Author Topic: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?  (Read 10140 times)

moustacheverte

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So yeah, my cat is getting old and should switch to wet food so it stays hydrated and doesn't put too much strain on the kidneys.

The problem is that those cans cost around 3$ a day... Which is crazy. The cat is allergic to certain foods so I don't want to cheap out and buy her whatever dollar store cat food, but 3$ a day seems excessive. I used to feed her high quality hypoallergenic dry food, 50$ for 2-3 months.

Has anyone run into something similar? Is there a way in Canada to buy canned food in bulk for a lower unit cost? Do you make your own? Something else I didn't think of?

Thanks,
« Last Edit: October 06, 2016, 07:23:01 PM by moustacheverte »

aspiringnomad

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Does your cat need all of its sustenance to come from wet food? Can you feed it half a can a day supplemented with dry food?

Daley

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Learn how to make your own, here's a recipe developed and refined by a vet (mix of chicken and rabbit). The article is long, but there's a lot of good info there, and once you understand the basics, the making of the food itself is easy.

startingsmall

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Is your cat on a special prescription kidney diet, or is your vet just recommending canned food in general? If the cat doesn't specifically need a kidney diet (which has protein levels significantly lower than OTC foods to reduce strain on the kidneys), other options for increasing water intake include: running water fountains, changing your cat's water several times per day to keep it clean/fresh/cool, and adding a small amount of tuna juice or chicken broth to water for flavor. Canned food is the easiest way to increase fluid intake, but there are other options.

(If, on the other hand, your vet is recommending a prescription diet, I wouldn't change it without asking the vet.)

Peony

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This may be terribly unhealthy but I just share my own food with my cat a lot of the time. She loves curries, lentil soup (with a little Italian sausage in there), pulled pork, butternut squash soup (or any pureed vegetable soup) made with chicken stock, salmon croquettes, and quiche filling. This morning we shared some leftover ground chicken with garlic, onion and ginger, over rice (she had mostly the meat mixture). I also give her small amounts of milk from time to time. My cat is a tiny 6 lbs. and doesn't eat a huge amount. She has canned food sometimes, but not every day and not more than a can a day. Also, I occasionally give her baby food as a treat; that was a habit that started when she had a bunch of teeth pulled all at once. Cat kibble is available all the time, as is water. I've heard onions are dangerous for cats but haven't seen evidence of it, at least not cooked ones. I know she probably gets more salt that is totally healthy but she doesn't seem to be worse off for it. My cat goes outside and may eat a mouse or two now and then as well.

Cressida

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The site Daley linked has a lot of great information, but I admit that my main takeaway from it (when we switched our cats from dry food a while ago) was that any canned food is better for your cat than any dry food. I understand wanting to avoid "dollar store" food, but there's probably a middle ground that will be just fine. (Just trying to relieve you of a little guilt.)

SweetTPi

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Learn how to make your own, here's a recipe developed and refined by a vet (mix of chicken and rabbit). The article is long, but there's a lot of good info there, and once you understand the basics, the making of the food itself is easy.

When I was a kid, our cat developed allergies to all the commercial foods out there (this was prior to the spread of grain-free feeds), and my Mom made this raw food for our cat.  It worked really well.  If your cat has the need, and you have the time, I would say try this.

In store-bought alternatives, are you sure that you must use the expensive stuff?  I don't know what your cat is allergic to, but if it's grains, I have had luck (in the US, no idea about brands up there) with Sheba and some of the other mid-range supermarket brands.  You just have to read the labels carefully, as some 'flavors' have things like wheat gluten in them.  Otherwise, I would suggest is looking online and seeing what you can get shipped to you, as prices and options might be better.

KCM5

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Our cat has kidney disease so we've gone through this recently.

We leave out dry food all the time (kidney formula) and feed him two small cans of mid-priced wet food (equivalent to one larger flat can) every evening. Since he really likes drinking water and doesn't eat the kidney formula wet food, we've found this to be a happy medium.

We used to get our food on amazon - does amazon in Canada offer the subscribe and save feature? We would subscribe for 5 separate shipments of the same box of canned food and get free shipping as well as 15% off. It saved a bit, but not a lot. We no longer use Amazon because the food he likes isn't available anymore, but it did save us about $5 off in store prices every month as well as no longer needing to go to a special store to buy his food.

Really, though, we've just gotten used to having a larger than normal cat food bill as a trade-off for having our awesome cat around a few years longer. He was diagnosed with CKD two years ago and has been doing great ever since we got him back to being healthy after he crashed.

I'm a red panda

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I guess I'd cut the budget somewhere else. A family member has a medical condition that needs to be accommodated. I'd do it in the way the doctor/vet says, even if that's $3 canned food.

bestname

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Check with your vet if you can moisten dry cat food with chicken stock (or water).

Blonde Lawyer

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #10 on: October 07, 2016, 08:44:22 AM »
My cat is on prescription cat food and I'm a volunteer at our local animal shelter.  I get the food at the shelter price which is about half the price that the vet charges.  I help keep the website up to date with which cats got adopted and which are still available.  I volunteer every other Sunday for about an hour in person and an hour online and saved about $50/month that way.  (My late dog was on prescription food too.)

Lis

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #11 on: October 07, 2016, 08:56:43 AM »
Running a quick calculation... I have two cats who get wet and dry food (two 3oz cans in the morning and 2 3oz cans at night). 2 cans in the morning comes to about $1.26 and the two cans at night come to about $0.90, so I'm paying just a bit under what you're paying, but for two cats.

I order my food through Amazon subscription - I buy 3 cases of 24 of Purina Pro Plan Adult Urinary Tract Health (one kitty had issues peeing outside the box... fairly certain it was behavioral but I'm keeping them on the urinary health food just in case), and 3 cases of 24 of different Sheba flavors for night. Because it's Amazon subscription and it's more than 5 orders, I actually receive a bit of a discount which helps.

I'm in the States and don't know how/if Amazon subscription works in Canada, but might be worth checking out.

(Also, be sure to keep your kitty's water dish away from their food - cats instinctively don't trust water that's near their food.)

Lyssa

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #12 on: October 08, 2016, 07:54:28 AM »
Wet food is a lot better for cats than dry food and a lot cheapter than medical treatments...

Not sure what the situation in the US is but in Germany vets often recommend or prescribe brands like Royal Canin because they get massive kick-backs and also don't really know better.

Forget the brand names. Look for wet food with no more than 5% of grains or start to feed a (supplemented) home made diet. Supplemented because you need to replace the minerals and other stuff included in prey animals' hair, bone and stomach content. Such food is not cheap but at least around here it can be done for less than 1 euro a day per cat, assuming 200-300g food intake per day. If you need to buy single protein or something comparable the prize woul be higher but still less than 3 euro per day and cat.

I utilize a lot of discounts by buying online and in bulk. And by "in bulk" I mean that sometimes I store a six months cat food supply... That's the good thing about canned food: it's easy to store. That and the fact that the cats can't open the cans with their sharp little teeth but need to be content with rubbing their heads against it in order to tell me it's time to open another one...

Lyssa

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #13 on: October 08, 2016, 08:11:10 AM »
http://www.zooplus.de/shop/katzen/katzenfutter_dose/animonda_rafine/animonda_megapacks/157077

One example of a rather cheap grain free food. Not sure if something comparable is available in the US.

If I want to get all fancy pants and spoil my cats I feed somthing like this:

http://www.zooplus.de/shop/katzen/katzenfutter_dose/catz_finefood/catz_finefood_sparpakete/515905

What both foods have in common is that very little is spend on Marketing. Brands like that send free samples to bloggers, breeders etc and rely on word-of-mouth propaganda. For Sheba or Royal Canin my guess would be that more money is spend on adds than on ingredients.

moustacheverte

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #14 on: October 08, 2016, 09:36:08 AM »
Thank you for all the replies. The cat is allergic to most commercial foods, and we don't know to which ingredient specifically. It could be grain or it could be the animal from which the meat is from.

Making your own food seems the be the best option, our dilemma is that we are strict vegans and don't want to handle any kind of meat in our kitchen. It's already pretty conflicting to know we're buying ground up animals to feed our cat, but it seems cats can't be healthy on a vegan diet.

The test results came back and although the cat is getting old, she's perfectly healthy for now. We're investigating wet food options, but it seems super complicated. There aren't many hypoallergenic wet foods without a ton of carbs as cheap fillers.

debbie does duncan

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #15 on: October 08, 2016, 10:41:01 AM »
Good news with the test results. My cat always had dry kibble.
 As he got older I stared adding a can of  tuna with a 1/2 cup of H20 and used a stick blender to emulsify it. He got extra water this way, loved it. The dry kibble kept his teeth in great shape .
 2 extra water dishes well away from his feeding station and the tuna water kept him in healthy until 15 !
Good luck .

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #16 on: October 08, 2016, 10:54:37 AM »
We have a tiny (6 lb) nine-year-old cat who is allergic to most prepared cat foods. We have her on Royal Canin pea and rabbit dry food ($60 for 4-month supply) and RC "digest sensitive" loaf in sauce for wet food. It's expensive - $1.79/can - but she only eats half a can a day (she'll leave any more than that in the bowl and it congeals/stiffens/smells horrible, so we only give her as much as she will eat).

She eats less dry food, so a bag lasts longer than before we started supplementing with wet.

She was 5 when we adopted her through a cat rescue network, and she showed signs of long-term neglect - damaged ears, blocked tear ducts, had to have all but two teeth pulled. She's a mess, but she's our mess, and we love her.

Vagabond76

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #17 on: October 08, 2016, 11:09:38 AM »
Making your own food seems the be the best option, our dilemma is that we are strict vegans and don't want to handle any kind of meat in our kitchen. It's already pretty conflicting to know we're buying ground up animals to feed our cat, but it seems cats can't be healthy on a vegan diet.

WTF??? News flash: cats are carnivores. Why would you even want to impose your personal dietary opinions on an animal that has a completely different natural food source?

If you don't want to feed the animal what it is supposed to eat, either because you are cheap or have some kind of personal opposition, then you can (1) put the cat outside to find its own meal, (2) give the cat to someone else that won't complain about taking care of it, or (3) take the cat and a 12-gauge out back. MOD NOTE: Absolutely uncalled for. Suggesting someone shoot their animal is not acceptable forum behaviour.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2016, 12:18:33 PM by swick »

KMMK

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #18 on: October 08, 2016, 12:02:57 PM »
Making your own food seems the be the best option, our dilemma is that we are strict vegans and don't want to handle any kind of meat in our kitchen. It's already pretty conflicting to know we're buying ground up animals to feed our cat, but it seems cats can't be healthy on a vegan diet.

WTF??? News flash: cats are carnivores. Why would you even want to impose your personal dietary opinions on an animal that has a completely different natural food source?

If you don't want to feed the animal what it is supposed to eat, either because you are cheap or have some kind of personal opposition, then you can (1) put the cat outside to find its own meal, (2) give the cat to someone else that won't complain about taking care of it, or (3) take the cat and a 12-gauge out back.

What the hell? This forum is getting worse for insulting comments. The poster said they understand a proper cat diet. They said they weren't imposing their own diet on their animal. Totally uncalled for response.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2016, 12:05:55 PM by KMMK »

MMMaybe

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #19 on: October 08, 2016, 01:07:42 PM »
I would try to buy in bulk to bring down the costs. My cat also has allergies and we buy premium brands like Applaws, which do not have fillers.

We find he eats less of the premium brands (as they are more satisfying because they aren't full of junk) so it works out to be more economical in the end.


moustacheverte

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #20 on: October 08, 2016, 01:35:51 PM »
Making your own food seems the be the best option, our dilemma is that we are strict vegans and don't want to handle any kind of meat in our kitchen. It's already pretty conflicting to know we're buying ground up animals to feed our cat, but it seems cats can't be healthy on a vegan diet.

WTF??? News flash: cats are carnivores. Why would you even want to impose your personal dietary opinions on an animal that has a completely different natural food source?

If you don't want to feed the animal what it is supposed to eat, either because you are cheap or have some kind of personal opposition, then you can (1) put the cat outside to find its own meal, (2) give the cat to someone else that won't complain about taking care of it, or (3) take the cat and a 12-gauge out back. MOD NOTE: Absolutely uncalled for. Suggesting someone shoot their animal is not acceptable forum behaviour.

Thank you for judging us, internet stranger. If you actually read previous messages, you'd see the cat doesn't eat a vegan diet because, like you said, news flash. I'm not sure what you're whining about or where you saw me complaining about taking care of the cat.

On a related note: outdoors cat die younger, get more injures, and can get maimed in fights. Most animal advocacy associations advise keeping cats indoors for their own health.

Vagabond76

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #21 on: October 08, 2016, 04:46:22 PM »
(3) take the cat and a 12-gauge out back. MOD NOTE: Absolutely uncalled for. Suggesting someone shoot their animal is not acceptable forum behaviour.

I guess the Mods weren't raised watching Old Yeller.

MOD NOTE: There is a difference between putting an injured animal out of their misery as humanely as possible, and suggesting someone kill their animal because they don't want to feed it a certain way, which you inferred and responded to inappropriately.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2016, 11:33:23 PM by swick »

Inaya

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #22 on: October 08, 2016, 06:15:39 PM »
We feed our cat a commercially produced raw diet. The brand is Primal, and she eats the Beef and Salmon flavor. 2 bags lasts a month, each bag is $20, so ~ $1.35 per day for a 12-lb. female cat. (May cost more or less depending on feeding needs. Also, the chicken/turkey versions are less expensive, and the exotic/game versions are more expensive.)

It comes in pre-formed frozen nuggets so you don't ever have to handle it yourself. Just thaw a day's worth overnight (3 nuggets in our case), and feed.

Alternately, they also have a freeze-dried brand, if you can't handle the frozen version--just add water. It is a bit more pricey, however.

Healthy weight (she ballooned to 18 lbs on dry kibble), healthy coat, healthy cat! Bonus--poop doesn't smell!

RethinkTheRatRace

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #23 on: October 08, 2016, 07:40:58 PM »
I can't provide a lot of insight with cat food, but I have a dog with allergies so take this with a grain of salt. My dog has both food and grass allergies (what kind of dog is allergic to grass lol). So we have to buy her expensive hypoallergenic dog food. Well, of course she hates it, and she's getting older (turned 14 last month) and was looking pretty emaciated so I was looking into foods that help put a little weight on. I ran across these things called "satin balls" which are raw beef, oatmeal, whole eggs, cereal, wheat germ, vegetable oil, and a few other things depending on what recipe you use. Well, I wasn't too comfortable feeding my dog all this stuff, so I modified it. I cook some ground beef, drain it, toss in some blended oats, and two whole blended eggs (shells and all), a couple splashes of olive oil, and then I'll put in a cup or two of her dry hypoallergenic dog food in there, last but not least, I add a can of green beans. Not only does she love it, but she has zero skin or stomach issues anymore, she looks better than she has in years, and she has more energy. An added benefit of this is that her hypoallergenic dog food lasts much longer than it usually does. And overall her food costs have dropped tremendously. Just food for thought. Pun intended.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2016, 07:53:11 PM by Jlowery28 »

Stratus

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #24 on: October 09, 2016, 06:49:02 AM »
I will say this to everyone that has a cat. Cats should have wet food regardless of age.  First off, this is the primary way cats are hydrated. Unlike humans, a cat's brain is not very good at signaling thirst.  By the time a cat gets the signal to drink water, it's already very dehydrated. Secondly, there are many things in dry food that have no place in a cat's diet. Cats are strictly carnivores. Grains and vegetables in dry food are hard on a cat. It is responsible feline obesity and diabetes. Third, do not rely on human food to feed cats. Cats require taurine in their diet to live. High concentrations of taurine come from the organs of animals, not the muscle. While they may enjoy that chicken breast or flank steak, they are missing out on key nutrients for their health.

icemodeled

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #25 on: October 09, 2016, 07:16:54 AM »
Wow is it $3 a can at just a regular store like Walmart or target or is this a speciality wet canned food you get from the vet? I could think you could shop around and find something better. Our vet has a wet canned food package (like 12 cans in a package) and its discounted some. Did you ask the vet if there are any other options available?

I understand the cost.. Our epileptic dog just had intestinal surgery and his canned food is $4.50 a day but we won't have to keep him on it forever. The cost of surgery was $1800 and he was just in a month ago for seizures. His meds which he will be on for life is $90 a month. Poor guy is only 4 years old. Costs sure add up! Hope you can find an alternative that's cheaper.

dess1313

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #26 on: October 10, 2016, 02:20:13 AM »
The cat food allergies are hard to deal with

Honestly, even though you're vegetarians, consider taking small amounts of chicken or beef, leaving it chopped up raw and freeze it.  see if the cat likes protein like that, without a lot of processing.  some cats do, some cats don't.  He might take to having small chunks of it with meals.  chick thighs and such are often on sale

I just had to put my cat down due to urinary crystals, i had him on wet food, but being an adopted cat, we don't know what he ate before i got him.  We just know he would eat only dry food at first.  The more you read about dry food, the more problems you find.  It's expensive to do the wet foods, but look around for different brands.  If its the vet brand they're giving you, look up how to calculate protein levels and carb levels in food.  First general rule of thumb is the first 2 or 3 ingredients meat, or something else. If its meat, its a good sign.  if its rice, corn and other by products, not so good for your cat.

shelivesthedream

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #27 on: October 10, 2016, 04:26:32 AM »
I know you don't want to be splashing raw meat around all over your kitchen, but if you can find a butcher you could ask if they will chop up or mince organ meat for you - kidney, liver, heart, whatever. You can bring a tupperware for them to put it in and then keep it in the fridge and spoon it out as appropriate for your cat. No prep required. It ought to be cheaper than the special cat food and you could half-and-half it with the expensive cans (which hopefully you can find a way to buy in bulk!). Obviously check with your vet first, but my experience with vets is that they're generally quite helpful about getting the cost of food down. My parents fed their cats on wet food morning and night with a bit of dry always available for snacks, then one of them got ill (bladder infection?) and they had to buy special dry food (slightly hazy on the details and why the wet food was fine but the dry not) and the vet hooked them up with a bulk-buying deal.

shelivesthedream

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #28 on: October 10, 2016, 04:30:23 AM »
Also, in re hydration, my parents' cats are really funny about what water they'll drink. They have hated all cat bowls but will readily drink out of random glasses of water left lying around - maybe they think 'human water' is somehow better. They also drink out of puddles. So my parents got rid of the cat bowl and now the cats have a special cat glass on the counter in the utility room where they sleep, and my mother leaves a plastic picnic bowl just outside the back door. It gets kind of gross but they like it that way and it seems slightly better than puddles. Might be worth watching how and when your cat drinks and enabling whatever weird preference that happens to be.

lexalex

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #29 on: October 10, 2016, 06:02:21 AM »
Both of my cats have food allergy issues - one (8yo) is allergic to grain, and the other (16yo) does better on fish than strictly poultry/lamb protein.  I have a subscription at chewy.com and stock up at pet supplies plus when they have sales.  Currently I have them on Acana's kibbles (approx. $21 / 4lbs, supposedly whole prey, lasts about 1 month and has a buy 12 bag get one free program), and Weruva's bff/cats in the kitchen soupy wet pouches (approx. $1 x 2/day), and I add water to Primal's freeze dried chunks or open an occasional grain free fancy feast seafood tray as treats/snack (approx. $1 each time).  Not counting the people veggies/grass that they sometimes want, it totals to less than $2/cat/day for food. 
« Last Edit: October 10, 2016, 06:28:04 AM by lexalex »

freya

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #30 on: October 10, 2016, 12:57:36 PM »
Dry feed seriously is a penny-wise, pound-foolish maneuver, but commercial wet and raw foods are ridiculously overpriced.  The trick is to make your cat's food yourself, but be careful about proper nutrition.  I feed my two 15 lb cats a homemade raw diet, which comes to about $80/month.  For one 6 lb cat I'd probably be spending no more than $20-30/month, and I'm being slightly lazy here by not buying the grinder and the $2/lb chicken thighs from Costco.  The food is more nutritious than canned, so you end up feeding smaller quantities.

I order meat/bone/organ grinds from an online supplier (try Hare Today or My Pet Carnivore), but if you can find a local raw feeding cooperative you can get some really good deals.  Follow the recipe on catinfo.org, which saves a bundle over the pre-mixed supplements like Alnutrin.

Bonus:  big savings in the litter dept.  Poop is small, dry and it doesn't smell, so no need for deodorizers or fancy gizmos designed to avoid litter box maintenance.  Sometimes I think that cat food and litter manufacturers have a kickback system or something, because cat food seems to be specifically designed to make cat poop stinky.

Now if only I could figure out how to keep my cats amused without constantly buying toys :-)



bacchi

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #31 on: October 10, 2016, 01:13:30 PM »
The test results came back and although the cat is getting old, she's perfectly healthy for now. We're investigating wet food options, but it seems super complicated. There aren't many hypoallergenic wet foods without a ton of carbs as cheap fillers.

We used a table on the net listing protein levels in wet cat food. We picked the lowest protein one that wasn't prescription and wasn't poultry, since one of our cats is allergic to bird.

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=cannedfoods

Agree with the poster above: some vets will recommend that you buy prescription food because they get a kickback.

Lis

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #32 on: October 10, 2016, 01:43:36 PM »
Now if only I could figure out how to keep my cats amused without constantly buying toys :-)

The best toys I ever "buy" my cats are the plastic tops on milk cartons/OJ/etc. And of course cardboard boxes. And plastic bags. And my toes under a blanket. I still buy them toys that I think are cute, and they might find them amusing for about 30 seconds. Except the laser light. That thing will drive them bonkers for hours.

We feed our cat a commercially produced raw diet. The brand is Primal, and she eats the Beef and Salmon flavor. 2 bags lasts a month, each bag is $20, so ~ $1.35 per day for a 12-lb. female cat. (May cost more or less depending on feeding needs. Also, the chicken/turkey versions are less expensive, and the exotic/game versions are more expensive.)

It comes in pre-formed frozen nuggets so you don't ever have to handle it yourself. Just thaw a day's worth overnight (3 nuggets in our case), and feed.

Alternately, they also have a freeze-dried brand, if you can't handle the frozen version--just add water. It is a bit more pricey, however.

Healthy weight (she ballooned to 18 lbs on dry kibble), healthy coat, healthy cat! Bonus--poop doesn't smell!

I've never heard of primal but I'm interested. How much do you feed your cat and how big is she (healthy weight)? I have two monster cats - one healthy weight at 15ish lbs, and one a bit over weight at 18ish (vet says he should be 16 or so, he's a bit bigger than his brother).
« Last Edit: October 10, 2016, 01:46:54 PM by Lis »

Rubyvroom

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #33 on: October 10, 2016, 01:43:48 PM »
We started feeding our dog a raw meat diet after she starting having some serious medical issues in the past year. We've noticed a very positive difference in her health (and she bounced back quickly from the medical issues), and she is ~always~ excited about eating.

We are lucky enough to have a local store that sells raw meat for pets. They prepare it for you, so I get to be lazy and don't have to prepare it myself. They suggest feeding 2%-3% body weight, so for our 40lb dog (640 ounces), 2%-3% would be ~13-19 ounces per day of raw meat.

I bought 8 ounce reusable plastic containers on Amazon and buy 5lb buckets of raw meat for $15-$20 per bucket (depending on the meat). Each 5lb bucket gets me about ten 8 ounce containers of food, so 5 days of food for her (16 ounces per day). If you do the math, that's about $90-$120 per month (I rotate between 3 meats which is why there is such a wide range), or $3-$4 per day for a 40lb animal. This seems expensive to me but I feel like it's worth the money to keep her healthy and away from the vet's office.

I'm not sure how large your cat is, but for a ~10lb cat you'd be looking at 1/4 the cost I noted above.  That would be far cheaper than buying the cans I would think. I don't know though if you have any similar stores that sell prepared meat in bulk, but perhaps you can find one in your area or order online (or make it yourself, as others have suggested).

Inaya

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #34 on: October 10, 2016, 03:44:11 PM »
Now if only I could figure out how to keep my cats amused without constantly buying toys :-)

The best toys I ever "buy" my cats are the plastic tops on milk cartons/OJ/etc. And of course cardboard boxes. And plastic bags. And my toes under a blanket. I still buy them toys that I think are cute, and they might find them amusing for about 30 seconds. Except the laser light. That thing will drive them bonkers for hours.

We feed our cat a commercially produced raw diet. The brand is Primal, and she eats the Beef and Salmon flavor. 2 bags lasts a month, each bag is $20, so ~ $1.35 per day for a 12-lb. female cat. (May cost more or less depending on feeding needs. Also, the chicken/turkey versions are less expensive, and the exotic/game versions are more expensive.)

It comes in pre-formed frozen nuggets so you don't ever have to handle it yourself. Just thaw a day's worth overnight (3 nuggets in our case), and feed.

Alternately, they also have a freeze-dried brand, if you can't handle the frozen version--just add water. It is a bit more pricey, however.

Healthy weight (she ballooned to 18 lbs on dry kibble), healthy coat, healthy cat! Bonus--poop doesn't smell!

I've never heard of primal but I'm interested. How much do you feed your cat and how big is she (healthy weight)? I have two monster cats - one healthy weight at 15ish lbs, and one a bit over weight at 18ish (vet says he should be 16 or so, he's a bit bigger than his brother).


She's currently 12 lbs, but she's supposed to be closer to 11 (not as much exercise and more treats than usual lately). Primal has this really great feeding calculator that'll tell you how many nuggets of each flavor you should be feeding. For instance, Tau gets 3 beef/salmon nuggets per day, but if she would eat the chicken, she'd be getting 4 of those. http://www.primalpetfoods.com/education/calc

Jschange

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #35 on: October 10, 2016, 04:16:57 PM »
Some prescription brands also have a 'regular' store brand, and buying on sale or in bulk might help.

I know you are grossed out about handling meat/fish, but what if you got a special cat food slow cooker? I used to cook for meat eaters that way, since it didn't contaminate my cooking stuff, or require me to deal with it much at all.

LouLou

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #36 on: October 10, 2016, 04:21:32 PM »
I don't know what is available in Canada, but I save money by buying my wet grain-free food in bulk from Amazon.  I also started by larger cans, instead of the little individual canned serving. I get monthly shipments of the "Wellness" brand cat food. It comes out to about $1.50 per day.

moustacheverte

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Re: My older cat requires wet (canned) food. It costs 3$ a day. Alternatives?
« Reply #37 on: October 11, 2016, 07:36:21 AM »
Thanks, we ordered some grain free, bird free wet food (Wellness, as recommended by another poster) off Amazon subscribe. We'll see if the cat is allergic to the birds (turkey, chicken) and grain mix or something else.