2 cats, what brand of food and how much food?

Urchhhh

I have two cats. They are 9 months old.
Right now we feed them half a pouch each in the morning, afternoon they get some biscuits and then at night they get another half a pouch. The cats were from the same household (the lady had two cats who gave birth the same week) one is 5 days older but was raised by the younger ones mother so they are really close and are very active, they play together a lot.
The two cats have completely different food requirements. One of them has started to go into heat a lot, shes a lot bigger in frame than the other one and ends up eating the others cats food. She is the older one.
The other cat is a lot smaller, she eats around half of what I give her. She's still a big cat compared to my parents cats when they were the same age.
I'm not sure how much food I should be giving them. The older one would happily eat more but I'm not sure what I should be offering.
Currently we use aldi cat pouches (every day essentials one, £1.79 for 12) and aldi cat biscuits (85p for 900g). Pouches last 6 days and biscuits last about 10 days.
We are on a budget so need to be cheap as possible but I want to also make sure I'm providing them with good food so any suggestions of better quality food which won't break the bank would be nice.

Feral_Moon

I think your first objective is to get them both spayed otherwise you could be having a dozen more mouths to feed within the next few weeks..

As to the cats having different appetites, how about leaving down a bowl of dry 24/7 to the let them graze as necessary. This is how cats prefer to eat. Then just give them their half pouch each morning and evening.

Urchhhh

They don't get outside so no chance of kittens. I'm saving up to get them spayed so that is on the cards! At £80 a cat its not cheap, I also have to get them both for their injections at £54 each. I'm looking at a £268 vet fee.
I've not been putting food down for 24/7 as my daughter likes to eat the cat biscuits so they get fed during her nap time. I'll need to find somewhere that she can't access it but that cats can!

Feral_Moon

Getting them spayed is far more important than getting them vaccinated, especially if you say they never go out. A cat in heat will find a way to escape and it's too late by then.

Put the biscuit bowl up out of reach or better still teach your daughter they're not to be eaten lol or you could just a stair gate across the kitchen door so she can't get in there.

Urchhhh

The vaccinations are important aswell as we are going on holiday for 3 weeks in July and they are going to a cattery which requires proof of vaccinations. (£210 for the cattery fees while away, so expensive and I want to cry haha)


My daughter is 11 months old so doesn't understand that she cant eat the cat food, she just crawls over and starts munching on them. At least once a day she'll tip their water bowl over so she gets soaked. She just doesn't understand right now.


A stair gate is a good idea though, how didn't I think of that? haha

Hutchch0920

I asked this question recently too:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5438329

My two are on whiskas for both wet and biscuits. We tried them on some biscuits we got from pound stretcher which they're not as keen on (I don't blame them).

Compare the protein content on the side of the food you're feeding them - from what I've read the higher the protein content the better (cats don't need to eat carbohydrates).

I can't seem to find a middle ground from Whiskas to what I view as more premium brands. If anyone can recommend the next brand up from whiskas on a price vs quality basis I'd appreciate it.

Instead of a cattery could you ask a neighbour/relative to come in and feed them? That is what my Mum has done for years, just leave a key with a neighbour....would cost you £10 for a bottle of wine/flowers/chocolate to say thanks.

Urchhhh

Theres no one that can look after the cats sadly. My best friend was going to but she's moved house and she won't be able to make it into my town daily.

GwylimT

I must say its very unusual for a cattery to take in an uneutered cat over six months of age as calling is very stressful for other residents.

We feed wet/raw, we feed as much as our cat asks for.

Some good brands are
Butchers (orange meat tins)
Natures menu
Applaws/encore pate
Hilife
Purely
Smilla
Grau
Macs
Granatapet
Catz fine food

Feral_Moon

Well yes, I'd also have thought it extremely unlikely a cattery would take in un-neutered cats too, especially as they'll likely come into heat around the other cats. Extremely stressful for everyone involved.

I know these things don't come cheap but it's all part and parcel of being a responsible pet owner. Those cute little bundles of fluff come at huge expense and commitment and personally I think their welfare should have been considered first and foremost before a three week holiday in mid-summer. Maybe the OP can use a credit card to cover vets fees and cattery expenses then pay it off as and when she can afford.

Urchhhh

Everything was fine until my partners hours got dropped which was a massive loss of money.
Holiday wise we haven't paid for it, my gran is taking the whole family on holiday as she retired and she's always take us all on holiday with her. She's paying for this holiday, otherwise we wouldn't even being on holiday. Not even a UK caravan trip as we can't afford it. We have been saving hard so we have spending money when we go away.
Suprisingly they don't ask for them to be spayed, I clarified when booking the cattery about it and they did not ask this as a requirement.

Rev

Getting a better quality cat food will save you money in the long run as they eat less of it.

I feed portia 21 grain free from zooplus. I get a 10kg bag and that lasts about 6 months. Cost me £29.

If you have a b&m or home bargains local they sell hilife pouches for about 19p. These are also high meat content.

It cost me less than £10 a month to feed two cats a high meat content grain free diet.

One of my cats is tiny. Around 4lb. The other is 6kg and on steroids so eats like he's never been fed.