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I have tried, on and off for months, to get my kibble junkies off kibble. The closest I have ever gotten was to have some of them nibble at wet food, and then walk away, wasting most of it.
After multiple failures at getting them to eat wet, I settled on Wysong Epigen dry food, which they have eaten with a fair amount of enthusiasm. They all look and behave like healthy cats.
Then, a few days ago, I noticed a marked decline in their willingness to eat this food. They've been nibbling, but that is all. No one seems ill. Yesterday, I opened a few cans of the catfood they had only picked at before, and they devoured it! They have had similar meals since then, and greeted them with joy.
I am thrilled, because I really would rather be feeding wet food, but now I have a problem of another kind: wet food, even the cheapest wet food, is expensive.
I have six cats and a tight budget, but I had the cats before I had the budget, so please, no preaching about how I should not have pets I can't afford. If you attack me as a bad cat mom, you will be put on ignore, no exceptions. I want constructive advice, not condemnation.
In an ideal world, I would be raw-feeding everyone (I have done prey-model raw with dogs in the past), but there are a few reasons I cannot do this right now. My options, as I see them, are to find the most affordable canned food I can and feed that exclusively, trusting those who have said that the worst canned is better than the best dry, finding a decent balance of both, or making my own catfood, taking advantage of sales on meat and the fact that we have a large freezer.
My gut says to do the latter, and maybe keep only a bit of high-quality kibble on hand as a snack.
I'm delighted that my cats seem to be willing to eat wet food, I just need a little help in figuring out how to do this on a shoestring.
I would recommend you feed canned and/or raw/home cooked.
Did you know you can feed raw/home cooked with EZcomplete for about the same as it costs to feed Fancy Feast (as long as the meats you buy are 3.99 a pound or less) With a big freezer as you stated, you wouldn't have any troulbe stocking up on sale meats.
As for the kibble, once they are transitioned, get rid of it. There is no need to keep it in the house "for a snack". It goes rancid quickly after opening anyway. Feed freeze dried pure proteins, such as Pure Bites, for treats.
I would recommend you feed canned and/or raw/home cooked.
Did you know you can feed raw/home cooked with EZcomplete for about the same as it costs to feed Fancy Feast (as long as the meats you buy are 3.99 a pound or less) With a big freezer as you stated, you wouldn't have any troulbe stocking up on sale meats.
As for the kibble, once they are transitioned, get rid of it. There is no need to keep it in the house "for a snack". It goes rancid quickly after opening anyway. Feed freeze dried pure proteins, such as Pure Bites, for treats.
I will check out EZcomplete, but I have to say, if I could give each cat a few cans of Fancy Feast every day, I would not be asking about how to save money. When I say meats on sale, I am thinking of pork roasts that I sometimes see for under a dollar a pound, or chicken leg quarters for less than that. Do you think that a meat grinder would be a good investment? I know that it would be an upfront cost, but it might make the whole process more cost-effective in the long run.
You mentioned feeding prey model to a dog... you can also feed prey model to cats. Many do so for pennies a day. However, I feed ground (long story) to 6 cats and one dog.
Many recommended the above grinder. However, depending on how much you want to spend, how fast you want a grinder to grind , and what bones (if any) you intend to grind...you can learn about different grinders here: Making Cat Food
I feed a variety of proteins:beef, chicken, duck, rabbit, pork, etc.
I buy meat from several sources: local grocery store, www.Hare-Today.com, Rad Cat (can be found locally. For me, it is cheaper online...even with shipping), www.RawFeedingMiami, and www.MyPetCarnivore.com
My furkids eat a different protein, from a different source, every day. No two days are alike.
You mentioned feeding prey model to a dog... you can also feed prey model to cats. Many do so for pennies a day. However, I feed ground (from different sources) to 6 cats and one dog.
Many recommended the above grinder. However, depending on how much you want to spend, how fast you want a grinder to grind , and what bones (if any) you intend to grind...you can learn about different grinders here: Making Cat Food
When I did prey model before, I didn't grind, I gave the dogs the meat on the bone, with an appropriate amount of organ, as well, but that was when I had my own place. I live with a housemate now (her house), and I don't think she would allow this, because the dogs did like hiding their unfinished bones all over the place! I never had any luck getting my cats to accept raw food, but that was years ago, and the cats were fairly old and probably more set in their ways than this lot, so I may give it another go. If they won't eat it, I suspect that even cooked homemade is going to be better than any commercial food I could afford.
So, yes, I will check out grinders. Pennies a day is much more like it! If I went with something like Fancy Feast, I would be going through a bit over five cases of food a week, just to feed my cats.
Basically, I want something that's healthy, cheap, and looks enough like "regular" pet food that it doesn't gross out my housemate. Fortunately, we live in an area with a pretty low COLA, where most human food is fairly inexpensive. Just an example: if boneless, skinless chicken breasts cost more than $1.99, I don't buy them. I just wait a week or two, and we eat what I got last time, then stock up when they are cheap again. I am a serious bargain-hunter at the grocery store.
I've visited the catinfo website before, and like it very much. Lots to take in there, though. Fortunately, I do have a supply of canned food laid in to fall back on while I learn how to do this right. That will also allow me some time to make room in the freezer for this stuff!
Last edited by Catgirl64; 12-04-2017 at 02:08 PM..
In my head, prey model is recognizable body parts. (gag).... no grinding. Those are the raw feeders that say they feed for pennies a day.
My grinds are 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% organs, and 5% liver. More commonly knowns as 80/10/5/5.
That's how I think of it, too, and what I did before. I think the ratio I used may have been a bit less muscle meat, but I'm not sure. I have a copy of "Raw Meaty Bones" around here somewhere. I need to dig it out, if only for inspiration. Back in my hometown, I belonged to a raw feeding chat group, and you would not believe some of the stuff people offered on FreeCycle when they cleaned out their freezers. Whole turkeys, venison from the previous year's deer season, I even had one person give me emu. None of it was nasty or freezer-burned, I didn't give anything to the dogs that I would not have eaten myself.
I will check out EZcomplete, but I have to say, if I could give each cat a few cans of Fancy Feast every day, I would not be asking about how to save money. When I say meats on sale, I am thinking of pork roasts that I sometimes see for under a dollar a pound, or chicken leg quarters for less than that. Do you think that a meat grinder would be a good investment? I know that it would be an upfront cost, but it might make the whole process more cost-effective in the long run.
But that's if you spend $3.99 per pound. If you are paying under a dollar a pound, you will be paying way less than FF, while using Ezcomplete. There are other pre-mixes to chose from as well, that may be easier on the budget.
But yes, prey model is the cheapest way. You have to be really careful about getting it right though. If your cats will eat chunks no grinder is needed.
I do have one who cannot eat chunks, but she doesn't get bone either. I just use a food processor attachment that came with my blender to grind her meat. The other two eat chunks, so no grinding required.
But that's if you spend $3.99 per pound. If you are paying under a dollar a pound, you will be paying way less than FF, while using Ezcomplete. There are other pre-mixes to chose from as well, that may be easier on the budget.
But yes, prey model is the cheapest way. You have to be really careful about getting it right though. If your cats will eat chunks no grinder is needed.
I do have one who cannot eat chunks, but she doesn't get bone either. I just use a food processor attachment that came with my blender to grind her meat. The other two eat chunks, so no grinding required.
I know, and I am sorry. I know I sounded pretty snippy when I replied to you. It was early in the morning, and I had been up for hours, having had a very restless night, so I was not in the best of moods, or, to be honest, thinking terribly well.
I think I can do this, as long as I don't have to get things like all organic, free-range chicken, or large amounts of rabbit. It's going to have to be mostly meats that I can get on sale locally: chicken leg quarters or breasts, turkey, pork, sometimes some of the cheaper cuts of beef. Once in a blue moon, I find lamb for about $5/lb. or even less, but that is a rare treat for all of us!
I'm still sorting through all of the information, but I will ask you one really lazy question (okay, actually, two.)
Is it okay to add any fish? I know it's kind of controversial. I don't mean canned tuna, I mean things like pollock or whitefish. Also, what about eggs?
I don't know if they will eat chunks. I suspect that one or two will, for sure. The others...no idea. Then again, I didn't expect them to suddenly decide they didn't like their Wysong anymore, either.
Last edited by Catgirl64; 12-04-2017 at 03:19 PM..
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, and what bones (if any) you intend to grind...you can learn about different grinders here: 
(gag).... no grinding. Those are the raw feeders that say they feed for pennies a day. 
