Is Having 2 Varieties Of Wet Food Enough?

[KalicoKitten]

I'm thinking of feeding my cats (4) more wet food than I was previously and found that the Friskies pates are fairly decent and in my price range, however only 2 flavors are fish-free (country style dinner and mixed grill). My cats don't have any problems with fish as of now, but I wouldn't like them to develop any. Is two flavors of wet food and 1 grain free higher quality dry food enough? I'm planning on giving them 1 5.5oz can of wet food (shared between all 4), followed by however much dry food they want to eat within half an hour, per meal (2 meals per day). Should I just give in and add some of the other pate flavors as long as they aren't the fish specific flavors? Does anyone have any recommendations for low cost wet food with no fish? A 24 pack of 5.5oz cans of the flavors of Friskies I talked about is only $9.84 on Amazon right now so I'd like to stay around that range, but a bit more is okay.

 

[Neo_23]

A lot of people will say that the more variety you feed your cat in terms of protein and different brands the better. This is because it is believed you can achieve a more "balanced" diet that way, so there may be some benefits to bringing in other proteins and brands of food. The other reasons are that cats get sick of food easily sometimes and it's good to get their digestive systems used to processing different kinds of foods, especially while they are young.

 

[KalicoKitten]

A lot of people will say that the more variety you feed your cat in terms of protein and different brands the better. This is because it is believed you can achieve a more "balanced" diet that way, so there may be some benefits to bringing in other proteins and brands of food. The other reasons are that cats get sick of food easily sometimes and it's good to get their digestive systems used to processing different kinds of foods, especially while they are young.

I have been trying different brands of wet foods but I kind of wanted to stop and stick with certain ones instead of trying new ones all the time because the prices vary so much in the brands I've been trying. For their dry food, I stick to the one brand but slowly switch them between different flavors depending on the amount of money I have when we start to run low on it. I'm open to other brands, but budget is always going to be a concern as a college student.

 

[cheeser]

We try to offer a bit more variety, mostly because I've gotten paranoid about recalls, companies discontinuing a particular flavor and/or product line, having problems with a supplier, going out of business, etc. Been there, done that, have a few t-shirts.

 

[Neo_23]

I have been trying different brands of wet foods but I kind of wanted to stop and stick with certain ones instead of trying new ones all the time because the prices vary so much in the brands I've been trying. For their dry food, I stick to the one brand but slowly switch them between different flavors depending on the amount of money I have when we start to run low on it. I'm open to other brands, but budget is always going to be a concern as a college student.

I get it - it's not always as easy as it sounds. I can't even find 2 brands of wet food that won't give my cat soft poops.
I would say go ahead and introduce different flavors to your kitty. It certainly can't hurt. Although, I wouldn't introduce too many different proteins just in case he develops a food allergy over time and you need something novel to feed him later on. I think rotating between maybe 3 different proteins would be nice.

 

[KalicoKitten]

I get it - it's not always as easy as it sounds. I can't even find 2 brands of wet food that won't give my cat soft poops.
I would say go ahead and introduce different flavors to your kitty. It certainly can't hurt. Although, I wouldn't introduce too many different proteins just in case he develops a food allergy over time and you need something novel to feed him later on. I think rotating between maybe 3 different proteins would be nice.

Is feeding the flavors with fish but that aren't specifically a fish flavor bad? I could switch between different flavors of Friskies pates. I just don't really like feeding fish.

 

[KalicoKitten]

We try to offer a bit more variety, mostly because I've gotten paranoid about recalls, companies discontinuing a particular flavor and/or product line, having problems with a supplier, going out of business, etc. Been there, done that, have a few t-shirts.

That's a good point too of course. Also, wait, are you saying that companies give you t-shirts as compensation for their food being recalled? Lol

 

[Neo_23]

Is feeding the flavors with fish but that aren't specifically a fish flavor bad? I could switch between different flavors of Friskies pates. I just don't really like feeding fish.

I think fish on occasion is fine, but I wouldn't feed fish as a regular meal.
Have you checked out some of Fancy Feast's classic pates? I know they are a big hit with many members on this site and they have very nice protein-fat-carb ratios.

Another affordable brand that comes in large size cans (larger than 5.5 oz) is Holistic Select. It's a grain free brand that has different proteins like lamb. I think it's made by the same manufacturer as Wellness, but it's much more affordable. I actually think if you bought the large cans it would be cheaper than Friskies.

 

[Neo_23]

Yep, I just checked prices and Holistic Select would be a better deal than Friskies. Also you get more calories per ounce.

Holistic Select Chicken Liver & Lamb Pate Recipe Grain-Free Canned Cat & Kitten Food

Edit: Just saw the sale you posted on Amazon for Friskies. Ok then it wouldn't be a better deal, but it's still quite affordable.

 

[cheeser]

That's a good point too of course. Also, wait, are you saying that companies give you t-shirts as compensation for their food being recalled? Lol

Hee! Heck, I'd be tickled pink if companies could at least give us a heads up before they wreak such havoc upon us. Argh!

For example, this week alone I found out that one of Buddy's favorite flavors may not be available again for the foreseeable future (if ever), another is is out of stock pretty much everywhere, another one may or may not be available again in a couple of weeks, and they've changed the formula for another. I'm almost afraid to see what will happen next week.

 

[KalicoKitten]

I think fish on occasion is fine, but I wouldn't feed fish as a regular meal.
Have you checked out some of Fancy Feast's classic pates? I know they are a big hit with many members on this site and they have very nice protein-fat-carb ratios.

Well, what I meant is that all but the two flavors I listed of Friskies has fish even if they aren't a fish flavor. So 'chicken and liver' has fish in it even though the flavor doesn't say so. This would mean there is less right? So I was asking if it was okay to switch between the different flavors of Friskies even though they have fish in them. I've heard Fancy Feast is addictive? or is that just their fish flavors? I also read on a different forum that price wise, unless it's on sale, it's a bit steep for the quality because you can get better food for the same price as FF? I don't know though, the post might've been old. I could always give 1 3oz can of FF and 2 of the 'servings' of Sheba? Totaling at 5.6 oz per meal (not including dry food of course). Then I'd have 3 brands, and I could mix and match flavors of FF and Sheba (given that they're fish free).

 

[KalicoKitten]

Hee! Heck, I'd be tickled pink if companies could at least give us a heads up before they wreak such havoc upon us. Argh!

For example, this week alone I found out that one of Buddy's favorite flavors may not be available again for the foreseeable future (if ever), another is is out of stock pretty much everywhere, another one may or may not be available again in a couple of weeks, and they've changed the formula for another. I'm almost afraid to see what will happen next week.

Awe, thought it was a bit funny if they gave you actual shirts haha. Well, anyway, I hope the best for you in the upcoming week Good luck!

 

[KalicoKitten]

Just my luck. Almost all the pate flavors of Fancy Feast also have fish in them *sigh*

 

[Neo_23]

Well, what I meant is that all but the two flavors I listed of Friskies has fish even if they aren't a fish flavor. So 'chicken and liver' has fish in it even though the flavor doesn't say so. This would mean there is less right? So I was asking if it was okay to switch between the different flavors of Friskies even though they have fish in them. I've heard Fancy Feast is addictive? or is that just their fish flavors? I also read on a different forum that price wise, unless it's on sale, it's a bit steep for the quality because you can get better food for the same price as FF? I don't know though, the post might've been old. I could always give 1 3oz can of FF and 2 of the 'servings' of Sheba? Totaling at 5.6 oz per meal (not including dry food of course). Then I'd have 3 brands, and I could mix and match flavors of FF and Sheba (given that they're fish free).

Unfortunately there's no way to know how much fish is in the product. Even if it's listed further down the list it could still be a substantial amount. My other worry with brands like Friskies is quality control of where the ingredients came from. This makes me even more weary of serving fish from these brands because they may not go the efforts of testing their foods for quality the same way another brand such as Orijen might.

 

[MeganLLB]

Unfortunately there's no way to know how much fish is in the product. Even if it's listed further down the list it could still be a substantial amount. My other worry with brands like Friskies is quality control of where the ingredients came from. This makes me even more weary of serving fish from these brands because they may not go the efforts of testing their foods for quality the same way another brand such as Orijen might.

I don't think that's true. I think that's just marketing that they want you to think that the quality is better because it's priced higher and the packaging is different and because of where it's sold. Evangers food was expensive and only sold at select stores, but they certainly weren't doing a good job of "testing their foods for quality." They had a massive recall and their dog food killed someone's pet. When was the last time Friskies had a recall that resulted in the death of a pet? I don't recall one. That's just all a marketing ploy.

 

[Neo_23]

I don't think that's true. I think that's just marketing that they want you to think that the quality is better because it's priced higher and the packaging is different and because of where it's sold. Evangers food was expensive and only sold at select stores, but they certainly weren't doing a good job of "testing their foods for quality." They had a massive recall and their dog food killed someone's pet. When was the last time Friskies had a recall that resulted in the death of a pet? I don't recall one. That's just all a marketing ploy.

I agree that just because a canned food is higher priced doesn't mean it's better quality. But there are companies that are much more open about their food sources. Friskies is not one of those brands, so I still worry about quality control with that food.

 

[KalicoKitten]

We are all on the consensus that wet food is healthier than dry food though right? Because of the higher moisture and lower carbohydrates.