Feeding Wet Can Food

[Alycatty]

Hi all

I would love to feed my cats some kind of raw diet but I can't afford to both time wise and financial. I've been feeding my cats grain free dry food but I was told it's better to feed them wet canned food than even the dry premium foods.

Due to the limited funds I and the fact that canned food is in general more expensive per meal I can only afford cheaper supermarket brand canned food (e.g. Whiskers etc) - My question is, is it still better for their health to feed these types of cheaper supermarket brand canned food rather than a premium grain free kibble (even though not carb free)?

Is whiskers wet food cans better than premium grain free kibble??

Thanks in advance!

 

[tabbytom]

Hello A Alycatty , on behalf of The Catsite community, I warmly welcome you to TCS

I'm tabbytom and I'm a Mentor here in Catsite. Feel free to ask questions if you have any in regards to getting around the site. I'm here to help


Here are some articles to read to help you get started with the site.

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Do check out the informative forum threads and also the many good reads in the Articles section too.

And lastly, do introduce yourself and your kitty to the community in New Cats on the Block and do post photos of your kitty for us to see

 

[tabbytom]

Here's a good discussion on wet food and do check out the links in the posts :-

Post #4 of Tapioca?

 

[Columbine]

Hi A Alycatty Welcome to TCS!

Yes, it's definitely preferable to feed at least part of the diet as wet food, and cheaper brands are no exception to this. Whereabouts are you? Someone may be able to make some suggestions on the best foods in your price range. I know of a ton of great UK brands, and of online suppliers that are often cheaper than the supermarkets You certainly don't need to spend a fortune to give your cat good food

Also, there's a lot of hype surrounding raw food these days. Done right, it can be a fantastic option, but as yet there is no actual proof that it's better for cats than a wet diet. The studies just haven't been done I personally feed primarily wet food, supplemented with a little good quality kibble, and always have done. My guys thrive on it I did try raw a couple of years back, but my guys didn't take to it (not all do) and it didn't fit into our sometimes chaotic household very well, thanks to all the extra food hygiene measures that are needed.

A Scientific Take On Cat Nutrition By Dr. Rachel Boltz
Cat Food & Feline Nutrition With Pet Nutritionist Dr. Martha Cline
How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat
What Makes The Best Canned Cat Food?
How To Choose The Best Dry Cat Food?
Grain-free Cat Food – What Does It Mean?
By-products In Cat Food: 5 Facts You Need To Know
The Science Behind Cat Nutrition

 

[LTS3]

FYI, a raw diet doesn't have to be time consuming or break the bank Commerical raw pet foods like Rad Cat are easy to feed, just put into a bowl and give it to the cat to eat just like canned or dry food There are freeze dried and dehdyrated raw options if you don't have freezer space for frozen raw. Some people find that making raw using a pre-mix such as EZComplete really affordable and costs even less than canned food over time. You just need about 20 minutes to make up a batch. And it's easy to do: put the raw meat into a bowl, add in the pre-mix, add some water, stir to combine, then portion out into meal or daily serving sizes. Freeze whatever won't be eaten in a day or two.

Any canned food is preferable to dry food IMO. If you need budget friendly decent quality options, see these:

Healthy but affordable canned food
Affordable canned food?
Cheapest/Most affordable Grain free or healthiest canned food
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/330459/...conomical-way-to-buy-friskies-canned-cat-food
New Affordable PetSmart Brand! =D
4health now has affordable grain-free wet food

Buying food that comes in 5.5 oz or large sized cans is more cost effective than the little 3 oz cans. Bigger cans = more food which you can stretch into more meals. A 3 oz can is just one meal for a cat and sometimes not even a satisfying meal so you might have to feed an additional can.

 

[lisahe]

Hi all

I would love to feed my cats some kind of raw diet but I can't afford to both time wise and financial. I've been feeding my cats grain free dry food but I was told it's better to feed them wet canned food than even the dry premium foods.

Due to the limited funds I and the fact that canned food is in general more expensive per meal I can only afford cheaper supermarket brand canned food (e.g. Whiskers etc) - My question is, is it still better for their health to feed these types of cheaper supermarket brand canned food rather than a premium grain free kibble (even though not carb free)?

Is whiskers wet food cans better than premium grain free kibble??

Thanks in advance!

Depending on where you live, you may be able to buy low-carb canned food at the grocery store. Fancy Feast Classics (the pates) and Sheba are two possibilities. In the US, some store brands are also low-carb. My view is that it's better to feed canned foods with byproducts than canned foods with carby ingredients like grains or peas or potatoes and I'd much sooner feed byproducts than any premium food with any form of, say, peas. Unfortunately, decisions on what to feed often involve compromises. I should also add that some of the elements of byproducts -- like bone and organ meats -- are listed ingredients in many raw and canned foods.

Others have already mentioned the thought of feeding two kinds of food, whether canned and dry or canned and raw. We feed canned, homemade cooked (using the premix that LTS3 mentioned), and commercial raw foods to our cats and they thrive on the combination. Many cats (like ours) also don't like to be fed the same thing at every meal so the varying textures and tastes are a big plus.

Good luck!

 

[Alycatty]

Thanks everyone for the replies and links! Will be having. Will have a read of them tonight. I'm in Australia if anyone is from there has any suggestions of what's good and cost effective.

I recently found some half price freeze dried raw food. Brought it to try with my cats and they won't touch it even if mixed in with their usual canned food!!

 

[Columbine]

I know @moorspede is in Australia. Hopefully they'll know of some decent brands/suppliers

Definitely look at online pet stores though - they're sometimes much cheaper than the supermarkets, and have wider ranges of foods/brands too

 

[LTS3]

See these TCS threads for Australian canned food options:

Help with Australian cat food choices

There is currently a recall on Weruva and BFF canned foods in Australia so you shouldn't feed those now: Cat Food Recall - Weruva Best Feline Friend (bff) Product Recall - Australia

 

[orange&white]

If you aren't a vegetarian, next time you buy chicken, buy a whole chicken. You'd be surprised how quickly (and cheaply) you can make a day or two days worth of raw diet while you're cooking dinner for yourself.

Cut the meat off a thigh and leg into chunks.
Cut a "rack of ribs" off one side of the breast/back (or use 1/2 of the chicken neck).
Add a bit of liver about the size of your thumb joint (hopefully the giblets are inside the chicken, including the liver).
Add some or all of the gizzard, if it's in there.
Optional: Mix in one egg yolk.

Cook the rest of the bird for yourself.

That's not a perfectly balanced diet for everyday, long-term feeding, but it's pretty close, and certainly fine for an occasional "fine dining opportunity" for your cat.

 

[mani]

Thanks everyone for the replies and links! Will be having. Will have a read of them tonight. I'm in Australia if anyone is from there has any suggestions of what's good and cost effective.

Hi A Alycatty and welcome to the site!
If you want to do raw feeding you have to be extremely careful to be sure it is balanced. At TCS we take raw feeding really seriously and so it has it's own forum.
As for cheap canned food in Australia, I find that the multiple buys at Pet Barn are really useful. You have to buy a lot but I think recently you could get Fancy Feast for about 87c a can if you buy 48.. or something like that. I've found that Produce Stores also can have good offers going.

 

[bonepicker]

Yes definitely feed friskies canned pate, it is reasonable

 

[mani]

Yes definitely feed friskies canned pate, it is reasonable

I've never seen it in Australia. There is only the dry food that I've come across.