Best budget food

livismom1

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Hi. my daughter has a cat at her dad's house. He is 6-7 years old. Probably never vetted beyond being neutered and front declawed (grr). She hadn't been to her dad's in about a year and her dad would not let her bring the cat home here. Well she found out that he is in jail and has been for almost a week. She drove 2 hours to check on the animals. Both (also a dog) skinny and no food available. She has taken the cat and we are keeping him. He has been fed Kit and Kaboodle crap his whole life. So we are still feeding him that for now. I have been trying to research the best food options. We need a good and healthy dry food that a 19 year can afford. She will be feeding wet food as well but more like a treat. Years ago I fed my cats Natural Balance and Wellness but I don't know how they rank anymore. So any suggestions for a good dry food and wet food would be great. Also I don't want the poor cat to go into shock from the move and then eating actual food.
 

Willowy

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There's been a lot more research into cat nutrition, and it really is best to feed at least 50% canned food, especially for older cats (who are prone to kidney problems) and for males (for whom bladder problems easily turn deadly). It can end up saving a lot in vet bills too. Cats just don't tend to drink enough water to keep everything flushed out.

Fancy Feast paté flavors are fine and not too expensive, even Friskies paté would be better than most dry foods just due to the moisture.

What stores are available in the area? Is there a Tractor Supply? If so, their store brand 4Health is decent and affordable, both dry and canned.

When you switch his dry food, mix it with his old food for awhile, gradually increasing the amount of the new food, so as not to shock his system.
 

Norachan

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Have the cat and dog been seen by a vet? I don't want to alarm you, but going without food for even 48 hours can cause a cat's liver to fail. They develop fatty liver disease really quickly and this can be fatal. I suggest you get them both to the vet for some blood work. A cat's liver will repair itself eventually, but he may need a special diet to help him recover, as well as fluids, vitamin B, potassium supplements and anti-nausea drugs.

I'm not a dog person, but I expect he'll need vet attention of he's been left without food for a few days.

Please keep us updated on how they both do.
 
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livismom1

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We have Pet Smart, Petco, and we can order off Chewy's.

I know that wet food is much better. But with her unreliable schedule and the cat being free fed for his whole life, wet food for now will need to be an "addition" to his diet. I'm hoping that once he is settled wet food will become the main source of food.

Thank you so much for answering me. I just want to do what is best for the poor guy.
 
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livismom1

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Have the cat and dog been seen by a vet? I don't want to alarm you, but going without food for even 48 hours can cause a cat's liver to fail. They develop fatty liver disease really quickly and this can be fatal. I suggest you get them both to the vet for some blood work. A cat's liver will repair itself eventually, but he may need a special diet to help him recover, as well as fluids, vitamin B, potassium supplements and anti-nausea drugs.

I'm not a dog person, but I expect he'll need vet attention of he's been left without food for a few days.

Please keep us updated on how they both do.
Both of the animals were looked at by one of the neighbors who is in school for animal science. Not a vet, but has a couple of years of animal medicine and science under his belt. The cat is currently in a temp home. She will try to get him into the vet within a week once he is here. He was in much better shape than the dog. There had been bowls of water still.He was still a hefty 15 lbs. The dog was taken in by someone who lives in the small town. So I am not sure if they have taken her to the vet. The whole situation is bad.

Thank you for caring and answering me.
 

Willowy

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Overweight cats can actually be affected worse by food deprivation than skinny cats. It's not starvation; it's that their body starts to metabolize stored fat for energy and the fat clogs up their liver, causing it to fail. But if the person who looked at them knows anything about cats, hopefully he looked for signs of that. It doesn't happen every time a cat goes without food but it's definitely a risk. If he's eating/pooping/acting normally now he's probably fine.

Well, Chewy has almost everything, so that's not really an issue. What price range are you thinking of?
 
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livismom1

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I ordered some stuff to get her started. I ordered Fancy Feast classic pate in poultry and beef, Tiny Tiger pate, and Tiki Cat Born Carnivore Chicken Luau dry food. I know anything is better than the Kit N Kaboodle. We are going to try to get wet food into the diet at least once a day. Right now the person who is watching him has him on Blue Buffalo Sensitive Stomach dry. I don't know if their cat food is better than the dog food. I know when we had our dog, it was not a good option.

I want a mix of high quality and affordable. The best of both worlds. I know dry food is not a healthy option, but it is all he knows and it will have to be a part of his diet. LOL I just really want him to be happy.
 

maggie101

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I bought sheba perfect portions roasted Turkey and chicken. Other kinds of sheba not as healthy. I think $13 on chewy 24 pk. Also dr elseys and rawz
 

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My two cats have been on 4Health dry from Tractor Supply for 2 years. They have done fine with it. Just recently been trying wet for for my older cat. Still in process of finding what wet food he like best. So far, Sheba has been his favorite.
 

lisahe

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I ordered some stuff to get her started. I ordered Fancy Feast classic pate in poultry and beef, Tiny Tiger pate, and Tiki Cat Born Carnivore Chicken Luau dry food. I know anything is better than the Kit N Kaboodle. We are going to try to get wet food into the diet at least once a day. Right now the person who is watching him has him on Blue Buffalo Sensitive Stomach dry. I don't know if their cat food is better than the dog food. I know when we had our dog, it was not a good option.

I want a mix of high quality and affordable. The best of both worlds. I know dry food is not a healthy option, but it is all he knows and it will have to be a part of his diet. LOL I just really want him to be happy.
The Fancy Feast and Tiny Tiger are great choices. Our cats really love Tiny Tiger turkey. Both of those are good to add a little extra water to.

I bought sheba perfect portions roasted Turkey and chicken. Other kinds of sheba not as healthy. I think $13 on chewy 24 pk. Also dr elseys and rawz
We feed some of the Sheba pates, too; they're good foods.

Since maggie101 maggie101 mentioned Dr. Elsey's, I'll add that their dry food (go for the chicken since fish isn't great for cats!) is very decent dry food. We don't feed much dry food at all, just a tiny nighttime Dr. Elsey's snack. The cats really love it and though the food might be expensive (I'm not really sure since I don't really buy dry food! it's probably cheaper than Tiki's, though) it's very calorie-dense. It's the only dry food I'd consider feeding to our cats, even though they only get such small amounts. Dr. Elsey's will send you a free sample if you write to ask for it.
 
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livismom1

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The Fancy Feast and Tiny Tiger are great choices. Our cats really love Tiny Tiger turkey. Both of those are good to add a little extra water to.


We feed some of the Sheba pates, too; they're good foods.

Since maggie101 maggie101 mentioned Dr. Elsey's, I'll add that their dry food (go for the chicken since fish isn't great for cats!) is very decent dry food. We don't feed much dry food at all, just a tiny nighttime Dr. Elsey's snack. The cats really love it and though the food might be expensive (I'm not really sure since I don't really buy dry food! it's probably cheaper than Tiki's, though) it's very calorie-dense. It's the only dry food I'd consider feeding to our cats, even though they only get such small amounts. Dr. Elsey's will send you a free sample if you write to ask for it.
Well, Ollie is a very stubborn cat. LOL I cannot get him to eat wet food at all! It took about 3 days for him to adjust to the water fountain. He eats the dry Tiki Cat fine. I will also try the Dr. Elsey's dry to rotate in. I just don't know how to get him to eat more than a lick of wet food. Oh and he will only taste it if I am holding the spoon.
 

lisahe

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Well, Ollie is a very stubborn cat. LOL I cannot get him to eat wet food at all! It took about 3 days for him to adjust to the water fountain. He eats the dry Tiki Cat fine. I will also try the Dr. Elsey's dry to rotate in. I just don't know how to get him to eat more than a lick of wet food. Oh and he will only taste it if I am holding the spoon.
Did you try sprinkling a little of the dry food on the wet food. That often entices cats. (One of ours would eat anything wiht a few pieces of Dr. Elsey's on it...)
 

maggie101

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Did you try sprinkling a little of the dry food on the wet food. That often entices cats. (One of ours would eat anything wiht a few pieces of Dr. Elsey's on it...)
Bonito flakes my cats love for toppers. You can get them at petco
 
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livismom1

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Did you try sprinkling a little of the dry food on the wet food. That often entices cats. (One of ours would eat anything wiht a few pieces of Dr. Elsey's on it...)
Yep tried that too. I know wet food is better but with all of the stress between going between 3 homes, the never ending fireworks at night, and now they are going to be tearing up the street in front of my house, I am not pushing it too much. He is drinking lots of water. But his stomach must of shrunk because he has only eaten about 2 cups of dry Tiki Cat since Thursday night. He doesn't even eat treats. I don't think he ever had toys either. He just looks at them. We are trying to find a good vet in our area that is taking new patients. With this virus, everything is a waiting game. He seems healthy though. His coat is nice and shiny and he is an attention hog. He will thump his tail until you look at him and pet him. And if you stop he will nip at you. lol
 
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