do you buy the expensive brand of food for your pets?

[Kelli]

Oh, and we buy it at the grocery store.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

We buy special cat food from the vet to help with UTIs. $40 per big bag but saves us money in the long run with vet bills. Our male cat is UTI prone.

 

[MommaBear]

We have a cat that lives indoors. He''s not allowed outside in any circumstances.
We only feed him ROYAL CANIN and it is rather expensive but..
he has a beautiful coat, doesn''t leave smelly presents, and is just an overall happy cat
I truly beleive it''s because he has better food.

 

[soocool]

Date: 5/5/2009 12:02:29 PM
Author: makemepretty
I do. I buy Canidae Lamb and Rice for my 'girls'. Yorkies can be prone to skin problems and allergic to corn. They are also so tiny that to me it's important they eat well for their health. Their coats are quite lovely and long. I don't usually shop on line for my pet supplies but I do buy their shampoo online, it's called Mink Sheen.

I also buy Canidae Lamb & Rice for my schnauzer. I pay $10.99 ( regular store)for a 5 lb bag which last about 3 weeks. I also buy him Northern Biscuits (wheatfree) made in Canada, plus I buy low odor thick bully sticks (on-line) about $55.00 for 50 bully sticks (these last about 4-5 months)

 

[kiett98]

I feed my pug Purina Pro Plan, and he also gets five baby carrots after he finishes his dog food. And don''t even think about skipping his carrots, or he will stand by the refrigerator. And wait. Forever... Until he gets his carrots.

 

[IloveAsschers13]

Date: 5/5/2009 1:17:14 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 5/5/2009 1:10:43 PM

Author: NovemberBride

Hmm. This is very interesting. We give our pug mix Wellness, which is highly recommended and he loves it, but he also has terrible gas. I never attributed it to the food for some reason. Maybe I will have to look into one of the other brands.....

Pugs are pretty gassy little things anyway, but the gas on Wellness was so bad, we knew it had to be a food issue. Could your little guy be sensitive to certain ingredients? A limited ingredient formula might be worth a try.


As for ordering pet supplies online, we order flea/heartworm meds from Drs. Foster and Smith (great pricing) as well as other small things, like dog beds or tags occasionally. I needed to put in an order today, so thanks for reminding me DF!

We were giving our cats wellness, and their gas was unbearable! We switched to IAMS.. maybe it is the wellness! Now the cats don''t EVER have gas, or at least rarely.

 

[tlh]

Science Diet. I wuldn''t call it top of the line, but at $50 for a bag of dogg food and $35 for a bag of cat food... I think it has become quite pricey, due to the increasing costs of corn.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

We''ve tried a lot of foods for my older cat because she has skin problems. The only food, after years of experimenting, that has worked is Avoderm. It''s not super expensive - $20 for the medium bag. It''s sold at a local, non-chain pet store.

 

[April20]

We buy Eukanuba for Yorkshire Terriers for our pup. It''s not horrifically expensive ($17) and lasts as long as his hair cut does. When he runs out of food, he needs a clip. Works out perfectly.

 

[Aloros]

I buy chicken soup for the cat lover''s soul for my cat and orijen for the dog. Both are fairly expensive, but neither the cat nor the do eat that much, and I find it''s much more pleasant when it comes out the other end! Plus, their coats are much softer and healthier on these foods than other foods I''ve tried.

I think when it comes to expensive pet food, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/5/2009 1:17:14 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 5/5/2009 1:10:43 PM
Author: NovemberBride
Hmm. This is very interesting. We give our pug mix Wellness, which is highly recommended and he loves it, but he also has terrible gas. I never attributed it to the food for some reason. Maybe I will have to look into one of the other brands.....

Pugs are pretty gassy little things anyway, but the gas on Wellness was so bad, we knew it had to be a food issue. Could your little guy be sensitive to certain ingredients? A limited ingredient formula might be worth a try.

As for ordering pet supplies online, we order flea/heartworm meds from Drs. Foster and Smith (great pricing) as well as other small things, like dog beds or tags occasionally. I needed to put in an order today, so thanks for reminding me DF!

that''s where i order my koi food. i always try to wait for the 20% off spring sale.

 

[icekid]

We do premium human-grade food for our shiba inu. When you consider that the cost per day really is pretty minimal, it''s absolutely worth it!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

A word of warning to people who use generic/super cheap pet food...my parents accidently killed a pet that way. I guess it had too much sodium in it for a healthy diet.

 

[zoebartlett]

We buy Iams (dry only) for our cats.

 

[Lynn B]

I live in Smallville

USA and all I have available locally are the regular grocery store cat foods, which I don''t buy for Boo. So yes, I have to mail-order it. Is it "expensive"? More expensive than the grocery store brands, yes. The dang shipping is almost as much as the food!!! (Therefore, when I am out of town, and actually somewhere where there are real pet supply stores, I will stock up a bit.)

BTW... DF, do these (never-ending) questions just come EASY to you, or do you lie awake at night formulating them???!!!!

 

[indypitty]

Our dog eats Merrick, which is fairly expensive, but worth every penny. She has skin allergies and Merrick is the only brand we've found that keeps the allergies under control. We also supplement with raw eggs (including the shell!) and yogurt a few times a week. The yogurt really helps keep the gas under control!

I figure we can either pay for high-quality food or pay for vet bills!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/5/2009 6:51:15 PM
Author: Lynn B
I live in Smallville

USA and all I have available locally are the regular grocery store cat foods, which I don''t buy for Boo. So yes, I have to mail-order it. Is it ''expensive''? More expensive than the grocery store brands, yes. The dang shipping is almost as much as the food!!! (Therefore, when I am out of town, and actually somewhere where there are real pet supply stores, I will stock up a bit.)

BTW... DF, do these (never-ending) questions just come EASY to you, or do you lie awake at night formulating them???!!!!

i need to use my brain for something

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 5/5/2009 4:11:21 PM
Author: icekid
We do premium human-grade food for our shiba inu. When you consider that the cost per day really is pretty minimal, it''s absolutely worth it!

OMG you have a Shiba?!! MUST. SEE. PICTURES. ASAP!!!! I ADORE Shibas - they are SO CUTE

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 5/5/2009 4:16:52 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
A word of warning to people who use generic/super cheap pet food...my parents accidently killed a pet that way. I guess it had too much sodium in it for a healthy diet.

Ditto. Our vet has told us horror stories about the issues they''ve seen in kitties being fed sub-prime pet food. We feed really high quality foods, and even though we spend a little more on the food (we feed Innova EVO dry, and Nature''s Variety Instinct wet), it is TOTALLY worth it to me to know I am giving my kitties the best possible sustenance for their wellness and continued health. And our vet is really supportive of that - he just raves about how wonderful they look every time they come in for checkups, and they''ve lost weight and improved their overall health significantly since switching to higher-quality food.

There have been several threads here on PS about higher-quality options for both cat and dog foods, and I''d urge anyone currently feeding lower quality foods (and that includes Purina, Science Diet, Iams, and others that are full of corn and fillers that cats and dogs don''t need and can threaten their health) to at least look through some of the info and links there and make an informed decision about what to feed your pets.

 

[VegasAngel]

I tried Innova & it was fine but the price is too high. Just about every dog/cat I''ve owned has been perfectly healthy & lived way into the good old age on regular, non premium kibble.

 

[chrono]

My kitty has kidney problems due to my past poor knowledge about how terrible dry food is for cats. She now eats grain free and by-product free wet canned food daily. I used to buy them online but found a local place that gives me a discount for buying in bulk.

 

[lovegem]

Yes, shop online. Petco and Petsmart.

Yes, relatively expensive brand food and toys. They also want the best packaged sweet corn. They refuse to eat the less sweet ones. Like they can really tell the Birds Eye corn is not sweet enough. The day Green Giant stops making their sweetest corn, the day they die or something.

 

[MishB]

Our male cat has bladder issues, so he has to have prescription dry food, which we can''t buy online, only from the vet. He doesn''t eat anything else, he only likes the dry food. Female cat also eats the prescription dry food, because we can''t have any other dry food around in case he eats it. Female cat has one meal a day of wet food, which is ''gourmet'' variety from the supermarket, mostly because she likes it, and it''s single serve ringpull and doesn''t make me feel like puking.

 

[violet02]

Date: 5/5/2009 3:29:17 PM
Author: MC
We''ve tried a lot of foods for my older cat because she has skin problems. The only food, after years of experimenting, that has worked is Avoderm. It''s not super expensive - $20 for the medium bag. It''s sold at a local, non-chain pet store.

SORRY for the threadjack!!! (I can start a new thread!)

MC - I found a previous post from you about Avoderm. My dog has had some digestive problems and bad itchy skin. We''ve tried to calm it down over the years with temaril-p (it has prednasone in it) but i dont like to give that to him very much and he still has issues.

I switched him to Avoderm a week ago and I don''t know if its the heat and he needs a haircut or what but he seems possibly worse? Have you heard of any possible issues with food allergies/issues with avoderm? The vet thinks he may have a food allergy that''s causing everything vs the grass allergy they previously thought.

---
To answer the question I was buying nutromax which is a pet store brand and reasonable, not as cheap as grocery store food but not as pricey as stuff like the Dick Van Patten brand or prescription food like i used to buy for my cat. That was $50 for a 10lb bag for her stomach issues!

 

[chiquitapet]

My kitties eat Iams. And we get it in a petshop nearby - every 10th bag is free.

 

[natalina]

Date: 5/6/2009 6:03:38 AM
Author: violet02

Date: 5/5/2009 3:29:17 PM
Author: MC
We''ve tried a lot of foods for my older cat because she has skin problems. The only food, after years of experimenting, that has worked is Avoderm. It''s not super expensive - $20 for the medium bag. It''s sold at a local, non-chain pet store.

SORRY for the threadjack!!! (I can start a new thread!)

MC - I found a previous post from you about Avoderm. My dog has had some digestive problems and bad itchy skin. We''ve tried to calm it down over the years with temaril-p (it has prednasone in it) but i dont like to give that to him very much and he still has issues.

I switched him to Avoderm a week ago and I don''t know if its the heat and he needs a haircut or what but he seems possibly worse? Have you heard of any possible issues with food allergies/issues with avoderm? The vet thinks he may have a food allergy that''s causing everything vs the grass allergy they previously thought.

---
To answer the question I was buying nutromax which is a pet store brand and reasonable, not as cheap as grocery store food but not as pricey as stuff like the Dick Van Patten brand or prescription food like i used to buy for my cat. That was $50 for a 10lb bag for her stomach issues!

To answer the original question, we feed our 3 dogs California Natural. We buy it at a local pet food specialty store, and it is a bit pricy but every 13th bag is free.
I quoted the above because, while ours is a dog not a cat, we have a Black Lab that is allergic to EVERYTHING- seriously, grass, trees, wheat, corn, soy, the list goes on. He gets very itchy skin (to the point of having open sores) if exposed and will throw up if he eats any of this. We used to have to buy him food from the vet at about $50 for a tiny bag (and he''d go through 2 in a week

). I did a lot of research and spoke with a veterinary allergy specialist to try to find another option. California Natural was highly recommended (at about $45 for a big bag), so we switched and have never gone back. He has no problems on it whatsoever--still allergic to trees, etc but his skin is MUCh less itchy and flaky now. They also have a supplement oil that can be added to the food that really helps with skin issues. We used it at first to help kick start his healing, but don''t need it anymore now. We had to switch vets when we moved from the Bay Area to Michigan, and when our vet here asked what we feed them he said "Oh- I love to get the answer! That food is fantastic!" when we told him. All 3 dogs are super healthy and love the food. I believe California Natural has a line for cats as well, and maybe this could help your little ones!

 

[gemgirl]

Date: 5/5/2009 1:17:14 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 5/5/2009 1:10:43 PM
Author: NovemberBride
Hmm. This is very interesting. We give our pug mix Wellness, which is highly recommended and he loves it, but he also has terrible gas. I never attributed it to the food for some reason. Maybe I will have to look into one of the other brands.....

Pugs are pretty gassy little things anyway, but the gas on Wellness was so bad, we knew it had to be a food issue. Could your little guy be sensitive to certain ingredients? A limited ingredient formula might be worth a try.

As for ordering pet supplies online, we order flea/heartworm meds from Drs. Foster and Smith (great pricing) as well as other small things, like dog beds or tags occasionally. I needed to put in an order today, so thanks for reminding me DF!

Our two dogs have eaten only Wellness and Mother Hubbard cookies and treats their whole lives. (they''re made by the same company) They''ve never had any problems with gas. I buy all their food at a local Mom & Pop shop. The only things I order on line are their collars and leases embroidered with their names and our phone number.

A little acidophilus added to his food might calm his intestinal tract.

 

[CaliSun]

Heck yeah, I purchase good food for my kitties! We don''t have children, so our cats are like kids to us

We usually pick up a random assortment of the organic canned foods from Petco but mainly stick to Spa Select and Natural Balance.
They also eat Nutro for indoor kitties and nibble on all natural snacks when they are especiallly good (salmon or tuna flakes).
We can usually find what we need nearby, so very rarely will I order online.
Okay, so they are spoiled...

 

[risingsun]

We feed our cavalier Inova Evo. It''s a high quality food and I like the ingredients. It helped clear up some dry skin problems and he''s been on it for several years. For the past month, however, the little dear has been very gassy. I wonder if it''s his food. He sits under the desk when I''m on the computer, so it''s an enclosed area. I''m considering a gas mask

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 5/5/2009 8:33:58 PM
Author: Chrono
My kitty has kidney problems due to my past poor knowledge about how terrible dry food is for cats. She now eats grain free and by-product free wet canned food daily. I used to buy them online but found a local place that gives me a discount for buying in bulk.

Chrono: What are you feeding your kitties? My Squeaky needs a kidney-friendly diet, but just wouldn't eat any of the prescription canned foods that vet offered. Right now I'm feeding him Hills Adult formulas, which seem to be the best non-prescription options based on the numbers. Their dry food is a prescription formula that I buy from from the vet.

To answer DF's question, cost is pretty much not a consideration in what I feed my cats. Convenience is, however...