Cat food - balance of cost to quality

[Yogamatcat]

We’re needing to economise and having cut back on our food bill I’m now looking at how much we spend on catfood.

2 big cats, 10 and 7yrs old. They have felix pouches, previously had tins when we had a 3rd cat, but too much was going to waste with just 2.

I worry about quality, but equally not convinced felix is any better than own brand.
The guilty part of me says they should have ‘vet food’ or raw diet and I’m feeding them junk anyway.

What’s the balance between good quality/healthy for them and price?

Mine have Iams pouches, jelly for breakfast and gravy for dinner. Dry food is down all the time. One cat drinks a lot, the other doesn't.

My cat has whiskers or felix wet food and either whiskers or go-cat biscuits. She is 17 next year and has never had any health issues. Back legs aren’t as springy as they used to be, but she’s an old girl now

I've heard on MN that whiskers is the cat equivalent to McDonalds.

My old cats had Felix tins and Iams dried - old boy lived to 19 with no health problems at all and only died when the neighbours terrier killed him
I've now discovered
Applaws dried and it's very good- I get it from zooplus, and mix it with Felix pouches from B&M bargains, who sell it much cheaper than Sainsbury's.

I use Harringtons dry food. My boys had only had dry food and when I got them from the rescue, they turned their noses up at wet food! Luckily, I had their vaccination books where the vet had written that they were to be given dry food. There was a point they couldn't get that, due to another cat developing UTIs on dry food, but they went happily back to it when we sadly lost that cat. They did enjoy a pouch of wet food of a morning, though and liked the Lidl stuff.

CandleCat1 had to be put to sleep 6 weeks ago, very unexpectedly, and CandleCat2 is grieving. He is particularly annoying about his food. He went off the Lidl pouches, so I got him some Whiskas which he ate, but is now less keen on. He never liked Felix, so no point trying that. He was at the vet the other day to get a check up, and his weight is okay, but I am keeping a sharp eye on him. I am not sure what I will tempt him with once the Whiskas is done. My love next door neighbour got him some Tesco cat treats for Christmas and he loved them, but they are all finished and he's pissed. I refuse to get him Dreamies, as when they got them a few years ago, it was madness. As someone has said, crack for cats. I don't want him to get into the habit of only eating if he's given some treats.

LittleCandle I've had the same with dry food from Big Girl - she's had dry for so long that if it isn't a dried up crisp, she turns her nose up at it. Occasionally I try giving her some chicken or fish as a treat - no thank-you!

Mine are clearly defective though as none of them thought much of Dreamies. Snackies on the other hand, and yoghurt is apparently the food of the gods.

I have 4 cats so do need to cut costs. I buy tins when i go to a big supermarket.
Cats will eat Felix, Tiger (asda) and aldis chicken.
Will not touch any other supermarket brands. Wont go near whiskas.

If i go to aldi i stock up on their chicken tins as its the cheapest my cats will tolerate.
I also buy a massive bag of james wellbeloved turkey dried food from amazon where it is usually much cheaper and that usuall lasts a few months and they all like it.

I do buy pouches if I have to top up, but you go through so many its really not good value, and so much waste as not recyclable

I love zooplus and buy Puritzon dry on there and bulk buy Sheba fine cuts which is meant to be grain free. What I can’t get my head around is Applepaws what is the point of it? All those lovely flavours but why would you spend so much money on a complementary food? Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference is fantastic full of meat and they no have that to break up the Sheba cycle.

I would do a mix of complete grain free dried and then wet pouches.

Mine are fussy little buggers and one is apparently allergic to grains, drama queen that she is. Her lips swelled up and gums were inflamed when she was a kitten and vets suspected an allergy to the food she was having, so we have to give grain free which is much better for them apparently anyway. He recommended complete dried applaws which they love. I also give them half a sachet each morning and night of felix good as it looks. That’s the only wet food they won’t turn their noses up at, and believe me I’ve tried pretty much every ruddy cat food on the market. I want them to have some water as otherwise they will only drink out of a running tap or a muddy puddle

Like pps we use zooplus which is amazing for saving, and you can just reorder when you run low. They have a loyalty points scheme and quite often have reductions.

Butchers classic is much better quality than a lot of the big brands and a lot cheaper than felix etc
Mine won't eat it fussy that he is so he gets Lily's kitchen dry plus natures menu wet but it's not the cheapest

I only feed mine Lily’s kitchen organic. The supermarket brands (whiskas, felix and the dreaded Go-Cat) just don’t have the required level of protein for my precious little poppet.

My boy cat has to have medicated food to stop crystal's forming in his bladder so the girl cat gets the same. It's dry food and is out all the time for them. We get Royal Canine and it costa about £100 every 3-4 months.

Vet said whiskas etc is the worst food for his condition.

On the plus side their poos no longer smell at all and previously you could smell them at the other end of the street!!

Most cats get given what the owner knows they will eat. It’s no help recommending excellent bargain price food if the buggers won’t touch it. Mine is addicted to Felix pouches, she eats two per day plus Iams dry food yet is always shouting for more.
I feed my dogs raw meat and want the cat to eat the same but she won’t.