On A Budget...friskies Time

EmersonandEvie

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I've posted before about going back to school full-time and, subsequently, stopping work. We have been fine on just my husband's salary but have had a few relatively minor expenses suddenly pile up (car needed work...plumbing issues...yall know how those things happen), so I decided to add Friskies into the cats' rotation of foods (hello, $0.87/12oz can! Can feed all three of mine in one go). They've never had Friskies before, so I was worried about how they would react to it (especially Evie, who may or may not be developing some sort of chicken sensitivity). I'm not wild about the carrageenan either, but I'll be more picky when I can afford to be later!

Oh my gosh, you'd have thought I plunked a bowl of salmon filets down in front of them. They inhaled the stuff and practically licked the steel off their bowls. Of course, they would love Friskies, after I tried so, so diligently to get them to eat more boutique brands...:p:p
 

lisahe

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I'm glad they're eating the Friskies! Despite the carrageenan, I'd sooner feed Friskies than, say, anything with potato, peas, or other legumes.

Our cats get this way about Fancy Feast. They just love it. And I'm more than willing to admit that I love it, too, because there won't be any problems getting them to finish their meals!
 

Sonatine

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Don't feel too bad. My budget has tightened up as well (I'm also in school full time and a part time job can only do so much), so I've also been feeding cheaper foods. Friskies isn't great, sure, but it could be a lot worse and I give healthier foods when I can. In all honesty, I think my diet is still worse than my cats'! (hello cheap ramen that is probably made of cardboard)
 

MissClouseau

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I know a few vets from the USA through the internet. We are not close or anything but each has multiple cats they rescued which is common among vets and they all use more supermarket brands of companies like Purina otherwise they couldn't afford taking care of like 6 cats & 2 dogs. Purina, Hill's, Royal Canin are liked by vets because they also go on feeding trials in the USA you know. Cat Chow, Dog Chow, Friskies... I have heard these names from some vets when asked what they feed their pets with.

These vets say these foods don't lack nutrition. They just usually don't have additional, "potentially beneficial for health but not necessary" ingredients. Like probiotics, for example. So they are more likely to irritate more number of pets' digestive system if they already have issues or not do the best job but it doesn't mean they will do any harm either. My one cousin also feeds her cat with a supermarket brand and the only health problem is he sheds too much hair. Probably because it doesn't have those additional things for coat.

So definitely don't feel bad. If you would feel more comfortable, consider getting a multivitamin to give one or couple days a week. If it's available where you live I could recommend GimCat 12 Multivitamin paste. Since it's paste form it also somewhat helps with hairball.
 

Sidewinder

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My cats are perfectly happy with wet & dry Friskies, though they seem to prefer the filets, shreds or meaty bits in sauce or gravy instead of the pate. They'll eat the pate if they're hungry enough, no worries, but the other styles seem to vanish from their plates a little faster. I mix it up with flavors, but their favorites seem to be the "Ocean Whitefish With Sardines" and the "Saucy Seafood Bake." The turkey flavor with garden greens & gravy gets eaten, same as the chicken & tuna flavors, beef seems to be at the bottom of the priority list. For dry food, I usually go with the Friskies Seafood Sensations, the cats chow down on that regularly and have no problems, though I'll occasionally mix things up and go with some other flavor besides seafood. :tabbycat:
 

Maria Bayote

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It is ok. Not all of us are well off or can afford those expensive ones! My cats eat friskies too, but the filets. I give it to them on rotation when it is already in the end of the 3rd week of the month and my budget can’t last another more week if I buy another boxes of Felix Fish sensation or Gourmet (the 2 brands they prefer most but a bit more expensive.) Sometimes my husband and I joke that its ok for us not to eat the best meals as long as our cats’ stomachs are content. LOL.
 

Willowy

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Not all Friskies products are equal. Friskies pate canned food is really perfectly fine. Plenty of meat, not a lot of fillers, etc. The shreds and bits do have wheat gluten in them, so they're a little worse. And I prefer to avoid Friskies dry food, because of the food coloring and too much corn.
 

Beebster

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And I prefer to avoid Friskies dry food, because of the food coloring and too much corn.
I have definitely avoided the Friskies dry food the last couple years because Fluffy was barfing it up hours after eating every few days or so. I know partially because of hairballs, but since she was barfing up her meals I switched to Purina Cat Chow and she's been fine. Recently started that again, but I cut down on it and added Fancy Feast pates to her diet and she's been pretty good with it so far.

I recently tried Friskies pate with Fluffy, but I don't think she liked it very much. She nibbled at it a little. Maybe the flavor of it, so I might try some other flavors another time. Fluffy seems to gravitate more towards the seafood flavors of FF, but she'll eat other flavors I give her....although more slowly. Our kitten Eevee will gobble up any cat food we give her though, so I think Friskies and Fancy Feast will be a decent rotation for her as far as price goes.
 

jen

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Avoid their dry like the plague but their Classic Pates, as well as Fancy Feast are pretty good. No carb or grains and that is what is important to me. Cats don't give a crap about by-products and stuff but they are carnivores and need their carbless meat.
 

JamesCalifornia

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~ Years ago my mom had a friend who worked at Ralston Purina Company - now Nestlé Purina PetCare Company. He told her about how the ingredients were inspected at source, at delivery and during production. They are such a large producer of food products for human and animal consumption that liability is a big issue - hence all the precautions. As for the "gourmet " kitty foods not so much. There is actually more recalls of the expensive brands. You never know what is actually in the ingredients with the smaller producers. Could explain the digestive problems some have with these products.
I use Friskies Pate by the case ! However I am more careful with dry food and stay away from ones with mostly corn & soy ...
Sometimes my husband and I joke that its ok for us not to eat the best meals as long as our cats’ stomachs are content. LOL.
I think my diet is still worse than my cats'!
:wink::happycat::catlove: Yes ! It seems our cats often eat better than us humans ... And we never steal a taste of their food.
 

CatLover49

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My two currently eat mostly Friskies! They used to eat all the high end foods, but all the high end foods gave Kaia diarrhea endlessly. We switched to Friskies and FF.....no more diarrhea at all and both are very healthy.
What FF flavors do u give ure kitties...& what flavors???Cause ive tried high end foods n my boy wouldn't eat either...Im just curious...
 

CatLover49

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~ Years ago my mom had a friend who worked at Ralston Purina Company - now Nestlé Purina PetCare Company. He told her about how the ingredients were inspected at source, at delivery and during production. They are such a large producer of food products for human and animal consumption that liability is a big issue - hence all the precautions. As for the "gourmet " kitty foods not so much. There is actually more recalls of the expensive brands. You never know what is actually in the ingredients with the smaller producers. Could explain the digestive problems some have with these products.
I use Friskies Pate by the case ! However I am more careful with dry food and stay away from ones with mostly corn & soy ...


:wink::happycat::catlove: Yes ! It seems our cats often eat better than us humans ... And we never steal a taste of their food.
They are our babies...so they are worth it..:hyper::cloud9:
 
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EmersonandEvie

Mom to Evie, Emerson and Dexter
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What FF flavors do u give ure kitties...& what flavors???Cause ive tried high end foods n my boy wouldn't eat either...Im just curious...
Mine all like the Poultry Platter, Chicken and Tuna, and Turkey and Giblets formulas. I haven't tried anything with beef yet. They also like the Ocean Whitefish and Tuna and Supreme Supper flavors. :)
 

Erin80

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What FF flavors do u give ure kitties...& what flavors???Cause ive tried high end foods n my boy wouldn't eat either...Im just curious...
We live in Canada so we don’t have poultry platter here . They eat chicken pate and chicken dinner in gravy. Chefs dinner pate and sometimes salmon dinner or whitefish and tuna dinner but not often. They also get the indoor recipes which are cuts in gravy (not as good as pate but they like it more!) - chunky chicken and turkey casserole, and home style turkey dinner. They get the turkey and giblets pate and also the turkey dinner in gravy. Sometimes I give them the tasty treasures chicken with liver. They always have pate for breakfast, and pieces in gravy for dinner and before bed.

As for FF, they hate all the pâtés. They eat mostly the grilled chicken one if they have FF. Sometimes the Florentine ones in the green can.
 
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