Cat food [View all]

[matt819]

Until about 10 years ago we were a dog family. All dogs all the time. For more than 20 years.

Then a kitten adopted us, and that was the beginning.

Since then, it's been cats and dogs (or dogs and cats, depending on who's in earshot). (In more than 30 years, we're on dogs numbers 10, 11, and 12, and cats numbers 9-13.)

So, now we have three at home and two feral cats at the barn. Feeding them is pricey since they eat dry and wet food, and we feed the barn cats as well. BTW, the pair at the barn have been together now for 8 years. They are soooo cute. And still feral. And although they seem to get their fill of rodents, we still feed them.

We've been feeding all the cats Friskies. We've tried more expensive wet foods for the house cats, but they seem perfectly fine with the mass market stuff, and I'm okay with that as well, as they are 60 cents for a 5.5 oz can.

So, I'm at Petco last week, and there's no Friskies (which is fine, since I buy the cats' canned food at the grocery store), but they had a sign up saying that they have dropped Friskies and Fancy Feast because they contain artificial flavors and colors, and they have a new "no artificial anything" campaign. The cashier said I should try Petco's Wholehearted brand, which is at the same price point. So this week I popped in to buy some. Not at all at the same price point. It's 69 cents for something like 2.8 oz, and $1.29 for the 5.5 oz can. That's actually more than double the per ounce price.

Sure, it was the least costly of the the premium name-brand foods, but, still, it was definitely not at the Fancy Feat price point. The other canned foods ranged from $1.59 per can to more than $2.50 per can.

I'm feeding five cats, and those $1.29 and up prices are absurd. And, yes, I'm skirting the question of what might be best for them in terms of health and nutrition.

I "splurge" on the dry food for both the cats and dogs, but even there the prices are bordering on the ridiculous - Science Diet for the dogs and Purina Pro Plan for the cats. And even at their prices they're still cheaper than the premium options.

Is there anything close to a consensus here on affordable options?

Any recommendations?