All About Cats, I give my cat one whole can of wet food (3 Oz) split over breakfast and dinner. She also has a bit of kibble available to her if she’s still really hungry as recommended by her vet. We adopted her a month ago and she was 16 pounds. We’ve been limiting her to meal times rather than the free feeding that we suspect her former family did. She should be just right by Christmas.
For those who don't have a Costco membership, Diamond Naturals ACTIVE Cat is similar to the dry food recommendation (they're produced by the same manufacturer) but with 40% protein instead of 30% (there is more plant matter though). Also, can you please consider calculating prices on a per calorie (or 100 calories) basis since that's what matters at the end of the day? Thanks for all of the helpful info and guides!
My cat is only 4.5lbs so I am able to buy a premium brand. She gets a can or pouch of tiki cat in the morning and 1/8c tiki cat kibble with 1/2 tsp puréed pumpkin and some bone broth in the evening. She has cerebellar hypoplasia and doesn’t really care about other cats being around so she’s perfectly fine being a single cat otherwise I would have to go to a more budget brand.
@@unzunzvroom not *exactly* true. They are not financially paid for promoting vet brands (getting “kickbacks” for recommending those brands is completely misinfo), but those brands do lead their pet nutrition classes and publish the majority of pet food research, so that is why vets recommend them so much.
Umm wow your vets an ass. I worked with a couple vets and for cats they recommended if possible make your own if not Kirkland brands are decent but if you have the budget Try to go with no grain cat foods,but never raw unless cooking it. Raw only is safe ( as long as the prey wasn't poisoned first) from a fresh cat kill. No raw processed ever due to seriously unsafe factories.
We have two precious fur babies and feed about six strays. It gets very expensive. We were leaving food out all day and replenishing when empty, but now we feed our babies twice a day, they both just turned a year old a few months back. I still find myself replenishing the stray cats food multiple times a day though. I have had some neighbors donate bags of food as they see we feed anything and everything that wonders up on our porch. I feel blessed. Thank you for sharing your video.
Costco is great. Do they sell these brands? I’ve never felt so thankful to watch an informational video in my lige! I’ve been fretting about the cost of food and didn’t just want to do the same thing my parents do with our cats. I wanted to do my own research. So seeinv this and knowing Costco sells a lot of these is great.
Amen girl! I laugh at myself because I feel myself junk. Like I legit binged on mcdonalds today....then i go home and make sure purina one and fancy feast medlley are among the good - with in my price range. I mean apparently I a can eat crap but the cats need high quality food? LOL
I would be curious to see a video about combination feeding- I feed my cats with a combo of dry and wet food. Would love to know the thoughts or best practice for this style of feeding.
this is what I am trying currently, the best quality dry food I can for my adult cat, right now its orijen original( thats just whats near me in petco) alongside of toppers and good quality wet food for as much added moisture and protein as possible, just with dry food as the bulk, maybe 70% dry, 20% wet and 10% toppers. I adopted two kittens and they eat 100% wet food since its cheaper to feed babies less than 2 lbs, and I hope to learn how to make my own cat food as I transition my adult cat to wet food and my kittens get bigger and eat more. I would like to start with lightly cooked homemade food and then switch to raw under my vets supervision. ill still buy treats and wet store bought food to add variety and convienience, in case the stores are out of livers or I forget to thaw out raw portions.
@@justfine8647unless that cheap wet food has plant ingredients like flour or soy isolate or potatoes and tricalcium phosphate as the 4th ingredient, or with carageenan god forbid. you can add the right amount of high quality protien and moisture to a bulk of whole prey dry food and it would be better than feeding them 100% wet with all the weird junk in a lot of cheap food.
I do the same. My vet often issues warnings about feeding my cats wet food. He said it ruins their teeth. I figure the dry food helps keep the wet food from caking up on their teeth.
I lost my Malthael to a urinary blockage the size of a baseball within a matter of days. So everyone, please, take this seriously. I know him being a runt and abandoned by his mother at 2 weeks old may have played a part, but I still feel this could've been prevented. It was the worst Christmas of my life and my husband is haunted by my screams at the ER to save my baby boy when none of us could afford the surgery. That said, the vet there even told us that even if we got the surgery, it was going to come back and he was going to live with this over and over for the rest of his life. I couldn't bare that for him. They were kind enough to let me be with him despite the COVID restrictions.
I wish I had seen this video a month ago. I recently lost my best bud because of urinary health issues. My partner and I fed all of our cats on Purina Cat Chow and everything seemed fine. Fast forward three years, my buddy got sick and the vet wasn't able to save him. I hate myself for not knowing this simple nutritional fact and I hate myself for the pain Whistler went through. People, please pay attention to your cats potty habits and their nutritional needs. I don't want anyone to lose their best friend like I did. I love you, Whistler. Miss you, bud.
Sorry for your loss. I have also lost my buddy 2 months ago to chronic kidney disease. I blame myself for not knowing these, and it breaks my heart over and over. I still have another cat and I'm doing better for him.
Tyler, thank you for sharing your experience. Losing Whistler must have been devastating. I don't fully understand what you're experiencing, but I can relate in a way. The orange kitty in this video, Wessie, had a urinary blockage about 10 years ago while on a dry diet. While he clearly made it through that experience and is in these videos today, it could have easily gone differently. Urinary tract disease was my wake-up call and was clearly yours as well. Thank you for helping to make a positive difference and educate other people so they won't have to go through what you have. Take care, Mallory
I also lost my cat to renal failure after feeding her cat chow for years. Thought I was feeding a good brand of food that would prevent dental issues. I simply didn't know. We were able to transition to wet food mostly, but struggled to get her to eat the prescription wet foods. Thankful we switch to a veterinarian that understood a fair quality wet food would help slow this disease.
Thank you for sharing, my cat craps so bad. Very soft and often a bit bloody. Ive been feeding him friskies chow but I'm not sure what to switch to now
@@patcallano8639 I know it's easy to blame yourself, but it's hard to tell the good food from the bad without the proper know how and paying attention to labels. Like you I have two other boys Wayne and Garth, and I told myself that I didn't know better when Whistler became ill, but I know better now and I'll be damned if I let it happen again. So just do what you can for your other cat and make better choices and I'm sure your buddy will be looking down from the Rainbow Bridge with happiness.
Years ago, my vet told me Kirkland's was the best cheap dry cat food on the market. Since I'm low income, and rescue and feed a ton of cats, I switched to it, and my cats have not had any problems. Of course, it was $7.99 a bag then, and it's creeping up to almost $22 now. I go thru about six bags a month! 😻
@@jasonlee1073: Vets are certainly "bought" by Science Diet! I can't stand the smell of wet animal food, can't make my own, feed too many, so dry is what they get!
Thank you so much! I am 71, on social security and feed 6 cats. So I just have to do budget foods but I also want something they like and is good for their health!
I'm 72 and feeding 5cats on social security. I spend more on their food and litter than my own food..prices have doubled in past 4 years. I use fancy feast wet supplemented by some blue wilderness chicken and trout, nutrish, friskies and keep trying new stuff all soundly rejected. I leave two types of kibble for free feeding in vain hope they won't wake me up for food. Royal canin mom and baby cat and farmina. They love those. Mine are seniors and one is toothless. They get temptations treats, bonito flakes, and gerbers baby food as a treat for the two oldest. I wish I could do better on nutrition but they reject everything else completely.
Thank you for this video! Rescuing four cats has been hard on the budget, but I want to give them the best. A money saving trick I've seen is that Amazon gives you a discount if you enroll in a subscription to the food you buy and you can even choose how often you get it delivered.
Hello, I found your channel seeking understanding because my 12 year old cat had cancer and I didn’t even know until last week when she was really struggling….. Now she’s gone Prior to that, she seemed to be getting along as usual, aside from some weight loss.. I worry still that she may have been in pain and I didn’t know it…. I have learned SO much from you, Mallory and Dr Wooten…. Thanks to you guys, I WILL do better with my next rescue cat….. I appreciate all that you are doing especially with including those on a budget….we love our animals just as much ❤️
I scrape out all the wet food from the can into a large bowl. I fill the can up with cold water & add into the bowl. I stir & mash with a fork til all mixed. Then I cover it, put it in the fridge for breakfast, lunch & supper for the next few days.
so i do dry food during the day, but around 6pm, I will give the wet food mixed with water to give it a stew sort of consistency, and they adore that! plus they're oddly fantastic drinkers, I keep a log book to make sure there's no inconsistencies in their drinking when I can hahahahaha
Thanks so much for doing this. We're living in an age when we feel if we are not buying our animals the most expensive foods we are going to kill them. How then did my cats survive on what would be considered now, bad brands? This was of course many years ago and we know more about nutrition. I think this is incredibly helpful for those who are feeling to the food cost crunch but want to have a pet and keep them healthy. One can always splurge a few times a year on very high quality food if possible.
I feed a couple of community adult cats and I give them Kirkland dry food mixed with a a couple of tablespoons of the petco gravy canned food to soften the dry food a bit and they seem to love it and it’s not too expensive. For my indoor kitten, I do the core canned food.
Stay away from the grain free foods that are usually high in lentils, peas. Chickpeas. I thought I was helping my cats with these foods but instead they had uti issues. I lost my beautiful Duke to complications from high lentil food. Heartbreaking.
@@Joshuaxiong2 I only feed my cats basic instinct ultimate protein now since it has no lenfils or beans. They are so healthy now. No issues. They eat right amount so it is actually affordable. Now they can have treats like friskies and they do fine. They need meat protein to keep urine ph just right. It has amino acid they need for the ph.
So sorry to hear about that. Could you please share what food you were feeding your baby? I've spent so much time trying to find the best food affordable but am worried it's not enough for my kitties.
@@Tjl_0435 hi. I know what you mean. It isn't always easy to figure out. A while back I tried natural balance with the pea protein. I noticed they didn't do well with it. I think it was too high in legumes. I can't remember the brand that hurt my Duke but it featured lentils and was in grocery store not pet store. If peas are low on ingredients list and meat protein is higher it helps alot. Ultimate protein by basic instinct has made my cats the healthiest ever. They get enough meat so they don't have cravings and overeat. I hope that helps. If u want more info just let me know.
Soooo helpful! Thank you! My vet put my overweight girl on royal canin satiety weight management kibble. The ingredients are horrible, corn, corn gluten meal etc…. Just don’t feel good about feeding her it anymore. And the cost is outrageous. She hasn’t lost much weight either. I’m starting to add more wet food to her diet and less kibble. Thank you for the advice on fancy feast, I know cat experts say it’s garbage ingredients but it seems way better than an all dry food diet. This video has encouraged me to do better for my cats at my budget point. I can barely afford fancy feast canned foods for their daily meals twice a day. Thank you for helping me not feel bad about my cats nutrition. I picked up the Costco Kirkland dry food for my cats as a small filler meal.
This is helpful for people who are feeding a lot of cats, whether they're fostering or feeding ferals. This is going to be a helpful video for them, too!
Thank you so much for this! I've been giving her the FF Fish and Shrimp for ages but I didn't know about some of the others. She is 18 in September and still gets excited about her food💙😺💙
I've been starting to pick up a bunch of cans of whole hearted weight control chicken flavored wet food. My cat loves chicken and turkey flavors. I'm not sure if he'll eat the fancy feast fish and shrimp feast wet food even though I need to get him to lose some weight if possible (he's about 20 lb). He used to eat only dry food when I was growing up. Now that I'm an adult and we have our own place I decided to buy him wet food cans cuz I knew the moisture is important to a cats health. My parents thought that only the older cat we had should b allowed to have wet food so its easier on her teeth but I didn't think it was fair still. I think it was just because of financial reasons though that they didn't wanna use more wet food for a second cat cuz it cost more. I switch between feeding him his dry food to treating him to some nice wet food. He goes bonkers over the wet food when I'm preparing it in his little food bowl in the kitchen its fun to watch. I also don't give him a lot of food in one sitting if he's meowing for food cuz he tends to be a fast eater and I find that he will puke up his food from eating too quickly. Thankfully he doesn't beg for more food after feeding him a bit. Its still hard to get him to lose some weight tho :/
I live on a farm, I have people drop off their unwanted babies all the time so right now I’m up to 40 cats and kittens. I feed whatever I can get cheapest. I’d love to be able to afford good food for my indoor babies but unfortunately other people’s cats are taking up most of my income.
Thank you for doing this and including us cat lovers with tighter budgets! I thought the most important thing was finding food proven in clinical tests to meet AAFCO standards, and the only foods I could find that do that (rather than just being formulated to meet standards) were dry foods. I haven't heard you mention this in your videos other than vaguely. Do you just not put much stock in testing and standards because they're so corporate industry driven? Anyway, I was driving myself batty until I realized you could have unlimited free chats with veterinary staff at Chewy if you just have an account and create profiles for pets. This was a godsend for me, as I can't generally afford veterinary care. The sweet, understanding woman I chatted with there told me Purina One, Royal Canin, and Hills all test their wet as well as dry food and she recommended any of them, adding that it's fine to mostly feed dry as long as kitties are relatively young and healthy, but to integrate some wet (I now split a 3 ounce can nightly between my 3 girls), so that they're used to it in case they need to eat more over time, and to get water fountains instead of just putting bowls out 😅
I have a feral colony (about 25 kitties) plus 8 of my own (I'm 73 on SS, live on 78 acres with spring-fed creek but the kitties don't venture more than about 250 ft in any direction and I'm about 700 ft off the road and through the forest). I buy Kirkland. Breakfast includes a mix of Kirkland and a couple of cans of wet food mixing in with the kibbles. Feed them a bit more Kirkland in late afternoon, then another smaller amount at night. They all look really good, shiny coats, etc. I have a 40 gallon pickle barrel that I can put 7 bags of Kirkland, dish it out (used to have horses and now use those big feed bowls that 6 adult cats can get around and still eat, have some smaller dishes for those that don't want to share. Have a kitty pool for water, as well as another horse feed bowl, a dog watering bowl, a bucket, a plastic drawer, a mixing bowl so they can go to whichever they like for water.
I buy frozen raw patties from Petvalu. It's $13 for 8 patties and they are huge and last about 4 feedings. I also add Stella and chewys, which I buy in bulk as it's cheaper. I should clarify, 1 frozen patty is about 4 meals
I feed my dog frozen raw, but my cats wouldn't eat it! I guess I could mix a little in, but it's tricky since it has to be used once it's thawed. I have wasted a lot when I tried adding small amounts of raw.
I appreciate you! Both my cats have refused to eat the purina dry food I bought them 😢 I’ve been so concerned about the nutritional value as well in this confirmed it. I’m heading to the store right now to get some good quality low budget wet food! 😂🎉
Thank you for your wonderful videos, I'm always seeking out new information on pet nutrition! I always prefer higher end (healthier) brands for my fur babies, but right now I have to cut back a bit on expenses. This really helped me and I gave the Fancy Feast a try for my three kitties and they all gobbled it up. Rare for them to all like the same food! It isn't my ideal choice, but for the cost and quality (especially a lower end food) I can't complain too much!
I absolutely LOVE your videos! So grateful for everything you do to bring us this information. I know it takes much time. How about a video on best digestive care foods or limited ingredient foods? My kitten was found at 2 weeks abandoned by his mom. I took him at 8 weeks, but seems to have digestive issues. Vet prescribed Hills Prescription Diet ID wet food.
Thank you for your support! We will definitely consider making a video on food for digestive care. In the meantime, you might like our article on the best cat food for IBD. allaboutcats.com/best-cat-food-for-ibd Hope this helps!
My new kitty is finnicky AF. He loves the Fancy Feast Broths buuuut $$$$. I discovered he loves Reveal, which is not a completely balanced cat food, as the label states. The tuna broth version has just tuna and broth. He loves it. Others recommend fish-based wet food only once or twice a week due to contaminates like mercury. I am eager to give some of these budget wet foods a try. Great video and thank you, Mallory.
I keep hearing conflicting opinions about certain emulsifiers like Guar Gum, Xantham Gum, and Tapioca Starch in particular. I know that most people are on the side that carrageenan is bad (even though it is apparently just red seaweed). Any thoughts that might be beneficial? I would really love a video explaining all the different types of thickening agents used in cat food.
Hi Rob, thank you for asking about this. This is a big topic, and you're right, it's one we should cover in an upcoming video. To my understanding, there are some potential risks to the gums you've mentioned (inflammation and inhibited nutrient absorption are two main concerns), with the worries about carrageenan being the most significant. The key issue with carrageenan is that there are different grades available, some of which may be more harmful than others. As for tapioca starch, I'm not aware of any significant concerns around this ingredient other than the fact that it's starchy and not species-appropriate.
Thank you so much for these reviews. As consumers we have so much to learn and find the healthy choices amongst the overwhelming big box store offerings.
I split Nina’s can for breakfast and dinner with a bit of kibble available for nibbles if she gets really hungry. (She’s transitioning to meal times with us. We adopted her a month ago and I suspect her former family free fed, so she was 16 lbs when they surrendered her.). I like the pouched foods I can get at the pet store for snacks. The pouch is easy to keep closed with a bag clip and a soup-spoonful as a treat is just about right. Gets the good stuff in her without breaking the bank.
This. It's a good way to ensure your cat gets a variety of textures and flavors, as well as the benefits that come with both dry and wet food. It's the best of both worlds!
I do that as well! I used to have two cats, one senior who only ate pate wet food. But she passed away and my young boy (2 years) gets dry food in the morning and wet at night. He eats a little throughout the day. So during the night he has both the wet and dry to eat. He loves it.
I just swapped my cat over to scheduled feedings and I do 3 meals, 8 hours apart. I split a wet food can into thirds and I did math to figure out how much dry to add to each meal. I also add some water to each meal for the extra hydration. I plan on getting an automatic feeder that has ice packs in it once I start working again because I won't be able to feasibly do 3 meals equally spaced out like she needs. I feel like the mix of wet/dry is the best middle ground for health benefits + price; especially since my cat needs the Purina Pro Plan or Hill's Science Diet Sensitive Skin & Stomach formulas to prevent her coat getting dandruffy and somewhat greasy. It's especially beneficial if you add water to the meals like I do!
That Kirkland in the back of your video is what all my cats like but having only 1 the food goes stale. So I feed a few ferals also. And then double ziplock after sucking the air out as best I can to keep the rest fresh. Half goes to ferals
I am really glad you made this video. I was feeding my Ollie Bolly Hot Tomales 😄😄...Tiki cat brand wet and dry. But it costs me like $50 a month. He is worth every penny. But he is super picky. What cat doesn't like shrimp 🤷🏽♀️. And he doesn't like certain fish!!! So I can't afford paying that high price if he won't eat it. I hate giving him "Meow mix"!!!!🤮. So I'm so excited to try some of these on him 😄
thank you for this info...my cat got UTIs often when I first got her, so I switched to a UTI preventative dry food...then she would eat, then drink, then throw up.... So I finally solved the issue by soaking the dry kibble in tubberware and keep it in the fridge. It blows up with the moisture and then put it in her bowl and I top it with a wet food for taste. I have a cat and 2 dogs...by the time I solved this riddle Gracie had ruined two large dog beds and 2 of her cat beds Kitty pee is tough to neutralize when you cannot put the bed in a washing machine.
i adopted 2 stay kittens and feed the mother and i believe to be the father, i'm trying to get a mixture of cheap for the father, middle of the road to high for her. but for the kittens they won't eat pate they are finicky on even sshreds or minced so i mix raw kibble and also cheaper kibble and for the mother she'll eat pate if i add hot water and stir into a slurry. the parents are under my office at work the babies at my house. like a full time job figuring out how to feed them all thank goodness for auto-feeders. long ways of saying i might try the kirklands for whoever will eat and maybe wellness flaked thanks
All 3 of my cats get really really sick after eating the Costco Kirkland Signature cat food. Now I feed them a mixer of Purina and Blue and chicken. I buy the chicken legs from Aldi at 79 cents a pound and boil them in water. The cats like drinking the chicken boil water. I also mix the wet food and dry food together. My local grocery sometime have salmon trim at $1.99 per pound and I would air fry it in the baking pan so the oil will remain and mix it with the dry foods.
It’s now that I saw your comment and just wanted to suggest that instead of mixing wet and dry food you could offer the wet on a side and just some of the dry food next to it or in another separate plate. That would help them when eating because it is not the same having to it a lot of dry food trying to get the wet one than the having possibility to choose. If by chance they don’t feel well, they could at least get the softer one to satisfy hunger a little or because they could prefer it. It is also a way to see how they are eating. I offer wet food and leave a little amount of dry food in the plate or if I am offering a bigger amount of wet food as usual or a combination of wet and boiled chicken or wet and beef, I leave a separate plate of dry food. If they are feeling well they will eat the wet one, maybe a little of the dry or they will come back later to eat the dry one. More than once probably. It’s what I do with the non socialized cats ( feral) I take care of. It’s a way to know how they are feeling and how they are eating. When offering boiled chicken or beef ( raw) I offer less of the wet one.
Thank you for this video. I just spent a small fortune on a vet bill due to blockage and they all will be going on some form of a wet food diet. May try to use some dry food mixed with warm water (think oatmeal) mixed with a tasty wet food. I have a few cats with mixed domains, it's time to whip out the old crockpot and see about doing this. I appreciate all the effort you go into and wish you well. All great info.
I just ordered a 25lbs bag for my three feral kitties of the Kirkland dry and after seeing this video banging my head against the wall. Didn't realize it was so high in carb/fat and so low in protein content. I spent hours at store trying to find nongmo, and all the other bad ingredients and this was the best I came up with. The dry is mostly for nibbling. I cook for them, provide plenty of water and moist can food. The wet food is another challenge with so many negative ingredients that my feral kitties started having skin issues.
I live in a very small town. I don't live anywhere near a Costco, Petsmart, Petco, etc. Where I live only has 1 grocery store, and I'm limited to what they offer. I wondered what food you think would be most comparable to Kirkland Signature Maintenance dry cat food that would be readily available in most supermarkets. I've been considering Purina One.
Echoing what the speaker said-dry food does cause additional urinary headaches ESPECIALLY in male cats. I have a male cat and will never feed it dry food again (pending an emergency)-it cost $800-900 in vet bills for a urinary blockage preventable if I had given it wet food instead of dry food.
I'm on a fixed income & I mainly feed dry food strictly because it's a cheap way to have a good bit of food on hand without going broke trying to feed my 2 cats...I can't afford canned food on the daily, as that would completely blow the monthly cost of feeding these critters straight into orbit for me...that being said, I give them a can once a week & on holidays...I haven't had them long, they both wandered up as stray kittens, & I just started feeding them & of course, they decided to stay...and they're the first cats I've ever had, so not a lot of cat experience here...so far, I've been feeding 9 Lives for the dry, it's between $12-$15 a bag depending on where I buy it & lasts me about 3 months...however, after watching a few videos lately about cat food, & then reading the ingredients, I discovered, it's garbage, in spite of the fact that they love it, there's very little, if any actual meat in this 'food' that's supposedly formulated for carnivores...soon as this bag is done, I'm looking for a better dry food...I've been buying Fancy Feast & Sheba for wet food, but I may start looking into making my own cat food in the neat future, since I'm a DIYer & like cooking, just so I know exactly what's in what I give them...I've seen several other vids on good cat foods, but it's always the super high end stuff that's way more than I'm gonna spend, but you're the first one I've seen who's talking about cheaper alternatives...I will subscribe for that...thank you for the suggestions!🤘🏿😎👍🏿
@@samanthasanchezkawano6875 from what I heard they are currently revamping the brand and it’s not available on chewy but I have found it in petsmart stores
Lol seriously. I go from relatively cheap, mid range, and expensive. From Sheba-Wellness Core-Tiki Cat-Ziwi Peak. Whichever one sticks is the ones I stockpile - i.imgur.com/Lqms9q1.jpg
I tried my picky kitty on loads of different brands/flavors, but the one she eats is Tiny Tiger beef pate. I was spoiled by my other kitty, who would eat anything~haha.
You have cute cats! I watched Dr. Marty's commercial and felt I killed my last cat. she loved Fancy Feast and Trader Joe's dry food. Thank you for all your videos
Awww...no. The Dr. Marty commercial does strongly suggest that cheaper foods are a universal culprit behind health issues, and while I'm not a vet or a veterinary nutritionist, my research has never suggested that this is the case. I hope that learning about the good side of some of these options helps to put your mind at ease and help you to make confident choices. Also, I passed the compliment along to Wessie and Forest. :)
@@AllAboutCatsYT I love your site and thank you, thank you for what you do. I lost my cat 6 wks ago...when does one know one's ready for the next one? Tell your kitties, they have the BEST mum!
I just love all your videos!🐱♥️Very informative and helpful. I’ll be getting my very first cat soon and I want to be a informed as possible. I was wondering though, which wet food would be best for kittens?
Ok my cats don’t like pate type wet foods. They really only like the gravy in fancy feast cans. I shop at Kroger, not Petco. At 7 cans for $10 and 3 oz cans that’s about .47 cents per oz. but I just saw Amazon has 24 cans of the gravy variety for $15 so that makes it around .20 cents per oz.
I've been raising cats, degus, guinea pigs, pet rats, & hamsters for years. I was always told that the pet store chains carry better foods than the grocery stores. I avoid farm feed stores because most of their foods are crap.
I use Pro-Plan for both my cats and dogs. I read through so many pet food ingredient lists that it seemed I wouldn’t find any budget friendly brands until I fount Pro-Plan. I feed all my pets dry food because 1) it can get expensive 2) there is a lot of waste when it sits out and gets crusty on top 3) it stinks. I had a friend who fed her three cats exclusively wet food. Her house always smelled like cat food. Gross. I found the same issue when my daughter fed our cats wet food. My preferred feeding method has always been dry food for both my cats and my dogs with few,if any, issues.
My bombay is about a year old and I've always fed him dry Friskies kibble. He regularly has soft light brown diahrea-type poop and many times it has blood. Hes about 14 pounds and doesn't seem to have any health issues, he just likes to eat. I'm thinking I need to change his diet because his poop is heinous, what should I do???
Hi there, consistent diarrhea and bloody stool are not signs of an entirely healthy cat. I would suspect a GI issue like irritable bowel disease. At any rate, yes, changing to a different diet could absolutely help. I would look into as simple a diet as possible, as this will minimize the burden on the digestive tract while potentially eliminating irritating ingredients. You might also consider a raw diet-if you do it yourself, it can be cheaper than some of the recommendations in this video. Raw diets are among the most promising options for cats with digestive issues. Other than that, I'd consider talking to a veterinarian to get an expert opinion on your cat's chronic diarrhea and occasional bloody stool. Hope this helps!
Because of my allergies, I've been trying Purina Pro-plan Liveclear which it says will neutralize the allergen in the cat's saliva. The only problem is that you have to allow free range feeding according to the directions and I think my cat is gaining weight. I give him one serving of 1/3 cup every day and a 3 oz can of FF at night. Is this okay?
Hey there, that's a good question. The relationship between food and dental health is a tricky one. Dry foods, even those with large pieces, tend to leave a starchy film on the teeth, meaning that they may do more harm than good. I would recommend pairing a wet diet (better for overall health) with daily brushing for the best results. You could also try dental treats. Here's a link to our guide to the best treats for dental health: allaboutcats.com/best-dental-cat-treats
All About Cats hi thank you for replying ! I messaged my cat food company and they suggested the exact same thing. Going to try this out and see if it works !
What can u tell me about Fussie Catfood? My Cat's r very choosy they like Fancy Fiest too, they Love fancy feist the most ,but I didn't think it was good for them they don't really care for the expensive no grain which is the best for them. I like buying the no grain, no GMO ,but it's expensive I've even tried giving them Marty's brand of dried raw food ,but only one of them will eat it. I think I've tried about all? They r making me crazy with there choices of food they r never satisfied with just one type they tire of the same thing everyday and I get it I do so can u help me?
My cat is noooot picky so I typically do about have wet and half dry then add some water to keep her hydrated as best as I can. She also generally finishes her water bowl in a day. Is this a good thing to do?
Adding moisture to your cat's food is great, but that sounds like a LOT of drinking! How big is your cat's bowl? Cats need 3.5 to 4.5 ounces of water per 5 lb of body weight, but that includes water in their food.
@@AllAboutCatsYT its about two cups but I only fill it about halfway. She had a tapeworm when I got her initially so she's bouncing back from all of that. She's also around 8 pounds now. I rescued her from a shelter and as far as I know she's completely healthy and hasnt had any issues past the ones she had at the shelter. Im a paranoid momma though if you have any tips 😅
Signed up for cat person to try. Smalls looks great but are having issues getting product due to COVID. So will wait for them to fix their issue as I want kibble with the wet food
Thank you for this. We adopted our first kitten, Muffin from the shelter 3 month ago. Before Muffin we had two other cats we adopted, but they weren’t kittens, we adopted them as adults. Our other 2 cats passed away in 2019 and 2020 and were fed almost strictly dried food and I wonder if we would have gotten a couple more years out of them if we knew better. Now I’m committed to giving our kitten wet food every day to keep her hydrated. She still gets dry food as well. I’ve been watching other videos on cat nutrition recommending expensive, impractical options that leave me feeling guilty for feeding her any dry food and not putting her on a whole prey diet. I actually would consider keeping frozen mice carcasses in my freezer but can’t get my husband on board. 😂
How do you give your cat the best nutrition while sticking to a budget? Tell us about your #1 money-saving trick!
All About Cats, I give my cat one whole can of wet food (3 Oz) split over breakfast and dinner. She also has a bit of kibble available to her if she’s still really hungry as recommended by her vet. We adopted her a month ago and she was 16 pounds. We’ve been limiting her to meal times rather than the free feeding that we suspect her former family did. She should be just right by Christmas.
For those who don't have a Costco membership, Diamond Naturals ACTIVE Cat is similar to the dry food recommendation (they're produced by the same manufacturer) but with 40% protein instead of 30% (there is more plant matter though). Also, can you please consider calculating prices on a per calorie (or 100 calories) basis since that's what matters at the end of the day? Thanks for all of the helpful info and guides!
@@BGing_Foodie Thanks for the recommendation!
My cat is only 4.5lbs so I am able to buy a premium brand. She gets a can or pouch of tiki cat in the morning and 1/8c tiki cat kibble with 1/2 tsp puréed pumpkin and some bone broth in the evening. She has cerebellar hypoplasia and doesn’t really care about other cats being around so she’s perfectly fine being a single cat otherwise I would have to go to a more budget brand.
Since all of these are in dollars. They are far expensive in our currency :').
I asked my vet about qualify foods reasonably priced. He basically told me there was no such thing. Thank you for doing this.
I feel like a lot of these vets just give you bad or vague advice so that your pet gets sick and you’d have to go to them
Vets are incentivized to push certain foods
@@unzunzvroom not *exactly* true. They are not financially paid for promoting vet brands (getting “kickbacks” for recommending those brands is completely misinfo), but those brands do lead their pet nutrition classes and publish the majority of pet food research, so that is why vets recommend them so much.
Most vets are sponsored by Hills Science to promote their food so yeah they really won’t recommend you to buy anything else😂
Umm wow your vets an ass. I worked with a couple vets and for cats they recommended if possible make your own if not Kirkland brands are decent but if you have the budget Try to go with no grain cat foods,but never raw unless cooking it. Raw only is safe ( as long as the prey wasn't poisoned first) from a fresh cat kill. No raw processed ever due to seriously unsafe factories.
We have two precious fur babies and feed about six strays. It gets very expensive. We were leaving food out all day and replenishing when empty, but now we feed our babies twice a day, they both just turned a year old a few months back. I still find myself replenishing the stray cats food multiple times a day though. I have had some neighbors donate bags of food as they see we feed anything and everything that wonders up on our porch. I feel blessed. Thank you for sharing your video.
I love how anything costco makes is the best out of all brands 99% of the time lol.
true, i like buy all things from costco
I even saw in a vodka comparison their's was the best. Lol
Kirkland does not play around😂 if I ever wanna try anything new at Costco as long as it has Kirkland branding I’m trying it
I know how bad hotdogs are but, holy cow, they DO have the best ones at their cafe.
Costco is great. Do they sell these brands? I’ve never felt so thankful to watch an informational video in my lige! I’ve been fretting about the cost of food and didn’t just want to do the same thing my parents do with our cats. I wanted to do my own research. So seeinv this and knowing Costco sells a lot of these is great.
Well, I want to feed my cat the best food, even if it costs me 50$/day. The thing is, my wallet greatly disagree🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
Isn't that the reason for any of us who care to not be feeding our cats the very highest quality?
Amen girl! I laugh at myself because I feel myself junk. Like I legit binged on mcdonalds today....then i go home and make sure purina one and fancy feast medlley are among the good - with in my price range. I mean apparently I a can eat crap but the cats need high quality food? LOL
Yeah your fucking nuts high quality food does not even cost 50$ a day
@@jaharis.1690 chill gurl? My comment was definitely an exaggeration, but ig not everyone can catch that💁🏼
Why does it cost you 50$ a day? For one cat?
The food I buy is a form of “pet insurance” against health concerns. It is one vital part.
I would be curious to see a video about combination feeding- I feed my cats with a combo of dry and wet food. Would love to know the thoughts or best practice for this style of feeding.
I would love to see a video on combination feeding as well.
Dry food is very bad for your cat's health. Even the cheapest wet food is better for them
this is what I am trying currently, the best quality dry food I can for my adult cat, right now its orijen original( thats just whats near me in petco) alongside of toppers and good quality wet food for as much added moisture and protein as possible, just with dry food as the bulk, maybe 70% dry, 20% wet and 10% toppers. I adopted two kittens and they eat 100% wet food since its cheaper to feed babies less than 2 lbs, and I hope to learn how to make my own cat food as I transition my adult cat to wet food and my kittens get bigger and eat more. I would like to start with lightly cooked homemade food and then switch to raw under my vets supervision. ill still buy treats and wet store bought food to add variety and convienience, in case the stores are out of livers or I forget to thaw out raw portions.
@@justfine8647unless that cheap wet food has plant ingredients like flour or soy isolate or potatoes and tricalcium phosphate as the 4th ingredient, or with carageenan god forbid. you can add the right amount of high quality protien and moisture to a bulk of whole prey dry food and it would be better than feeding them 100% wet with all the weird junk in a lot of cheap food.
I do the same. My vet often issues warnings about feeding my cats wet food. He said it ruins their teeth. I figure the dry food helps keep the wet food from caking up on their teeth.
I lost my Malthael to a urinary blockage the size of a baseball within a matter of days. So everyone, please, take this seriously. I know him being a runt and abandoned by his mother at 2 weeks old may have played a part, but I still feel this could've been prevented. It was the worst Christmas of my life and my husband is haunted by my screams at the ER to save my baby boy when none of us could afford the surgery. That said, the vet there even told us that even if we got the surgery, it was going to come back and he was going to live with this over and over for the rest of his life. I couldn't bare that for him. They were kind enough to let me be with him despite the COVID restrictions.
I wish I had seen this video a month ago. I recently lost my best bud because of urinary health issues. My partner and I fed all of our cats on Purina Cat Chow and everything seemed fine. Fast forward three years, my buddy got sick and the vet wasn't able to save him. I hate myself for not knowing this simple nutritional fact and I hate myself for the pain Whistler went through.
People, please pay attention to your cats potty habits and their nutritional needs. I don't want anyone to lose their best friend like I did.
I love you, Whistler. Miss you, bud.
Sorry for your loss. I have also lost my buddy 2 months ago to chronic kidney disease. I blame myself for not knowing these, and it breaks my heart over and over. I still have another cat and I'm doing better for him.
Tyler, thank you for sharing your experience. Losing Whistler must have been devastating. I don't fully understand what you're experiencing, but I can relate in a way. The orange kitty in this video, Wessie, had a urinary blockage about 10 years ago while on a dry diet. While he clearly made it through that experience and is in these videos today, it could have easily gone differently. Urinary tract disease was my wake-up call and was clearly yours as well. Thank you for helping to make a positive difference and educate other people so they won't have to go through what you have.
Take care,
Mallory
I also lost my cat to renal failure after feeding her cat chow for years. Thought I was feeding a good brand of food that would prevent dental issues. I simply didn't know. We were able to transition to wet food mostly, but struggled to get her to eat the prescription wet foods. Thankful we switch to a veterinarian that understood a fair quality wet food would help slow this disease.
Thank you for sharing, my cat craps so bad. Very soft and often a bit bloody. Ive been feeding him friskies chow but I'm not sure what to switch to now
@@patcallano8639 I know it's easy to blame yourself, but it's hard to tell the good food from the bad without the proper know how and paying attention to labels. Like you I have two other boys Wayne and Garth, and I told myself that I didn't know better when Whistler became ill, but I know better now and I'll be damned if I let it happen again. So just do what you can for your other cat and make better choices and I'm sure your buddy will be looking down from the Rainbow Bridge with happiness.
Years ago, my vet told me Kirkland's was the best cheap dry cat food on the market. Since I'm low income, and rescue and feed a ton of cats, I switched to it, and my cats have not had any problems. Of course, it was $7.99 a bag then, and it's creeping up to almost $22 now. I go thru about six bags a month! 😻
Your vet is bought by pet food companies. There is no good dry food for cats.
@@jasonlee1073: Vets are certainly "bought" by Science Diet! I can't stand the smell of wet animal food, can't make my own, feed too many, so dry is what they get!
Jesus bro, chill. 6 bags?
@@PeaceMastah: yup!
Thank you for doing this. I'm also low income and take care of several.
Thank you so much! I am 71, on social security and feed 6 cats. So I just have to do budget foods but I also want something they like and is good for their health!
Thanks for being here!
Boil chicken or saute salmon without salt. It's cheaper than canned cat food.
@@teacup3133 that leaves out a lot of nutrients though. Have a vet tell you what to do instead of listening to a yt comment
Me too. What works for you? I have been feeding them blue buffalo salmon brand and they like trickiest wet food
I'm 72 and feeding 5cats on social security. I spend more on their food and litter than my own food..prices have doubled in past 4 years. I use fancy feast wet supplemented by some blue wilderness chicken and trout, nutrish, friskies and keep trying new stuff all soundly rejected. I leave two types of kibble for free feeding in vain hope they won't wake me up for food. Royal canin mom and baby cat and farmina. They love those. Mine are seniors and one is toothless. They get temptations treats, bonito flakes, and gerbers baby food as a treat for the two oldest. I wish I could do better on nutrition but they reject everything else completely.
Thank you for this video! Rescuing four cats has been hard on the budget, but I want to give them the best. A money saving trick I've seen is that Amazon gives you a discount if you enroll in a subscription to the food you buy and you can even choose how often you get it delivered.
Love it! Thanks, Desiree.
nice of you to have 4 rescue cats. god bless
Chewy does the same thing
YOUR KINDNESSES WILL BE REWARDED😁♥️🇨🇦
petco premier program gives a nice discount! and they do price matching so it mighr be worth it for litter and things
Hello,
I found your channel seeking understanding because my 12 year old cat had cancer and I didn’t even know until last week when she was really struggling…..
Now she’s gone
Prior to that, she seemed to be getting along as usual, aside from some weight loss..
I worry still that she may have been in pain and I didn’t know it….
I have learned SO much from you, Mallory and Dr Wooten….
Thanks to you guys,
I WILL do better with my next rescue cat…..
I appreciate all that you are doing especially with including those on a budget….we love our animals just as much ❤️
❤❤❤❤❤God bless you and your kitties
I scrape out all the wet food from the can into a large bowl. I fill the can up with cold water & add into the bowl. I stir & mash with a fork til all mixed. Then I cover it, put it in the fridge for breakfast, lunch & supper for the next few days.
we need an updated of this video ! informative as always !!
so i do dry food during the day, but around 6pm, I will give the wet food mixed with water to give it a stew sort of consistency, and they adore that! plus they're oddly fantastic drinkers, I keep a log book to make sure there's no inconsistencies in their drinking when I can hahahahaha
Thank you, Mallory, this is exactly the video I have been seeking, and you did a great job as always!
Art, I'm so happy to hear that it was what you've been looking for! Thank you for your support.
I never saw so much licking the lips and chops after munching the Kirkland! They LOVE it! They insisted I subscribe to your channel so I did.
Thank you for your honest reviews Mallory! Can you please consider making a video/written guide focusing on the best cheap dry cat foods?
Thanks so much for doing this. We're living in an age when we feel if we are not buying our animals the most expensive foods we are going to kill them. How then did my cats survive on what would be considered now, bad brands? This was of course many years ago and we know more about nutrition. I think this is incredibly helpful for those who are feeling to the food cost crunch but want to have a pet and keep them healthy. One can always splurge a few times a year on very high quality food if possible.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the work you do!
I feed a couple of community adult cats and I give them Kirkland dry food mixed with a a couple of tablespoons of the petco gravy canned food to soften the dry food a bit and they seem to love it and it’s not too expensive. For my indoor kitten, I do the core canned food.
nice of you to feed strays too
i was gonna feed core but its more expensive than orijen where I am and they have a really nice kitten recipe
Hey thank you for your research and care for cats and the food that’s affordable. Appreciate it!
Stay away from the grain free foods that are usually high in lentils, peas. Chickpeas. I thought I was helping my cats with these foods but instead they had uti issues. I lost my beautiful Duke to complications from high lentil food. Heartbreaking.
What brand?
@@Joshuaxiong2 I only feed my cats basic instinct ultimate protein now since it has no lenfils or beans. They are so healthy now. No issues. They eat right amount so it is actually affordable. Now they can have treats like friskies and they do fine. They need meat protein to keep urine ph just right. It has amino acid they need for the ph.
So sorry to hear about that. Could you please share what food you were feeding your baby? I've spent so much time trying to find the best food affordable but am worried it's not enough for my kitties.
@@Tjl_0435 hi. I know what you mean. It isn't always easy to figure out. A while back I tried natural balance with the pea protein. I noticed they didn't do well with it. I think it was too high in legumes.
I can't remember the brand that hurt my Duke but it featured lentils and was in grocery store not pet store.
If peas are low on ingredients list and meat protein is higher it helps alot. Ultimate protein by basic instinct has made my cats the healthiest ever. They get enough meat so they don't have cravings and overeat.
I hope that helps. If u want more info just let me know.
@@julieginn2822 thanks so much for your time and response. I'll definitely be looking at what I'm feeding them.
This is appreciated. Helped me put together a simple meal plan.
Soooo helpful! Thank you! My vet put my overweight girl on royal canin satiety weight management kibble. The ingredients are horrible, corn, corn gluten meal etc…. Just don’t feel good about feeding her it anymore. And the cost is outrageous. She hasn’t lost much weight either. I’m starting to add more wet food to her diet and less kibble. Thank you for the advice on fancy feast, I know cat experts say it’s garbage ingredients but it seems way better than an all dry food diet. This video has encouraged me to do better for my cats at my budget point. I can barely afford fancy feast canned foods for their daily meals twice a day. Thank you for helping me not feel bad about my cats nutrition. I picked up the Costco Kirkland dry food for my cats as a small filler meal.
I've always fed my cats fancy feast for years they love it and get so excited we feed them Pure Balance indoor and various flavors of fancy feast.
Thanks for sharing!
@@AllAboutCatsYT fancy feast classic is diabetic friendly and some cats have even overcome diabetes with this food. Mine did 😻
Wellness CAN get expensive if you have multiple cats however I for sure recommend it.
This is helpful for people who are feeding a lot of cats, whether they're fostering or feeding ferals. This is going to be a helpful video for them, too!
Thank you so much for this! I've been giving her the FF Fish and Shrimp for ages but I didn't know about some of the others. She is 18 in September and still gets excited about her food💙😺💙
wow 18 years old
I've been starting to pick up a bunch of cans of whole hearted weight control chicken flavored wet food. My cat loves chicken and turkey flavors. I'm not sure if he'll eat the fancy feast fish and shrimp feast wet food even though I need to get him to lose some weight if possible (he's about 20 lb). He used to eat only dry food when I was growing up. Now that I'm an adult and we have our own place I decided to buy him wet food cans cuz I knew the moisture is important to a cats health. My parents thought that only the older cat we had should b allowed to have wet food so its easier on her teeth but I didn't think it was fair still. I think it was just because of financial reasons though that they didn't wanna use more wet food for a second cat cuz it cost more. I switch between feeding him his dry food to treating him to some nice wet food. He goes bonkers over the wet food when I'm preparing it in his little food bowl in the kitchen its fun to watch. I also don't give him a lot of food in one sitting if he's meowing for food cuz he tends to be a fast eater and I find that he will puke up his food from eating too quickly. Thankfully he doesn't beg for more food after feeding him a bit. Its still hard to get him to lose some weight tho :/
I live on a farm, I have people drop off their unwanted babies all the time so right now I’m up to 40 cats and kittens. I feed whatever I can get cheapest. I’d love to be able to afford good food for my indoor babies but unfortunately other people’s cats are taking up most of my income.
Such a huge problem for people out in the country. SOrry you're getting dumped cats at your farm. Are you able to get the cats spayed/neutered?
Thank you for doing this and including us cat lovers with tighter budgets! I thought the most important thing was finding food proven in clinical tests to meet AAFCO standards, and the only foods I could find that do that (rather than just being formulated to meet standards) were dry foods. I haven't heard you mention this in your videos other than vaguely. Do you just not put much stock in testing and standards because they're so corporate industry driven? Anyway, I was driving myself batty until I realized you could have unlimited free chats with veterinary staff at Chewy if you just have an account and create profiles for pets. This was a godsend for me, as I can't generally afford veterinary care. The sweet, understanding woman I chatted with there told me Purina One, Royal Canin, and Hills all test their wet as well as dry food and she recommended any of them, adding that it's fine to mostly feed dry as long as kitties are relatively young and healthy, but to integrate some wet (I now split a 3 ounce can nightly between my 3 girls), so that they're used to it in case they need to eat more over time, and to get water fountains instead of just putting bowls out 😅
😍Amazing...Mallory!
Less guilty feeling now.
Helpful info budget and health-wise.
And Forrest!..budget-friendly kitty, goes after her wants!😻
Thanks!
Thank YOU!
I have a feral colony (about 25 kitties) plus 8 of my own (I'm 73 on SS, live on 78 acres with spring-fed creek but the kitties don't venture more than about 250 ft in any direction and I'm about 700 ft off the road and through the forest). I buy Kirkland. Breakfast includes a mix of Kirkland and a couple of cans of wet food mixing in with the kibbles. Feed them a bit more Kirkland in late afternoon, then another smaller amount at night. They all look really good, shiny coats, etc. I have a 40 gallon pickle barrel that I can put 7 bags of Kirkland, dish it out (used to have horses and now use those big feed bowls that 6 adult cats can get around and still eat, have some smaller dishes for those that don't want to share. Have a kitty pool for water, as well as another horse feed bowl, a dog watering bowl, a bucket, a plastic drawer, a mixing bowl so they can go to whichever they like for water.
I buy frozen raw patties from Petvalu. It's $13 for 8 patties and they are huge and last about 4 feedings. I also add Stella and chewys, which I buy in bulk as it's cheaper. I should clarify, 1 frozen patty is about 4 meals
They don’t ship to the US. sounds interesting though.
I feed my dog frozen raw, but my cats wouldn't eat it! I guess I could mix a little in, but it's tricky since it has to be used once it's thawed. I have wasted a lot when I tried adding small amounts of raw.
I appreciate you! Both my cats have refused to eat the purina dry food I bought them 😢 I’ve been so concerned about the nutritional value as well in this confirmed it. I’m heading to the store right now to get some good quality low budget wet food! 😂🎉
👍 Thanks for the excellent review. My little man has enjoyed a few items you've reviewed and we look forward to your content.🐈
Thank you for your wonderful videos, I'm always seeking out new information on pet nutrition! I always prefer higher end (healthier) brands for my fur babies, but right now I have to cut back a bit on expenses. This really helped me and I gave the Fancy Feast a try for my three kitties and they all gobbled it up. Rare for them to all like the same food! It isn't my ideal choice, but for the cost and quality (especially a lower end food) I can't complain too much!
I'm so glad that you found this video helpful and that all of your cats liked the Fancy Feast food!
Thank you for research and detailed explain. Subscribed
I absolutely LOVE your videos! So grateful for everything you do to bring us this information. I know it takes much time. How about a video on best digestive care foods or limited ingredient foods? My kitten was found at 2 weeks abandoned by his mom. I took him at 8 weeks, but seems to have digestive issues. Vet prescribed Hills Prescription Diet ID wet food.
Thank you for your support! We will definitely consider making a video on food for digestive care. In the meantime, you might like our article on the best cat food for IBD. allaboutcats.com/best-cat-food-for-ibd
Hope this helps!
My new kitty is finnicky AF. He loves the Fancy Feast Broths buuuut $$$$. I discovered he loves Reveal, which is not a completely balanced cat food, as the label states. The tuna broth version has just tuna and broth. He loves it. Others recommend fish-based wet food only once or twice a week due to contaminates like mercury. I am eager to give some of these budget wet foods a try. Great video and thank you, Mallory.
I tend to feed my cat a mixture of brands I can find on sell. But I do stick to certain brands and allow some others as ‘treats’.
Yup! I try to load up on prime day every year for the whole year (but this year they didn’t have any kitty food!)
same I buy freeze dried or canned tuna once in a while for extra protein
@@TheMisslili8 my cat loves canned tuna! Once in a while he gets some when I make something with tuna.
You are a Godsend! I have learned so much from your vids. Thank you!
Brooo I needed this thank yiyuyuuyuy
I keep hearing conflicting opinions about certain emulsifiers like Guar Gum, Xantham Gum, and Tapioca Starch in particular. I know that most people are on the side that carrageenan is bad (even though it is apparently just red seaweed). Any thoughts that might be beneficial? I would really love a video explaining all the different types of thickening agents used in cat food.
Hi Rob, thank you for asking about this. This is a big topic, and you're right, it's one we should cover in an upcoming video. To my understanding, there are some potential risks to the gums you've mentioned (inflammation and inhibited nutrient absorption are two main concerns), with the worries about carrageenan being the most significant. The key issue with carrageenan is that there are different grades available, some of which may be more harmful than others. As for tapioca starch, I'm not aware of any significant concerns around this ingredient other than the fact that it's starchy and not species-appropriate.
My vet encourages me to purchase Hills prescription metabolic, very expensive. Why?
Thank you so much for these reviews. As consumers we have so much to learn and find the healthy choices amongst the overwhelming big box store offerings.
I feed my cats dry in the morning and wet at night. I always add water to the dry. They also get treats with water around 5pm as a snack.
I split Nina’s can for breakfast and dinner with a bit of kibble available for nibbles if she gets really hungry. (She’s transitioning to meal times with us. We adopted her a month ago and I suspect her former family free fed, so she was 16 lbs when they surrendered her.).
I like the pouched foods I can get at the pet store for snacks. The pouch is easy to keep closed with a bag clip and a soup-spoonful as a treat is just about right. Gets the good stuff in her without breaking the bank.
This. It's a good way to ensure your cat gets a variety of textures and flavors, as well as the benefits that come with both dry and wet food. It's the best of both worlds!
I do that as well! I used to have two cats, one senior who only ate pate wet food. But she passed away and my young boy (2 years) gets dry food in the morning and wet at night. He eats a little throughout the day. So during the night he has both the wet and dry to eat. He loves it.
I just swapped my cat over to scheduled feedings and I do 3 meals, 8 hours apart. I split a wet food can into thirds and I did math to figure out how much dry to add to each meal. I also add some water to each meal for the extra hydration. I plan on getting an automatic feeder that has ice packs in it once I start working again because I won't be able to feasibly do 3 meals equally spaced out like she needs. I feel like the mix of wet/dry is the best middle ground for health benefits + price; especially since my cat needs the Purina Pro Plan or Hill's Science Diet Sensitive Skin & Stomach formulas to prevent her coat getting dandruffy and somewhat greasy. It's especially beneficial if you add water to the meals like I do!
@@triforce_majora how do you calculate how much water to add?
That Kirkland in the back of your video is what all my cats like but having only 1 the food goes stale. So I feed a few ferals also. And then double ziplock after sucking the air out as best I can to keep the rest fresh. Half goes to ferals
Very good advice to pass on to first time cat owners!
I am really glad you made this video. I was feeding my Ollie Bolly Hot Tomales 😄😄...Tiki cat brand wet and dry. But it costs me like $50 a month.
He is worth every penny. But he is super picky. What cat doesn't like shrimp 🤷🏽♀️. And he doesn't like certain fish!!! So I can't afford paying that high price if he won't eat it.
I hate giving him "Meow mix"!!!!🤮.
So I'm so excited to try some of these on him 😄
thank you for this info...my cat got UTIs often when I first got her, so I switched to a UTI preventative dry food...then she would eat, then drink, then throw up.... So I finally solved the issue by soaking the dry kibble in tubberware and keep it in the fridge. It blows up with the moisture and then put it in her bowl and I top it with a wet food for taste. I have a cat and 2 dogs...by the time I solved this riddle Gracie had ruined two large dog beds and 2 of her cat beds Kitty pee is tough to neutralize when you cannot put the bed in a washing machine.
That's a cool cat pillow you got there.
Any opinion on orijen?
i feed my cat fancy feast wet food and purina grain free cat food.. hope that’s good 😬
i adopted 2 stay kittens and feed the mother and i believe to be the father, i'm trying to get a mixture of cheap for the father, middle of the road to high for her. but for the kittens they won't eat pate they are finicky on even sshreds or minced so i mix raw kibble and also cheaper kibble and for the mother she'll eat pate if i add hot water and stir into a slurry. the parents are under my office at work the babies at my house. like a full time job figuring out how to feed them all thank goodness for auto-feeders. long ways of saying i might try the kirklands for whoever will eat and maybe wellness flaked thanks
Thanks for this great video ❤
All 3 of my cats get really really sick after eating the Costco Kirkland Signature cat food. Now I feed them a mixer of Purina and Blue and chicken. I buy the chicken legs from Aldi at 79 cents a pound and boil them in water. The cats like drinking the chicken boil water. I also mix the wet food and dry food together. My local grocery sometime have salmon trim at $1.99 per pound and I would air fry it in the baking pan so the oil will remain and mix it with the dry foods.
It’s now that I saw your comment and just wanted to suggest that instead of mixing wet and dry food you could offer the wet on a side and just some of the dry food next to it or in another separate plate. That would help them when eating because it is not the same having to it a lot of dry food trying to get the wet one than the having possibility to choose. If by chance they don’t feel well, they could at least get the softer one to satisfy hunger a little or because they could prefer it. It is also a way to see how they are eating. I offer wet food and leave a little amount of dry food in the plate or if I am offering a bigger amount of wet food as usual or a combination of wet and boiled chicken or wet and beef, I leave a separate plate of dry food. If they are feeling well they will eat the wet one, maybe a little of the dry or they will come back later to eat the dry one. More than once probably. It’s what I do with the non socialized cats ( feral) I take care of. It’s a way to know how they are feeling and how they are eating. When offering boiled chicken or beef ( raw) I offer less of the wet one.
Thank you for this video. I just spent a small fortune on a vet bill due to blockage and they all will be going on some form of a wet food diet. May try to use some dry food mixed with warm water (think oatmeal) mixed with a tasty wet food. I have a few cats with mixed domains, it's time to whip out the old crockpot and see about doing this. I appreciate all the effort you go into and wish you well. All great info.
Thanks, Norman. I hope that helps!
really appreciate this information!
I give my fur baby Nutro dry and wet, she is 12 soon to be 13. So what do think about this brand?
It's okay but not one of my top recommendations. You can see why here: allaboutcats.com/nutro-cat-food-review
My cats have torn open the new bag of Kirkland food many times , I now keep it in a 12 gallon flip top crate.
Thank you for this!
I just ordered a 25lbs bag for my three feral kitties of the Kirkland dry and after seeing this video banging my head against the wall. Didn't realize it was so high in carb/fat and so low in protein content. I spent hours at store trying to find nongmo, and all the other bad ingredients and this was the best I came up with. The dry is mostly for nibbling. I cook for them, provide plenty of water and moist can food. The wet food is another challenge with so many negative ingredients that my feral kitties started having skin issues.
A veterinarian told me once to make sure the food has magnesium especially for male cats urinary tract which can get blocked.
I live in a very small town. I don't live anywhere near a Costco, Petsmart, Petco, etc. Where I live only has 1 grocery store, and I'm limited to what they offer. I wondered what food you think would be most comparable to Kirkland Signature Maintenance dry cat food that would be readily available in most supermarkets. I've been considering Purina One.
You've got it-Purina ONE is a solid alternative to the Kirkland Signature food. Great thinking. :)
@@AllAboutCatsYT thank you
I feed my cats a combination Frisky's wet and dry food and they are all over ten years of age and in good health.
Am new in your channel thank great research 😻😻😻😻
Thanks for being here!
Echoing what the speaker said-dry food does cause additional urinary headaches ESPECIALLY in male cats. I have a male cat and will never feed it dry food again (pending an emergency)-it cost $800-900 in vet bills for a urinary blockage preventable if I had given it wet food instead of dry food.
I'm on a fixed income & I mainly feed dry food strictly because it's a cheap way to have a good bit of food on hand without going broke trying to feed my 2 cats...I can't afford canned food on the daily, as that would completely blow the monthly cost of feeding these critters straight into orbit for me...that being said, I give them a can once a week & on holidays...I haven't had them long, they both wandered up as stray kittens, & I just started feeding them & of course, they decided to stay...and they're the first cats I've ever had, so not a lot of cat experience here...so far, I've been feeding 9 Lives for the dry, it's between $12-$15 a bag depending on where I buy it & lasts me about 3 months...however, after watching a few videos lately about cat food, & then reading the ingredients, I discovered, it's garbage, in spite of the fact that they love it, there's very little, if any actual meat in this 'food' that's supposedly formulated for carnivores...soon as this bag is done, I'm looking for a better dry food...I've been buying Fancy Feast & Sheba for wet food, but I may start looking into making my own cat food in the neat future, since I'm a DIYer & like cooking, just so I know exactly what's in what I give them...I've seen several other vids on good cat foods, but it's always the super high end stuff that's way more than I'm gonna spend, but you're the first one I've seen who's talking about cheaper alternatives...I will subscribe for that...thank you for the suggestions!🤘🏿😎👍🏿
Can you just add a bit of water or chicken stock to Kirkland dry food to add moisture? It seems reasonable to me.
You?
Yes, that's reasonable! Just make sure that the food goes into the refrigerator or is thrown out after a couple of hours.
I tried both wellness and authority, my cat turned his nose up at the wellness but loves the authority. He’s a man of simple pleasures
Where do you purchase authority? I’m having a hard time finding them near me
@@samanthasanchezkawano6875 from what I heard they are currently revamping the brand and it’s not available on chewy but I have found it in petsmart stores
@@samanthasanchezkawano6875 petsmart
I would like to see a video on cat glucosamine and other joint supplements
Thanks for the suggestion! We'll consider it.
Thanks for sharing this information 😽
My cats are so picky that I basically feed them what they’ll eat, no matter the cost.
Kay Henry , likewise
Lol seriously. I go from relatively cheap, mid range, and expensive. From Sheba-Wellness Core-Tiki Cat-Ziwi Peak.
Whichever one sticks is the ones I stockpile - i.imgur.com/Lqms9q1.jpg
I tried my picky kitty on loads of different brands/flavors, but the one she eats is Tiny Tiger beef pate. I was spoiled by my other kitty, who would eat anything~haha.
Another excellent video, as usual. Thank you.
Thank you!
You have cute cats! I watched Dr. Marty's commercial and felt I killed my last cat. she loved Fancy Feast and Trader Joe's dry food. Thank you for all your videos
Awww...no. The Dr. Marty commercial does strongly suggest that cheaper foods are a universal culprit behind health issues, and while I'm not a vet or a veterinary nutritionist, my research has never suggested that this is the case. I hope that learning about the good side of some of these options helps to put your mind at ease and help you to make confident choices. Also, I passed the compliment along to Wessie and Forest. :)
@@AllAboutCatsYT I love your site and thank you, thank you for what you do. I lost my cat 6 wks ago...when does one know one's ready for the next one? Tell your kitties, they have the BEST mum!
I just love all your videos!🐱♥️Very informative and helpful. I’ll be getting my very first cat soon and I want to be a informed as possible. I was wondering though, which wet food would be best for kittens?
Thanks doing the research 🙂
Another great video Thanks
Anyone have issues with the Kirkland dry food? How does it compare to the Kirkland Natures Domain version?
You can learn more about the two and how they compare here: allaboutcats.com/kirkland-cat-food-review
Ok my cats don’t like pate type wet foods. They really only like the gravy in fancy feast cans. I shop at Kroger, not Petco. At 7 cans for $10 and 3 oz cans that’s about .47 cents per oz. but I just saw Amazon has 24 cans of the gravy variety for $15 so that makes it around .20 cents per oz.
I've been raising cats, degus, guinea pigs, pet rats, & hamsters for years. I was always told that the pet store chains carry better foods than the grocery stores. I avoid farm feed stores because most of their foods are crap.
My 6 year old male cat loves blue buffalo dry and fancy feast can, I can't get him to try new food. Any suggestions? God bless you.
I use Pro-Plan for both my cats and dogs. I read through so many pet food ingredient lists that it seemed I wouldn’t find any budget friendly brands until I fount Pro-Plan. I feed all my pets dry food because 1) it can get expensive 2) there is a lot of waste when it sits out and gets crusty on top 3) it stinks. I had a friend who fed her three cats exclusively wet food. Her house always smelled like cat food. Gross. I found the same issue when my daughter fed our cats wet food. My preferred feeding method has always been dry food for both my cats and my dogs with few,if any, issues.
Wysong epigen 90 wasn’t checked. My cats come running when they hear the cupboard door open where I keep it.
diamond makes the Kirkland brand dog/cat food
Very helpful information.
Thanks, Brian! Glad you think so.
My bombay is about a year old and I've always fed him dry Friskies kibble. He regularly has soft light brown diahrea-type poop and many times it has blood. Hes about 14 pounds and doesn't seem to have any health issues, he just likes to eat. I'm thinking I need to change his diet because his poop is heinous, what should I do???
Hi there, consistent diarrhea and bloody stool are not signs of an entirely healthy cat. I would suspect a GI issue like irritable bowel disease. At any rate, yes, changing to a different diet could absolutely help. I would look into as simple a diet as possible, as this will minimize the burden on the digestive tract while potentially eliminating irritating ingredients. You might also consider a raw diet-if you do it yourself, it can be cheaper than some of the recommendations in this video. Raw diets are among the most promising options for cats with digestive issues. Other than that, I'd consider talking to a veterinarian to get an expert opinion on your cat's chronic diarrhea and occasional bloody stool. Hope this helps!
@@AllAboutCatsYT thanks!!
Because of my allergies, I've been trying Purina Pro-plan Liveclear which it says will neutralize the allergen in the cat's saliva. The only problem is that you have to allow free range feeding according to the directions and I think my cat is gaining weight. I give him one serving of 1/3 cup every day and a 3 oz can of FF at night. Is this okay?
I would check to make sure it's lining up with your cat's calorie needs.
HI I need a large SIZED kibble that my cat will CHEW rather than “inhale” for the health of her teeth and gums. What would you recommend ?!?
Hey there, that's a good question. The relationship between food and dental health is a tricky one. Dry foods, even those with large pieces, tend to leave a starchy film on the teeth, meaning that they may do more harm than good. I would recommend pairing a wet diet (better for overall health) with daily brushing for the best results. You could also try dental treats. Here's a link to our guide to the best treats for dental health: allaboutcats.com/best-dental-cat-treats
All About Cats hi thank you for replying ! I messaged my cat food company and they suggested the exact same thing. Going to try this out and see if it works !
It would be nice if you show a up-close video of the food. I would like to see texture with liquid content. Thank you for your videos.
Is Diamond Maintenance cat on Chewy the same as Kirkland Maintenance? Does anyone know
What can u tell me about Fussie Catfood? My Cat's r very choosy they like Fancy Fiest too, they Love fancy feist the most ,but I didn't think it was good for them they don't really care for the expensive no grain which is the best for them. I like buying the no grain, no GMO ,but it's expensive I've even tried giving them Marty's brand of dried raw food ,but only one of them will eat it. I think I've tried about all? They r making me crazy with there choices of food they r never satisfied with just one type they tire of the same thing everyday and I get it I do so can u help me?
My cat is noooot picky so I typically do about have wet and half dry then add some water to keep her hydrated as best as I can. She also generally finishes her water bowl in a day. Is this a good thing to do?
Adding moisture to your cat's food is great, but that sounds like a LOT of drinking! How big is your cat's bowl? Cats need 3.5 to 4.5 ounces of water per 5 lb of body weight, but that includes water in their food.
@@AllAboutCatsYT its about two cups but I only fill it about halfway. She had a tapeworm when I got her initially so she's bouncing back from all of that. She's also around 8 pounds now. I rescued her from a shelter and as far as I know she's completely healthy and hasnt had any issues past the ones she had at the shelter. Im a paranoid momma though if you have any tips 😅
Signed up for cat person to try. Smalls looks great but are having issues getting product due to COVID. So will wait for them to fix their issue as I want kibble with the wet food
Thank you for this. We adopted our first kitten, Muffin from the shelter 3 month ago. Before Muffin we had two other cats we adopted, but they weren’t kittens, we adopted them as adults.
Our other 2 cats passed away in 2019 and 2020 and were fed almost strictly dried food and I wonder if we would have gotten a couple more years out of them if we knew better.
Now I’m committed to giving our kitten wet food every day to keep her hydrated. She still gets dry food as well. I’ve been watching other videos on cat nutrition recommending expensive, impractical options that leave me feeling guilty for feeding her any dry food and not putting her on a whole prey diet. I actually would consider keeping frozen mice carcasses in my freezer but can’t get my husband on board. 😂
Thank you for another informative post 😺😻
Thank you for stopping by! 😻
Can I mix wet can food with kibble?
Yes, you can!