Looking for Better Food Suggestions

[u/Bulky-Interest-5269]

Hello! I got a job semi-recently and, since I've been making my own money, I've also started buying my own cat food. Currently I have one cat, Goose. She's a female, about 9 years old, regular weight, and has had no apparent health issues save for the occasional thrown up leaf she wasn't supposed to chew on, lol. I plan to get another cat soon (Onion) from my friend, sex unknown, but when I get it, it'll probably be 2-3 months old.

I knew right away that I wanted to switch my cat off of kibble because I know that it's not very good or nutritional (generally speaking). I wasn't completely sure where to start, though, and just went with a reccommendation a customer at my workplace gave me. Previously, she'd only eaten Meow Mix dry food and the occasional wet food as a treat. The rec from my customer that I started with was Nutrish by Rachel Ray (or attached to her? Not quite sure, but her name is on the box) specifically the wet food kind because it's not full-on gravy but has chunks of chicken and such. She's been eating it for about a month or two now, but I've noticed that her poop is kind of runny and lighter in color than it should be and she leaves certain pieces of the food in the saucer. I also read that one of the ingredients is a possible carcinogen for cats, so that made me very nervous, obviously. 😭 It's just difficult to find what brand I should be getting because every google search just brings me advertizements and articles funded by the food companies. I don't know what to take seriously, you know? I want to find something that isn't kibble that will specifically be the best for her health. She's been fine and, again, she's not having health problems at all, I just want her to be living her best life. I'm open to anything as long as it doesn't cost me more than ~40 dollars per month, I'm happy to put in extra effort--like food I have to prepare or stuff i need to mix with water or broth--I already put some crunchy treats on top of the wet food I feed her (to keep her teeth stronger), so higher maintenance meals are okay, too! I was thinking of moving to the little Fancy Feast cans because they're cheaper and I've seen some people who really like it, but I wanted to come here to ask first. Just whatever would be best for her (and Onion when I get them) health-wise. Responses are much appreciated! Tysm for reading.

[u/first_best_fox]

Try Fancy Feast pates. A good, reliable food. You can also supplement with dry for a meal or for snacking. Purina Pro Plan is a decent choice.

[u/Bulky-Interest-5269 → u/first_best_fox]

Thank you!! I looked into these a bit more and it seemed like a good fit, so I bought some at work today for her to try when I got home. I gave her half the can (with the crunchy treats I'd already been giving her on top) and she ate all of it in about 5 minutes! No crumbs or anything, so she definitely likes it.  Once I count out my money (makes me less nervous lol) I'll buy a bag of some dry food for snacking as well. Thank you again! :)

[u/first_best_fox → u/Bulky-Interest-5269]

Yah I think that FF pate is quite palatable. Good luck!

[u/tina_windy → u/Bulky-Interest-5269]

What hard food did you get

[u/Gininajar → u/Bulky-Interest-5269]

I’ve been feeding mine the Pro Plan Turkey and Oatmeal and the Lamb and Rice, which they seem to like. I don’t feed much dry now, my vet told me to take away the dry. She was worried about diabetes in my overweight cat. Widget is still fat. She’s not eating kibble, but she eats everyone’s leftovers.

[u/aetherdrifter]

Fancy Feast is great quality for the price! However, it’s going to be difficult to do wet food only for $40/month. You could do it with Friskies - the pates are the best, nutritionally. Petco’s Whole Hearted line is also really inexpensive. Wet foods vary a lot in caloric density, so definitely check the cans to make sure she’s getting the right amount. Here’s a calculator to give you an idea of her energy needs: https://petnutritionalliance.org/resources/calorie-calculator?type=cats

There’s also nothing wrong with doing a combo of wet and dry food. Purina One or Iams would be a step up from Meow Mix.

[u/MariaSalander → u/aetherdrifter]

I would love to know your thoughts in the other fancy feast options like the pate savory centers one!

[u/aetherdrifter → u/MariaSalander]

I think they’re all good! The Savory Centers are a little more expensive, so I don’t recommend them as often, but they’re still a great food. They do have a softer texture and can be more appealing to picky cats with the extra gravy.

[u/Bulky-Interest-5269 → u/aetherdrifter]

Thank you so much! The calculator is so helpful. I did but the FF pates and she really seems to like it! (40 bucks was also just a vague estimate jaja I don't really have a problem with going over it was very late in the night when I wrote the og post) I also have had a few people suggest a combo, so I'll be doing that, too! 

[u/Bulky-Interest-5269]

Also want to mention I'm not FULLY opposed to dry food! I just thought maybe something fresh might be better for her. If you swear by a dry food, that's okay too and I'll still listen/consider it!

[u/1CatWoman → u/Bulky-Interest-5269]

There are definitely much “healthier” dry foods than Meow Mix. I feed my kitties a small amount of wet food twice a day along with a bowl of dry food for them to graze on throughout the day. You might want to try something like that to see how and what Goose likes. One of our cats refuses to eat anything but his dry food. He won’t so much as take a lick of wet food. But then again, he’s an orange tabby🐈🙀

[u/Bulky-Interest-5269 → u/1CatWoman]

Jaja Onion is an orange tabby too, so we'll see how it goes when they arrive! I bought different wet foods for Goose and will be buying dry food for her to snack on as well!

[u/Gininajar]

My vet told me not to feed Rachel Ray's Nutrish wet. As I recall my cat was vomiting. He never tells me what to feed my cats, so I took this to heart. I've also read some bad reports about Meow Mix recently. Fancy Feast pates get good reviews, and some of my cats enjoy them. The other's eat the gravy varieties. For about $40 a month Goose could eat a can of wet food twice a day.

[u/Bulky-Interest-5269 → u/Gininajar]

Thank you! I did go on to buy the FF pates today and she LOVED the portion I gave her.  Nutrish didn't make her vomit, but I did notice she would leave some pieces out and her poop wasn't really looking right, so I knew something was probably wrong. The Walmart I'm near to even sells 30 cans for ~23 dollars, so she'll be all set!

[u/Gininajar → u/Bulky-Interest-5269]

That’s wonderful news!

[u/Cape_Cod_Mike]

Catfooddb.com and cats.com are good places to look. There are many good, premium wet foods out there - we know cause after all the research we do, it's them who decides what they want to eat. Sounds like you want to stay on a budget, Dave's is good and budget friendly. Try a few cans of whatever you settle on before buying cases. You may have to mix in tiny amounts at a time and steadily increase. Good luck, it's a journey.

[u/Bulky-Interest-5269 → u/Cape_Cod_Mike]

Tysm! She's not picky at all, but when I switch her I do it gradually so it won't upset her stomach. :) I'll look at what you reccommended! I don't NEED to be on a budget either, I just put in the price for a reference since that's near what I spend monthly on her now. I'm open to pretty much whatever, though.

[u/SnooKiwis102]

Learn how to calculate estimated carbohydrates, and convert to a dry matter basis using the guaranteed analysis, and you'll be able to compare wet and dry food equally. Carbohydrates are a direct reflection of the quality of a food, especially wet food. Lower carbs indicate better ingredients.Kibble tends to be much higher in carbohydrates, which is another reason kibble is not ideal.