Keeping food bills down whilst improving quality.

Myrtle77

I've got 2 large tabby cats. Both are overweight, but significantly less so since I stopped giving them dried food. They're currently on Felix sachets mixed with the tinned (adding up to about 3-400g per cat per day). The reason I mix is that the tinned is much cheaper, although they prefer the sachets.

I'm concerned that this isn't the best food for them, but can't afford to significantly increase the budget. So, which is the best option from a cost v health perspective? Or are they all better than Felix, so it doesn't matter?!

Felix cans & sachets = £43 per month
Bovita chunks in jelly super mega pack (64 x 370g) = £56.99 per month
Smilla Poultry Pot Savings Pack (2 packs of 24 x 400g) = £39.98 per month

I've always found the recommended quantities confusing. I'm sure my cats don't need as much as the manufacturers say they do!

Fridaycat

Myrtle77 wrote: »

I've got 2 large tabby cats. Both are overweight, but significantly less so since I stopped giving them dried food. They're currently on Felix sachets mixed with the tinned (adding up to about 3-400g per cat per day). The reason I mix is that the tinned is much cheaper, although they prefer the sachets.

I'm concerned that this isn't the best food for them, but can't afford to significantly increase the budget. So, which is the best option from a cost v health perspective? Or are they all better than Felix, so it doesn't matter?!

Felix cans & sachets = £43 per month
Bovita chunks in jelly super mega pack (64 x 370g) = £56.99 per month
Smilla Poultry Pot Savings Pack (2 packs of 24 x 400g) = £39.98 per month

I've always found the recommended quantities confusing. I'm sure my cats don't need as much as the manufacturers say they do!

I would definitely buy the Bozita or the Smilla over Felix - they have better quality meat and no grain to bulk them out.

But, I wouldn't buy the mega packs you are describing to begin with: buy the smallest you can to see if the cats like it. I am pretty sure they would like the Bozita, as that is a similar consistency to Felix, but they may or may not like the Smilla as it is a thicker consistency (more like the old Whiskas Supermeat you get in cans if you have ever seen that).

scheming_gypsy

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Does anyone have advice on how to keep the costs down without trying to keep them on the abbatoir floor sweepings and chemical junk that's been causing problems? (I don't have a freezer and chicken wings are useless for the toothless wonders - they will fight to the death over a chicken spine, but end up giving it to the crows as they can't actually eat it)

Help!

you can get minced chicken bones as well. Not sure if you can buy them in individual packs though, but it costs about £7 for 20 frozen packets.

paddypaws101

Could you not invest in a meat grinder ( £80 or so ) and then grind up chickens etc your self if you are certain that they will eat raw.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Shocked the little wotsits this evening.

Fed them at 6 before I went out (so only an hour early). Got back in at 11.30 and they acted as though they haven't been fed all year. They've had the low allergen chicken pouches from PAH and some Burns today already.

Chucked a blob of fresh mince in each bowl. Could hear them chirruping with shock at the stuff they dream of getting suddenly landing in their bowls. It went awfully quiet and they are now all snoring. Not perfect, admittedly, but if I can balance things out over the course of a week, that should help alleviate the costs a bit.

paddypaws101

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenwood-MG510-Meat-Grinder/dp/B002LZUEPS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321954191&sr=8-1
Could you not ask friends/family for Amazon gift vouchers for Xmas and invest in one of these? ( come on we all have enough bubble bath sets already, surely! )
Once you have the grinder you can make the best quality hypo-allergenic food in the universe. Getting to know local butchers can mean bag loads of free meat scraps and chicken portions can be bought cheaply in any supermarket.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

paddypaws101 wrote: »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenwood-MG510-Meat-Grinder/dp/B002LZUEPS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321954191&sr=8-1
Could you not ask friends/family for Amazon gift vouchers for Xmas and invest in one of these? ( come on we all have enough bubble bath sets already, surely! )
Once you have the grinder you can make the best quality hypo-allergenic food in the universe. Getting to know local butchers can mean bag loads of free meat scraps and chicken portions can be bought cheaply in any supermarket.

Now that is rather interesting...:)

And we do have rather a lot of independents round here. And two meat markets. Hmmmmmmm.