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What do you feed your cats and dogs?
Hi All,
I was just wondering what type of cat and dog food you all use and where you buy it. Right now my 5 cats are on Wellness Core Grain Free (mostly dry food, with canned for dinner every couple of days). We have an 8 yr old Tabby, a 4 yr old Russian Blue and 3 almost 1yr old kittens. Our dog is an almost 1 yr old German Shepperd & St. Bernard Mix and he is also on Wellness.
The oldest cat is very overweight (was 30 lbs when we got him, but now has plateaued at about 16 lbs) and was pre-diabetic, but when we switched his diet he seemed to do well (not as many hairballs, shinier coat, but he still is overweight). The only thing is that the food is expensive (I spend about $100 every other week at Petco just on food!), and I'm wondering if there are any alternative brands and/or stores that you guys like.
I did my first online order today from wag.com and got 15% and free shipping as a one time deal for new customers, so that was nice, but are there any other sites you recommend buying from that offer better prices than the brick and mortar pet stores?
Thanks in advance everyone!
Re: What do you feed your cats and dogs?
Our cats used to eat Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. It's a very good quality food for a very affordable price, though it's not grain free.
We recently (February-ish) switched to a limited-ingredient diet from Natural Balance. We cut out chicken and grains in an attempt to get some allergies under control (turns out it's neither of those). The cats really like it, and it's actually a pretty affordable GF option. Our local pet store has a program for anyone who buys the large NB bags; buy 10 and get the 11th free! We get the wet food too; they each get a spoonful of wet at night.
Our dog eats raw, so I can't help you find a kibble there!
Ditto TOTW as a great food. It's still a little pricey, but I think it's less expensive than Wellness Core.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
I feed my dogs Wellness Core, and you're right that it is on the pricier side. TOTW is a bit cheaper and has a similar guaranteed analysis (at least for the dog food), so in an emergency, I have fed that, and my dogs did well on it. However, TOTW had some recalls in the past few years that made me nervous, so we have stuck with Core.
I have found that the prices for Core at the Petco stores tend to be much higher than prices I can find online, so I always order online. Also, the larger bag you buy, the lower the price is per pound of food. We buy a 26 lb. bag, and it lasts ~3 months (I have 2 pugs).
Whenever I need a new bag, I shop around online to see who has the best price. I've generally had good luck with petfooddirect.com (sign up for their emails because they often have great coupons), but sometimes petco.com will have a lower price (and free shipping, which isn't always available at PFD). I also just ordered from wag.com and go an amazing price thanks to a 25% off + free shipping coupon they sent me, so I'll be checking their site going forward.
Can I just say--Totally jealous on this one!
1--I love pugs! and 2- I buy the biggest bag they have for cats (12.5 lbs, I think) and it lasts me maybe 3 weeks. I don't think I've seen the 26 lb bags for dogs but we live in a small-ish town, so maybe I just haven't spotted it. Puppy goes through about 4 cups of food a day (and he's growing--yikes!), but I bet if I could find the large bag it would be better for us.
I'll check out some of the brands and websites you guys mentioned. Thanks for all your suggestions!
Let's see... we feed Wellness Core grain free for the cats. Mostly kibble, some canned for the girl cat (boy cat won't touch it). They refuse to eat raw.
Our pup is fed raw, though it's a mixture of pre-made (Primal and Bil-Jac) and actual raw. We add in some yogurt and pulverized fruit/veggies, and some organs and all that. I really like the Primal, though, because of all the different types of protein (duck, venison, etc.) but it is NOT cheap and the bags aren't very big. Doesn't last long especially for a quickly growing giant pup.
Food definitely lasts longer when you've got 2 low-energy small dogs! Each of mine only gets ~1 cup of food per day! Definitely consider ordering a 26 lb. bag online - it will last longer, and it shows up right at your door, saving you from lugging it in/out of the car!
**6.30.12** I have found the one whom my soul loves.
I like petfooddirect.com ... I get 5% back for upromise (you can take the poster out of MM, but can't the MM out of the poster.) and that's where I order my cat food and guinea pig stuff as well. :-P They do run some free shipping specials and also I think they have free shipping on orders over $100.I feel like they have a wide variety of food at a decent price. (and also sell other supplies besides food.)
Anyroad.. my cats eat before grain (dry food) and by nature (canned).
We feed Wellness Core Grain Free also - however I just have a 3 y/o f-tortie and a 2 y/o m-yorkie - who forgot where a yorkie was supposed to stop growing and ended up at 15 lbs of pure muscle...
I like the Core brand as the quality is so high I was actually able to reduce the quantity I feed on a daily basis. The cat gets between 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup during the day, split between two feedings. The dog was previously on 1.25 Tto 1.5 cups of Rachel Ray's Nutrish (based on weight & energy level) but after switching over to Core, he now gets just under a cup split between two feedings.
I buy the big bags of the original cat and dog foods (12 lbs for the cat, 26 lbs for the dog) and manage to go through them in 3-4 months. I'm a big believer in the Core foods as I've seen a noticible difference in the shine of my guys coats, they have bright clear eyes, and boundless energy so I feel the cost is fully justified.
Try checking out retailmenot.com before shopping and try buying online. I know that Petco.com also offers an automatic re-order option and a pretty good discount most weeks (20% here, 15% there) on top of free shipping.
We feed raw for our 5 cats. We buy 3 months' with at a time.
Before raw, we did Acana dry and Weruva wet. One of mine is a diva and will not eat p?t? style food, and Weruva is chunky.
5 cats. 1 baby.