Best inexpensive food for kittens 12 weeks and older

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  • #811487
    cheyanne may
    Participant

    Hello, I hope everyone and their kitties are having a wonderful day.

    As usual, I need a little advice.
    So, since I got my kitten, Lola. I’ve been feeding her dry, and wet Whiskas kitten food.
    Which she seems to love, of course. this kitten will literally eat anything. She reminds me more of a puppy, than a kitten. but anyway, I was given a bag of Healthy Advantage kitten food from my vet. Which was free, but of course he expects me to continue to keep buying it, at 20 dollars a bag, yeah right.
    So, I’m kind of feeding her the Whiskas and the healthy advantage, sometimes together, and sometimes whiskas one day, healthy advantage the next.

    So yesterday I was at this super fancy pet store by my house, just looking around. And the girl working there started asking me questions about what kind of pet I had, what I was feeding her, etc. So she starts telling me how Whiskas is mostly filler and all this horrible stuff about it. So now I’m terrified that my kitten has been eating crap pretty much since she was old enough to eat solid food. I was always told good things about Whiskas, so I’m pretty shocked. anyway, so she continues to tell me all about this food that they sell (forget the name already) and how its %100 natural and pure meat and bone meal. With a lovely price of 39.99 a bag. You’d expect like, a huge bag for that price, right? No, this bag was literally the same size as a small bag of Whiskas. So I ran out of there as quickly as possible.
    Now I’m feeling somewhat guilty that I can’t afford to feed my kitten the good stuff.

    So, I’m wondering what is best for kittens/cats that doesn’t have any filler.
    I’m going to keep feeding her the Whiskas and healthy advantage until It’s gone because I just bought her a new bag of the Whiskas. But I definitely want to change her food. I will save some whiskas so I can gradually introduce her to the new food by mixing the two.

    Does anybody have adivce on what food is best for kittens? And fairly inexpensive. I really don’t want to pay more than $15 a bag.
    I’d prefer to feed her 100% natural food that is grain free.

    Any adive would be greatly appreciated!

    #811490
    cheyanne may
    Participant

    These are the ingredients in her current, Whiskas kitten food.

    CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL, CORN GLUTEN MEAL, GROUND YELLOW CORN, ANIMAL FAT (PRESERVED WITH BHA), SOYBEAN MEAL, NATURAL FLAVOUR, WHEAT, CHICKEN, WHEAT FLOUR, RICE, VITAMINS (CHOLINE CHLORIDE, dl-ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN E], L-ASCORBYL-2-POLYPHOSPHATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN C], NIACIN, VITAMIN A ACETATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT [VITAMIN B2], d-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, FOLIC ACID, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE [VITAMIN B6], VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, BIOTIN,), CARAMEL COLOUR, SALT, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, TAURINE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, WHITEFISH MEAL, TRACE MINERALS (ZINC SULPHATE, COPPER SULPHATE, MANGANESE SULPHATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE), FISH OIL (STABILIZED WITH MIXED TOCOPHEROLS), BHA, BHT, dl-METHIONINE, MARIGOLD MEAL.

    #811492
    katzenjammer
    Participant

    No advice but it’s L-O-L-A Lola! Another of our ever-growing black purry posse! Guess you don’t have holiday in ON, not until next wk as Canada Day. Here it’s “La Fรชte Nationale”.

    #811493
    cheyanne may
    Participant

    I wish today was a holiday! What is “La fete nationale” anyways? I’ve never heard of it. ๐Ÿ˜ฎ

    #811497
    katzenjammer
    Participant

    It’s a Quebec-focused holiday CM – very, very nationalistic as in special day for those who want us to separate from Canada – JK has kindly informed us about it in thread “Humming to the Tune of June in TDK Land” if you want to be informed LOL. And then you get to read my political take on the whole thing. LOL

    #811501
    cheyanne may
    Participant

    Oh I’ve heard of that but i didn’t know it was real! A lot of my family is from quebec. My grandma was a very strict french-catholic.
    I have to visit quebec before it becomes a separate country. LOL

    #811502
    Buttons
    Moderator

    Hello Lola ๐Ÿ™‚ hey again cheyanne ๐Ÿ™‚

    Firstly Whiska is prefectly good cat food! I feed Noodle my new black kitten the Whiska’s kitten wet pouch same as yourself I suspect.. There is noting at all wrong with Whiskas ..

    You’ll get lot of people telling you horror stories and then “offering” you a better alternative food and normally for a lot more money.. It’s just how vets & pet stores opperate..

    If you were gonna spend โ‚ฌ39 + on food you’d be a hell of a lot better off just spending half that money on a raw only food diet!

    In Ireland we have a store called Aldi and they are a kind of super saver supermarket and their wet cans of adult cat food are just as good as whiska for half the price.. They do also sell individual little cat food trays that are an extremely good cat food with little cereal/grain this is the wet food I used to get for Buttons..

    It doesn’t have to be expensive just read the ingredients they have to list in order of the highest ingredient content so look for wet foods with meat listed first and ceral/grains either not listed at all or low down on the list ..

    Oh and pate is always best ..gravy/jelly foods are high in charbohydrates which is something your kitty doesn’t really need in their diet but a little gravy/jelly food every now an again is ok .. Like us just in moderation ๐Ÿ™‚

    Don’t be swayed by the money makers ๐Ÿ™‚ go raw if you feel like you want to spend that kinda money on her food..

    You’ve done everything right so far so don’t let any one make you feel like your not a good Mweomwy !! Cause we all know your a great Mweomwy doing all you can for Lola ! ๐Ÿ™‚

    #811505
    katzenjammer
    Participant

    Well CM hope that separation never happens. Much less of a possibility as in recent election Parti Quรฉbecois got kicked out in favour of Liberals. And by huge majority. PQ leader even lost in her own riding and some of us were ROTFL. Now don’t get me wrong, no prob speaking/learning 2 languages, and francophones that I know/work with are delightful, just that politics can get nasty.

    #811506
    cheyanne may
    Participant

    Awh thank you so much! I just want whats best for Lola. I posted the ingredients of the dry kitten food above. The first ingredient is chicken by-product, and then right after is corn gluten, and then a few after is wheat and rice. I’ve never understood why there is corn in cat food because just like humans, corn can’t be properly digested.
    however, it is full of vitamins which is great. I’m going to try a raw natural diet for her after her whiskas is gone.
    and she eats the wet pouches too. Here in Ontario you get 12 packets for 7.99!

    #811507
    Buttons
    Moderator

    Yup the wet pouches are the best ๐Ÿ™‚ sometimes if kittens have diarrhea the last thing you want to give them is the dry kitten food as that only absorbs more moisture which you want to avoid with a kitten loosing fluids through diarrhea ..

    You could start asking your local butcher now about what offal he can supply you .. Once they know what their customers want they can get it in ๐Ÿ™‚

    #811509
    cheyanne may
    Participant

    surprisingly Lola has never had diarrhea! which is weird because I totally assumed she would, being a kitten and all.
    And thats why I like her being on a wet and dry food diet because she gets moisture from the wet food as well. I’ve noticed when she eats dry food she drinks lots of water right after so i started mixing the two foods to make sure she is well hydrated. ๐Ÿ™‚

    #811510
    JerseyJoan
    Moderator

    Hi Cheyanne May – Prior to my Leela having “issues” we fed both her and Comet Whiskas, and may go back to it. They both loved it and I loved being able to just squeeze the food out of the package, no scraping cans. Never had any issues with it, and as an added bonus, there are often coupons in the paper for it!

    #811517
    cheyanne may
    Participant

    Omg I know! I have so many Whiskas coupons that they’ll all probably expire before I get to use them. Oh well, Whiskas is cheap enough anyways. And I love the pouches too, I hated the wet whiskas containers because every time I pulled the tin foil back to open it, I would get the juices all over me and It’s the worst smell ๐Ÿ™

    #813164
    Emily NP
    Participant

    Hey, thought I’d chime in here since nutrition is one thing I’m big on where my pets are concerned–they definitely eat better than me! lol–and I totally understand the pressure of feeding them well on a budget!

    What I will say about the expensive brand (Was she maybe recommending Orijen or Ziwipeak? Oven Baked is another great option if available in your area) is that, because it is filled with only the good stuff, and is so very high in protein, your cat will actually end up eating less. So you’re paying a lot for a small looking bag, but it kind of balances out, considering your cat would be eating much more of a lower quality brand to keep up nutritionally. So the bag lasts longer than it looks like it will. Did that make sense? Sorry, it’s late and I feel like I explained that in a very muddled way ๐Ÿ˜• ๐Ÿ˜›

    2 things really important about cat nutrition is that 1.protein is a big deal (they need a higher percentage of protein than even dogs do) and 2. Cats don’t have a thirst drive, so it’s important for their diet to account for this (a diet that includes kibble AND canned keeps this pretty balanced–or, alternatively, a raw diet will actually curb their thirst because it’s so moist, so they get the water without needing to drink as much).

    I’m personally a very big advocate of a raw diet–and if done right it could even be cheaper than some of the cheapest kibbles–and way healthier. I know that this option is intimidating, impractical, or just NOT an option for some people, and I totally get that. The fact that you’re concerned with her diet at all is fantastic, and I commend that. But if you are at all curious about the raw diet, I can give some info and point you in the direction of some great sites/resources/recipes. It is more work than kibble though, and it’s important it’s done right so they get the proper nutrients and a balanced diet. My cats personally LOVE it, and pick it all the time over the bag of Oven Baked that I keep around, and they’re in great shape and health. It’s fun to know they’re interested in what they eat. (I’ve always thought kibble would kind of be like eating the same cereal every day for every meal, you know? lol)

    Last thing–in the end, a more expensive brand saves you money in the long term, as it will keep your pet healthy and in shape for longer, cutting waaay back on vet bills, by keeping his or her joints strong, muscles lean, and coat shiny.

    Okay, THIS is the LAST thing, lol: I’ve read that Friskies is actually better (at least the wet variety) than Whiskas or even Fancy Feast, and I have to say that when my cats were on commercial food, they’d turn their nose at Whiskas more often than not, but did really enjoy Friskies. Plus I’m pretty sure Friskies has a wider variety of flavours, no? You can get a bulk pack at Costco/Club Price if they have those in your area. You can also check out Amazon for big packs of the higher end canned foods (Tiki Cat, Ziwi peak, etcโ€ฆ) And if you’re in the States, sites like Entirelypets.com have all kinds of brands for way lower than in-store prices.

    Sorry–I warned you I’m big on nutrition! ๐Ÿ˜‰

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