After the passing of my last cat from a long line of kitties, I moved to a large farmhouse on the outskirts of a rural community with no idea how expendable cats are perceived here, how sad the local shelter is (5 is considered max), & how huge the feral & stray population would be; so I was cat-less for the first time in my life. I was thrilled a sick stray found me & quickly adopted a bff for him.
Then… Within 1.5yrs, I’ve taken in & spayed & neutered 13 more kitties. Due to the attitude towards cats here, these babies are permanent resident owners of the place. There never has been a choice in the matter. Local shelters are always maxed & cat owners I’ve talked to don’t spay & neuter (prolly not shots either) & they just let them roam—& roadkill is just an accepted aspect of life out here. It’s a nightmare. I tried contacting a spay & trap group a few towns over for advice & to volunteer but never got responses back. Ugh, I’m digressing BAD. Had to vent!
So… Recently, my finances have taken a huge hit for a variety of reasons. The best I was able to afford for a long while with so many kitties was Purina One (& feeding them fish & chicken my chickens’ & ducks’ eggs when I had plenty). Then I had to split it to half One & Purina Cat Chow. Now, it’s looking like I’m going to have to do Cat Chow only. There’s gotta be something better—right?
Please tell me all you know! I’ve been told in the past by several people that this is already not the healthiest food (though my former vet did approve Purina One), but I’m really struggling. I want to do the best I possibly can for all of my baby meows-meows.
Welcome to r/CatRescue,
Please review our rules and report infringing content or bad behavior. Our rules can be found here.
Some posts may be flaired as NSFW which can include injured cats or otherwise disturbing content. If you do not wish to see these types of posts, adjust your settings here.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
If you haven't seen it, there's also Cat Chow Naturals that's a step up from standard Cat Chow. Primary ingredient is chicken vs chicken by-product, no artificial additives like food dyes, etc.. At the end of the day though, whichever food you're able to consistently and comfortably provide for them is the best choice. Even if it's not the "highest quality" food, it's far better than the alternative. Thank you for looking out for these cats!
Cat chow naturals is what I feed my colonies. It's better than standard cat chow but not too much more expensive and I can find it at most places in the big bags. I also feed the friskies wet food - shreds or pate. It comes in 32 & 40 can cases which helps bring price down a little.
Thank you for the tip! I’ve definitely seen it but only in small, like 6lb bags for $12 or something. I live in the middle of nowhere & selections at the nearest stores are limited & often out of stock. I don’t have many options.
I know I didn’t mention this but I’ve been really hoping there was something membership-based I could use to have cheaper but healthy-ish food shipped if it’s all affordable enough.
I don’t know the best answer but Chewy ships for free for orders over a certain amount. They recently started a membership program, an annual fee for free shipping. I don’t know those details.
I had 2 bad experiences w/ them in the past & just never ordered again. Maybe it was a fluke. I’ll check them out. Thanks!
I use them often and anytime there was a mistake, they made it right.
Ultimately, some food is better than no food. It depends upon where you are located but frequently, pet food manufacturers will give coupons to reduce the cost of food. If you contact them, explain your situation and very specifically (and politely) request "High Value Coupons," they are known to send some deeper discounted coupons. Would the discounts be low enough to fit within your budget? You'll need to try to find out. I have never done this myself but have heard multiple success stories.
I have heard many folks recommend pine pellets as bein the lowest cost litter. It takes some effort to "sort" the litter but many folks hands down say this is the most cost effective.
Best to you and thank you fer lookin after the kitty cats you're their ray of sunshine
Thank you for the “inside knowledge” on requesting coupons! I’ll add contacting different manufacturers to my to-do list. About litter: I was doing pine back in the day & loved it. I’d order it if shipping wasn’t stupid expensive up here. I’ve been doing charcoal Luvsome & might just have to stick w/ it
Ya know what... give contactin the manufacturers fer cat litter coupons a shot too. I've never heard it done before. So if it works out let us know! Purina's flagship brand of litter is Tidy Cats. And other major cat food manufacturers often also have smaller affiliates that make litter as well.
Frequently, more rural areas have a "tractor supply" or equivalent store. Tractor Supply is known fer carryin pine pellets (check yours if they do).
If you have a Costco, the maintenance cat food is very good at a reasonable price
Kirkland brand wet food now comes in plastic containers and is pretty affordable. For dry food Tractor supply has big bags for an affordable price.
I had to look up Kirklands. There’s one about a 40min drive so if I’m going that way, I’ll def check the wet food out. Thank you so much!
Kirkland is a Costco brand
Sorry, I’m a dunce. I thought you were referring to the Kirkland’s store (that I only now discovered is a home furnishing outfit, lol b/c earlier I googled & only glanced at the map). A while back, my parents had Kirkland brand people-food at their house & I always assumed it was from the Kirkland store. Sorry & thanks!
I just wanted to make sure you are able to get the right product.
I don’t live in the states but help feed a colony. I buy cheap food for them… not the worst, usually, but between my five at home… who eat purina one dry and various wet options, I can’t afford it. I look at this way.. they’re getting fed, dry and wet every day and I’m doing my best. The other caretaker is always asking for food and says she can’t pay her rent, but I notice that she buys more expensive stuff, like the individual pates, more expensive dry food, etc.i also feel that she leaves a lot of food out to rot, which they don’t eat. Do the cat chow if that’s all you can afford at this time. When things are better, get something healthier.
Thank you for your response. Makes me feel better!
fed is best. i feed 100 cats a day and they get kit n kaboodle. the cheapest name brand you can get. when i have extra i'll buy wet food to treat them.
i heard costco is decent but my cats don't like it.
I feed the outdoor cats friskies or purina. As long as its labeled as complete it has the nutrients they need. Regularly fed is more important than feeling bad about not being able to afford more expensive food.
The two I have outdoors have had remarkable coat changes, for the better, after being consistently fed and having housing. Do what you can without jeopardizing yourself.
Sounds like you live in a place very similar to where I live. It's near impossible to keep populations down because people keep dumping more litters or pregnant cats and it gets expensive. I've kinda been doing same as you, but leaning a bit more cat chow heavy. With these recommends, I'm gonna go to cat chow naturals.
Purina Cat Chow Gentle. It's better than regular chow, almost as good as the naturals, and about 20 dollars for a 14 pound bag.i get it from Amazon or Walmart.
Wow, what a steal. Thank you so much!
I agree with Costco cat food. Big bags, cheap, and surprisingly good ingredients.
Have faith that all pet food still meets AAFCO feeding regulations. So while it may have less human grade meat and use less desirable byproducts, it still constitutes a balanced diet.
That’s very thoughtful of you to point that out. I think I’ve been feeling guilty b/c of how others talk about “garbage cat foods”—like it’s the equivalent of living off of corn dogs & PopTarts, or something lol
That’s what we lose sight of in all these discussions. It might be the meat scraped off of bones after the human cuts are removed. It may not be fancy venison or wild caught salmon and might have more corn than I really would prefer. It’s still a whole lot better than being hungry and hunting wildlife on the street.
I discovered this wonderful dirt cheap cat litter on Walmart. I donate 20 bags each to several rescues.
https://preview.redd.it/ay9pzbh6en5g1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=456875ff9a1c85f63899750bb4949034c81da606
I buy costco catford 20 dollar for a huge bag no wheat or corn,they also have huge u its of litter
Look at places like dollar general, etc they have purina and other deals. Usually have $5 coupons and other P&G coupons can stack on top of those. Can make it cost effective and name brand foods. Just check dates. And as far as by product goes it’s not the worst it’s just the entire chicken/prodict”
Reach out to local shelters/reacues/cat spay & neuter non profits and ask for help with assistance to feed. They usually get large donations of food and have something to spare. Never hurts to ask, worse someone can say is no, then move on.
Ask the people who complain or have an opinion to donate or offer to send a Venmo link you use specifically for funds to feed the cats / animals.
Feds better than dead 🤷♀️ don’t beat yourself up too much and try not to listen to what ppl say, rarely do you see the loud ones actually doing anything to help. Actions speak so much louder than words.
Keep up the good work and thank you for caring.
[removed]
Suggestions regardin various forms of FRAUD are not welcome here.
Also ask stores in your community if you can buy damaged, recently expired (within 6-8 mos unopened) or any left over bulk food they can’t sell if they’ll give it to you at a bulk price
The only thing I would say is don't buy the absolute cheapest brand. I noticed my crew won't eat the bottom shelf cat food reliably. They will leave a bowl sit, rather than eat it. Money was tight one week because I had to pay off a bunch of bills, so I tried some special kitty pate cans, and I bought some of the Heartland farms deli style 15 oz bags of dry food. Neither were all that popular with them. If they might let it sit instead of eating it, the money savings doesn't count for much.