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Stressed about caring for my kitten during financial struggles.

3K views 42 replies 16 participants last post by  OrientalSlave 
#1 ·
I am sure I am not the only one in this situation and won’t be the last but I am massively stressing about it!

I now find myself in a difficult financial situation where by outgoings are equal to if not more than my wage.

I have a kitten who is nearly 1year old who I adore and will do anything to ensure she is well cared for however money is so tight and need to reduce costs wherever possible, does anyone have any suggestions re cheap but good quality food and cat litter?!

How much do you allow food cat related expenses per month?!

Like I said I will always ensure she is taken care of and will go without myself if needed but any ideas on cutting costs would be amazing.
 
#2 ·
Have you looked at smilla and animonda (sp) carny on zooplus?
They’re cheap but still good quality and you could buy their biggest tins, split it and freeze.
These foods don’t suit every cat as they’re heavy on offal which can cause loose stools but my own cats don’t have a problem with it.
Again not all cats like the taste after freezing but could certainly try it.

Sometimes with litter buying cheap is a false economy as you may need to change it more often if it’s non clumping or absorbent etc so you end up paying the same or more than one that’s more expensive initially.
 
#3 ·
Unfortunately I have a tiny box freezer so freezing isn’t really an option. She has also been very fussy recently and turned her nose up at everything of good quality - she was given go cat and couldn’t get enough, I don’t want to feed her this though as am aware dry food isn’t great and particularly brands like go cat!

I currently use catsan for litter which I change every other day. Tried clumping previously (think it was called felipure) but I seemed to use loads as the litter tray I have is huge and was constantly topping up as the clumps seemed to be huge!
 
#5 ·
Unfortunately I have a tiny box freezer so freezing isn't really an option. She has also been very fussy recently and turned her nose up at everything of good quality - she was given go cat and couldn't get enough, I don't want to feed her this though as am aware dry food isn't great and particularly brands like go cat!

I currently use catsan for litter which I change every other day. Tried clumping previously (think it was called felipure) but I seemed to use loads as the litter tray I have is huge and was constantly topping up as the clumps seemed to be huge!
Any wet food is better than dry. Obviously some brands are better than others, but at the end of the day, if you cat simply won't eat better quality, they won't! And you can't keep trying all the time with better brands as they can be expensive if they are hit and miss. Don't be hard on yourself if the only thing your cat will eat is Felix AGAIL or whatever. It's not great, but it's better than dry. You are doing your best for them.
 
#4 ·
Making your own chicken broth for your cat can lessen costs. Just try it with one chicken thigh/leg first, just to make sure they like it. Boil the leg in plain water for a while and when it's cooled down, carefully separate the bones. The chicken is nice and the broth is tasty. It's very cheap and will last a few meals.
(The thing to be aware of is you can only give a small percentage as part of the cats diet without having to add supplements that contain taurine and the other elements and vitamins a cat needs).

Clumping cat litter is better IMO. You can then remove the lumps easily without having to change the entire box (obviously, you have to eventually).**

**Sorry, crossed post with yours.
 
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#16 ·
Yes.
Cats don't have a good thirst drive as they get most of their moisture from their food. Cats who eat a dry diet can become dehydrated, and over time, chronically dehydrated, which can lead to kidney and bladder problems. Not all do, but it is common. It's also very addictive. Even the "best" stuff is just crap.
All the cat owners I know who feed their cat dry food, their cats drink a lot of water. The pinch it out of glasses, from taps etc etc. All the cats I have had have all had wet food and seldom drank water. It is not natural for cats to drink a lot of water due to their poor thirst drive.

£150 does seem an awful lot! Felix AGAIL isn't great, but it's still better than dry. It's cheap and is complete. Of course, in an ideal world, we would all feed our cats the best we could get and they would eat it all, but the reality is, is that cats can be very finicky. They like what they like. The won't eat what they don't want to eat, regardless of us knowing that the grain-free, sugar-free, high-density, good-quality meat is better. They will only eat what they want, and try as you might, you can't afford to keep spending more and more money when she simply won't eat it. You just get frustrated and poorer as a result.
You could occasionally try something new, maybe in a texture you know she likes, but it still doesn't mean she'll eat it.

Don't beat yourself up about it, you are doing the best you can for your cat. After all, you wouldn't be coming on a forum worried about your cat if you didn't love and care for her well-being. If it means that she eats a Kit-e-kat, Felix, Whiskas diet, then so be it.
 
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#7 ·
Apologies just saw you answered this in your above post!

Does anyone know roughly what they spend each month on all cat related items?
With the foods I’ve been trying, litter, insurance etc my total is around £150 - I just can’t maintain this and feel down each time she walks away from an expensive pouch and is crying for a bowl of go cat biscuits
 
#29 ·
Does anyone know roughly what they spend each month on all cat related items?
With the foods I've been trying, litter, insurance etc my total is around £150 - I just can't maintain this and feel down each time she walks away from an expensive pouch and is crying for a bowl of go cat biscuits
I currently have 9 cats and don't spend as much as you do per month feeding all 9 of them, so I think you should be able to cut the figure of £150 per month back to a more manageable level.
Wood litter is cheap, but if your cat is on grit now she might not like the change and you'll find she starts to toilet inappropriately. Personally I use EverClean, expensive to start but cheap to maintain as you just do top ups rather than full tray changes. I also think that cat litter is better deeper than the manufacturers say, especially if you use clumping litter.
Shop around for the best deals, buying in bulk is more cost effective and most food items are available in larger pack sizes online, and often for a good saving too. Some online retailers such as Amazon have subscriptions available on cat food for extra discounts. Don't beat yourself up if all she'll eat is felix wet food. As others have said it's better than dry and if you are not getting the waste then so much the better. Tinned is cheaper than pouches, but obviously it has a different texture/taste so test her first before buying a job lot.
Fetch are often one of the cheapest places to buy cat litter/food.
Insurance will probably be your most expensive outgoing. Currently my oldest cat (10 years) costs me £40 per month with petplan. However I would say this is one area that you shouldn't cheap out on.
 
#8 ·
For my indoor fully grown adult cats it would be around £20 each if I only fed them the cheapest of the foods I personally give.
That cost is for food and litter only.
My cats aren’t insured (I’m not saying don’t insure or anything that’s a personal choice).

Would she eat felix? I think you can still buy tins and they’d be cheaper than pouches.
 
#9 ·
She has had Felix AGAIL kitten previously, is that better quality than the usual range?!

I’ve been so obsessed with doing the best for her but she just won’t eat the good quality wet foods and I can’t bare for her to be left hungry, she’s not even a year old so I worry about her having the right nutrition to grow as she’s only a petite little thing and crying for biscuits is heart breaking! Wish she could understand why I’m withholding her “junk food”.

Looks like £150 is pretty excessive after all & the catsan doesn’t look to be the best thing cost wise too (plus I’m sure after a few wee’s it smells so could probably do with daily changing rather than every other day!).
 
#11 ·
She has had Felix AGAIL kitten previously, is that better quality than the usual range?!

I've been so obsessed with doing the best for her but she just won't eat the good quality wet foods and I can't bare for her to be left hungry, she's not even a year old so I worry about her having the right nutrition to grow as she's only a petite little thing and crying for biscuits is heart breaking! Wish she could understand why I'm withholding her "junk food".

Looks like £150 is pretty excessive after all & the catsan doesn't look to be the best thing cost wise too (plus I'm sure after a few wee's it smells so could probably do with daily changing rather than every other day!).
I think the AGAIL actually has more plant protein in so not utilised by the cat.
I'm not positive on that though.
If she's not eating better alternatives I'd leave that battle for now, you can always try here and there as and when you're in a better position.
Just thinking tins are pretty much always cheaper so if there's anything she eats in a pouch that also comes in a tin get that and hope it's similar enough she eats it!
My previous cats spent nearly all their lives (youngest died at 17) on felix and whiskers wet so although I now give better quality to my current cats I wouldn't beat yourself up over it especially if it's becoming unaffordable to just throw food away and meal times are becoming a big source of stress (that's only counting wet food though, I do think it's important to give wet instead of dry).
 
#10 ·
I use wood pellet cat litter, which will surely cut costs for you in that respect. I do use it with a sifting cat tray (about £25 on Amazon) but you start saving straight away on the litter costs so it's worth it in my opinion (plus the odour control is good).

I feel your pain with the food side of things, my two will sometimes eat the quality wet but I dread to think the amount we've wasted. Our default is Felix as good as it looks, which you can often get on offer or in bulk from Zooplus.
 
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#12 ·
Thankyou everyone, I think I will try better food when she is a bit older and money isn’t as tight, there’s no point not paying a bill to buy expensive food she won’t eat just because the meat content has persuaded me that maybe this new brand will be a winner unlike all the previous ones.

don’t know if this is a silly question but is there some kind of addictive ingredient in dry food, particular the cheaper brands that makes them always choose that over wet or is it just my little one?!

Next plan of action is sorting the litter situation!
 
#17 ·
Yes, the dry crap is super heated, dried, super-heated over and over, so there is no flavour left, so they have to spray it to make it taste of anything.
 
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#15 ·
So Oscar eats Whiskas and Sheba and occasionally Felix. I've tried him on better foods - but he will not eat it so he doesn't have it. he has what he will eat. As it is now for you, IMO I think you should just feed her what she will eat. There is tinned Felix, Whiskas and KitEKat (which quite frankly was the only food available when my husband had a cat as a child!) and there's also Butcher's which is cheap and isn't meant to be too bad.

Clumping litter is definitely cheaper - I used to get through a bag of £12 Catsan a week, now we use Sanicat clumping and it's much much better value.

I think things improve for you financially soon. Look after yourself - remember there are places that can help you with food too (and they often have pet food donated). We actually have a local shop that collects pet food donations and they give it to people who need help, it's worth checking if there's anything like that near you. Let us know how you get on.
 
#21 ·
I think wood pellet litter is about the cheapest going. Something like £7 - 8 for 25 litres, or they do a smaller bag in Wilko for £4.

A sifting litter tray is a bit of an investment, but well within the range of what you have been spending and it will pay for itself in savings very quickly.

You could try adding in some meat like chicken to get diet to keep the protein up. It sounds expensive but works out cheaply compared to grain free cat food. But you'd need to read up on cat nutrition to do that regularly.
 
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#23 · (Edited)
Just wanted to echo that any wet food is better than dry. Watch Pet Fooled to see just how awful dry food is. Don't beat yourself up if your cat is only eating Félix. Ours loved their beef soup for some reason even though I had the best of Zooplus out on offer. There's no accounting for taste and the moggies will not be rushed or be told. For transitioning tips (as cats can be picky) join the Feline Nutrition group on Facebook. They have great ideas.
 
#24 ·
When it comes to trying new foods as well, there's a food club here which was brilliant for me when I was trying to get something my Joey would eat https://www.petforums.co.uk/threads/welcome-to-food-club.248352/

Everyone here ends up with odd pouches or tins that their cats just don't eat and it's great to be able to help others out in the endless quest, without you needing to spend loads on bulk packs they won't eat!
 
#25 ·
Thankyou everyone, the little one has had a bit of a dodgy tummy the last two days & is now not overly interested in the Felix either :-(.

Pet shop recommended canagan game flavour which as you may know is dry food :’( ( & pricey!) Surely dehydration isn’t going to help her but they looked at me like I was nuts when I said I have been made aware of issues with dry food.

So now we are dealing with both being fussy and runny poop!
 
G
#27 ·
Thankyou everyone, the little one has had a bit of a dodgy tummy the last two days & is now not overly interested in the Felix either :-(.

Pet shop recommended canagan game flavour which as you may know is dry food :'( ( & pricey!) Surely dehydration isn't going to help her but they looked at me like I was nuts when I said I have been made aware of issues with dry food.

So now we are dealing with both being fussy and runny poop!
Definitely not dry! A cat with diarrhoea needs to be kept hydrated (just like a human would!). I'd ignore the pet shop if I were you (they have been sold to for many years by dry food manufacturers so they are going to be conflicted). Maybe he's reacting to something. Might be worthwhile adding a probiotic just to help him get over this little hump.

Have a read of this about the dangers of dry:

www.catinfo.org
 
#26 ·
Oh dear. I have to say I’ve found Oscar’s tummy can be a bit dodgy if he has much Felix - but on Whiskas in jelly and Sheba, he’s generally pretty good. Sheba fine flakes are available in poultry, meat, fish, small pouches and big…I’d be tempted to try him on that. I’ve always found he settles quickly with Sheba. I do have a junk food addict though ;) I know many cats with diagnosed issues such as IBD who do well on Sheba.

Hope the tummy troubles settle soon.
 
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