Whats the cheapest way to feed my cat?

paddypaws101

Some information on Vitamin A.....


Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin consisting of three biologically-active compounds, retinol (the most active form), retinal, and retinoic acid. Vitamin A is derived from yellow and orange pigments called carotenoids, which are synthesized by plant cells. Vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes, as well as dark green vegetables, contain large amounts of carotenoids, especially beta-carotene, the most active form as well as the most plentiful. Animal sources do not contain carotenoids but can be a direct source of vitamin A. Foods such as milk, eggs yolks, and liver (especially fish-liver oils) are especially rich in vitamin A.
Most animals can convert vitamin A precursors such as carotenoids into active vitamin A in the lining of their gut. Cats, however, either lack the enzyme that converts carotenoids into Vitamin A or they may be deficient in it. For this reason, cats need preformed vitamin A in their diets, usually from fish liver oils and animal livers.
Vitamin A plays several vital roles in the body, including vision, tissue health, skeletal and tooth development, and reproduction. In the retina, Vitamin A is involved in the formation of a light sensitive pigment that allows the eyes to adapt to variations in light intensity. Vitamin A is necessary for the formation and maintenance of cells, particularly the cells of the skin and the respiratory and gastrointestinal mucous membranes. It is involved in the development of cartilage, and is thought to also be involved in the maintenance of cell membranes and cellular division. Vitamin A also appears to be essential for sperm development in males and for normal heat cycles in females.
Unlike water-soluble vitamins, which the body cannot store in any significant amounts, excess vitamin A is readily stored primarily in the liver. It is for this reason that vitamin A has a greater potential for causing toxicity and deficiencies tend to develop much more slowly than is the case with water-soluble vitamins.
Vitamin A deficiency is rarely seen in dogs and cats. When it occurs, vision can be affected, causing increased sensitivity to changes in light. This eventually leads to night blindness.
In young, growing animals, vitamin A deficiency causes abnormal bone growth and nervous system disorders. In adult animals, a deficiency affects reproduction, vision, and the normal functioning of tissue cells. Clinical signs may include appetite loss, eye problems, unsteadiness, skin problems, and multiple disorders in the lungs, salivary glands, and testicles.
Vitamin A toxicity is uncommon in animals since the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene is not a toxic substance. However, toxicity can occur in cats fed diets composed exclusively of raw liver or other organ meats.
Too much Vitamin A can lead to calcification of the skeleton. In cats, this can result in a disorder

Fire_Fox

princessleah_ wrote: »

Also, Asda has got their pet event at the moment & multipacks of 8 Feline Fayre (mixed varieties) are £1!!! Bargain & not a great loss if puss doesn't like them.:rolleyes:

My local Asda were out of stock of this, and nobody seemed sure they hadn't already got through their allocation. Having been messed about at customer service for almost twenty minutes, they agreed to either put £2 on a giftcard OR price match any other product. :j Didn't want an alternative so ended up with 48 individual pouches for £6 - basically the same as six boxes of the £1 offer but flavours of my choosing! My thanks to princessleah.

Apricot

Fab work Fire Fox - I hope Noah enjoys them x

Rev

Fire_Fox wrote: »

My local Asda were out of stock of this, and nobody seemed sure they hadn't already got through their allocation. Having been messed about at customer service for almost twenty minutes, they agreed to either put £2 on a giftcard OR price match any other product. :j Didn't want an alternative so ended up with 48 individual pouches for £6 - basically the same as six boxes of the £1 offer but flavours of my choosing! My thanks to princessleah.

Might seem like an odd question but can you tell me what the consistency of feline fayre is like? I've tried google but can't seem to find a pic of the food itself.

My cats are really fussy with what wet food they'll eat. They love applaws, but since it's not on offer in sainsburys any more, it can be expensive, wouldn't mind trying them on feline fayre, but the nearest asda is two buses away so don't want to go for them to not eat it. They tend not to like the mushed up food, if that makes sense lol.

Is more like naturediet? Basically looks like mush, or more like the applaws type?

Petal_3

If I remember correctly is it proper pieces of fish.

~x~

Fire_Fox

Rev wrote: »

Might seem like an odd question but can you tell me what the consistency of feline fayre is like? I've tried google but can't seem to find a pic of the food itself.

My cats are really fussy with what wet food they'll eat. They love applaws, but since it's not on offer in sainsburys any more, it can be expensive, wouldn't mind trying them on feline fayre, but the nearest asda is two buses away so don't want to go for them to not eat it. They tend not to like the mushed up food, if that makes sense lol.

Is more like naturediet? Basically looks like mush, or more like the applaws type?

Never tried Applaws or Natures Diet - too expensive! Have you tried the Pets at Home Purely in the small 160g tins? The FF pouches are much the same, large chunks of identifiable fish in a clear jelly. The FF tuna in the large 400g tins is all brown meat, rather like what you get left with when you drain a can of value tuna flakes - packed with mushed up fish, no jelly in sight. :money:

Do you have a B&M, Home Bargains, Savers or NISA? All stock Feline Fayre. Edited to add: according to the new FF website also stocked by Morrisons; the 400g tins are not listed on the website so may be discontinued ... :mad:

Claire_Bear

That's what I thought the tuna tins would look like - chunks of fish in jelly, which is why I was surprised when I opened it and it looked like some sort of corned beef/sponge cake mixture. Our flatmate came home and said he thought it was coffee granules in the dish :rotfl: They do smell really strongly of fish though, and our cat loved them (she seemed to go absolutely hyper all day after eating it though, she's normally really placid She was back on the Whiskas today though and calmed right down so don't know if she was just having a funny day or if it was down to the food?)

Fire_Fox

Tuna is a massive fish, more like a sheep or pig than sardines/ mackerel/ pilchards/ sprats! I guess the nice bits of tuna are sold as tuna steaks and the leftovers are flaked into cat food ...

"It took two hours to drag it aboard, but the battle was worth it: a tuna fish the "size of a cow" appears to have netted a New Zealand angler a place in the record books.
The 6ft to 8ft-long Pacific bluefin tuna, weighing 268kg (590lbs), is believed to be the largest of its species landed by anglers, breaking New Zealand and possibly world weight records.
"It was a hell of a big fish. It's the size of a cow," said businessman Michael Hayes, who feared he would be pulled overboard during the struggle to land the fish. "I got it to the boat, but then it took five of us to get it into the boat."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2005/aug/24/food.internationalnews :eek:

Claire_Bear

Hah yeah, I've seen them on cookery programmes whole and they are massive! Obviously with it being such an expensive fish, it will be all the stuff that's considered inedible for humans that goes into the catfood. As long as catface likes it though I suppose it doesn't matter what it looks like! I didn't know they'd grow to the size of a cow though :eek:

Rev

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Never tried Applaws or Natures Diet - too expensive! Have you tried the Pets at Home Purely in the small 160g tins? The FF pouches are much the same, large chunks of identifiable fish in a clear jelly. The FF tuna in the large 400g tins is all brown meat, rather like what you get left with when you drain a can of value tuna flakes - packed with mushed up fish, no jelly in sight. :money:

Do you have a B&M, Home Bargains, Savers or NISA? All stock Feline Fayre. Edited to add: according to the new FF website also stocked by Morrisons; the 400g tins are not listed on the website so may be discontinued ... :mad:

Natures menu sorry, not naturediet, I alwsya get those confused. I got 48 pouches from pets at home for £16, cats wouldn't touch it lol. I have tried the purely tins but they generally wont touch anything in jelly. Although they have eaten purely pouches twice this week.

There's a small B&M and Home bargains close by so I'll check them out.

Thanks.