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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Cat food is BLOODY expensive! What if I...

85 replies

HecateQueenOfWitches · 20/02/2011 10:58

gave her proper food instead? Is there any reason why she has to have cat food?

She will only eat sheba she'd rather starve than have anything else! but they are 60p each and she gets through 4 or sometimes 5 a DAY!

I worked out I can feed her for half the price if I buy cans of value tuna and bags of frozen value chicken and fish.

But would this meet her nutritional needs?

OP posts:
Monty27 · 20/02/2011 17:59

Mine go ballistic at the smell of take away curry but they don't get any.

Cats are funny. I always give them chicken bones and they love that, apart from that they get whatever is on special offer but...

some git animal is coming in and eating their food atm grrrrr!

scaryteacher · 20/02/2011 18:35

Mine gets 1 foil container of Sheba a day and has dry food down if he wants it. He does hunt though and supplements his diet with the local wildlife with tails.

He gets scraps off a chicken at times and tuna for a treat, but seems to cope OK.

Tesco were doing 3 for 2 on Sheba as dh had to bring me back a bootful from UK last weekend.

My late lamented cats used to have fish every day. I'd buy the frozen blocks/portions of coley from Tesco and they had one each every day for their dinner, and Iams for their dry food.

rinabean · 20/02/2011 18:59

Don't give too much tuna! The heavy metals that build up in the fish will poison your cat! Please be careful! I've heard of lots of cats who were spoilt to death in this fashion.

Nutrition-wise, there's stuff they need from the bones and organs that I think they mostly re-add to normal food. If you changed one meal a day to meat I'm sure they'd be fine. But not too much tuna!

LifeInTheSlowLane · 20/02/2011 18:59

Mine started off on whiskas but now refuse it. They like the little tins of sheba too but it IS expensive. I've been bulk buying at tescos while the 3 for 2 offer is on.

Maryz · 20/02/2011 19:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Fluffycloudland77 · 21/02/2011 15:54

Cooked chicken and tuna won't have Taurine in it, it's essential to cat health and those that don't get enough die of heart enlargement, this is what I learnt when our Bengal started with stomach problems and I switched him to cooked chicken. You can buy taurine supplements but the ones I saw where £50 a month. Taurine is destroyed by cooking or exposure to air. So minced meat or chopped up raw meat is also no good. Having said that my vet says her patients on cooked meat diets thrive sometimes! We feed ours 4 pouches of pets at home purely chicken a day plus applaws biscuits. He'd move out if I just fed him one pouch a day! And he's not fat on that because he never stops running, climbing opening drawers and hunting.

whomovedmychocolate · 21/02/2011 16:07

Get it on Amazon, the food I mean, it's much cheaper.

I have started buying Felix from Amazon and it works out about 30% less than the supermarkets.

And add biscuits too.

My cats have always caught and killed if they didn't like what was provided though. A pampered puss may be more difficult.

Original poster
HecateQueenOfWitches · 21/02/2011 16:16

thanks folks. Sounds like sticking to proper cat food is nutritionally best for her then.

I didn't know you could get cat food on amazon! will have a look. thanks.

well, gormet something or other - smaller than sheba and even more expensive! on offer at tesco today at 6 for £2, so stocked up.

Still bloody expensive though. so thought I'd try mixing them with a cheap cat food and see if I can get away with it Grin

Her teeth can't manage biscuits. Unless there are special softer ones for elderly cats?

OP posts:
whomovedmychocolate · 21/02/2011 16:49

Yes you can get older cat biscuits - try looking in the supermarket or one of the online vets stores for biscuits for geriatric cats.

simpson · 21/02/2011 19:21

was just going to suggest mixing the "posh" food with the cheaper one but see you have already thought of that Grin

My cats are only 9mths old but have kitten dried food (pets@home own brand) which I was told was softer than adult dried food for young kittens teeth, might work on your old girl too???

Grumpla · 21/02/2011 19:31

I used to feed my cat pouches until she decided she would only eat the beef flavour ones. She started behaving quite similarly to this - yowling, following, begging etc.

I was worried by the lack of variety in her diet and also the cost of the really expensive single pouches. We had a stand-off for two days whilst I offered her a variety of other foods (tuna, other pouches, tins, biscuits) and she ate nothing at all.

She cracked first - she now eats IAMs biscuits (senior ones, nice and small as she is practically toothless, my vet says that it is the size of the biscuit that is crucial) and gets a 'treat' once or twice a week (a few mouthfuls of chicken / tuna) plus the odd pouch for variety. I have noticed she drinks much more fresh water and her coat has improved.

Ultimately I think that it is a question of willpower - who is the alpha in this relationship?!? If she thinks she can scratch you to get what she wants I would be wary of playing along with that kind of behaviour.

fruitshootsandheaves · 21/02/2011 19:34

What is with Sainsbury's stopping their cat food online last week? I can't find it...have they rebranded?
I've had to buy mine Felix this week...they don't seem to have noticed Grin

simpson · 21/02/2011 19:37

I have had several stand offs with my kitties Hmm

They have cracked first Grin Grin

At first they would only eat pets@home kitten pouches so when they were out of stock I had to try a different brand, they were not happy!!!

We had another stand off when I introduced some dried food to their diet as I was fed up feding them pouches all the time and thought the dried food would fill them up a bit more, also to save me £££ Grin

whomovedmychocolate · 21/02/2011 19:55

fruitshoots - I have noticed with Sainsburys online sometimes things don't come up on the shelf view but if you search they appear. Hmm

Either that or there is a large cat at the warehouse going muwhahahahahhahaah Grin

fruitshootsandheaves · 21/02/2011 20:17
Grin
Original poster
HecateQueenOfWitches · 21/02/2011 21:48

Grin wmmc

"Ultimately I think that it is a question of willpower - who is the alpha in this relationship"

oh, she is! Grin no question about it.

Mind you, it IS her house. (we moved in here a few years ago and she already lived here! refused to move with her previous staff owners. so we said she could stay. ha. like we had a choice Grin )

she yells at us in the morning if we don't come straight down and give her breakfast and god help us if she actually has to come up the stairs! She shouts at the cat flap and we, er, Blush hold it open for her

but she's a total sweetheart. and she's the only cat I've ever known who pins you down to wash you Grin

and she loves TV Grin

OP posts:
LaWeasel · 22/02/2011 14:09

I was about to start a thread about catfood. My cat has had a taste of Felix and gone absolutely off the deep end. I'm wondering what the hell is in it?!

Back to waitrose I guess. But they seem to have stopped doing cans. (I was doing a 50/50 wet and dry diet)

GetOrfMoiLand · 22/02/2011 14:13

I feed my cats Iams beacause I cannot bear the smell of wet food.

DP is completely soppy aboutthe cats, thinks I am cruel to feed them dried food and sneaks in Sheba and treats them to that. The cats have got him wrapped round their little fingers.

Lemonylemon · 24/02/2011 15:18

Thank God I'm not the only one with fussy cats. My two are still on kitten food. They have 6 sachets between them every day. The bowls are cleaned out by each meal time. They also have a bowl of dry food that they can nibble during the day.

The thing is, that when they're given the sachets, they'll lick the jelly or gravy off the food and the food then gets left for hours until they HAVE to eat it. At the moment they'll eat Whiskas, but they have been on Felix and Sainsbury's Own (which they absolutely loathe, btw). I've bought a couple of tins of food, but haven't been brave enough to put it down for them Grin - that could be my project for the weekend......

emptyshell · 25/02/2011 08:21

It's the taurine in cat food that's the tricky bit I believe - they're much more nutritionally picky as a species than dogs.

As for the TV thing... mine is completely obsessed with the patron saint of animals - Rolf Harris. She used to be GLUED to Animal Hospital when it was on, then skulk off when Eastenders came on afterwards.

FourFortyFour · 25/02/2011 20:44

Sachets say 4 a day but 2 and some biscuits are enough for my cat who has a healthy appetite.

FourFortyFour · 25/02/2011 20:50

No point mixing dear with cheap as you will be wasting your money.....

Havingkittens · 28/02/2011 13:18

4-5 sachets a day is masses. Especially as stuff like Whiskas and Felix is the nutritional equivalent of feeding your kids McDonalds every day. It may have the relevant minerals in it but apart from that it is pure junk. Mostly fillers and meat by products rather than quality meat.

Only thing is that decent quality cat food is much more expensive so if price is your issue then that's not going to be an option for you.

My cat has just been diagnosed with Kidney disease - his wet food costs just under £8 for 12 sachets.... GULP!

By the way, IAMS buyers - not sure if you are aware but a lot of pet owners, pet shops and vets boycott the brand due to the fact that they carry out cruel and inhumane experiments on cats to develop their brand.

Original poster
HecateQueenOfWitches · 28/02/2011 14:32

whiskas isn't good? I always thought it was one of the better ones.

Doesn't matter though, she won't touch it Grin

Sheba is on special offer again, so I've stocked up on that. and those tiny little tins of something called gormet.

Are they better than whiskas? I know they're dearer Grin but are they better.

And I found some biscuits for elderly cats (as mentioned by some on the thread - ta) and bought a pack of those and she had some.

OP posts:
SecretSquirrel193 · 28/02/2011 15:00

You can feed her a cooked fish/chicken/tuna diet but it will be deficient in taurine which cats need (a deficiency of taurine long term will lead to blindness)
You can buy taurine supplements to correct this (your vet should be able to order in a power for you, or you can get some online)

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