Making The Switch To Canned

[gentleheart]

Hello! New forum member here.

The past few days I have discovered the secrets of feline nutrition and why a dry kibble diet only is bad. We have a ten year old cat who is in general very healthy and active. She has been eating Blue grain free indoor.

So here is the dilemma. I've looked into doing homemade food for her, but it's just not currently feasible with my lifestyle. We have busy work schedules, I'm pregnant and the symptoms of that often eat up my free time, and I do not have a meat grinder which is going to make the homemade route substantially more difficult having to cut meat by hand.

Our cat does not eat a lot. A 5lb bag of dry kibble would last her about 6 weeks, so we were spending $15 a month on cat food. Canned is a lot more expensive. We can comfortably spend up to $25 a month on cat food, but more than that is starting to push it. With other animals to care for, a cross country move, and a baby on the way, I do not find it feasible to spend $40 to $50 a month on cat food for one cat.

I was looking at the Grreat Choice Pate, and those looked pretty good especially for the price. Until I looked up info on the mysterious ingredient carrageenan and became concerned. Apparently studies have shown it to cause inflammation in the digestive system and in some cases cancer. No thank you!

I looked at fancy feast as well, but it is loaded with grain and other additives. That I found unappealing.

Do you have any suggestions? Obviously with my budget I can't completely get away from the grain and fillers, but there has to be something out there that isn't completely loaded with them.

For reference, our cat will eat half of a 5.5oz can in one sitting. She's small and doesn't eat much.

 

[Neo_23]

Good on you for making the switch to wet!

The more you do research into commercial pet food the more you will find that every single food, even the most expensive premium ones, have at least one unfavourable ingredient. For me, the secret of feeding wet food is to rotate. Pick a few different brands that are affordable and rotate them. That way your cat is not just getting the same “bad” ingredients over and over and they’re getting the benefits of different proteins/brands.

Fancy feast is a fine food, many people here feed it. The classic pates are the best ones. I’m sure others will be able to suggest other affordable canned foods. I wouldn’t worry too much about the ingredients if you’re rotating, and you’re already doing a huge favour for your cat by removing the dry food.

 

[duckpond]

I feed wet and dry. i also like wet food for cats, and stay away from carrageenan. It is more expensive to feed wet than dry most of the time. you can transition to all wet at one time, or start slower and feed a wet meal per day, and a dry meal per day?

There are budget friendly wet foods such as fancy feast, and some of the Friskies foods. if you have good petfood stores nearby you can also shop those for sales and such, sometimes you find good bargains. I try to stay as high protein, moderate fat, and low carb as possible. I guess Fancy feast is my fav for budget friendly cat foods. Most of them are carrageenan free, the classics and grilled are, a few of the others you have to watch, same with Friskies, some have it, some dont.

i look up foods i am interested in a few different places, trying to find the highest protein, moderate fat, and lowest carbs i can. so check them out if you have not already, for the foods that you can find in your area, and your budget.

http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

 

[Minxxy]

Hello! New forum member here.

The past few days I have discovered the secrets of feline nutrition and why a dry kibble diet only is bad. We have a ten year old cat who is in general very healthy and active. She has been eating Blue grain free indoor.

So here is the dilemma. I've looked into doing homemade food for her, but it's just not currently feasible with my lifestyle. We have busy work schedules, I'm pregnant and the symptoms of that often eat up my free time, and I do not have a meat grinder which is going to make the homemade route substantially more difficult having to cut meat by hand.

Our cat does not eat a lot. A 5lb bag of dry kibble would last her about 6 weeks, so we were spending $15 a month on cat food. Canned is a lot more expensive. We can comfortably spend up to $25 a month on cat food, but more than that is starting to push it. With other animals to care for, a cross country move, and a baby on the way, I do not find it feasible to spend $40 to $50 a month on cat food for one cat.

I was looking at the Grreat Choice Pate, and those looked pretty good especially for the price. Until I looked up info on the mysterious ingredient carrageenan and became concerned. Apparently studies have shown it to cause inflammation in the digestive system and in some cases cancer. No thank you!

I looked at fancy feast as well, but it is loaded with grain and other additives. That I found unappealing.

Do you have any suggestions? Obviously with my budget I can't completely get away from the grain and fillers, but there has to be something out there that isn't completely loaded with them.

For reference, our cat will eat half of a 5.5oz can in one sitting. She's small and doesn't eat much.

Do you have a Tractor Supply in your area ? They have a brand called 4 Health that is pretty good . It's about
.59 cents for a 5.5 oz can . They also have a brand called Paws . Its not the best but its about .39 cents for a 5.5 oz can. Friskies Classic Pate formulas are decent and depending on where you buy cost .48 to .60 cents for a 5.5 oz can. I think the Great Choice at PetSmart is similar to Friskies .
Our cats are quite picky and only like Fancy Feast Classics . It does get expensive so we only feed one meal of wet food . Good luck to you Welcome to TheCatSite

 

[xcourtney3]

I just feed Friskies pate because my girl kitty won't eat anything else. My boy can't have fish so I only feed the Mixed Grill and Country Style Dinner. I spend about $30 a month for two cats

 

[gentleheart]

Do you have a Tractor Supply in your area ? They have a brand called 4 Health that is pretty good . It's about
.59 cents for a 5.5 oz can . They also have a brand called Paws . Its not the best but its about .39 cents for a 5.5 oz can. Friskies Classic Pate formulas are decent and depending on where you buy cost .48 to .60 cents for a 5.5 oz can. I think the Great Choice at PetSmart is similar to Friskies .
Our cats are quite picky and only like Fancy Feast Classics . It does get expensive so we only feed one meal of wet food . Good luck to you Welcome to TheCatSite

Thanks for the recommendation! I do have a TSC near me. I'm not sure if there is one where we are moving to, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I love TSC, always good products at good prices. I'll check those out.

 

[gentleheart]

I just feed Friskies pate because my girl kitty won't eat anything else. My boy can't have fish so I only feed the Mixed Grill and Country Style Dinner. I spend about $30 a month for two cats

I have looked at the Friskies stuff. Price isn't bad for the size can you get, and the ingredients aren't terrible either. I'm adding them to my list. Thanks!

 

[Neo_23]

You should also look at the amount of calories per can. Not all 3 oz or 5.5 oz cans are equal because some will be very low in calories and some higher in calories. So what may appear to be a bit pricey might actually be more affordable because you need to feed less of it.

The typical rule is to feed about 20-30kcal per pound depending on your cat's activity level.

 

[MissMolly08]

Another Friskies feeder here. I feed my cat all wet food for $15/month.
Fancy Feast is good too but costs more. The cans are only 3oz so most cats will eat 2 a day which puts that at twice as much as Friskies.

 

[gentleheart]

So here is what I have found out so far:

Friskies Prime Filet (all flavors) do not contain any carrageenan or guar gum. Only the Prime Filet versions though, other varieties have those two ingredients. I'm also seeing more meat ingredients than grain ingredients, so for price and quality I think that it is better than any of the Fancy Feast I've looked at so far (the ones in my budget). At .48 cents for 5.5 oz can, it's a good price.

There are two flavors of 4health that do not have carrageenan: grain-free shredded chicken in gravy, and grain-free shredded salmon and chicken in gravy. It is .69 cents per 5.5 oz can. Excellent price and overall seems to be pretty good quality.

The only Paws & Claws food that did not have carrageenan were their gourmet varieties. Those came in 3 oz cans for .49 each, so for how much I would have to feed, it makes more sense to go with 4health.

I think I will switch between the mentioned 4health and friskies varieties. I'll keep my eyes open for others to add to the list. Thanks for the help!

 

[Minxxy]

So here is what I have found out so far:

Friskies Prime Filet (all flavors) do not contain any carrageenan or guar gum. Only the Prime Filet versions though, other varieties have those two ingredients. I'm also seeing more meat ingredients than grain ingredients, so for price and quality I think that it is better than any of the Fancy Feast I've looked at so far (the ones in my budget). At .48 cents for 5.5 oz can, it's a good price.

There are two flavors of 4health that do not have carrageenan: grain-free shredded chicken in gravy, and grain-free shredded salmon and chicken in gravy. It is .69 cents per 5.5 oz can. Excellent price and overall seems to be pretty good quality.

The only Paws & Claws food that did not have carrageenan were their gourmet varieties. Those came in 3 oz cans for .49 each, so for how much I would have to feed, it makes more sense to go with 4health.

I think I will switch between the mentioned 4health and friskies varieties. I'll keep my eyes open for others to add to the list. Thanks for the help!

That's awesome . I'm glad you found something that'll work for you . I wish our cats would eat Friskies and stay with it but they won't . Once they get a taste of Fancy Feast nothing else will do . Cats

 

[gentleheart]

That's awesome . I'm glad you found something that'll work for you . I wish our cats would eat Friskies and stay with it but they won't . Once they get a taste of Fancy Feast nothing else will do . Cats

Funny that you say that. I read a review on a site about Fancy Feast, and someone was complaining that it made their cats addicted! They couldn't get them to eat anything but fancy feast, not even fresh chicken or things like that. I wonder what is in it that makes it addictive.

 

[Minxxy]

Funny that you say that. I read a review on a site about Fancy Feast, and someone was complaining that it made their cats addicted! They couldn't get them to eat anything but fancy feast, not even fresh chicken or things like that. I wonder what is in it that makes it addictive.

I have no idea but it is totally true .Anyway they're eating some wet food so I'm fine with it .

 

[Tobermory]

My super senior, Max, would eat only Fancy Feast Classic pâtés the last few years of his life. I was buying it at Walmart for a decent price. One of my kitties throws up anything with carrageenan in it.

 

[Tobermory]

At some point in the future when your life is calmer, you might consider homemade food again. I use Dr. Pierson’s recipe on www.catinfo.org and spend about $1.10 for 5.5 to 6 ozs. of food. That’s using chicken thighs and liver and including all of the supplements. Each three-pound batch yields about the equivalent of 10 cans of food. I have a grinder now, but when I started, I used a food processor. Obviously, I wasn’t grinding bone! I used Dr. Pierson’s bone meal alternative recipe. I have three cats and they all gobble down their homemade food. Interestingly, my picky eater who would eat only pâté when I was feeding canned, loves her chunked-up chicken...and it’s better for her teeth. But, yes, it’s a time commitment. I make four batches at a time (about 40 “cans” worth) and it takes about three-four hours.

 

[tuffsmom]

Fancy Feast is a good choice, just stick with the Classic pate.

 

[gentleheart]

We were at walmart yesterday, so I picked up a case of friskies filet seafood varieties. Our cat has thrown up four times since starting one can between yesterday evening and this morning. Out of blind hope I thought maybe it was because I was mixing water and the dry kibble with the wet food, but my gut knew better. Then I thought maybe it's because our cat has had problems with grain in food before, and maybe it was the one grain ingredient that was bothering her. Nope. Purina is having some quality control problems, at least with friskies, for the past year. That's made clear by all of these reviews at the site linked below. Some of the reviewers cats had to be taken to the vet for severe health problems caused by the food, so beware!

Top 59 Reviews and Complaints about Friskies

I was able to find my receipt, so I don't think walmart will give me a problem returning a full case of canned food that is only missing one can. We have to go to TSC to get hay for my horse today anyway, so we can pick up those 4health varieties I listed before. Those are grain free as well, so hopefully no issues with those. Here's hoping that those won't give her problems.

 

[MissMolly08]

We were at walmart yesterday, so I picked up a case of friskies filet seafood varieties. Our cat has thrown up four times since starting one can between yesterday evening and this morning. Out of blind hope I thought maybe it was because I was mixing water and the dry kibble with the wet food, but my gut knew better. Then I thought maybe it's because our cat has had problems with grain in food before, and maybe it was the one grain ingredient that was bothering her. Nope. Purina is having some quality control problems, at least with friskies, for the past year. That's made clear by all of these reviews at the site linked below. Some of the reviewers cats had to be taken to the vet for severe health problems caused by the food, so beware!

Top 59 Reviews and Complaints about Friskies

I was able to find my receipt, so I don't think walmart will give me a problem returning a full case of canned food that is only missing one can. We have to go to TSC to get hay for my horse today anyway, so we can pick up those 4health varieties I listed before. Those are grain free as well, so hopefully no issues with those. Here's hoping that those won't give her problems.

It may be something in the variety you got that doesn't agree with your cats. Of the Friskies foods, the PATE style is best. The filets and chunks and such with gravy typically contain a lot more starchy ingredients as thickeners.
Also, seafood isn't so great for cats. Most recommend sticking to poultry flavors. Seafood can be high in mercury and is a semi-common allergen among cats. Just stuff to keep in mind.
I have been feeding the Friskies Pate Poultry variety pack without issue.

 

[gentleheart]

It may be something in the variety you got that doesn't agree with your cats. Of the Friskies foods, the PATE style is best. The filets and chunks and such with gravy typically contain a lot more starchy ingredients as thickeners.
Also, seafood isn't so great for cats. Most recommend sticking to poultry flavors. Seafood can be high in mercury and is a semi-common allergen among cats. Just stuff to keep in mind.
I have been feeding the Friskies Pate Poultry variety pack without issue.

That was the only version that doesn't have carrageenan. I don't want to feed carrageenan. I wanted to get the meat filet versions, but all they had left was seafood. She's also eaten canned tuna and such before and it's never made her sick. Anyway, there are enough people having problems with ALL versions of friskies wet food for me to take it off the list. When there is another good, affordable option that meets my criteria, it doesn't make any sense to keep trying to feed her something that makes her sick and could be dangerous.

 

[FakeGourmet]

We've used Friskies for years. After the melamine disaster of some years ago (where a lot of pets died), many vets don't even recommend 'fancy' foods since it appears they source their foods from all the same places. Fancy Feast is good if you have a reluctant eater or need more protein as it is higher in protein than many other store foods. There was a time when you could get a lot of Friskies Senior choices, but I can't seem to get them here. You might have to go to Petco or Petsmart for that. The disadvantage of Friskies is if you are dealing with an older cat. The phosphorus levels are higher. Talk with your vet if this might be a concern. I personally avoid most fish products as my cats vomit them up, but tuna isn't a problem. I am getting 9lives tuna with egg bits by the case from Chewy.com. Has less phosphorus.

My cats currently like Friskies Mixed Grill, Turkey with giblets, Turkey with cheese. They did like the chicken ones and then decided to turn their noses up on it.

That said, making cat food isn't rocket science especially if you are also feeding some commercial food daily. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer with a grinding attachment, but you could also do smaller amounts using a baby food grinder ($15-20). You might want that anyway for your baby as making your own baby food is way cheaper too. Cook chicken, add your ingredients including water, grind, feed cat. If cat likes it, put some leftovers into freezer (i freeze in ice cube tray). Freeze for a few days. Then take a cube out and nuke it. Will cat still eat it? If so, you have a winning recipe. If not, start over.