I want to change my cat's food, but cannot afford?

Question

I can only afford brands like 9 lives (about $12/bag...20lbs)
Is there anything that would be about the same cost, but better for her? I really want to feed her the best I can for the price.

Thanks

Answer 1

As always you get what you pay for. Better brands cost more. However Walmart has the best price on every brand they carry and they have Iams, Eukanuba and others. Research and learn what should and should not be in your cat's food(please see the websites noted below). And the very best alternative is to make your own and if you eat healthy not all that difficult. 1/3 meat(chicken, turkey, fish or ground beef), 1/3 starch(brown rice, pasta, finely chopped or mashed potato), 1/3 cooked veggies(no onion or garlic), cat vitamin supplement 2x daily. As far as amounts go, I feed 1/2 cup to start and refill until they quit, usually about 3/4 of a cup per cat. Cut back if it appears kitty is becoming overweight. Hope this helps. good Luck and God Bless.

Answer 2

Edit: Scratch the 9-Lives - I've been rereading and see that it has BHA or BHT. Choose another brand. Just read the labels and avoid as much bad stuff as you can (see suggestions below).
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I'm changing most of my answer. What others have said is true - you get what you pay for. Better foods will cost more but you save money down the road with better health, etc.

However, if your money is that tight and there's no wiggle room, then you have to do the best you can. I tried to find a very inexpensive dry food and I can't get anywhere near the 60 cents per pound for the 9-lives. The best I found was 1.42 per pound.

So I'm going to suggest an alternative. Stick with the 9-Lives or other grocery store dry food. They're much the same and it hardly matters which one you choose. But add some canned food to your cat's diet. Make the total daily diet be half dry and half canned.

With canned foods you also get what you pay for and nothing you find in the grocery store is very good. But it's still canned and that is a good thing. Here too they're much the same when you buy at the grocery stores, so just try any. Don't choose fishy ones - those typically shouldn't be fed more than 2-3 times per week.

Do try to find ones that have actual meat listed, preferably first, second or third. Try to avoid those with corn, wheat or soy, meal, byproducts, and especially the preservatives BHA, BHT or Ethoxyquin.

Later on if you find more room in your budget you can buy better canned foods, but at least this will be a start.

Answer 3

You won't be able to find a high-quality cat food for a similar price per bag. However, the more expensive brands turned out to be less expensive over time for me.

I originally fed my cat a similar brand to 9 lives due to money. She seemed to always be hungry though, and I went through the bags quickly. My vet recommended trying a premium brand and the difference was huge.

I switched to a premium indoor formula, which is pretty expensive (I checked a US store online, and it runs about $30/15 lb bag). I fed my cat only twice a day, putting the food down for 10 minutes, at the recommended amount given on the bag. She started eating SO much less, but still looked a lot healthier . . I compared amounts, and she was actually eating about a third of the amount she was before, so the same size bag lasted 3 times as long.

This is because the high quality foods contain more real meat and nutrient-rich vegetables and less filler. It's the difference between you living on a diet of doughnuts and fast food, and you cooking from scratch with food you buy fresh at a farmers' market. Cats eat for nutrition, unlike people who sometimes eat for pleasure. They can also eat out of boredom because they don't have the same receptors to tell them they aren't hungry, which is why you should only put food down twice a day for a short time. The low quality foods are mostly carbohydrates, which stimulate hunger and your cat needs a lot of it to get all the necessary vitamins/minerals.

If you work out the cost, say a 15lb bag of 9 lives costs $9 and lasts a month. A 15lb bag of premium food costs $30-40, but lasts about 3 times as long. That means the premium food costs $10-15 per month, and can be just as affordable as lower quality foods.

http://cats.about.com/od/dryfood/tp/premdrycatfood.htm has a list of recommended premium foods for the US. I advise trying a bag for a month or two, and checking the savings yourself.

Answer 4

Sometimes it depends on where you buy your cat food. Big box stores like Wal-Mart and Target seem to have better prices on cat food. Sometimes Big Lots will get some in, but you can't count on it. I also watch the newspapers and magazines for coupons, which will sometimes save as much as $5 on a 20 lb. bag. There's really nothing wrong with 9 Lives or Friskies or Meow Mix, or any other nationally advertised brand. They all provide adequate nutrition. Some cat owners will swear by certain brands and provide you with all sorts of statistics to prove their point, but in fact that proves nothing. I feed my cattery cats a mixture of Meow Mix Indoor (hairball control) and Authority Lite (hairball control). I've also given them "Good Life" and Purina. They will eat just about anything, but if I have to change their food I do so gradually, over a week by adding a little more new food every day. That way kitty will hardly notice and won't get tummy trouble. As long as kitty appears to be healthy......

My show cats get a different food because the more expensive food IAMS gives them a better coat. I just can't afford to feed it to all the cats. (If I could afford it I would.)

Answer 5

Feeding a cat or any animal for that matter of fact it is best to feed the most expensive food you can afford, because in the long run your animals health will thank you for it. Cheaper foods means the possibilities of health problems in the later years which could mean big vet bills. So buying the best food you can afford which might mean giving up a luxury every month might be worth it. I have never been an advocate of dry food for cats. I feel feeding a diet such as this eventually gives your cat kidney disease. This is my opinion. Dry food is fine as long as you vary it with fresh foods such as fish, ground chicken or turkey, but remember that feeding meat alone will not give your cat a balanced diet. Hope this was helpful.

Answer 6

Actually premium brands are not more $ since the cat will be less likely to overeat. Where you really save, though, is on the vet bill because the cat will be much healthier.

Feeding garbage like 9 lives will just make your cat sick. Do some research on the ingredients and you'll be horrified at what is in these foods.

Answer 7

You don't say what country you are in (possibly US as you say $), but if you live anywhere to the right of the Atlantic then try Lidl's or Aldi, both sell decent but cheap animal food.

Answer 8

a big bag of science plan lasts a long time,sometimes on offer buy 2 get 1 free

Answer 9

Nope. You get what you pay for. TRY to afford better food, it really is important. Felidae, Wellness and Innova are some good ones.