Whats your thoughts on firstmate brand? And other questions

[mewlittle]

I'm looking into changing my cats diet from friskies dry (They haven't had it since my last nutrition post which has been about a week) to Firstmate dry grain friendly

I understand that friskies dry and wet is horrible I ended up in a money rut and food is better then nothing but when they started to puking on the dry I stopped feeding it and kept them on the wet bits/shredded etc n gravy friskies the puking quit but then soft poop set in ,

So what's everyone's thoughts on first mate dry food did the cats like it? Did they do better on it? Did it make them sick in anyway? If you don't recommend it then what brands do you feed that is at least corn and wheat free that your cats do good on? Price plays a role in on what I can and can't get the most I'll Be able to pay is 2.5$ per pound, because I need about 6-7lbs per cat every month which is 30-35lbs a month and I have 5 cats aging from 5 years old to 3mos old
Cali 5 years old 10lbs female spayed short hair /the picky one and a food thief
Soar 2 years old 6lbs (needs to gain a bit) female intact short hair /the picky one
Diablo 2 years old 12lbs male neutered short hair /sensitive stomach
Raiden 10mo old 9lbs male neutered short to medium hair shows siamese/ragdoll mix traits no under coat / he is also picky
Astrid 3'1/2mo old 3-4lbs female intact medium to long hair
If the cat info helps

Also any recommendations on wet food that's 5.5oz for a dollar or less that a friskies addicted cat will most likely accept? I get 150-180 cans a month, I wanna get away from friskies wet in December I'm doing the pate only in November while they are on a dry switch so I don't overwhelm them, 2 cats will stop eating if I do a drastic change to fast, also reason why I was thinking pate friskies because it don't have the corn/wheat gluten in it that I think is causing the loose stools but I know its still not the greatest,

Now if I get a brand that a friskies addicted cat will most likely eat suggestion that is also a dollar a less for 5.5os then I'll try some on the cats in November instead of December

Brands I won't do
I won't do 9lives, meow mix ,Wal-Mart brand, DG brand, Kroger brands,Purina brand

And if I did fancy feast (I know purina) I be paying about 230 a month o.o

Also any tips to help a picky cat do better on the food change?

This is the firstmate I was thinking of a picture of the front of the bag ingredients nutritional and feeding amount

Thank you

 

[Willowy]

Friskies is a Purina brand .

Honestly I don't think Friskies paté canned food is horrible. My cats did great on it. Now that they don't make the 13-oz cans I have them on 9Lives paté canned food and I haven't seen any difference. And I use Purina ONE and Cat Chow Naturals for what little dry food they get. I've tried more expensive dry foods but someone always throws up or get sick or whatever; this seems to give me the best results. And my cats will NOT eat more expensive wet foods, except for Dave's Naturals turkey flavor.

I don't like the fish as a first ingredient in First Mate, but other than that it looks decent. It's a bit expensive though. If the price will become an issue later on, it might be best to pick something less expensive that will be more doable long-term, to keep their diet stable.

 

[mewlittle]

Friskies is a Purina brand .

Honestly I don't think Friskies paté canned food is horrible. My cats did great on it. Now that they don't make the 13-oz cans I have them on 9Lives paté canned food and I haven't seen any difference. And I use Purina ONE and Cat Chow Naturals for what little dry food they get. I've tried more expensive dry foods but someone always throws up or get sick or whatever; this seems to give me the best results. And my cats will NOT eat more expensive wet foods, except for Dave's Naturals turkey flavor.

I don't like the fish as a first ingredient in First Mate, but other than that it looks decent. It's a bit expensive though. If the price will become an issue later on, it might be best to pick something less expensive that will be more doable long-term, to keep their diet stable.

I know friskies is a Purina brand ,I want to start in December on going Purina free because it seems like no matter what Purina kind I get always gets one of the cats sick this time it was all of them and I was planning on just doing the friskies pate just long enough tell I found something different in wet

9lives I couldn't get none of the cats to eat it after 5 days so the remaining 25 days of that month (august) they ate only dry and all the wet got wasted ,picky a.. cats lol I didn't have any more money to get different wet , being on a fixed income sucks

The fish is way I'm on the fence with firstmate and wanted to get peoples opinions on it

I'm not sure if I'm going to try the cat chow or one in the naturals because of the risk of one cat or more getting sick due to it being Purina its usually the dries I tried in Purina that does it not usually the wet besides this time on the soft stool but I'm hoping its bc its in the gravy kind

Thank you for the suggestions

 

[mewlittle]

What about blue buffalo sensitive stomach? I'm on the French to either get that or firstmate

And I get paid tomorrow my indecisive brain ain't making it easy to choose lol

 

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

Lifetime is a good one if cost is an issue but you still want decent quality, and is easy on the stomach. Far superior to Blue, but then, so is mud, grass, asbestos...They don't make a wet food, though. Loveables is less than a dollar for a 5.5oz can.

 

[Willowy]

Looks like Lifetime is a Canadian brand :/.

Blue Buffalo is overpriced for the mediocre quality. Do you have a Tractor Supply in the area? Their store brand 4Health is pretty good.

 

[Lazy Orange House Cat]

Looks like Lifetime is a Canadian brand :/.

Blue Buffalo is overpriced for the mediocre quality. Do you have a Tractor Supply in the area? Their store brand 4Health is pretty good.

Yeah, its made here in Ontario. I guess it hasn't made it beyond the borders yet. I didn't realize that. Sorry.

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, its made here in Ontario. I guess it hasn't made it beyond the borders yet. I didn't realize that. Sorry.

Hmm, sorry, I looked up their store locator and they do sell in the US at a few places, mostly in the northern midwest. Not sure where the OP is but they could try it: https://www.lifetimepetfood.ca/store-locator/

 

[mewlittle]

To all who responded

I'm from Illinois and never heard of that brand lifetime I can look into it

Also I do have a tractor supply I did go there a few days ago and I checked the 4health dry kcal per cup it was around 320 I think while Blue buffalo sensitive stomach is 422 kcals per cup and the firstMate is about 560 scale per cup the friskies dry I'm getting them off of is about 340 I think in kcals ,I have a cat that needs to gain weight and couple with sensitive stomachs I'm actually in the middle of a transition from friskies dry to the blue buffalo sensitive stomach so far less puking and the poops are starting to harden up from loose to diarrhea kind, also I found paws n claws pate at tractor supply and 4health wet so I got some of that to try on the cats while I transition them off the friskies wet, the transition is going to take longer on the wet then the dry due to one cat being extremely picky over wet textures,
The firstmate I decided to try later when all of them is off the friskies dry for awhile so their bodies don't get to shocked over the big calorie intake jump and yes I know you need to feed less if its higher in calories I also need to wait due to so they can readjust to the new dry food amount once off of friskies

 

[mewlittle]

I just checked the lifetime brand on store locater and there is NONE in Illinois is there a pet site I can order from?