Can't afford grain free canned food :(

[ayeshajae]

My cats are back to eating dry food since I just can't accept the idea of paying more money on wet food with inferior ingredients such as meat by products and corn and wheat gluten(the top ingredients on the wet food) my grain free kibble has no byproducts...however my cat is fat from being indoors all the time and eating kibble >__>. Well many if the premium wet foods still only have meat by products and the ones that don't are over 1$ per can which is way out of my budget being grotesquely poor, anyone else in this situation?

 

[marc999]

Buy what you're able. 

I know you don't like meat by-products, but the aside from carrageenan, some don't have any other offensive ingredients including either grains or glutens and will keep your cat hydrated and of course, more in line with their natural diet than dry chow.

Why don't you tell us what stores are available to you and we can work with the canned food choices within your budget?

Fancy Feast Classics are out of budget range - since each can is 3oz and you'll need 2 per day, easily going over $1.00.

 

[ayeshajae]

Hey Marc, thanks for the reply, I got my canned food from a regular grocery store (publix) and it was a generic brand with the store name on it. The cat food I'm using now is taste of the wild kibble I get from a pet store (b&b pet store) and it costs 11$ for a 5lb bag, this might last one month or most of the month

I'm looking for a canned food that didn't have nasty ingredients for a comparable price to my kibble, paying a little more is ok but something like double the cost.. This is challenging for me since I have two cats and all of those cans add up fast

Hope that's enough info

 

[oneandahalfcats]

My cats are back to eating dry food since I just can't accept the idea of paying more money on wet food with inferior ingredients such as meat by products and corn and wheat gluten(the top ingredients on the wet food) my grain free kibble has no byproducts...however my cat is fat from being indoors all the time and eating kibble >__>. Well many if the premium wet foods still only have meat by products and the ones that don't are over 1$ per can which is way out of my budget being grotesquely poor, anyone else in this situation?

If you are in the US or Canada, there is Authority canned cat food that does not contain by-products, and for the most part, is grain-free with the exception of a bit of brewers rice. It is also reasonably priced for the 5.5 ounce can. Here is a link to the Authority canned varieties at Petsmart : http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4230546

Petsmart currently has Authority on sale for .75 cents (Canadian) and .80 (US). This is a pretty good deal for a 5.5 ounce can of wet food.

 

[ayeshajae]

How much of the wet food would 2 cats need is one can enough? I have a pet smart near me

 

[guywithacat]

Yeah, I don't see you being able to feed 2 cats a wet diet with zero by-products for under $30/month let alone $15. BP aren't all that bad and i'd much rather feed them friskies pate than any grain free dry kibble.

 

[marc999]

That's quite something if the 5lb bag lasts for a month, with 2 cats.   

What you're requesting though, is not going to exist within the budget you have to work with. Not to my knowledge anyway.

An example - at Petsmart, I can buy a 5.5oz can of Grreat Choice cat food (mixed grill, country dinner or poultry platter), for ~ $0.45 each, when on sale. Even that price is going to well exceed what you're currently paying. ~ $13.5 per cat, per month.  Of course, you can buy the 13.2 oz. can and experience some savings. 

Edit - You have a Petsmart close by? In terms of discounted food and sales, they're competitive. 

If $11 / month for 2 cats is your budget though - Authority is not going to cut it either. ~ $1.50 / day for 2 cats = $45. (---U.S. or Canada?)...

Not sure what else to mention.  If you can somehow be ok with Friskies 13 oz cans or Grreat Choice 13 oz. cans - then, that would be your most economical choice. But that means accepting that the ingredients may not be 100% what you're looking for within a certain price range.

Having said that - even Friskies is going to put you way over your budget with 2 cats. 

....1 cat needs about one 5.5oz can of cat food per day.   (usually 170 to 200 calories per 5.5oz can)

If you can afford to give them a bit of wet food now and then, I suppose that would help.   

 

[ayeshajae]

Yeah I'm having to really ration their food to keep their weight stable one of my cats is overweight with the squishy soft belly haha but ifs possible the food doesn't actually last that long I was just guessing, what I should do is note the date the next time I buy the kibble and see when I run out so I can figure out the real cost

But here's the question to you guys if you give wett food or grain free wet is how much your estimated costs per month is, thanks

 

[oneandahalfcats]

Yeah I'm having to really ration their food to keep their weight stable one of my cats is overweight with the squishy soft belly haha but ifs possible the food doesn't actually last that long I was just guessing, what I should do is note the date the next time I buy the kibble and see when I run out so I can figure out the real cost

But here's the question to you guys if you give wett food or grain free wet is how much your estimated costs per month is, thanks

How much of the wet food would 2 cats need is one can enough? I have a pet smart near me

Adult cats need roughly 6 ounces of food per day, or depending on their weight, for an 8-10 pound cat you are looking at between 200-240 kCals per day. So each cat would need a can per day. If you are feeding a bit of dry food however, you will want to factor this into the calories as well per day. 30 cans of Authority x .80 cents would be roughly $24.00/per month.

Incidently, the Authority comes in 3 ounce and 6 ounce cans, not the 5.5 ounce that I mentioned.

I feed my cats 2x 2 ounces of wet food in the morning plus 1/4 cup of good quality grain-free in the afternoon.

EDIT: IF your cat is overweight, the above calorie numbers will be different for him/her if you are looking to reduce a cat's weight. The approach is to feed according to current weight but SLOWLY reduce the calories over a period of time until the ideal weight is reached.

 

[ayeshajae]

48$ per month to feed the cats sounds difficult to do, I'm a young person just starting out and even now with the cheap food I never have money to go out or buy even a t shirt but even still I want to give my pets good food what do you think is the bare minimum cost of a wet food diet would be , still trying to make this possible

 

[guywithacat]

Friskies Pate 13oz-

$1.09 x 30~ cans=  $35 after tax

Yeah, that ain't going to work either.

Just my one cat alone costs me about $18/month (budget) using Friskies special diet in 5.5oz cans and Triumph/Innova in 13oz cans.

 

[marc999]

The bare minimum cost for wet food, is going to be Friskies 13 oz cans.  If there's less expensive ones out there, I'm not sure. 

Basically, you'd feed one 13 oz. can, shared between the 2 cats, each day. 

I would go to the Petsmart website and start going over the prices of the canned food section and get a feel for how much it could cost. 

If it means cutting into your own food, rent budget etc., then no I wouldn't bother.  You're doing the best that you can,within your means and your cats offer great companionship for you.  

 

[oneandahalfcats]

48$ per month to feed the cats sounds difficult to do, I'm a young person just starting out and even now with the cheap food I never have money to go out or buy even a t shirt but even still I want to give my pets good food

what do you think is the bare minimum cost of a wet food diet would be , still trying to make this possible

If you can manage to feed an all-wet diet, that is, the cats will happily eat all wet and no dry, then I would put all of your available funds into wet food. If you are feeding the TOTW food, then you must be spending at least $20.00/bag. $24.00+Tax is not much more which will get you 30 cans of the Authority. If you can find 13 ounce cans of wet with decent ingredients, all the better. Personally I wouldn't feed Friskies cat food. Besides the by-products its got artificial flavors and colors.

 

[guywithacat]

 
If you can manage to feed an all-wet diet, that is, the cats will happily eat all wet and no dry, then I would put all of your available funds into wet food. If you are feeding the TOTW food, then you must be spending at least $20.00/bag. $24.00+Tax is not much more which will get you 30 cans of the Authority. If you can find 13 ounce cans of wet with decent ingredients, all the better. Personally I wouldn't feed Friskies cat food. Besides the by-products its got artificial flavors and colors.

Does anything NOT contain artificial flavors or coloring? Every meal you eat will contain them.

 

[ayeshajae]

Ok I defiantly have a lot to think about now I'll look at the prices of all you guys recommended noms and hopefully. One can fit in my budget. There is also a definite possibility I can use both wet and dry kibble but I don't know any benefits from doing that as opposed to strictly dry

On a side note I'm really impressed with the cat site website community, very helpful and positive group

 

[oneandahalfcats]

 
Does anything NOT contain artificial flavors or coloring? Every meal you eat will contain them.

Yes, there are wet canned diets for cats that don't contain artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, additives, etc. Some of this can be a problem as far as causing sensitivities and reactions, and so if you can avoid foods that have these things, all the better.

 

[ayeshajae]

Guywithcat your right about that just about all people food these days has that artificial color and flavor, or a controversial something or another (msg, hfcs)

 

[oneandahalfcats]

Ok I defiantly have a lot to think about now I'll look at the prices of all you guys recommended noms and hopefully. One can fit in my budget. There is also a definite possibility I can use both wet and dry kibble but I don't know any benefits from doing that as opposed to strictly dry

On a side note I'm really impressed with the cat site website community, very helpful and positive group

The one consideration regarding dry food is that if your cat is not a big water drinker, the dry food does not offer moisture like the wet food does. Your cat must maintain a certain level of hydration in their system. So, if your cat does not drink water as a rule, at least if you are feeding wet food, your cat is getting some hydration from this. Its always best to encourage your cats to drink more, either through offering multiple water bowls or having a water fountain in place.

 

[vball91]

While I would agree that an all wet diet is best, you can only do what you can. There is unfortunately no canned food that is going to be as cheap as dry. If all canned really is not in the budget, then a combination of wet and dry would be my next recommendation. You may want to look at homemade food as part of the wet diet. Often, it is as cheap or cheaper than canned depending on your meat costs. The Raw & Home-cooked Cat Food forum is a great resource.

 

[ayeshajae]

I must have been blessed with these kitties with the fact that they love water and drink anything I give them, I even have to stop them from drinking the dish water and toilet water, Gross! But they really do go crazy for water and if they see me go to the sink they run for the sink looking for more water

I never known about homemade diets before I will do tons of research on it, I can get beef kidney, livers for cheap as dirt so that might be an option