Opinions On This Food, Please.

[kskatt]

With 13 cats it's really hard to afford top quality. I search everywhere for the best possible.

It is Diamond Naturals canned cat food. I'm trying to upload a file, the pic I took of labels.

Food labels

• kskatt
• Apr 29, 2017

 

[Columbine]

To me, it's not a bad food, but there are more grains/carbs than I personally like to see. I'm not great with US brands, but I know that Fancy Feast patés and Sheba patés are generally very well thought of for a lower price range. They're very high meat, grain free and low carb A great place to start if you're on a budget Because of the higher meat/lower carb content, I'd personally rate them higher than the food you're feeding now! A higher price point doesn't always equal a better food, from the cat's perspective, that is

 

[missmimz]

It's got a lot of gums and veggies in it. Def no on the one with fish. 4Health from Tractor Supply is pretty good for the price. Probably the best "cheap" cat food.

 

[Willowy]

I didn't know Diamond Naturals had a canned food! How much does it cost? (OK, I found it online for around 92 cents a can. I wonder what TSC charges?)

I'd probably skip the fish-based one and the indoor formula (unless you have a cat who needs a high-fiber canned food) but the chicken one looks pretty good. I came up with 11% carbs which is pretty standard for cheaper canned foods---Friskies Mixed Grill is 12% carbs. Regular (not grain-free) 4Health canned is extremely high in carbs (19%, last time I checked) so I'd definitely go with DN over regular 4Health.

Note: Fancy Feast and Sheba are NOT inexpensive! Yes, they're cheaper than the higher-end foods that come in 3-oz cans, but certainly more expensive than many foods that come in a larger can (5.5 oz would cost around $1.10, 13 oz would cost $2.60). They're just easy to find, that's why they're so widely recommended.

 

[Kieka]

There really isn't a reason for a wet food to have that much rice/flour/grain items in it. I would look on Chewy.com and filter for grain free to help narrow down options.

 

[Willowy]

There really isn't a reason for a wet food to have that much rice/flour/grain items in it. I would look on Chewy.com and filter for grain free to help narrow down options.

Unfortunately the grain-free foods are mostly very expensive and not really an option for most of us who have a lot of cats.

This food looks pretty good because the only grain is rice flour, and the fruits/veggies are in very small amounts (listed after salt. . .).

 

[kskatt]

In my area, I can only find them in farm supply stores, Orschlins and Atwoods; the same type of store as Tractor Supply. The DN there is $0.99 to $1.16 per 5.5 oz can. Prices I often see on the little 3oz cans.
Columbine, looking a some of the Fancy Feast, which I feed, classics only. Beef & Chicken, meat by-products was the very first ingredient. In others meat by-products was either the second or third ingredient. By-products are way too scary for me, at that high up in the ingredients for sure. I hadn't noticed that before, I guess I was thinking meat, although that doesn't say what kind of meat. If I remember correctly, DN are completely American made and will reveal suppliers. At least it was when I looked before, I have little trust in manufacturers that I want to double check that.
Aren't meat by-products some that come from renders, that do run the chance of animals (like horses) that have been euthanized can get mixed in. Perfect way to get euthanasia chemicals into the food. Please correct me if I am wrong! That thought comes up with the recent recalls.

 

[kskatt]

I would love to make animal food (cats, dogs and horses) higher in the budget. The past couple of years vet bills have topped the list. I have 13 cats, 2 dogs, 4 horses and (recently added, slated to board the slaughter truck the next day) a donkey.
We try to feed the best quality we can, it just gets crazy expensive with multiple critters. Oh, I forgot to add the ginger cat that's been coming around for a little while. I need to trap, neuter, test and vaccinate asap. More $$$

 

[Kieka]

Unfortunately the grain-free foods are mostly very expensive and not really an option for most of us who have a lot of cats.

This food looks pretty good because the only grain is rice flour, and the fruits/veggies are in very small amounts (listed after salt. . .).

The food the Op is looking at I found online for $26.99 for 24 cans 5.5 oz each. Which means it is $0.20 an ounce. Doing a search of grain free food on Chewy.com the Wellness Complete is $0.22 an ounce, Sheba is $0.17 an ounce, Blue Buffalo Freedom is $0.20 an ounce, Natural Balance LID is $0.19 an ounce. As I said, I would start with a search for grain free on Chewy.com. If there are other criteria that still gives you a point to narrow it down.

 

[meuzettesmom]

When I brought my puppy home from its breeder. He came with Diamonds dry...the collie community has a fit. So I don't buy Diamond Naturals for the cats either.
There are worse food.

 

[kskatt]

At my local farm store, I pay $0.99 per can, that rings up to 24 cans for $23.76. I don't have the patience to figure that by the ounce. The 26.99 figures to over $1.12 per can. I need to call the store and see if I can buy by the case (don't see why not) and what that would cost. Is unusual to find a food cheaper than online.

 

[kskatt]

I did check and Diamond is manufactured in the US. I sent an email asking if they purchase any ingredient(s) from overseas. I did spend some time on their website and am pretty impressed. Since I haven't checked other brands this closely, I may be too easily impressed!

 

[Willowy]

I would guess almost all canned foods sold in the US are made in the US, because, due to the weight, it would cost a lot to have it shipped from somewhere else!

Diamond has had a lot of recalls so some people don't like them. One could hope that they've learned a lesson from all the recalls .

 

[kskatt]

I would have thought it would be cheaper to process chickens here, but some companies send chicken to China for processing and then ship it back here. That's round trip shipping. I know ingredients are purchased from elsewhere for many things. Big business spending has always been a mystery to me.

What do you feed your cats? What do you recommend?

 

[mingsmongols]

If it's working for your cats and the price is right then why change it. Are the cats showing signs of malnutrition or a food intolerance?

 

[Willowy]

Oh, I just feed mine canned Friskies and a rotation of mid-quality kibbles such as 4Health, Pro Plan, Beyond, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. Fancy Feast for elderly or sick kitties. I gave up on higher-quality canned food because nobody will eat it :/.

You just have to decide what you're comfortable with and see what your cats do best on.

 

[meuzettesmom]

Oh, I just feed mine canned Friskies and a rotation of mid-quality kibbles such as 4Health, Pro Plan, Beyond, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. Fancy Feast for elderly or sick kitties. I gave up on higher-quality canned food because nobody will eat it :/.

You just have to decide what you're comfortable with and see what your cats do best on.

Me too Willowy...cats say what they eat not me....

 

[Graceful-Lily]

But with wet food, don't you have to have a few brands to rotate? For example, when my cats were on wet food, it I gave them the same brand for too long, they'd start to throw up and wouldn't eat it. So will you be doing that or just feeding them all the same brand? I'm not sure how that would change the cost...

 

[maureen brad]

To many carbs.I would also skip the fish, it isn't good for cats. Wildcalling is a good one, it is a little more expensive but, it is made in the USA and is basically just meat and nutrients, no fillers. Much healthier.

 

[kskatt]

Here, in the boonies, I've had so many cats come to my door. Now I have an aging population, two boys with cancer at this time. Sometimes it just gets my mind spinning, trying to think of any and all ways I can improve everyone's health, immune systems, etc. For the two boys I've wondered about saying the heck with the carbs, fish, whatever; give them food heavy with gravy, whatever they want, just spoil them rotten. Which would be feeding them separate from the others, already feeding my diabetic in remission separately. When you've got babies dying, it just gets crazy. For me anyway.
Hearing from others helps. And yes, in close contact with my vet, although she's on the side of healthy. If I'm wanting to do best for my babies, quality can give them more time than messing with "junk food". I will be asking her how much time are we talking about. Forgive me if I ramble, it's just hard sometimes.