Assistance With Starting An All Wet Diet, Please.

Symbi

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Hello, everyone. I’m new to the site but I’ve been lurking for a few days. I’ve decided that an all wet diet would probably be in my cats best interest since he doesn’t drink that much water and we’ve recently made the move to Arizona where it’s getting quite hot. I have a good idea of what type of foods to look for: high protein, low carb, little fruit or veg, and no carrageenan but I’m having some trouble finding a few foods that not only meet this criteria but can keep my cat food budget under $100 a month. If it helps at all I can include the brands I know he doesn’t like and the few he does enjoy..
Thank you all!
 

EmersonandEvie

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Go ahead and give us that list of what he does and doesn't like! We are on a tight budget (3 cats) and we manage to spend about $100/month on all 3, exclusively wet (with some dry food for a midnight snack ;)). I feed these brands:

Tiny Tiger (their main diet, right at $0.51/3oz can)
American Journey (seldom- they have to be in a mood)
Redbarn lamb (seldom- I think they got kind of burnt out)
Fancy Feast (certain Classic flavors)
Abound/4Health (Chicken and Whitefish recipe) **This one does have carrageenan but it is the second to last ingredient and the only one that I feed regularly with it in it. You pick and choose your battles...lol

They also get a ground raw food once a week or so. They *used* to be raw fed exclusively but it became a.) too pricey and b.) the little darlings decided that they didn't want raw all the time anymore....
 

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Symbi

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Thank you both for replying so quickly! He’s never been a fan of fancy feast, nature’s instinct, whole earth farms, nutro, natural balance, solistic, or halo. The last two he’d wait until it dried and drag it to the pantry door (where we keep our trash can). He really enjoys weruva, tiki cat, bff, and a few flavors of merrick. That’s crazy how you manage to feel three on such a small budget! Back before my second cat passed, it seemed like I was always in the pet store and dropping $250ish between wet and dry.
 

EmersonandEvie

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It is my understanding that Chewy's brand Miko is similar to Weruva in texture, very shred-like. I have never tried it myself, but you could try that!

That's hilarious that he would try to take out the "trash" on his own :lol::lol::crackup:
 
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Symbi

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Sorry for the double post. You mentioned something called Miko? I’ve not heard of it. It’s new, I’m assuming
 

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It is my understanding that Chewy's brand Miko is similar to Weruva in texture, very shred-like. I have never tried it myself, but you could try that!

That's hilarious that he would try to take out the "trash" on his own :lol::lol::crackup:
Miko is just shredded chicken and broth. I would not use it as a meal. Only a topper. It is very low in fat
 
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Symbi

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I just checked Chewy and Miko has 2% fat. That does seem pretty low but the weruva I had him try was about 1.4% on crude fat. I’m wondering how big of an issue this is and what percentage of fat I should look for?
 

maggie101

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I just checked Chewy and Miko has 2% fat. That does seem pretty low but the weruva I had him try was about 1.4% on crude fat. I’m wondering how big of an issue this is and what percentage of fat I should look for?
It varies how much fat a cat needs. My cat Maggie needs a high percentage of fat. She stops eating when she has had enough. My other 2 cats do not need as much. I stopped buying weruva because the percentage is so low. I just bought Nutro Perfect Portions on sale at Petco for a dollar! Going back tomorrow. My cats loved it.
 
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Symbi

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Do you think that also feeding him the merrick lid (4% fat) in addition to the weruva would be alright? From what I’ve seen, the merrick lid doesn’t contain carrageenan.
 

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The best thing for me is to watch deals, stock up when I can, and feed a wide variety. I feed my kitty on about $35 a month and she eats all wet except up to 1 Tbsp of dry a day.

Tiny Tiger she enjoys a couple of the flavors, as well as Aldi's brand in the 3oz cans. She hates fancy feast and won't touch it anymore.

We do a lot of American Journey from Chewy also.

Other brands you might look into that are budget friendly but fit your criteria :

Dave's Cats Meow

Example https://www.chewy.com/daves-pet-food-cats-meow-95-chicken/dp/176481

https://www.chewy.com/s?query=Dave's Cats Meow&nav-submit-button=

Sheba is also free of carageenan and low in carbs, free of veggies and grains. I use these to fill out a lower calorie day.

Redbarn Naturals
https://www.chewy.com/s?query=Dave's Cats Meow&nav-submit-button=

Holistic Selects 13 oz cans
https://www.chewy.com/holistic-select-turkey-pate-recipe/dp/104494
 
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Symbi

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I’m on the fence about ordering his food from chewy as I’ve had bad experiences with them before. Maybe I could find a few of those brands in stores?
 

mizzely

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I’m on the fence about ordering his food from chewy as I’ve had bad experiences with them before. Maybe I could find a few of those brands in stores?
No idea! If you have any independent pet stores they may carry them or have the ability to order it. Some are available on Amazon also. I'm admittedly a loyal Chewy orderer... Any issues I've had (few and far between) they've dealt with quickly. They refunded me several cases of cat food 6 months after I ordered it because my cat died, then sent me flowers. I don't even have a pet store closer than 45 minutes drive so it's also convenient.

But, I mostly use their website because it has a lot of filters and makes it easier to narrow down what I'm looking for
 

EmersonandEvie

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I'm curious what your bad experience was? I have been refunded/replaced for quite a few items myself. It was also quick and no questions asked. When both of my cats got sick due to a product, I got a personal email from the head of customer service checking up on them. I've been thrilled with chewy and there are several chewy-exclusive brands that I buy regularly.
That being said, I'm sorry that you had a bad experience! :alright::alright:
 
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