Budget Wet Food ?

[meganlc]

I have a senior kitty (16) who cannot eat dry food, as she has some bad teeth and a few missing, she really only will lick up food, i’ve been feeding her the tiki cat mousse and she loves it, but it’s getting too expensive. i don’t make much, but i still want to give her good food. i’m no opposed to blending food morning and night for her if it’s not already a pate or mousse... i’m looking for something healthy-ish but on the cheaper side. we have tried nutro and most blue buffalos and she does not like them, and i think they’d still be s little on the spendy side. i was trying to avoid byproducts but after browsing around here i realized they aren’t actually as bad as i was thinking, so i’m not opposed to them completely, as long as they’re better quality ones. also don’t mind a bit of grain, as she is so old she’s a little underweight... little bit of grain might help her put some weight on. i just really want to feed her something that’s not all byproducts and fake meat and grains...and it sucks bc i cant save money by supplementing a dry food since she has such a hard time with them

any suggestions would be awesome, thanks so much guys !!! (p.s. i included a picture of her bc she’s too cute and my whole world )

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! She is DARLING!!

Depending on where you are, I would suggest taking a look at walmart, tractor supply (regular store and online) and large chain grocery stores/supermarkets. They have canned foods that are decent and not super expensive.
You could also try adding some egg, the white must always be cooked, and some people make a slurry of sorts by cooking the white and then adding the raw yolk-it just depends on what she might like.
Try adding some boiled unseasoned chicken, Safecatch tuna (safer and they have a low sodium variety), cheddar cheese now and then, freeze dried treats (orijen is one but there are other brands)

 

[BlueJay]

She's adorable! I use fancy feast and sheba from Wal-Mart, and sometimes get some more expensive kinds from petsmart to mix it up. The great value petsmart brand is priced similar to fancy feast although I don't know which is better. I prefer these to friskies, although friskies is cheaper. Many people use friskies though. If she likes any of the cheaper stuff, you can rotate between that and the higher quality stuff she likes. I figure it kind of evens out.

How Terrible Is Friskies Chicken Pate?

 

[BlueJay]

There are some previous threads that have lots of ideas too: Search Results for Query: Affordable wet food | TheCatSite

 

[meganlc]

oooh

Hi! She is DARLING!!

Depending on where you are, I would suggest taking a look at walmart, tractor supply (regular store and online) and large chain grocery stores/supermarkets. They have canned foods that are decent and not super expensive.
You could also try adding some egg, the white must always be cooked, and some people make a slurry of sorts by cooking the white and then adding the raw yolk-it just depends on what she might like.
Try adding some boiled unseasoned chicken, Safecatch tuna (safer and they have a low sodium variety), cheddar cheese now and then, freeze dried treats (orijen is one but there are other brands)

ooh! i never knew about the egg? goes to show even doing your own research sometimes isn’t enough, before reading a couple posts on here i was so against by-products, then realized as long as they’re a good grade they’re not that bad ? i’ll have to maybe try that, might help with making it a little easier to blend too or making a pate a little mother to throw some egg yolk in there ! she does love chicken bits, we’ve always given her little table scraps of it ! thanks so much !!!!

 

[meganlc]

She's adorable! I use fancy feast and sheba from Wal-Mart, and sometimes get some more expensive kinds from petsmart to mix it up. The great value petsmart brand is priced similar to fancy feast although I don't know which is better. I prefer these to friskies, although friskies is cheaper. Many people use friskies though. If she likes any of the cheaper stuff, you can rotate between that and the higher quality stuff she likes. I figure it kind of evens out.

How Terrible Is Friskies Chicken Pate?

I was not going to try fancy feast, but i guess now that i’ve realized by products aren’t always evil i could try that ! she really loved the rachel ray ones, she likes the real pieces with the gravy, but i heard a lot of stories of people finding fish bones and kitties choking on them! she likes friskies pate but i feel like it’s maybe a little too low grade...

thanks so much for all the ideas guys, you’re all awesome ! i’ll definitely be sticking around here for any more questions i’ve got about takin care of my baby !

 

[Furballsmom]

you're very welcome! Let us know how things go

 

[Tobermory]

Some additional suggestions:

• Petco carries Soulistic which is a decent food and less expensive. It’s made by Weruva.
• Another good quality food at a reasonable price is Dave’s which you’d have to get at an independent pet food store. Some of the flavors have carrageenan, which I don’t give to my cats, but they have flavors that don’t have it.
• If you have access to a Costco, their Nature’s Domain canned is surprisingly good and costs about 68 cents a can. The down side is that you have to buy a case, but Costco is good about returns if your little girl won’t eat it.

Here’s a good central resource for evaluating hundreds of cat foods and their ingredients: www.catfooddb.com. There are also links to Chewy and Amazon on each individual page which makes it handy to check out prices.

 

[maggiedemi]

This is what I use:

Friskies Pate:
Liver & Chicken Dinner
Turkey & Giblets Dinner
Poultry Platter
Mixed Grill
Country Style Dinner

 

[10009891]

Crave wet food is the most economical for me. You can get the case at Target. It has much less of the bad stuff and is high in protein. They have Turkey and Chicken. I am shocked to find out that all the expensive, Science Diet line of food contains all that should not be in cat food. And this brand is pushed to the public by veterinarians all the time. Royal Canin is another expensive brand with all the bad stuff in it.

 

[1 bruce 1]

As far as grain goes, there are some raw feeders we know who happily add grains or carbs (oatmeal, rice, etc.) if they have a dog or cat that is underweight to put weight on. I wouldn't worry about the grain thing too much if she tolerates it and is happy to eat a food that includes them.
One of our cats goes nuts for cornmeal. I don't know, either. He's healthy, not old, in good condition but whenever we make polenta or something like it, he's pretty much turning flips to get a sample, so....we give him some. Hasn't hurt him yet so we just go with it. A few of our dogs like oatmeal, so they get leftovers occasionally. It hasn't killed them.
The by product thing isn't something I worry about with our wet-food only cat. By products are something we feed a lot in raw form (heart, organs, beef tripe, chicken/duck feet, poultry necks, etc.) and are the "waste" stuff people usually don't like because of the ick factor. Named by products (chicken, beef, etc.) like that won't be bought by a lot of humans for their own consumption, but they're actually very full of nutrition. Heart in particular is full of taurine, essential for cats. So if you find a by product inclusive food she likes, let her have all she wants!

She's a cutie for sure. I'd be tempted to buy single small cans or small pouches of anything I could that was cost effective and see if you notice a pattern in her preferences and go from there.
Our cats love raw egg yolk, too.
If she loves the Tiki Cat, you might be able to get away with mixing it up with another brand she likes or tolerates and gradually lessening the Tiki until it becomes more of a topper or mixer to keep the flavor she likes going while bulking things out.
Our barn cats are fed a combination of sale food (usually Purina), their own findings (mice, etc.), canned food like Friskies and some raw treats. It's nothing to see them hit 20 years old...

 

[10009891]

There are two views on the definition of "by-product" in a cat food. Netflix has a documentary out stating that the term "by-product" means the meat and carcasses of dead zoo animals, roadkill, and euthanized cats and dogs meat from kill shelters. The animal matter/leftover is then processed and rendered and put in pet food, then called, "meat by-product."

 

[meganlc]

Crave wet food is the most economical for me. You can get the case at Target. It has much less of the bad stuff and is high in protein. They have Turkey and Chicken. I am shocked to find out that all the expensive, Science Diet line of food contains all that should not be in cat food. And this brand is pushed to the public by veterinarians all the time. Royal Canin is another expensive brand with all the bad stuff in it.

yeeees!!! i remember looking at royal canin after seeing it on so many “best” lists and going- uhhhhhhhhhhhh wait huh ? I’ll have to see if i can find some ! my closest target is a little over half an hour away :/

 

[meganlc]

As far as grain goes, there are some raw feeders we know who happily add grains or carbs (oatmeal, rice, etc.) if they have a dog or cat that is underweight to put weight on. I wouldn't worry about the grain thing too much if she tolerates it and is happy to eat a food that includes them.
One of our cats goes nuts for cornmeal. I don't know, either. He's healthy, not old, in good condition but whenever we make polenta or something like it, he's pretty much turning flips to get a sample, so....we give him some. Hasn't hurt him yet so we just go with it. A few of our dogs like oatmeal, so they get leftovers occasionally. It hasn't killed them.
The by product thing isn't something I worry about with our wet-food only cat. By products are something we feed a lot in raw form (heart, organs, beef tripe, chicken/duck feet, poultry necks, etc.) and are the "waste" stuff people usually don't like because of the ick factor. Named by products (chicken, beef, etc.) like that won't be bought by a lot of humans for their own consumption, but they're actually very full of nutrition. Heart in particular is full of taurine, essential for cats. So if you find a by product inclusive food she likes, let her have all she wants!

She's a cutie for sure. I'd be tempted to buy single small cans or small pouches of anything I could that was cost effective and see if you notice a pattern in her preferences and go from there.
Our cats love raw egg yolk, too.
If she loves the Tiki Cat, you might be able to get away with mixing it up with another brand she likes or tolerates and gradually lessening the Tiki until it becomes more of a topper or mixer to keep the flavor she likes going while bulking things out.
Our barn cats are fed a combination of sale food (usually Purina), their own findings (mice, etc.), canned food like Friskies and some raw treats. It's nothing to see them hit 20 years old...

aInwas kind of thinking it might be good to keep it on the low side of grains, but not exclude them... we definitely always have to try a couple small cans first, she’s gotten veeeery picky in her old age lol!!!

oh wow! i definitely am thinking about this long term in keeping her around, so that’s awesome to hear ! i got her when i was seven so i’m extra attached barely remember a time i didn’t have her

thank you guys so much, this was my first post on here and you guys have all given such time and thought into helpin me out ! we both appreciate it !

-megan & precious (yeah it’s a dorky name but it fits and i mean.... i was seven lol!!!)

 

[sabrinah]

Do you have a Tractor Supply near you? 4Health isn't great but it's not too terrible either. It's pretty fatty (over 50% of calories from fat) so it's good for putting on weight. I relied on it for a while for my old kitty.

 

[10009891]

But it has the infamous caarregaan ingredient.