I just calculated the total of what we pay for wet food a month. For our two girls we are paying 140 Swiss francs a month. They both get two packs of wet food a day. One in the morning and one in the evening. How much do you pay a month for wet food?
Now my other question is,I have found a cheaper wet food that would cost us 50 Swiss francs a month. We would save alot of money if we would feed the cheaper food. We bought a pack and they both eat it and no vomiting/diarrhea. The food is made in Germany and it is called Catassy. Unfortunately its not written on the box in English what all is in it. The only thing I can translate is that it hasn't got any sugar in it. It says 5%meat and it hasn't got plant stuff in it. I will try find the ingredients in English and post it if I find it.
So,my question..should I keep on feeding Catassy because we can save quite an amount of money? And how much do you pay for your food a month? Ps. I wouldn't mind paying more if its better for the cats..but I just seem to think why expensive if the cheaper might be equally good. Ps they have been on Royal Canin wet food.

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~Genevieve~

Here is some info about Catassy in English: http://m.zooplus.co.uk/shop/zooplus_exc ... ood/146982

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~Genevieve~

I get a case of Mauri food for my two cats every 2 weeks. They get two small cans a day. It is premium cat food containing mostly meat. The monthly cost is $75 USD. They also get a single protein dry food which costs $55 about every 3-4 weeks.

http://www.mauripetfood.com

I know there are cheaper foods available, but what they are eating has a single protein very few additives and is really good for them. My last cat would only eat a cheap supermarket brand of food and she developed kidney disease. I spent four years hydrating her twice a week. I think the food she ate had a lot to do with her kidney failure. I don't want my cats to even try cheap food in case they like it better than their healthy food. I want to give them every opportunity to be healthy disease free cats.

I honestly have no idea what I spend a month on cat food, since I try to stock up so I don't run out. Now I'm feeding a stray cat, so it's even more! You really want to feed your kitties the best quality food you can afford! A cat eating it is a whole other story. I plan to try and get Raiden on some better food. He's super particular, but this is my goal. That will up the cost quite a bit.

When I feed pre-made raw food, it costs about $3.50 a day. When I make my own, it's about $0.75/day. I have not bought canned or dry food so I'm not sure about the cost of that. I believe, quality-wise, you get what you pay for.

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~ Kyenta

Here is a good article on evaluating commercial cat food:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/s ... -pet-food/

Some of it may not be applicable since the way nutritional info is listed and revealed is probably different in US vs Switzerland.

In more simplistic terms though, I think if the food contains meat by-products, you want to avoid that. And if most of the protein is from "meat meal", you want to avoid that too. And you want the amount of plant matter to be much much lower than the meat. Also, if you open the can, and it's just some unrecognizable gruel, I would avoid that also. And then of course the cats get a vote too. You really don't want to plan to feed them anything that they don't like really really well.

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The little monsters 3

One can between the two, twice a day... Soulistic, Wellness, or Merrick cans. Supplemented with smaller bags or tins before bed, so they'll sleep. Dry food us being d/c by Blue Wilderness (Blue Freedom Indoor).
Dry food: $24/3 weeks
Canned: $140/mo
Ugh.

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I will definatly look at that link! The thing is,i was/am feeding Royal Canin and i have been told its not the best food. But now my head is like : At the grocery i can buy the expensive tomatoes that might taste abit better or I can buy the cheaper tomatoes= in the end I am still eating something healthy. That's how I am trying to find a healthy food for the cats. And its difficult because I always thought the RC was good food for them.

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~Genevieve~

@BrianJ12 oh my word! That article is very helpful! I was shocked when I read that they use dog and cat meat!! And that poor toddler that died I will be looking on the internet now for labels of cat foods. I won't order catassy anymore because it has alot of meat by products. I never imagined that they would use such garbage in by products!!! Quite scary.

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~Genevieve~

I feed Oscar two tins of Canagan (plus biscuits) a day at £1.09 per tin. It is one of the best and most expensive....gulp. The monthly total is about £68. I would feed the most expensive food as it has probably got much more meat content and therefore you would need to feed less. I also read on this forum that someone said the higher quality of the food, the healthier the cat will be and need less vet visits saving you money in the long run. Also if the food has no sugar and rubbishy fillers then the cat's teeth will also be healthier with less dental attention needed. I would always go for quality if you can afford it. 140 swiss francs is still under what I pay so it is not too much. I have converted it and if I had two cats my wet food bill would be 198 swiss francs! One other thing I would say with the more expensive wet food...... read the labels very carefully as not all tins/sachets are a 'complete food' some a complementary foods. Complete foods have all the added things the cats need ie taurine etc and complementary dont. It's very confusing and downright annoying to have to read the smallprint to check the tins especially as complete and complementary sound the same....aghhhhh!

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

Agree with all the above, try to feed them a food with as high a meat content as possible but in line with your affordability. Mine are fed the equivalent of three tins per day between them. I feed meowing heads and thrive, I try to avoid anything with grain, artificial colours or preservatives or fillers. Hendrix does have royal canin sensible dry, which I'm not happy about but he likes it and it is good for his sensitive tummy. It costs me about £3 per day for their wet food, and they get dry as well. I just spent £40 for 28 days worth of thrive and meowing heads meat pots are 98p each and they get one of those per day between them as well. So that's about £70 pm before even including the dry food and Jagger won't touch royal canin sensible so I have to get two different kinds.

Best I don't tell my other half how much I spend as he will think they eat better than him!

I tend to order in bulk when there are offers on to save some pennies, but by feeding good quality food, they are (hopefully) fitter with stronger immune systems and hence the potential of saving money with vet bills as Melissa said.

I've heard horror stories of feeding cheap food where cats have lost their teeth or developed fatty lumps on their bodies, which I'm hoping to avoid by spending a bit extra. But obviously you can only spend what is affordable to you so well worth researching different foods on line and then seeing if your girls will eat it, as if they don't like it, no matter how expensive it is, they won't eat it!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

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~ Kyenta

I'm even more confused after reading the link Brian sent through. Thankfully, my hubby doesn't care if the food I buy is 50 cents a can or $1.50 a can. He just wants Raiden to eat it! I have tried just every kind and brand of food and he will just not touch but a handful of kinds, which is what I feed him. I'm sure I could do better with the type of food and will the next time I'm at the pet store.

The more expensive wet food read the labels very carefully as not all tins/sachets are a 'complete Dry food for cat ' some a complementary foods. Complete foods have all the added things the cats need ie taurine etc

I am going to check some foods online today. I will look for the ones where meat is the main ingredient and as low by products as possible. If plant by products I will stop reading. And I guess I must also check that there is no sugar in the food. I will stick to the RC dry food. But I will see about the wet food.

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~Genevieve~