As I prepare to go to Target for more cat food, can we talk about the price?

[Paper Roses]

My wonderful kitty is incredibly fussy about what she eats. After adopting her, I tried all kinds of food and she would eat nothing or just a mouthful and leave the rest to dry out. After about 3 months of trying one brand and flavor after another, I found she loves Purina Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys. Only the Shredded White Meat Chicken Fare with garden greens.

The cans are tiny and the cheapest I can buy them is at Target for 74 cents. Not only is it expensive but my local stores do not carry it so I have to travel a distance to buy a supply. This furry beast costs me about 30.00 a month. Buying on-line costs more.

Her wet food is supplemented by Purina Pro Plan chicken & Rice formula. This bag, 3 1/2 pounds seems to last a couple of months but it costs about $14.00.

My question is, why do the pet food manufacturers insist on producing food in these tiny cans. I can buy a can of people tuna for less!

Do you have any success with any chicken flavored food? What brand? She will eat nothing else, not even people food.
She is spoiled and I love her but I am spending too much on cat food.
Any suggestions would be helpful.

[grntuscarora]

1. Maybe you could experiment

with different homemade catfood recipes to find one she likes. I've heard they can be cheaper and some can be made in large quantities and frozen. To be honest I've never done it on a regular basis, although we once made a homemade chicken & rice food when one of our kitties was sick.

This website looks good, although there might be others with recipes, too:

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood#Poultry

I think I've been lucky to have non-finicky eaters

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I think they sell the food in little cans

because the can is intended as one meal. That way you don't have leftovers that you have to put in the refrigerator to get stale and cold (most cats don't like their food cold). It is more expensive that way, though.

My cats are also eating me out of house and home. One of them has to eat a prescription cat food, and it's almost impossible to feed the three of them separately, so now they're all eating the expensive stuff. But, looking on the bright side, right now my kitchen is being remodeled and is unusable, so there's almost no food in the house for me. So, since the cats are eating but I'm not, this is keeping my expenses down a bit (except for what it's costing to remodel - ouch). And I'm losing weight, yay!

[TorchTheWitch]

3. I always wondered about that

Dog food prices even in the can seem reasonable for what brand you get, but cat food costs a mint and it's nothing but a bitty mouthful that's hardly worth making a can for. Ridiculous that it's so overpriced. Who can afford that?

I don't have cats, so I can't really help with ideas about food. I wonder though if it would end up being cheaper to feed her people food, but I think cats need a different sort of diet than dogs, so I don't know if people food would work so well for that. Have you talked to your vet about this for any advice they might have?

I wish I had something to suggest, but it already sounds like you're doing everything imaginable.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. I was in the same boat that you are in now.

After buying almost every kind of cat food out there, just looking for anything that he would eat that was less expensive, I came to the conclusion that I was spending more money on all those cheaper foods that I just threw away than if I just kept feeding the expensive stuff.

I agree that the prices are outrageous, especially when you hear about all the crap that they put in the food. But as long as you can afford it, I wouldn't keep torturing your cat and yourself. I do know from my experience that the people who tell me the cat will eat anything when he is hungry enough are full of shit....my cat absolutely would not, and after a couple of weeks of nothing but a bite or two, and losing a lot of weight, I just gave in.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. Mine will starve himself rather than eat a canned food that has a mushy baby food texture

The food has to be a bit solid, or he won't touch it.

So far, he likes Wellness canned food, but only the meat brands, not the seafood brands. He will also eat canned chicken and canned turkey (for people), as well as regular meat. He loves tuna and salmon (canned for people), but too much tuna isn't good for him, and salmon makes him, how shall I put it? STINKY. He liked Fancy Feast, but it seemed to affect him badly somehow. He lost weight, was lethargic, and his coat deteriorated.

He seems not to like any single dry food for more than a few days at a time.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. Are you sure that he is healthy?

I ask because my cat with apathetic hyperthyroidism just stopped caring about any foods. Usually, a cat with this disease will eat constantly and scream for more, but some cats will just quit wanting to eat. Talk about expenses in foods trying to find something suitable!!! There is a medicine that my vet gave me that increases appetite, and maybe this would work to get your baby to start eating. Picky is one thing, but jeez, this is really heartbreaking to hear that your cat just will not eat most foods. I know how we agonize over this.

On a side note, I have been told that I should always stay away from the seafood brands---and even to avoid foods that have some seafood in the ingredients (and you would be surprised at how many "chicken" or other foods have seafood listed).

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. He was checked out a couple of months ago and all his body chemicals were normal

He was OK for a long time after I switched his food away from Fancy Feast and toward Wellness, but finding a dry food that he will eat for more than a couple of days at a time is a problem.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. Well, I guess your local shelter or rescue group

would be happy to have all the extra food that is useless to you.

Good luck with your picky little boy!