Widely Available but 'Up-Market' cat foods

[meep]

So I've had my boys for two weeks now and tried them on a variety of things. My budget can allow me to give them something mid-market and a few special treats, but I just wanted to see what everyone (and their cats!) thought of the following:

-Tesco's Finest.
My boys love the chicken but hate the fish one.
And it looks so good! About 50p so not one for every day!

-Sheba Supreme
Looks very similar to the Tesco Finest, in a little yellow pot. But 60p a small tin! My boys LOVE it (the chicken one) but far too expensive for everyday

- Whiska Oh so... (Meaty and Fishy)
When I first gave them this they loved it but interest has waned. Got it on special offer in Somerfields but a box of 12 is about £4 so I guess that evens out to 30p per packet which is what I'd pay for any standard cat food bought alone as a single.

-Felix as good as it looks
I think this is their favourite (apart from Sheba Premium). It's about the same cost as Whiska oh so... but they seem much more keen on it.


I'm just asking as I do want to give my boys the best food and also a variety. I just wondered what everyone else thought about these in relation to their cats preferences, the cost, and whether they buy them regularly? And also is there any brand I'm missing (available in most supermarkets) that is along the same price line (maybe slightly cheaper) that your cats still like! I know all cats are different, but i have tried all the standard supermarket own brands on my boys and they turn their nose up at it :roll:

(I'd rather not open the debate of all the nasty ingredients in cats food - I've read all the threads on these and understand that tesco finest is considered one of the better and whiskas / felix are considered 'junk' by some, and whilst i do find this interesting, I'd rather this thread didn't repeat the same content as other threads!)

thanks!

[angieh]

Just a thought - I have tried mixing half and half a cheaper food (such as Felix supermeat) with a slightly more expensive one (such as Tesco's Finest) and Merlin liked that quite a lot! He prefers the fishy ones, especially salmon. But then he's quite happy with the supermeat on its own and it agrees with him, so that's what he eats. Over the years I have tried many different tinned/food pouches - he is 22 this month. I have also tried the senior varieties, but I think (and Merlin would probably agree) that they are quite hard in texture.

Hope this a bit helpful - by and large it's what your cats (lovely boys both) are happy to eat. I must say I think you are wise to feed mainly "wet" food.

[meep]

Hi angieh, thanks for the reply. I've not seen this felix 'supermeats' is it different to the 'as good as it looks' range, and their standard range?

They are big cats and we're out at work 9 - 5 so they get one wet food pouch in the morning, one wet food pouch at night and dry food put out during the day and over night (or they wake us up scratching and meowing for more!)

I hope this is enough for them. I thought if they didn't eat dry food then three wet pouches a day would do (each), but when I experimented with dry food they absolutely adored it and gobbld it down so I thought a mix of both was best. But I do see the dry food as a supplement, and the wet food as their two main meals a day.

I also tried mixing the tesco basic cat food with the tesco finest but they ate the tesco finest from around the basic and left the rest to go dry and fousty :lol:

[meep]

I wasn't clear there, sorry. I meant they get one pouch in the morning each, one pouch in the evening each. So two each every day. Didn't want to look like I was starving them!

[dandysmom]

Hi, Meep! I'm not commenting on specific brands as I'm in the States; the only one we share seems to be the Sheba, which Leia likes very much, but as it's pricy it's a treat food. She, and the others before her, are quite happy with the supermarket brands and have done well on them. She prefers dry, but because of a bout of cystitis, has wet with a small sprinkling of dry on it. Also, she prefers 4 smaller meals rather than breakfast/dinner, and as I'm retired and home all say that's not a problem. I liked Angie's suggestion of mixing a pricier one with a regular; going to try that!

[angieh]

Hi Meep - here is a link to Felix Supermeat just as an illustration. I would say that it's a basic complete wet food - I think it's also available in tins (but that might only be the chicken variety). I find it more convenient to have the pouches for Merlin because he has several small meals a day, being elderly.

http://www.petsathome.com/find/category-is-1+cat/category-is-1f+food/brand-is-felix/product-is-11358

The Felix feeding guide on the bottom of the box states:

"..... For an average adult cat (3.5kg) feed approximately 3 pouches of food per day ...... preferably in 2 separate meals....... "

Can't really tell from your pictures, but your boys look to be lovely big cats - how much do they weigh, do you know? But then you did say you give them dry too to tide them over while you are out at work. I'd say if they are still asking for more food - try giving them a bit more each!

[Kim]

After the debate about cat foods and Tesco's finest being one of the best, I tried it with my cats - and ended up throwing it away - not impressed! They like the Felix As good as it looks and sheba. I try to buy the better quality foods, or whatever is on offer!

[meep]

Thanks for the link angieh. I know they're not keen on the normal Felix so may just stick to as good as it looks as don't want to waste more money! I will be weighing them tonight, I know they're heavy as after holding them for a wee while my arms go numb! Darcy is a huge sook and just loves to be held and carried around.

Kim, it seems our cats have similar tastes! Apart from the fact that my boys like Tesco's finest, they seem to have settled on Felix as good as it looks with the sheba premium stuff (chicken) as a treat.

Thanks for the feedback everyone :) Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some amazing, cheap, unfailing food that all cats love! But I doubt that exists ;)

[meep]

A wee update:

I weighed both boys last night, and boy are they big!

Darcy is 13 pounds, or 5.8 kilos.

Minsky is 14 pounds (one stone) or 6.3 kilos.

Considering that Felix recommend three packets a day for the average cat at 3kilos, I now feel very guilty! These boys are pretty much twice the weight of an average cat! Thing is, sometimes they leave a bit of food in their bowl and they don't look starving. They do the whole satisfied cleaning themselves thing after they've eaten, which I take as a sign of satisfaction.

The dry food does add a bit extra, but I might try and give them one packet each in the morning, and one and a half each at night.

Also, made a new post in Health about food affecting their poop...

[ellenlouise]

I used to feed my cats on whiskas wet and dry but they began to gain far to much weight so I moved them onto Pro Plan light or housecat foor. Its dry it all looks the same so no selected feeding and its good for their teeth they absolutely love it. Works out about 25 pound for a huge bag which last 5 months or so. They do kitten to which my younger two are on.

[meep]

Thanks for the tip ellenlouise, I will have a look for that! They seem to love their Go-Cat, but I don't mind changing their dry food. I do want to feed them wet food too though, to avoid any potential urinary tract infections, and because they're just big boys I think they do need lots of food and don't want them just on dry!

[angieh]

Gosh - they ARE big boys, Meep! I think we really ought to have some more pictures ....... please!

[meep]

:lol: They really are aren't they?! I didn't think they'd weigh THAT much. The CP took them to the vet before we took them on and the vet recommended they could lose a little, but to be honest, they're in proportion and they're not lazy or sluggish - they still run around and seem very active. They are just really big male cats! I won't overfeed them but I dont think they need to go on a diet. They're not greedy and will finish half way through a meal if they're full. Also they have very shiney, glossy soft coats which I take to mean very healthy!

I'm taking new photos all the time so I'll be sure to get some more up ;) I'll try and get one of me holding Darcy to put it into perspective (after 5 minutes of holding him my arm generally tends to go numb hehehe!)

[dandysmom]

:lol: They really are aren't they?! I didn't think they'd weigh THAT much. The CP took them to the vet before we took them on and the vet recommended they could lose a little, but to be honest, they're in proportion and they're not lazy or sluggish - they still run around and seem very active. They are just really big male cats! I won't overfeed them but I dont think they need to go on a diet. They're not greedy and will finish half way through a meal if they're full. Also they have very shiney, glossy soft coats which I take to mean very healthy!

I'm taking new photos all the time so I'll be sure to get some more up ;) I'll try and get one of me holding Darcy to put it into perspective (after 5 minutes of holding him my arm generally tends to go numb hehehe!)

More pics, good!! Hurry! :-D

[meep]

Just to let you know Dandysmom, that I've uploade some pics of the boys in all their 6 kilo glory ;)

[dandysmom]

Off to look!

[meep]

Just as an update, on angieh's suggestion, I tried mixing half a Felix as good as it looks chicken with half a felix normal chicken, as the felix normal is £1 cheaper than as good as it looks (for box of 12).

They didn't buy it. One sniff and they walked away. I guess that proves their intelligence! So it's back to as good as it looks all the way.

[dandysmom]

Smart cats! Maybe I won't bother trying that......