I have two dogs and two cats. They are like my children. I really do love them very much. I know some people who insist that you aren't taking proper care of your pets if you don't buy very expensive, very "good" dog and cat food. I love my pets, but I buy more affordable food for them. I don't go with the cheapest brands -- I have in the past, and I've seen how they lost the shine in their coats and even lost a little bit of weight. I go with something sort of in the middle...the cats eat either Friskies or Kit-n-Kaboodle, and the dogs eat Pedigree. They are all very healthy. They're also all at a very appropriate weight, other than my oldest cat, who is five and neutered and who is clearly overweight. I think the food they eat is sufficient. My BF and I don't eat filet mignon OR ramen noodles...we eat chicken or ground beef. Therefore, my pets don't eat the top-of-the-line food, but they don't eat the cheapest of the bargain brands, either. How do you feel about this issue?
Honestly, I have tried before to go with cheaper food to save on money and I have switched back to brand names. I have tried 3 times now to switch our cats to a cheaper food and twice it gave them either the runs or they were throwing it up all over the place. The third time, the cats refused to even touch it. They ended up ripping into the dog food bag to eat that instead of the food I left out for them. I read the ingredients in the cheaper brands and most of them were fillers. The name brand stuff I bought I actually recognized names of meat, rice, etc. I could barely pronunce half the stuff in the cheaper brands. That being said, I have also checked the ingredients on the more expensive stuff, and some of those brands weren't much better than the cheaper ones for fillers. I was kind of dissapointed actually.
No, don't do it if you can avoid it. It is not worth risking your pet's health. The basic ingredients in pet food might be alright, but it is the preservatives and additives that you have to watch out for. Some of them in the cheaper products are really nasty. And you don't want to give that to your "kid". I always read everything carefully that is written on the label of any product. And if there is an ingredient that I don't know, I go and research it. Once when I didn't have much money, I bought some cheap sardine tins for my cat and he just had one sniff and complained bitterly. That really convinced me to never insult him or any other of my pets with inferior food ever again.
I, personally do not feed my dog cheap Dog Food. I believe that buying healthy food is preventitive. I would rather pay the price for good food than pay for a vet to treat my sick dog. That's just my personal opinion and experience.
Of course ideally all pets would have the healthiest food for them, regardless of cost. My boyfriend and I have been very tight on money, and so his dog is getting the cheapest we can find, on sale. We're also paying for three sugar gliders' diets, which includes dry food, fresh fruit and veggies, honey, yogurt, etc, on a daily basis. The dog is eating Purina right now, I think. It was a large bag for $15, and I got him a bone to go with it, because he doesn't get those very often.
No, I definitely give my dog a good quality food. it's a bit expensive, a little more than I could actually afford if I'm being honest, but at least I know he is eating something healthy and not a dog food stuffed with corn and chemical preservatives.
To be honest, I feed my dogs pretty cheap dog food. One is over 10 years old and he has never had any health issues from eating the generic brand of food. He seems to enjoy it and I, of course, give him treats and healthy table scraps to vary up his diet. If he didn't like the food, however, I would change his dog food immediately.
I have an eight year old pug. I am a large supporter of healthy eating, so I don't feed him low quality food. Yes, a bag of higher quality food will cost you more, but it makes a difference. He also gets lots of fresh vegetables; carrots, red peppers, green peppers, etc. as well as plain chicken breast. Research the most nurtient-rich foods, avoiding onions and garlic. Incorporate a little bit of fresh food into their diet (slowly; in order to avoid stomach issues).
Gulp. I looked at some of the ingredients in the food that I feed my dogs and I might just have to switch. I feed them Old Yeller and most of it is just corn. It is basically just feed for livestock and has very little nutritional value. You guys may have changed my view on the importance of more expensive dog food for our pets.
Yes i definitely feed my pets cheap pet food. It is all the same in my opinion, and i have never had a problem with it. My dogs are just fine. I figure it cannot possibly be worse than what they would be eating if they were stray.
I've done my share of research when it comes to the healthier brands of cat food and I've purchased Wellness for my 2-year-old male cat as far as dry cat food because it has such excellent nutritional ratings. I've also found that he eats less, while using his cat box a lot less and has a beautiful coat, as well; so, overall, I do think that the higher priced, nutritional brands are better for both your pet and your wallet! Then, my cat definitely seems to prefer the salmon in both dry and canned cat food also, which I find pretty interesting! He is pretty finicky, too, but I do give him the regular Friskies’ as far as canned cat food, or 9Lives and he loves them both. I definitely like to mix things up a bit for my cat and he gets both the higher priced and regular brand treats also. I only have one pet, too, so I think it makes a difference as to what a person can afford and as long as your pets are getting plenty of love and they're healthy that's what really counts! Especially since they depend on us to take good care of them and they show us their appreciation by giving us a never ending, unconditional amount of love and loyalty in return!
It's interesting to see everyone's opinions. I wish I could afford to feed them better food, but I just can't. I do give them chicken, fresh veggies, etc. sometimes.
Definitely not. Besides some home made snacks made with natural elements, I normally buy reputable brand name foods that are made nationally. If I can't afford good pet food, then I shouldn't be having pets. It's the same with children. I wouldn't have children if I can't afford giving them good healthy food.
I tend to agree that it's all about balance. I don't think the most expensive food necessarily means it's the best food for you either. As for my pets, one of my cats has health issues, so I do have to buy slightly more expensive food for them.Log In, I actually make his food homemade, so it's "higher end" and yet, would still be cheaper than the most expensive commercial food.
I truly believe that if you have pets, no matter what kind, you have to treat them the best you can. If you cannot afford good healthy food? My advice: Don't take any pet let alone a dog or a cat. They deserve to be treated the best way possible because they are depending on you!
As far as I'm aware the cheaper brands are just as nutritional, so I mainly buy them that. Of course it might be expected that they prefer the more expensive brands, and I buy that too sometimes, but only as a treat. When looking on the package the nutritional make up is usually near identical.
Our dog is just over a year old and we adopted him at four months of age. The boutique that we purchased him from fed him Royal Canin. We've fed him that ever since, but honestly I've never looked at any of the ingredients (which I will do right after I post this!). I assumed it was a better brand because of the price and name, but just never took the time to research. My mom's friend is a vet and asked once what kind of food we fed him. When I told her she smirked and made an odd noise. I asked her if it was a bad brand...and she said, "Well, it's not too bad"! I'm not sure if she was just trying to be nice or what, but now I'm very curious!
A lot of my friends purchase cheap pet foods for their dogs and make fun of me for purchasing the expensive stuff, but I want to make sure my dogs are healthy you kno?
I used to buy my dog the cheaper food, however my Shihtzu is now 10 almost 11 years old and she just can't eat the dry food anymore. I am always trying different, cheaper foods for her, but the only she seems to like anymore is Caesers. I am not sure if she prefers the flavor better or if it's just softer for her to eat. I now have to cute it up for her. I don't see anything wrong with getting affordable dog and cat food. My cat is young and very big and he eats a lot, he doesn't seem to mind the cheap food at all. Heck, I buy cheap food for me, my husband and family and it works for us.
You have to cut the soft food up for her, too? An old trick for continuing to use dry food is to add water to it and let it sit for a bit. It'll soften the pieces and make them start to fall apart, making it almost gravy or pudding-like instead.
