Dry Food Or Wet Food? Both?

[_spadekitty]

Mike89 Since you're on a pretty tight budget, I think doing either only dry or only wet would be best.

You only have the one cat and shes pretty small...if you bought a high quality dry food I think in the long run you'd be better off financially and also with the health of your kitty. When I first got my cat he was eating Acana Meadowlands dry food. Acana is a good quality dry, high in protein and low in carbs. One cup was around 400 kcals I'm pretty sure.

My 8 lb cat only needs about 215 kcals a day, so I was feeding him half a cup a day, maybe a little more if he still seemed hungry. A 4 lb bag last me a month, so a larger sized bag could certainly go a month and a half to two months. Higher quality foods keep your cat fuller longer and you end up not having to feed as much, so it can be cheaper depending on how much your cat eats.

If you go all wet, I would suggest a brand like Wellness. They have the big 12.5 oz cans that last me 2 days, he gets half a can a day. They're $1.89. I spend about $40 a month on wet food, so maybe that'll work into your budget? I think feeding the big cans is more cost effective than feeding 2-3 small 3 oz cans at around .60 a can.

 

[Vega's Dad]

Mike89 Since you're on a pretty tight budget, I think doing either only dry or only wet would be best.

You only have the one cat and shes pretty small...if you bought a high quality dry food I think in the long run you'd be better off financially and also with the health of your kitty. When I first got my cat he was eating Acana Meadowlands dry food. Acana is a good quality dry, high in protein and low in carbs. One cup was around 400 kcals I'm pretty sure.

My 8 lb cat only needs about 215 kcals a day, so I was feeding him half a cup a day, maybe a little more if he still seemed hungry. A 4 lb bag last me a month, so a larger sized bag could certainly go a month and a half to two months. Higher quality foods keep your cat fuller longer and you end up not having to feed as much, so it can be cheaper depending on how much your cat eats.

If you go all wet, I would suggest a brand like Wellness. They have the big 12.5 oz cans that last me 2 days, he gets half a can a day. They're $1.89. I spend about $40 a month on wet food, so maybe that'll work into your budget? I think feeding the big cans is more cost effective than feeding 2-3 small 3 oz cans at around .60 a can.

So jealous
I'm in Canada and a 12.5oz can of wellness cost me CAD4.19 plus 15% tax...
Friskies poultry pate is the economic option here. It's usually 1.29 per large can now on sale one dollar each plus tax. If one cat eats 1 can per two days, it's <20 monthly. I'm sure you can get better deal in US.

 

[MeganLLB]

Vega's Dad WOW, yea friskies is like maybe .45 cents a can?? anything over a dollar you are taking the higher end stuff. And then anything over $2 is like premium. for like a 5oz can.
I really shouldn't complain then.

 

[_spadekitty]

So jealous
I'm in Canada and a 12.5oz can of wellness cost me CAD4.19 plus 15% tax...
Friskies poultry pate is the economic option here. It's usually 1.29 per large can now on sale one dollar each plus tax. If one cat eats 1 can per two days, it's <20 monthly. I'm sure you can get better deal in US.

Wow thats crazy! I knew stuff was more expensive in Canada but not that bad, $4 a can would be very high quality cat food or a mid-quality dog food. I think the only cat food I've seen around that price here in the US is Lotus; but I think they're like $3.19 or something, they bake their canned food and I think all the ingridients are locally sourced in California

 

[Mike89]

@Saf Did you just skim over the part where he mentioned his income? I don't think the diet you are recommending is possible. I fed my two cats this "garbage" dry food and Friskies wet food all their life and they lived to be 17 and 14 years old.

Now, I feed my new cats something better because I can. But that's not possible for everyone. And you shouldn't recommend that and call the other garbage and make a person feel guilty for feeding their cat what they can afford.

Thanks for picking up for me! That's really nice of you to do!

 

[Mike89]

Hi Mike. I just go by portion size, between 7oz and 9oz a day. If you can afford it, you could feed 2 cans of Fancy Feast per day and 1/4 cup dry food. Or if you wanted to go with all wet food, you could feed 3 cans of Fancy Feast per day. Just play around with the amounts and see how much she will eat. I try to keep the dry food under 1/2 cup though, and I try to avoid too many fish flavors. My cats like the Friskies 7 dry food, but I don't like that it has so much fish in it. Friskies seems to put fish in everything. I feed their wet food too, and 16 out of their 19 pates have fish in them. This really bugs me.

Yeah I read somewhere online that fish kills a very important B1 vitamin within cats called, thiamine. That's never a good thing. If they don't get enough thiamine (B1 vitamin) then it could cause neurological issues, including (but not limited to): incoordination, circling, head tilt, dilated pupils, stupor, seizures, and arching of the head, neck, and spine. I wouldn't want that to happen to my cat at all. She means so much to me, even though she's only been in my care for nearly 2 weeks.

 

[Mike89]

Or you can ask your vet. But that seems like a good amount. I think fancy feast comes in 3oz cans, so to me that is a good portion size for one cat. If you buy a big 5oz can, I usually split them in half-they never finish it.
My cat food is pretty high in calorie, so they get fed 1/4 cup dry food, and either a 3oz can or half of a 5oz can.

So you could try feeding 1/4 cup dry, and then see if she will eat one can or two.

Yeah that's true, thanks for your help!

 

[Mike89]

Mike89 Since you're on a pretty tight budget, I think doing either only dry or only wet would be best.

You only have the one cat and shes pretty small...if you bought a high quality dry food I think in the long run you'd be better off financially and also with the health of your kitty. When I first got my cat he was eating Acana Meadowlands dry food. Acana is a good quality dry, high in protein and low in carbs. One cup was around 400 kcals I'm pretty sure.

My 8 lb cat only needs about 215 kcals a day, so I was feeding him half a cup a day, maybe a little more if he still seemed hungry. A 4 lb bag last me a month, so a larger sized bag could certainly go a month and a half to two months. Higher quality foods keep your cat fuller longer and you end up not having to feed as much, so it can be cheaper depending on how much your cat eats.

If you go all wet, I would suggest a brand like Wellness. They have the big 12.5 oz cans that last me 2 days, he gets half a can a day. They're $1.89. I spend about $40 a month on wet food, so maybe that'll work into your budget? I think feeding the big cans is more cost effective than feeding 2-3 small 3 oz cans at around .60 a can.

Thanks for your advice! At the moment she eats a bit of Purina Friskies 7 dry cat food. Okay I'll try looking for the Wellness brand today at Wal-Mart. But if it's not there, do you suggest I keep giving her the Fancy Feast wet food or try ordering the Wellness brand online? Also, if I were to switch to a different dry food, is this a good brand? https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/actr1um-holistic-adult-cat-food-7kg/1455222100276

 

[Mike89]

_spadekitty @maggiedemi MeganLLB Vega's Dad Everyone thank you so much for your help and advice! My cat and I truly appreciate that! I'm sorry if I was asking so many questions by the way. But I'm really new to owning a pet. (I do have some past experience looking after cats when living with my ex.) I just want to make 100% sure if what I'm doing for my cat is good, and learn from your advice/help! Plus with all the information out there, from different people, with different opinions, I find it very difficult and stressful to draw your own conclusion fearing that you're gonna make the wrong choice and harm your pet. So thanks to everyone for having patience and understanding with me!

Starting today I am gonna get into the routine of having scheduled meals for my cat, and only feeding her wet food for said meals. I'll try only giving her dry food as a treat/snack before bedtime. I think that will work best for her and I, in my opinion. Also, what I've started today doing with leaving the wet food out is create a one-hour timer. So at the end of the timer, if there's still some wet food left in her dish then I put it in the fridge. She seemed to eat it all today, so that's good news! Do you think an hour is long enough to leave her wet food out or should it be shorter duration?

 

[_spadekitty]

Thanks for your advice! At the moment she eats a bit of Purina Friskies 7 dry cat food. Okay I'll try looking for the Wellness brand today at Wal-Mart. But if it's not there, do you suggest I keep giving her the Fancy Feast wet food or try ordering the Wellness brand online? Also, if I were to switch to a different dry food, is this a good brand? https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/actr1um-holistic-adult-cat-food-7kg/1455222100276

If it seems to be filling her up and she likes it, I'd stick with the friskies and just make sure she gets plenty of water! Ive got a weirdo cat who loves water lol but some cats need a fountain or something to get adequate water intake.
Poor water intake is what leads to all the kidney issues later in life for cats on dry food.

I don't think Walmart carries Wellness, big pet stores like Petsmart or Petco do though. Its usually cheaper to order it online. I ordered my first case through Jet, it was $35 total for 12 12.5 oz cans. So I think either option, fancy feast or wellness, would be good.

Fancy feast classic pates are actually really good quality for the price, and you have that convenience factor of being able to pick them up from walmart whenever too.

I'm not sure if that food is comparable/better than friskies (since I dont know the friskies ingridients). I personally don't like all the grains and lack of real protein, but I'm not sure if theres something better for around the same price

 

[MeganLLB]

That dry food you mentioned looks great! But if you decide to change dry foods do it slowly.
Putting the cat food on a timer, sounds good. That's way more than what I do. I just leave it out and throw it away the next day. My schedule doesn't allow me the ability to put their food on a timer throughout the day.
I order everything on Chewy.com and it auto ships so I don't even have to remember to buy food. It just shows up at my door. And Bosco let's me know its here, haha.

 

[Mike89]

If it seems to be filling her up and she likes it, I'd stick with the friskies and just make sure she gets plenty of water! Ive got a weirdo cat who loves water lol but some cats need a fountain or something to get adequate water intake.
Poor water intake is what leads to all the kidney issues later in life for cats on dry food.

I don't think Walmart carries Wellness, big pet stores like Petsmart or Petco do though. Its usually cheaper to order it online. I ordered my first case through Jet, it was $35 total for 12 12.5 oz cans. So I think either option, fancy feast or wellness, would be good.

Fancy feast classic pates are actually really good quality for the price, and you have that convenience factor of being able to pick them up from walmart whenever too.

I'm not sure if that food is comparable/better than friskies (since I dont know the friskies ingridients). I personally don't like all the grains and lack of real protein, but I'm not sure if theres something better for around the same price

Thanks so much for your advice! My cat and I both really appreciate it! Well I'm going downtown shopping for stuff for my cat later today, so I'll look around and see what's there.

How about this dry food? https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/pure-balance-original-adult-cat-formula-72kg/6000195401180

Also, I'll attach a photo of the ingredients for Friskies 7 dry cat food in this comment.

Question: when looking at cat dry or wet food, you should always make sure that meat is the very first ingredient, right? Just double-checking, that's all. Also, here's one of the most adorable photos of my cat that I just took a few minutes ago! Never ceases to amaze me how a cat can sleep in odd positions! Lol!

 

[Mike89]

Also, if anyone wants to stay updated with photos/videos of my adorable kitty, then here's a shareable link available to anyone! My new kitty! | Facebook

 

[Mike89]

That dry food you mentioned looks great! But if you decide to change dry foods do it slowly.
Putting the cat food on a timer, sounds good. That's way more than what I do. I just leave it out and throw it away the next day. My schedule doesn't allow me the ability to put their food on a timer throughout the day.
I order everything on Chewy.com and it auto ships so I don't even have to remember to buy food. It just shows up at my door. And Bosco let's me know its here, haha.

How about this food? https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/pure-balance-original-adult-cat-formula-72kg/6000195401180

Aww thanks! I'm somewhat OCD when it comes to being clean, tidy, and organized. As well as being diligent with most things in my life too. Hehehe! I'm always at home because I'm unemployed due to mental illness, so I'm always able to be there for my cat throughout the day/night.

So you think switching over to wet food primarily set as scheduled meals through the day/night, and a small amount of dry food as a treat/snack before bedtime? Or should I put about 1/4 cup of dry food for her to nibble on throughout the day/night?

Awwww! Your cat lets you know when the food is at your door? That's funny and adorable at the same time! Lol!

 

[MeganLLB]

Mike89 Actually Bosco is my dog. I would just leave the dry food out. But you can do whatever works best for you.

I think the first food you picked looked better as it had "Chicken Meal" as the first ingredient as opposed to just "chicken" any mealed meat you know is just the meat, no water added. Chicken by itself gets pumped full of water so it's heavier. Because they measure the ingredients by weight, the watered down chicken is the heaviest and gets listed first, buts its actually less chicken per pound.

 

[Mike89]

Mike89 Actually Bosco is my dog. I would just leave the dry food out. But you can do whatever works best for you.

I think the first food you picked looked better as it had "Chicken Meal" as the first ingredient as opposed to just "chicken" any mealed meat you know is just the meat, no water added. Chicken by itself gets pumped full of water so it's heavier. Because they measure the ingredients by weight, the watered down chicken is the heaviest and gets listed first, buts its actually less chicken per pound.

Ohhhh! I gotcha! Thanks for that! So the first food you said I had picked out, which one was that again? Was it the one I have already (Friskies 7 dry food) or this one? https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/actr1um-holistic-adult-cat-food-7kg/1455222100276

So you think switching over to wet food primarily set as scheduled meals through the day/night, and a small amount of dry food to nibble on throughout the day/night? (1/4 cup of dry food is what I meant to say.)

 

[MeganLLB]

The one that you linked to. and yes mostly wet and a little dry. sounds good

 

[Mike89]

The one that you linked to. and yes mostly wet and a little dry. sounds good

You mean this one then? https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/actr1um-holistic-adult-cat-food-7kg/1455222100276

And okay thanks for helping me decide what to feed my cat! I'm sorry if I was asking a lot of question or being bothersome, but I just want what's best for my cat, that's all.

 

[Mike89]

I think the first food you picked looked better as it had "Chicken Meal" as the first ingredient as opposed to just "chicken" any mealed meat you know is just the meat, no water added.

So what you're saying is that I should always look for anything that has "meal" in meat as the first ingredient? And not just "chicken", "turkey", or beef by itself?

 

[MeganLLB]

So what you're saying is that I should always look for anything that has "meal" in meat as the first ingredient? And not just "chicken", "turkey", or beef by itself?

Yes- absolutivalee!