Asking for a friend; figured if anyplace would have suggestions, it’d be here. 
My friend’s cat eats Purina EN prescription canned cat food, but I guess it’s quite expensive. Anybody know of a food that is similar? I looked at the ingredient list and it looks pretty basic to me, but I’ve never even heard of this food until today so I dunno. Is it a new food?
My cat is on EN too. It’s a high protein, lowish fat food for cats with GI issues.
All the major brands (Hills, Royal Canin, Natural Balance, Blue Buffalo) make gastroenteric diet foods. I don’t know that they’re going to be much cheaper than Purina. If he doesn’t need the prescription food, Purina makes an OTC “sensitive stomach” formula (Purina One) that is cheaper. All the major companies also make OTC sensitive stomach foods.
Without knowing WHY he’s on that diet, it’s a little hard to make recommendations. Does he need the high protein/low fat for an actual condition or does he just puke when he eats certain foods? There are plenty of cheapy wet foods brands that HAPPEN to be higher protein/lower fat but I would hesitate to suggest them without knowing WHY this cat is on the EN.
There’s an awesome chart here…
http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf
Once you figure out what it is that the cat needs, it may help direct you to a cheaper brand.
Thanks for the chart, I will pass this along. This person is actually a coworker and I don’t know much about the cat other than it’s a black long-haired male. I can ask what the specific issue is when I see her tomorrow.
I don’t think there is an equivalent EN food. I have tried some of the others, and nothing is as good. It manages to be tasty enough for the cat to eat, yet very good at getting fiber into their diet. It saved the life of several kittens I fostered last year; nothing else worked. As quality cat food goes, I don’t think it is all that expensive. With a prescription you can get it from Chewy.com, which is usually less expensive and very efficient about getting it to you.
Oh that’s a good suggestion - I forgot about Chewy.com, I’ll pass that along.I don’t know that she’s actively looking to switch, just I was telling her about my kitty that passed away recently (from cancer, but he also had chronic colitis for years) and she mentioned her cat was on this food and that it worked, but was expensive. She mentioned she’d love to find a cheaper alternative and I figured if such an alternative existed, you guys would know about it! Doesn’t sounds like there is one though.
Thanks!!
