The cost of feeding 4 cats on mix od dry/wet food

Tim2100

Hi there.

Rarely look at this site However went through similar with my 3 cats

I feed them 1 tin, 1 sachet and a bowl of biscuits per meal. This I feel is a nice mix of wet & dry food.

I have just done balk brought all my pet feed for the month.

5x 12 tins at £6 from Tesco
5x12 sachets @3 from tesco
2 packs of biscuits ~ £2 each

plus 2 bag of cat litter, about £7.

They live outside a lot of the time.
so total is ~£100 per month wow. I thought it was about £50 per month.

gettingready

Mutter - lucky you that you can do that.

Took me ages to find a food that Zara will eat and that does not upset her stomach so sticking to Orijen for her.

With 2 cats prone to dihrea (spelling?) - I can not do this to them either, unfortunately.....

Tim - you see.... LOL I did not realised that either till I actually wrote everything down.....

mutter

I'm not sure it's luck actually.
I was brought up in an environment where cats had to earn their meagre keep, had to live in outbuildings and weren't allowed indoors.

In those days, vets weren't 'specialist diet' retailers.
On the odd occasion I've had to visit my vet, I'm always shocked at how much the waiting room reminds me of the petcare aisle at Tesco.

It's partly the toughness, wildness and resilience of cats that make me admire and respect them and choose them to be my companions, together with the fact that I truly believe that to pamper them too much sadly stifles and suffocates their independent nature.

Over the last 25 years, since I left my parents home, I've never had fewer than three cats at a time. I've actually owned 17.
All of them have come from cat rescue charities, some as adults, and some as kittens.
They've all been brought up on the same regime and the same diet, none of them has had a litter tray past the age of 6 months.

All of them have been moggies, all of them have lived as natural as possible a life, coming and going as they please through their catflap, and none of them (so far, touch wood) has ever suffered from a chronic illness or condition, digestive problems or has died prematurely.

Sitting next to me tonight is a 14 year old cat, one of a pair of brothers, who apart from his snip and chip at 3 months old, has only seen a vet once when he got a twig stuck up his nose (he's not very bright!),

threemuttleys

In the nicest possible way, if you want to keep your cats, you may need to toughen up with them, and feed them a diet that you can afford. Afterall, if they end up in a new rescue centre they wouldnt have a choice (many rescues just feed whatever is donated!)

My two cats (boys, neutered 2 this year) have a big box of green tripe (berriewood) and a huge bag of minced "pet meat" from the butchers. Along with a couple of boxes of cheap Tesco dry, and the odd chick/mouse when I get them as treats. This lasts 2-3 months, costs a lot less than anything fancy from zooplus!"

mozzyc

My 3 cats get a sachet each in the evening, and a bowl of biscuits each in the morning. I don't free feed anymore, was wasting so much food doing that. When i give them their sachet in the evening, any remaining biscuits are thrown away, as is any left over sachet in the morning. For dry food its either Purina/Iams, or whatever is on special. For wet, it's Felix. I've just tried again to wean them onto a better quality food (this time Bozita cans), only to be woken up in the morning with 3 very hungry cats. So that's it now, they like Felix, so this is what they'll get.
All in all, it costs around £45 per month.

elliesmemory1

threemuttleys wrote: »

In the nicest possible way, if you want to keep your cats, you may need to toughen up with them, and feed them a diet that you can afford. Afterall, if they end up in a new rescue centre they wouldnt have a choice (many rescues just feed whatever is donated!)

My two cats (boys, neutered 2 this year) have a big box of green tripe (berriewood) and a huge bag of minced "pet meat" from the butchers. Along with a couple of boxes of cheap Tesco dry, and the odd chick/mouse when I get them as treats. This lasts 2-3 months, costs a lot less than anything fancy from zooplus!"

Exactly, if its a case of them having cheaper food or being rehomed I know what I would choose. The same goes for the dog. I just fail to see how some people fall for buying this really expensive pet food and yet cant pay bills or feed themselves.
I have a lot of experience with animals and some of this expensive food is a rip off.

threemuttleys

dont get me wrong, I wouldnt touch the likes of Bakers (or seriously crap food) but sometimes you have to sit back and work out what needs to be done..short term pain and all that!

elliesmemory1

threemuttleys wrote: »

dont get me wrong, I wouldnt touch the likes of Bakers (or seriously crap food) but sometimes you have to sit back and work out what needs to be done..short term pain and all that!

Thats my point of view too, I would not feed bakers or such but there are a few middle priced brands that are ok and much more resonably priced. you have to cut your coat according to your cloth as they say

h007

i feed butchers classic as mentioned before, it is cheaper than whiskas and felix but has none of the nasties that they do. ie preservatives and soya.

i think it is £2.75 for a pack of 6 cans and it is sold in most supermarkets

my two have done very well on that and james wellbeloved.

i couldnt afford to feed what you do OP!!

Bunny

Noticed the above about Hi-life in home bargains, just thought I'd add they also do 12 pouches for £2.99.
not sure how that works out for you though