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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.

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Original poster

opinions of sheba fine flakes jelly vs felix

23 replies

catlady45 · 01/03/2018 10:16

just going to cut to the chase.

got 3 cats. one with previous struvite crystals. vet recommended diet as you all know is ££££ . we started him off on that but he go fed up and stopped eating. also didnt help he would then eat the others lefts overs so was counter productive.

is there any affordable alternatives out there? vet days felix is a no no, but they all like it . looking at sheba fine flakes in jelly and was wondering if it was any better?

currently on maternity leave just now so money is tight. i believe the crystals are due to stress - house renovations new addition to family etc.

OP posts:

Original poster

catlady45 · 01/03/2018 10:19

i should also add, i have a been using ultima dry food targeted for struvite crystals. vet says if i could get him on to this full time it would be far better for him.

also i always add water to the wet food .

OP posts:

EachandEveryone · 01/03/2018 10:27

I think Sheba fineflakes is one of the better ones and mine have it on rotation. Its grain free as well. sainsburys new range looks good as well.

prettypaws · 01/03/2018 10:37

They're all cat junk food really with poor meat content, i think Felix is only 4% meat bits. Other brands have 70% or more. Our rescue cat likes Sheba but I alternate with healthier food as she needs to lose weight. Have a look on Zooplus for lower cost better quality cat food. I recommend Cosma and some of the Almo Nature foods, mine like the cheaper Cosma which I think is about 40% meat/fish. They have cheaper Applaws and similar but it's still expensive imo.

prettypaws · 01/03/2018 10:40

Dry food is really not good for cats, have a Google about what it does to them (just read from sources not sponsored by dry food producers). There are better high meat non grain dry foods if you need to use a bit, Nutrivet is one that comes to mind.

viccat · 01/03/2018 11:24

I would also recommend looking on ZooPlus. There are several grain free high meat content wet foods on there that are pretty good value for money and a lot better than anything you can get from a supermarket.

Bozita, Animonda, Cosma etc. are all good options.

Original poster

catlady45 · 01/03/2018 12:22

ive been searching zoo plus. unfortunately anything with the term "urinary" still comes up rather expensive. i find it hard trying to find what brand have high meat content and are grain free. think i've also read low in magnesium is also beneficial too.

prettypaws unfortunately i found that out to the detriment of my cats. when he was a kitten we were recommended dry only but always gave him both. when he came into weight issues, we put him on dry only to try and sort it as he was such a good drinker. think this is probably what kick started all this :(

OP posts:

swapsicles · 01/03/2018 12:32

I have this issue,
My lot used to be on Felix unless one got very ill with a blocked bladder.
Currently they are on hills dry urinary and kattovit wet from zooplus, problem is they do leave a lot of the wet food and at 3 x the price it's not ideal!
I've been told he has to be on urinary food completly as mixing and matching will undo the work of the urinary food and be pointless (ph levels mainly I think)
Next step is adding water to the dry food, I'll see how that goes down!

Original poster

catlady45 · 01/03/2018 12:48

eachandeveryone what the sainsburys food you are talking about ? is it their own brand ?

am i right in saying pates are a good option also?

OP posts:

EachandEveryone · 01/03/2018 16:08

Yes their own brand the posher version is a rip off of apple paws

Sheba has 40% meat

Original poster

catlady45 · 01/03/2018 21:16

Well ive gone with the ultima wet pouches for urinary issues. Although expensive still cheaper than other brands.

Tom cat sprayed in living room tonight :( thats after a dose of antibiotics yesterday :(

Dont want to risk him becoming more ill by using sheba but think i'll get it for the other 2 and jyst try to police it... somehow. I just hope the delivery hurrys up :(

OP posts:

viccat · 01/03/2018 21:24

When you say tom cat, do you mean he's not been neutered?

Original poster

catlady45 · 02/03/2018 01:58

Ah sorry yes he has . When he was a kitten. Only ever sprayed in the house when somethings been wrong . E.g. struvite crystals.

OP posts:

BrendasUmbrella · 02/03/2018 02:58

Is the Sainsbury's range "The Delicious Collection"?

www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/luxury-cat-food-238855-44/sainsburys-tdc-tuna-whole-meat-in-jelly-85g

EachandEveryone · 02/03/2018 07:00

Yes that’s their posher range like Encore but cheaper. Mine like it and it’s complete. They’ve revamped their cheaper range as well and made it grain free.

Original poster

catlady45 · 02/03/2018 08:19

Thats interesting :) certainly allot more affordable than other brands :)

OP posts:

EachandEveryone · 02/03/2018 09:17

Yes but don’t go mad and buy the whole shelf or you know what will happen!

Mightybanhammer · 02/03/2018 15:48

My three adore Sheba. The pouches are 70rather than 100g but as there is no waste I reckon it is worth it.

It's an acceptable middle ground between standard food and expensive diet. They have all thrived on it. I also put down some Harrington's dry.

Original poster

catlady45 · 04/03/2018 23:01

So i dont want to start another thread. If any of you could help, that would be great.

Cat is still spraying. Suspected uti so got anti biotics. Still waiting on special food shipment (ultima wet and dry) and gel to dissolve any possible crystals. Only indication of this is the spraying and urine fluctuating from acidic/alkaline. Litter tray fine. Doesnt appear to be in pain.

Been using ped remedy plug in but have now ordered feliway.

Any ideas ? Been allot of changes in the house but its stressing me out now :(

OP posts:

BarbaraofSevillle · 05/03/2018 09:42

Sorry can't help you with the stress and spraying issue, but can recommend the Sainsbury's new range. It's all in green packaging and called 'Complete Nutrition'. There's senior, kitten and standard, sachets, tins and dry, eg:

www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/cat-food-tins/sainsburys-variety--meat---fish-in-jelly-12x400g

I also use Anidoma Carny from Zooplus and have just had a sample set of Smilla from there too, which seems to be going down well - canned which is OK for several cats (I have 5 plus fosters) as you just share the cans between them all and costs about the same as Felix AGAIL, which they also eat sometimes. I'm trying to do a mixture so they don't get bored. Harringtons is a good quality affordable dry food, about the same as Whiskas dry, but grain free.

BrendasUmbrella · 05/03/2018 18:15

My stupid cat hates Delicious Collection. She continues to love cheap Whiskas. Better for my bank balance though...

EachandEveryone · 07/03/2018 08:51

Did you try putting lucky lix on it

Original poster

catlady45 · 07/03/2018 10:29

Well nee food arrived . None like whats suppossed to be theirs but want to eat each others. What a nightmare.

My cat with the spraying/ crystal problems tried several times to spray in protest of new food :( which eould suggest his problems are behavioural. Feliway plugin arrived yesterday so finger crossed.

On plus side we also got prescribe calm ex for our youngest cats. She is so anxious. Clawing furniture hisses at slightest thing . Not all time but kinda like jekyl and hyde. Seema to be working though. Its a natrual calming aid and she seems like a different cat. No linger living in a cat war zone. Hopefully that also helps the stress situation in other cat.

OP posts:

YouAreMySunshine19 · 22/06/2020 22:06

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