Is there a cheaper way of feeding my cat?

[DangerQuakeRhinoSnake]

We recently got a new cat and the vet has recommended Applaws. We're ordering online. I was hoping to feed her the biscuits with an occasional pouch to supplement. But she doesn't like the biscuits.

She's obviously a wet food fan but I was hoping there would be a cheaper way (supermarket brands aren't suiting her tummy).

Any suggestions please?

Try katkin I pay £94 every 42 days, but it feeds 2 cats, so around £1.15 a day, and it does suit cats with stomach issues. I won't describe the problems 1 cat had as it was awful. Since being on Katkin, no more tummy troubles. The only problem is having to have enough freezer space.

Mine eat mostly aminonda carny but also feringa and wild freedom all of which come in cans and work out around half the price of applaws. They also eats canned applaws from time to time which I have to admit is considerably less gross than dealing with the others

Why do you have a cat that you can’t afford to properly feed? What if there are vet bills? I don’t mean that unkindly.

@Overtheatlantic I can afford to spend more but I'm looking for ways to save so that we can afford other things too.

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. As I expected, there are many options I hadn't known about so I have plenty of avenue to explore. Now signed up to Zooplus! 😁

For wet food I've done a lot of research to find cheaper brands which name meat proteins (I need this as my cat is allergic to some) and are high meat content in larger tins than e.g. Untamed, which is too expensive for us.

My girl eats Feringa, Animonda Carny, MACs, Catz Finefood and Wild Freedom from 200g-800g tins. She has 2 x 50g servings daily along with 3 tbsp of dry food.

We've fed our cats on Bozita wet food in the tetra packs ordered in bulk on Zooplus... Even with the price increases it's still cheaper than pouches from the supermarket and is high meat content and grain free. I'd definitely recommend you trying it. Also agree with signing up to the loyalty scheme, and using topcashback or quidco to get cashback. As a new customer you'll get a good %.

Our car didn't like Bozita , although I know some do. We use some Whiskas and some Hills Science diet daily. The latter can be bought in big sacks and works out well priced, and vets rate it.

Scrumbles do a really good quality dry food. In terms of wet we currently feed Sheba but mine also love Feringa and Animonda Carny.

I did so much research on this. I’ll pay what I have to for the best food for my boy but want value for money. We ended up with Meowing heads pouches. One per day split into two meals with a measured spoon full of scrumbles. Meowing heads is a complete food. About £62 for 60 pouches and they are larger pouches than most others.

I feel your pain my male cat is both grain and fish free to keep his stomach and digestive system happy….. also can find too much chicken a problem :( we have found that Lidl little tins are grain free and suit his tummy. He has either Carnilove or Purizon biscuits.

my recommendation is to try and be feeding two brands at once so if one is pulled you have a back up they will eat.

he won’t eat any human food unless he thinks he’s stealing it…. Also will only eat gravy based food.

Try chicken liver from a frozen section at Sainsbury's. 53p on sale. Try raw or cooked. A packet should last about 3 days

Try Bitiba - it’s often cheaper than Zooplus.

Applaws is made in the same factory as Encore (check the tin codes) so you can swap to Encore which has offers more frequently and in stocked in more supermarkets.

How on earth did cats survive on Whiskas?!

I buy cheap beef mince, put it in slow cooker with equal quantities of frozen mixed veg add some boiling water and some gravy mix and cook on low for a couple of hours, freeze some and keep rest in fridge. Feed my cats and dog this mixed with their dried food twice a day and also give tinned oily fish a couple of times per week.

@Bigredpants Meowing Heads - what a great name 😄

@PinkSparklyPussyCat cats today are definitely not the same as cats in the 80s/90s. I barely remember going to the vets then! Now it's a frequent thing. High maintenance or what??

I feed mine purina one biscuits and purina pouches in gravy. Bought in bulk from costco. No idea how good it is but they both eat it without complaint and are in great health. They won't touch whiskas.

I find it's the change of food not the brand that upsets my cat tummy but it normally settles after a day or two, they will get fur balls coming up regardless of food as well

Tell me about it! The cats we had at home all had Whiskas or similar and still lived to a ripe old age!

Can I just ask those people who feed their cats actual chicken and fish etc.... what do you do about taurine. I believe it's essential for cats as they can't produce their own. No idea what big cats in the wild do 🤔

Just for clarification, I also give my cats cooked chicken and tinned and cooked fish but they mainly eat wet pouches where taurine is already added.

Have a look on zooplus, lots of good grain free options. Something like animonda carny is reasonably priced (tins not pouches, pouches are always so much more expensive).

Taurine is present naturally in meat, though there's more of it in some types than others and the amount may be reduced by some types of processing. Some good info here: https://thelittlecarnivore.com/en/blog/taurine-supplement-in-raw-diet-cats

My cat seems to love the amazon brand pouches though he's never been fussy to be fair. My next door neighbour says her cat is exceptionally fussy but I can vouch for the fact that he's also a fan of (my cat's) amazon brand.