To save money, I tried buying cheaper cat food.

[Critters2]

Purina Cat Chow. Not exactly a generic, but not as expensive as the premium stuff they had been getting. Started 'em on it gradually like you're supposed to, but one of the cats can't keep it down, the other has had terrible diarrhea. I guess I'll have to find another area to cut back. To quote Sarah Palin: Darn it!

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. You can't just change a cat's food... need to mix it slowly with old food, larger and larger

portion.

[Critters2]

3. Yeah, I did. Over more than a week. Didn't work.

They do seem okay with Purina ONE, which is still cheaper than Wysong. We're still in the transition phase, but so far, so good.

[Dissent Is Patriotic]

5. mycritters said "gradually"...

[Swamp Rat]

2. Many of us will be eating cat food at the rate things are going.

[Critters2]

4. That's my fear. The cats'll be eating better than me! nt

[Dr.Phool]

27. Remember to mix it in with the beans gradually.

We don't want to get the shits, do we?

[dysfunctional press]

46. why in the world would anyone choose to do that?

for one thing- cat food is more expensive per ounce that a lot of human food.

[Vinca]

6. Cats rule . . . I'm surprised you didn't know that.

You eat the cheap Purina, they get the expensive stuff. (And don't buy it on sale. They can also read.):rofl:

[BrklynLiberal]

7. The problem with cheaper cat food is that it can raise your vet bills...

[Critters2]

10. Has already. Took the cat with diarrhea to the doctor, who thinks it was the food, too.

Penny wise, pound foolish.

[Lorien]

15. Try "chicken soup for the cat lover's soul"

it's an inexpensive USDA grade brand (human grade, not feed grade like Purina and most of those "premium" brands. What's in feed grade food would make you vomit-literally).

[Jakes Progress]

34. Pound foolish? Noes

Don't puts 'em in the pounds.

[tridim]

26. My 24 year old cat has eaten Purina all her life..

And she has never been sick in the 20 years I've had her. She's actually never even been to the vet.

I guess your mileage may vary, but cheap cat food doesn't automatically mean your pet will get sick.

[KoKo]

39. My cat who was 22 ate it all his life the dry and wet and my 16 year old

has eaten it and never had a problem. When the Melamine in the wheat gluten from China was a scare I e-mailed Purina and they told me they process all their own dry and wet food and did not use the company that was involved with all the other recalls including my Vet's expensive brand, Science Diet.

I do give them Fancy Feast wet food once in awhile for a treat and they were not on any of the recall lists for the melamine.

Purina makes different varieties of the dry food. There's one called Purina "Naturals" that my older cat seems to like. My younger one likes the plain Purina that I've always given my cats but she also eats the naturals.

Good luck. I know cats are very picky and I've tried mine on the Newman's Organic and other high priced foods in the past and they won't eat them. They like their Purina.

[riderinthestorm]

47. 25 plus years of Purina Cat Chow with a wide assortment of cats both indoors and out

Never had any problems relating to Purina.

In fact, I feed all my (50 plus) animals Purina products: horses, dogs and cats and have done so for decades.

[LeftyMom]

8. Have you read the ingredients on that crap? It's almost all byproducts and filler.

Your kitties are smart.

[Critters2]

12. I actually didn't like all the artificial colors and flavors.

I'm suspicious of fish-flavored cat food shaped like fish. That just seems wrong.

[kestrel91316]

9. Purina = BAD. Beware of false economy when it comes to cat food.

You can get in real trouble and have big vet bills.

If you belong to Costco, their Kirkland cat food is decent.

[flyingfysh]

11. try Costco dry food

It's "Kirkland" brand (the Costco house brand), and my cats love it. It looks rather oily, so that probably has something to do with why the cats go for it. It comes in huge cheap bags.

[Critters2]

13. There's no Costco here. Yet. nt

[Cobalt Violet]

16. That's what mine eat too.

They do love it and it is cheap. It's one of the better brands too.

[LeftyMom]

30. Costco's pet food is made by Diamond. They have a terrible safety record.

They had a big recall for aflatoxin in 2006, and another in the whole melamine disaster last year, just that I can recall off the top of my head.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

36. My cat loves the inexpensive WholeFoods house brand dry food

and it seems to be better than most similarly priced brands, ingredient-wise. Let it be said that in our three years together, Max has never been a picky eater.

[ailsagirl]

14. That happened with my cats when I bought the cheaper stuff :(

I find that IAMS dry is good (i.e., they like it and don't throw up) but it's costly.

[Lorien]

17. What you're getting with IAMS:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=243&topic_id=4388&mesg_id=4388

[Critters2]

18. The funny thing is that these two started out on Wal-Mart crap.

They were Humane Society foster kittens. The Humane Society got donated broken bags of cat food from Wal-Mart, and that's what all the fosters ate. Some of it was total crap--Wal-Mart brand or even less--"Sunshine Brand" cat food. Or Meow Mix, or Delicat. Whatever Wal-Mart wanted to write off as a loss in any given week. And they were fine. I guess it was better than nothing (which is about what one of 'em had had when he came to me).

Then, I adopted 'em and started 'em on Wysong. Now their delicate systems can't go back to the crap they were eating, I guess. This is what I get for being a good cat-mom!

[devilgrrl]

19. I feed my cat this holistic dry food that Trader Joe's sells. He won't eat anything else.

Then he gets human grade salmon and chicken. He lives the Life of Reilly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F71wXfu8gkY

[Warpy]

20. My kitty loves Kit n Kaboodle

and it wasn't affected by the melamine scare.

I tried feeding her wet food once. Diarrhea in a long haired cat is not fun for you or the cat.

Plus I have to admit that a diet of nothing but kibble has kept her teeth sparkling clean. She's 15 and has never needed dental work.

[Critters2]

21. Oh, yeah. That was a consideration...something NOT affected by the melamine scare.

So, Purina has that going for it.

[raccoon]

41. My cat eats Kit and Kaboodle too. She's 10 and I've had her teeth cleaned

twice, due to tartar build-up. I think some cats are more likely to get that than others. Genetics.

[Warpy]

44. Oriental breeds are especially prone to dental problems

according to my main vet. My old Himalayan tomcat had two dentals and one extraction and needed another when he died at 17, not that I was going to put him through general anesthesia at that age.

My little old lady cat is a Maine coon and has only the barest hint of tartar at the ripe old age of 15.

[nonconformist]

22. It's funny... the only cat food that all three of my cats all like and tolerate well is...

Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula. One of my cats has a very sensitive stomach, and this is all she seems to be able to handle without lots of gas. My other two cats are both picky taste wise and don't seem to agree on what they like, except for this.

[GirlieQ]

23. I've found that expensive bags aren't more expensive over the long run.

Because they have fewer fillers, my babies eat less food total. It obviously wouldn't work with fat cats who can't control their portion sizes, but mine are skinny little fluff balls. I feed them Felidae, and I haven't had a problem with any sort of gross thing on the carpet (well, ok, maybe 8 hairballs between the 2 in 3 years). When they were on the cheaper stuff that I got from the pound, they'd puke all the time.

[obamaforme]

24. Give your cat a teaspoon of Libby's pumpkin (not pie filling)

Libby's Pumpkin will help with diarrhea and will soothe the poor cat's stomach. It works with dogs as well. 3 times per day -one teaspoon each. Make sure you don't get pie filling. The spices in the pumpkin pie filling will make matters worse.

[Critters2]

29. Good to know! Thanks. I do have some stuff from the vet, now,

but I'll remember this for future reference.

[obamaforme]

31. It's natural - which I prefer giving to my pet

[kimmerspixelated]

25. My cat scratches near the bowl like it's a turd to cover up.

if I only serve the cheaper stuff, but hell's bells -what ya gonna do!

[KittyWampus]

28. they're trying to cover the bowl with grass to save it for later.

[B Calm]

32. My cats eat what I put out, or they go hungry!

[Nevernose]

33. Works for human kids, too

Your cats and your kids are not Gandhi. Eventually they will eat, and it won't hurt most cats or kids to miss a few meals. It might be hard to watch (and harder to clean up), but they all eat eventually.

That having been said, the important point here is that we should damn well be able to afford premium-brand cat food. I realize that there are people starving in the world, even right here in America, but that does not change the fact that saving money by skimping on cat food is a crappy place to be.

[Critters2]

35. Do they clean up their own puke and poop?

Cuz, they're eatin' this stuff. That's not the problem. The problem is the puking and diarrhea.

[WillowTree]

37. Almost all dry cat food is bad for cats.

Cats are carnivors and should be kept on high protein, low carbohydrate diets inasmuch as possible. The majority of dry foods are way above the recommended 10% limit on carbs and can lead to feline diabetes. See here

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/dryfood.html

Trust me, dealing with feline diabetes isn't something you want to put yourself or your cat through.

9 Lives has a number of low carb varieties and is pretty inexpensive, but I've found it to be exceptionally revolting stuff. There are also quite a few varieties of SophistiCat, obtainable at PetSmart, that are very good and less costly than many others.

For an excellent listing of nutrition in canned cat foods, see this

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html

A diet of low carb canned food can be one of the best things you can do for your cat and doesn't need to be expensive. I have a cat that was diagnosed with diabetes and whose blood glucose reading was brought down from a potentially dangerous 485 just by changing her to this diet supplemented by the administration of less than 3IU of Lantus, an insulin that is known to help to jump start a cat's pancreas in some cases, and we did in in just 10 days. She hasn't had a BG reading above 85 since.`

Do yourself and kitty a big favor and try it. Canned foods are a little more expensive and a little less convenient than dry, but not remotely as expensive or inconvenient as having an insulin-dependent pet. I'll never feed my cats dry food again.

[REP]

40. I feed Blue Buffalo Evolution Diet

It's dry, but it's low-carb, high protein. Not cheap, but on the other hand, I can feed four Maine Coons for a month on a 12.5 lb bag (free-feeding, too), so it's actually about $1.00/day for four cats to feed them this diet. They are all at excellent weights, and no diet-related problems (knock wood).

[Poseidan]

38. if you value your life

Feed your cat first, your family last.

[blogslut]

42. Feed your kitty a little plain yogurt once a day

Roughly a tablespoon at a time Make sure it's the yogurt with active cultures. Solves a mess of tummy troubles.

[aroach]

43. I quickly learned

I have seven cats and I have learned that skimping on premium cat food costs me more in the long run. Not only do they barf and get the diarrhea more, but the litter does not last as long and the poo is smellier. Having to buy twice as much Fresh Step adds up fast when you have seven cats. The cats eat more of the cheap food too since it has less nutrition. That alone would make it a wash on savings. If a twenty pound bag that costs ten dollars lasts half the time a twenty pound bag that costs twetny dollars, there's no point.

Also, I am sure that inferior food would also lead to more health problems and more vet bills.

[dysfunctional press]

45. my cats love purina cat chow-

i try to buy foods that list chicken as the first ingredient instead of grain.