Better Wet Food Than Fancy Feast?

[Elizabethriki]

Hi everyone, so I’ve been looking for a better option for wet food for our kitten than Fancy Feast but at a low cost. Currently we’ve been giving him the turkey recipe, chicken recipe, and tuna recipe of the kitten flavors. We also use Whole Hearted Kitten Chicken Recipe dry food. For 3 out of 4 of his feedings we mix the dry kibble with some water and add some Fancy Feast to it. We have been giving him half the daily portion of each and have divided it into 4 meals so he’s eating how much he should be. We know the Fancy Feast isn’t really good but the Whole Hearted is so we want to change the Fancy Feast for something better but we’re on somewhat of a tight budget so we’re hoping we can find something that costs the same or lower but is better than Fancy Feast. Any suggestions?

So far the only one I have found that seems to be pretty good is the 4Health brand cat food from Tractor Supply. The only issue I have with that is that they don’t seem to have any kitten recipe. Am I able to feed a 4month old kitten regular cat food?

 

[Vega's Dad]

At the price range of FF, FF is decent IMO. There are three questionable ingredients in the FF chicken flavored kitten food: artificial flavors, added color and menadione sodium bisulfite complex (Vitamin K). Other than that, it looks decent.
I'd be more concerned about peas, chickpeas, flaxseed etc. in Whole Hearted as cat is obligate carnivore. Also, wet food is generally considered healthier than dry food. Cat doesn't have strong thirst drive and obtains most water from food.
I think it's ok to feed kitten "all stages" food, as long as it's not labeled as adult or senior

 

[mikameek]

I really like the Merrick brand Whole Earth Farms (not to be confused with your brand, Whole Hearted). They're just a little bit more expensive (by 20 cents here) than FF but it doesn't have Vitamin K (the synthetic version) in it. They also have a huge range of flavors that your kitty can try. Plus all the wet foods are all stages so your kitten can eat that just fine. They are my go-to "step above FF" brand.

But, just to throw it out there, I also like the Merrick Purrfect Bistros line. They're more expensive but I think the quality is really good and worth the price you pay.

 

[Vega's Dad]

I really like the Merrick brand Whole Earth Farms (not to be confused with your brand, Whole Hearted). They're just a little bit more expensive (by 20 cents here) than FF but it doesn't have Vitamin K (the synthetic version) in it. They also have a huge range of flavors that your kitty can try. Plus all the wet foods are all stages so your kitten can eat that just fine. They are my go-to "step above FF" brand.
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Whole earth farm and FF are my girl's regular. Whole earth farm is a little more expensive but she eats less, so the overall expense is almost the same. The beef and duck, both pate, are good IMO.

 

[Elizabethriki]

I’ve been looking into the Whole Earth Farms canned food for a bit as well and I know if I buy in bulk it comes out to about the same as FF. So far that seems to be the best option we have for the price and its easily accessible. I just found out about the 4Health brand from Tractor Supply since that’s where we get our litter from (we use pine pellets which gives us a cost of about $1.50/mnth) and I spotted it the last time we went. Luckily our kitty does drink a lot of water, especially since we add a little extra when we feed him the wet and dry mix.

 

[jen]

I feed mine Friskies and Fancy Feast bc the price is decent and I want our one cat on all canned and low-no carb food because she was diabetic. FF classic pates work great. FF Natural is excellent too but cost a little more. ZERO carbs and very high protein. Meow Mix Tender Favorites in Sauce Salmon & Crab and Tuna & Shrimp.

Even the crappier brands have some VERY decent varieties out there you just have to find them.

 

[molly92]

I was also thinking Whole Earth Farms when I read the first post. They have a kitten one, but their other flavors are also formulated for all life stages so any of them would be fine. My cat loves it.

I do think Fancy Feast classics would be better than even premium dry foods. Not saying there's anything wrong with your cat necessarily, but drinking a lot of water is often a sign of a problem (not likely in a 4 month old kitten), or that they're not getting enough water in their food, because the average cat does not have a high thirst drive.

4Health looks good. I have never tried it because I don't live near a tractor supply. It does have carrageenan, which I avoid. You have to make comprises with every food though. It comes down to individual preferences at some point.

 

[Elizabethriki]

We went to Petco this morning and some of the Whole Earth Farms stuff was on clearance so we got a bunch of 5oz cans for .59c and 3oz cans for .49c. I opened up 1 of the kitten recipe ones and our kitty LOVES it. It smells better than the FF too which is a plus.

I was also thinking Whole Earth Farms when I read the first post. They have a kitten one, but their other flavors are also formulated for all life stages so any of them would be fine. My cat loves it.

I do think Fancy Feast classics would be better than even premium dry foods. Not saying there's anything wrong with your cat necessarily, but drinking a lot of water is often a sign of a problem (not likely in a 4 month old kitten), or that they're not getting enough water in their food, because the average cat does not have a high thirst drive.

4Health looks good. I have never tried it because I don't live near a tractor supply. It does have carrageenan, which I avoid. You have to make comprises with every food though. It comes down to individual preferences at some point.

I was actually a little worried when I looked up cat drinking too much water and I kept seeing that there might be a problem with his body retaining water. I mentioned this to his vet and after explaining to him how we feed him he mentioned that since we got him used to getting plenty of water with his meals, he’s used to having watery meals so he’ll pretty much be consuming however much water we put in his meals. He said he’s very healthy which we’re happy about since he wasn’t doing so good when we first got him at 6 weeks.

 

[mikameek]

So glad to hear that the Whole Earth Farms was a hit! They have lots of flavor options which makes rotation easier to do with them!