most people.

The dry food keeps their teeth healthy and sharp, wet food cant do that.

dry carbohydrate laden food is what makes their teeth dirty in the first place.
If you want to keep their teeth clean give them some meat and bones to gnaw on. Kibble doesn’t clean teeth, it makes them dirty.

[dalpal]

Dry is the most processed…therefore, the least healthy of the choices of raw, canned, dry. Even the best dry foods are not as healthy as a good canned food or raw.

Want a great tasting canned food that you can order off of Amazon with free shipping for about 1.00 for a 3oz can…

WERUVA PAW LICKIN CHICKEN White meat chicken in a broth…not processed chunks…but shredded up white meat chicken. Mine love it.

[pj1]

[QUOTE=sk_pacer;5607473]
It also bears mentioning it depends on what the cat WILL eat. If you can convince the cat that you are not trying to poison it, more power to you.[/QUOTE]

RIGHT!! I think I’ve tried all the brands available in our county.
The cats eat friskies and that’s it! A little dry but mostly canned.

[RedMare01]

I feed mine a mixture of grain-free wet and dry, but don’t kid yourself that the dry is cleaning their teeth. Think about it…they either swallow the pellets whole, or they shatter when chewed. Not much cleaning going on there, at all.

Cats do need wet food for the moisture content. They may seem to be drinking a lot, but naturally they’d be getting moisture from prey AND water. Dry only is a good way to encourage kidney problems, too.

Caitlin

[KateandKc]

After loosing my sweet maine coon mix Gracie to kidney failure at 8 years old (diagnosed when she was 2), I will never feed cheap cat food or a mainly dry food diet again. Gracie stayed alive way longer than expected due to being put on 95% meat canned food after being diagnosed. Her kidney values went down significantly after doing this…but eventually it caught up to her.

the new kitty gets only high quality canned food (Weruva- he loves it) and a sprinkle of dry food (Orijen). The dry food is added to keep him from stealing the poor dog’s dinner every night.

[starrunner]

When I took care of the evil little kitty (who is back at my brother’s), I fed Tiki Cat. He had a nice quality coat and went absolutely crazy whenever I opened a can.

It was .79 a can and even cheaper for a case.

[SMF11]

Side note – if you have to feed dry food you can mix it with chicken broth to help with the lack of liquid.

Very interesting thread.

[Big_Grey_hunter]

[QUOTE=SMF11;5608562]
Side note – if you have to feed dry food you can mix it with chicken broth to help with the lack of liquid.

Very interesting thread.[/QUOTE]

Chicken broth has so much salt, plain water would be better (unnless you make your own salt free chicken broth)