Searching for good cheap food for picky 10 yr old male cat

[Mrsbrownsbuoys]

I've been trialling Katkin but my very picky cat leaves a lot in the bowl and won't touch it then, so I'm throwing a lot away and it's expensive! He's always been picky, goes off everything after a few pouches.

Any suggestions for good wet cat food, no grains or fillers, that isn't too expensive?

Does he prefer dry? One of mine only ate dry or human food.

Good food is always slightly more expensive. Mine likes James Wellbeloved wet food, grain free.

Look on zooplus. They have the best selection of high quality grain free food. I use Rosies Farm and Bozita. If I am in need of a supermarket buy I will use Butchers Classic as that is grain free but the meat content isn't as high as the others, but it is a good price.

Mine loves HighLife and Highlife Essentials, their budget version, which we buy in bulk off Amazon. She's a fussy bugger, but has been eating this gor months now.

Zooplus is a good call. One of mine will only eat dry food (likes James wellbeloved) and cooked fish or chicken!

My fussy 2 year old is trialing KatKin and I was really disheartened when we started. She doesn't do tidbits but does like a few cheese bits (usually dropped on floor from clumsy grating). So I tried a very small portion (spoonful), the kitty 'crack' (jar of dried stuff they sent) sprinkled on top and a few bits of cheese. Success with turkey but not lamb... other than that I only managed to get her to eat Royal Canin Instinctive which is £13 for a box of 12 (and VERY processed)!

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been sprinkling the "crack" on the katkins, sometimes he'll eat it, I have to warm it in the microwave though, and even then he leaves lots.

I have Butchers Classic in the cupboard, he'll eat a bit but then goes off it - as with most things. I've tried various Bozita flavours too, he's not keen.

I'm on a tight budget but trying to do the best for him.

I don't give him dried food although he likes it, because he's prone to utis and doesn't drink much, also it often makes him sick.

For my demanding girls who like fish I get the big bags of the cheapest frozen fish from Lidl. I think it's fillets that aren't quite the right shape/size for other uses but is perfectly fine. I don't think it's more expensive than a decent quality packaged food. They never leave a speck behind.

@Beamur

For my demanding girls who like fish I get the big bags of the cheapest frozen fish from Lidl. I think it's fillets that aren't quite the right shape/size for other uses but is perfectly fine. I don't think it's more expensive than a decent quality packaged food. They never leave a speck behind.

Do you add taurine ? I understand cats need taurine added to their food.

Even chicken breast, he'll only eat for a couple of days.

He's had katkin now for nearly three months, he'll only eat chicken or Turkey anyway. This morning he's eating it, after turning his nose up at it at first. I'm just fed up of throwing so much expensive food away.

Don’t throw it away, keep it till he goes off the next food then reintroduce it.

Does he like cheap foods like whiskers?

They have other food as well as the fish, which they get maybe 3 times a week. But of my 3, one will only eat dry food and fresh meat/fish. Fish does contain taurine. Plus they get tuna occasionally which is high in taurine and chicken, plus a little ham for treats occasionally.

@Mrsbrownsbuoys

I don't give him dried food although he likes it, because he's prone to utis and doesn't drink much, also it often makes him sick.

I would put him on a urinary dried food - we feed Smilla which is £19 or so for a big bag off ZooPlus - it lasts my three a good 6 weeks. Only one of ours is prone to UTI's but they all eat (and enjoy) the biscuits with no issues.

Personally if he's being fussy I would try a cheap wet food and just make sure the biscuits are good quality. We feed Felix Doubly Delicious as it's the only food they'll all eat with no fuss. Is it high quality? No, but they eat it and that's what's important IMO.

No point wasting money on stuff they won't eat just because it's supposed to be good for them.

Dcat eats dried here- senior cat purina one, but scoffed lidl own brand when we ran out

I've been trying out new foods for mine (recipe change & they were leaving loads) and have discovered that if it's a mousse/terrine, or very small bits (e.g. Sheba fine flakes) they eat a few different ones, but anything with bigger chunks in they lick the jelly/gravy off & leave the actual meat. So the texture is very important for them as well as taste.

They do get most of their intake from dried, but they do like a bit of wet twice a day.

Thanks for the suggestions. I never thought of getting a dried food especially for urinary problems!

Yes to licking off the jelly or gravy and leaving the chunks.

I hear you! To reduce throwing food away we rotate boxes of food/flavours/textures. At the moment we have Felix agail meat and fish, whiskas poultry, James well-beloved turkey, sheba gold tins meat and fish, sheba tubs meat and fish on the go. We have also found we need to mash larger pieces for her so we don't bother with felix original. Plus she HATES pate.

She is also fussy about the food drying out. I am lucky in that I am home alot so instead of one pouch morning and night I split it into four meals and she eats more that way. There's a reason we are called cat slaves

We've just started on KatKin. Admittedly ours is a kitten, so not the same situation, but I would second the suggestion of having multiple smaller meals if you are able. Our kitten has his spread over probably 5 small meals, do it doesn't dry out. The pouch is always finished by the end of the day. There is absolutely no way he could manage half a pouch in one sitting, they are pretty big (we are on 300 kcal pouches).

@Mrsbrownsbuoys

Yes to licking off the jelly or gravy and leaving the chunks.

Sheba Fine Flakes is being cleaned up every night, and the same for the Classics in Terrine in the mornings - unheard of in this house previously. Definitely the texture with mine.

Ours were okay on Felix until the recipe was changed, we then tried them on EVERY brand of cat food. And I mean EVERY brand.

After a lot of throwing food away we've ended up with a combination of some Republic of Cats (might seem expensive at first but they definitely eat most of it) and some Royal Canin dry as a supplement in various types - if you have a look on zooplus you'll see lots of different types of Royal Canin, I'm not sure if there's one for UTIs or to help with kidney function or similar. Again I was a bit worried about the cost at first (agency nurse and self employed here so our income varies) but there's very rarely any waste with the Royal Canin.

Our two also love their cat fountain which helps keep their fluids up. I now prefer zooplus to pets at home, choice of courier, good special offers if you get the timing right, and good variety of options on food. Republic of cats is subscription only and it took us a few months to get the flavours and mix of dry and wet right.

My 17 year old cat likes Purina dry food (always down for him, 24/7, with a bowl of water too) but enjoys wet food 3 or 4 times a day as well. He has Felix - there are various types.

Mine will always reliably eat natures menu, and it's like a paste/pate so can't pick bits out
Although I added a joint supplement this morning to it so he's currently eyeing it with suspicion

13.5 year old cat here.

He has Hill's Science Plan biscuits with one sachet of either Whiskas, Felix or Sheba per day. He knows the difference between standard and premium brands. Came from the rough part of town so I have no idea where he got that from!