Tinned cat food

[lightand]

Is it me or is tinned cat food becoming a thing of the past?

Admittedly I havent traipsed around every supermarket and pet store in town, but dont want to, if I am correct.

I can find plenty of cat pouches.

@lightand you want a cat food that names its ingredients.

A wet food will obvs be a lot of moisture. However you should know what's in it beyond 'protein'.

Also if it is telling you about tasty vegetables - that's aimed at you, not the cat. Cats' natural diet is not cranberries or steamed pumpkin. They just eat meat.

Compare the Sainsbury's list: 14% animal derivatives to a random Lily's Kitchen pouch (not the brand I use, again random choice)

45% chicken, 3% mussels, 47% chicken broth - actual food items.

I've done a rough calculation and feeding ours Canagan, the most expensive pouch out there, is only £1 a day more than the Felix as they eat so much less.

For cheap tins, that are all meat, we used to get Animonda Carny from Zooplus. Cats were very happy on it.

Thanks everyone.

I think I have been naive.
I didnt realise that they all vary so much as regards meat content.
Even with tins, she was eating 1/3 tin am with some tins, and 1/2 a tin am with others.

Didnt know I need to read the labels as much as able, like I do sometimes when buying peoples' food!

Benn out today to shops I dont often go in and did find some tins.

From now on will study labels or google ingredients, before I purchase.
Not sure why I called it a he cat. It is a she cat. And is semi wild.

Disclaimer, I work for Lily's Kitchen!

Whichever food you go for, look at the ingredients for things you recognise - derivatives will be the "leftovers" of any type of food - ie meat derivatives are generally gristle, ears, feet etc - they may be high in protein but not necessarily easily digestible or nutritional.

Something to avoid, which is in a LOT of cat food, is sugars. Cats love it, but again not very nutritious! It's the main reason cats become "addicted" to a certain kind of cat food.

I would also advise cats do really need wet food in their diet. They originally got the majority of their moisture from their prey, and don't always drink as much water as they need. This will help avoid kidney/urinary issues as they get older. Giving them a wet meal in the morning and evening, while leaving some dry food out during the day for them to graze on gives them the best of both worlds.

In terms of packaging, most cat food comes in small "meal-size" packaging as these sell better than 400 tins. 🤷‍♀️

Oh, and also a reminder, cats are obligate carnivores- they need meat to survive! No cat should be on a vegan diet.

You aren't naive OP. Every pet owner falls for the big con. We expect pet food from the main manufacturers to be decent. Some cats thrive on it, others dont. I never looked into it until my cat became ill four years after getting her which is when I started looking into grain free and ending up down a rabbit hole. Even if you find a decent food you then have the issue of explaining to kitty that they will like it 😂

@Amiable – that’s interesting about the sugars and need for “wet” food.
I’ve always thought wet food smells salty somehow and my cat went through a really bad phase of cystitis like symptoms (blood in wee). Confirmed by vet not a kidney issue but said she was dehydrated and that was the likely cause.
Obviously water’s always available for her but I get a bit more into her now by stealth – adding a tablespoon or so of water to her already wet food. Yes it turns it into a bit of a sloppy mess (which she seems to like) but she’s not had any issues since (fingers crossed I’ve not just jinxed that!).

@DatingDinosaur the water in with the food sounds like a great idea!

Glad you found the info useful

I don't buy cat food in supermarkets because we go through so much of it (4 of our own, a permanent 'foster' and others, currently mother cat nursing 5 kittens that are now just about fully weaned so go through so much food, you wouldn't believe.

I also do some consultancy work for a major petfood manufacturer and over the last few years, their previous trend towards pouches has slowed and even been reversed back towards cans somewhat, due to increasing interest in avoiding plastic packaging.

We get ours delivered from Zooplus and most of it is in tins in 6 packs, some in Tetrapacks. We buy Carny, Smilla and Bozita mostly, which is far better quality than Whiskas and Felix and costs around the same price if bought in bulk and meeting the £40 minimum order for free postage.

If we had only one or two cats, we'd still buy the same food and just have to pray they'd not change their minds about what they liked when 'the coffin' arrived every few weeks.

I really hate pouches. I find them wasteful - yes, environmentally, but also I never manage to get all the food out. They are also really messy - I always get cat food on my fingers which I hate.

Our two have sensitive tummies, and do so much better on better quality food. At they moment, they have untamed, which is great, but it works out to be so very expensive with the quantity my two eat. We've just ordered some Carny and some Bozita to see if either of those will be acceptable to Their Majesties.

Interestingly, DH works in the food industry and says that the bulk of the cost in tinned food will be in the actual tins and not the contents, especially now when materials costs are through the roof. So even very expensive food would be much cheaper in bigger tins, as there is less packaging compared to the food volume.

Another big advantage to quality food (if your cat uses a litter tray) is the smell, or lack of it.

DCat eats a mixture of Katkin and Untamed and honest to god his poo does not smell. Like, at all. You would have no idea he had even used his tray if it wasn't for the litter flung merrily across the room.

My cat alternates wet food between Lilys pate in trays , lilys 85g tins , meowing heads pouches , Butchers Classic 400g Tins and whatever grain free wet food is on offer from zooplus when I need to order cat litter

Day 1 introducing Bozita has not gone well! But onwards and upwards - DH has ordered loads so we will persevere!

We tried Bozita as a cheaper alternative to Katkin. DCat loved it but my god is digestive system didn't. Litter tray absolutely stank.

Although Bozita is high meat content I think perhaps it is still very heavily processed.

Bit of a thread derail but a plus point for the boxes of cat food pouches in terms of recycling …I’ve just spent the morning crafting and making a shelf stand for my kitchen cupboards using a 48 pouch multipack/box of Felix.

Each compartment is the perfect size for a mug and then other stuff can stand on the top of it. I strengthened it with masking tape and decoupaged it.

If this one survives I’m going to do the same thing with the next one for another cupboard.

I’ve already got ideas for making a doorstop out of a 12 pouch box with some old garden pebbles for ballast and some left over fabric.

Sorry, as you were!!

We feed our 3 cats dry Purina, half a cup twice a day. They don't have treats or any other type of food. At 9 they have never had a health problem.

My old cat was ENORMOUS and ate pouches, dry mix and scavenged constantly. He was 1.5 stones in weight and had constant kidney problems which he died of age 14. When I got my 3 kittens the vet said pouches, tins are packed in salt which over time badly affects kidneys so I erred on side of caution this time round. Thankfully they are all great.