Good food doesn't have to be expensive! [OPEN]

[Mistress of Rain]

Henrika

Mistress of Rain

Henrika

MlizGr

Oh my gosh I love you for this idea! Always have people asking the price difference when I try to suggest better foods for their animals. Too bad there isn't really a way to judge how much raw feeding costs though. Too many different options with that for it to really work.

For fun, we could calculate the costs of a pre made raw diet like Nature's Variety.


Not all raw brands are equal of course, there is a raw pet food service in Vancouver that is EXTREMELY expensive. It's basically like prepping the raw food yourself at home, except it's done by experts and all the mess is taken care of by someone else. It's quite a cool service actually, you tell them what animal you own, (cat/dog/ferret) and what type of meat you want (duck/chicken/turkey/lamb/pork/rabbit/beef/etc), if your pet has any health concerns or allergies etc. and they will prep a combination of ground pre-made, diced, raw meaty bones etc. and you come pick it up when it's ready!

okay that is pretty awesome!

I know you are in Canada but do you ever go to petsmart or anything? Cause I see the fridge section for animal food and when ever I look in it it is all dog food, and can never find cat food stuff in any petstore i go to....

I have never bought raw food from petsmart, although I do go there on occasion, I usually go to Mr. Pets, (It's a canadian chain) or Bosley's (Another canadian only) or I go to independent feed stores. Both Mr.Pets and Bosley's are small chains, with only a few stores in the lower mainland in BC. There are a grand total of 5 Mr.Pets stores to give some reference. They have the feel of independent stores, offering almost only hollistic foods and quality pet supplies. Bosley's only has shelter cats for adoption, and no other live animals. Mr Pets has live small animals, reptiles and fish, and occasionally kittens that get dropped off from accidental litters.

The only times I have shopped at Petsmart, was when they had a sale on PetMate covered litter boxes, and had them cheaper than Mr.Pets. I also bought Rolo a kiddie pool there. I don't really think that PetSmart has a great selection for ferrets though, so I don't usually go out of my way to go there.

EDIT: Oh wait, I have also bought Rolo's Favourite set of mini tennis balls omg. He is so obsessed with them. He will always stash them together stacked on top of each other. Unfortunately they are cheaply made so I go through them fast, that is another reason I go to Petsmart lol.

hehe, alright thank you though smile

do you know if feed pre-made raw that were made for dogs would be okay as a treat for a cat? Cause really that is what I find.... the raw diets (or what ever is in the fridge sections of pet stores) is dog food, i even look all over it and it is just dog food or feeders.

[Trash Mammal]

Moth Feathers

Morphine Kiss

Moth Feathers

pocketable

i'm just curious, are you planning on doing this for other types of pets, too? such as rabbits, birds, etc? i understand that it would be a lot of work, so it would be fine if you hadn't intended to, but it would be interesting if you did choose to do so.

It's a consideration! Is there any animal from that area that you would specifically like to see?

I'm not sure what, outside of birds, makes for a good seed/pellet.

I want one for finches!

I love the thread, Moth!

Aww, thanks. -feels honored-

I don't think there's enough finch owners here to justify a finchie thread. xD But maybee.

We can always use a finch thread. =3 Rather it be about food, or just all out information!

Welllll, there's a few of us you know! And some people who just enjoy them.
And you know my rat thread has like 3/4 regulars, and that's it. Then random passerbys. xD
And, someone who keeps their poor babies in a torture cage may learn that you can't do that if they see the thread. =D

[Spifficated]

Chicken soup makes some decent food. I used their puppy formula for my Apso and he loved it. It wasn't very expensive either.

[DeeSpark]

Mistress of Rain

Henrika

Mistress of Rain

Henrika

MlizGr

Oh my gosh I love you for this idea! Always have people asking the price difference when I try to suggest better foods for their animals. Too bad there isn't really a way to judge how much raw feeding costs though. Too many different options with that for it to really work.

For fun, we could calculate the costs of a pre made raw diet like Nature's Variety.


Not all raw brands are equal of course, there is a raw pet food service in Vancouver that is EXTREMELY expensive. It's basically like prepping the raw food yourself at home, except it's done by experts and all the mess is taken care of by someone else. It's quite a cool service actually, you tell them what animal you own, (cat/dog/ferret) and what type of meat you want (duck/chicken/turkey/lamb/pork/rabbit/beef/etc), if your pet has any health concerns or allergies etc. and they will prep a combination of ground pre-made, diced, raw meaty bones etc. and you come pick it up when it's ready!

okay that is pretty awesome!

I know you are in Canada but do you ever go to petsmart or anything? Cause I see the fridge section for animal food and when ever I look in it it is all dog food, and can never find cat food stuff in any petstore i go to....

I have never bought raw food from petsmart, although I do go there on occasion, I usually go to Mr. Pets, (It's a canadian chain) or Bosley's (Another canadian only) or I go to independent feed stores. Both Mr.Pets and Bosley's are small chains, with only a few stores in the lower mainland in BC. There are a grand total of 5 Mr.Pets stores to give some reference. They have the feel of independent stores, offering almost only hollistic foods and quality pet supplies. Bosley's only has shelter cats for adoption, and no other live animals. Mr Pets has live small animals, reptiles and fish, and occasionally kittens that get dropped off from accidental litters.

The only times I have shopped at Petsmart, was when they had a sale on PetMate covered litter boxes, and had them cheaper than Mr.Pets. I also bought Rolo a kiddie pool there. I don't really think that PetSmart has a great selection for ferrets though, so I don't usually go out of my way to go there.

EDIT: Oh wait, I have also bought Rolo's Favourite set of mini tennis balls omg. He is so obsessed with them. He will always stash them together stacked on top of each other. Unfortunately they are cheaply made so I go through them fast, that is another reason I go to Petsmart lol.

hehe, alright thank you though smile

do you know if feed pre-made raw that were made for dogs would be okay as a treat for a cat? Cause really that is what I find.... the raw diets (or what ever is in the fridge sections of pet stores) is dog food, i even look all over it and it is just dog food or feeders.

I think it would be ok as a treat. Dog food is to low in protein for cats to eat as their diet, though the premade raw for dogs is generally pretty high in protein and has lots of meat. Though keep looking around, do some searching on the web etc. At a shop I go to, they have a big freezer full of premade raw food, and actually have a premade raw for cats, so they exist, but are hard to find (Only place I have ever seen the raw for cats, though I don't look out for cat food. And I live in a different country so can't be much help there).

[Puritey]

Great thread. *thumb up*

[Henrika]

Mistress of Rain

hehe, alright thank you though smile

do you know if feed pre-made raw that were made for dogs would be okay as a treat for a cat? Cause really that is what I find.... the raw diets (or what ever is in the fridge sections of pet stores) is dog food, i even look all over it and it is just dog food or feeders.

I wouldn't generally since they usually have raw veggies in there too. Most raw cat food will have a minimum of 95% animal meat/bones/etc and 5% veggies to aid in the grinding process.

Raw dog food tends to have less meat to veg ratios. If you want treats, you could go to a butcher and order hormone free/organic chicken scraps and raw meaty bones. (No weight bearing bones). I think you would most likely be able to get this is small orders quite easily. If not, just keep what you won't use right away in the freezer.

[Adorable_graceful_bunny]

I usally just get what my dog will be willing to eat and lucky me she likes the 40$ bag ones, and the treats that are 30$ per SMALL bag... so yeah this helps 3nodding

[pocketable]

Moth Feathers

pocketable

i'm just curious, are you planning on doing this for other types of pets, too? such as rabbits, birds, etc? i understand that it would be a lot of work, so it would be fine if you hadn't intended to, but it would be interesting if you did choose to do so.

It's a consideration! Is there any animal from that area that you would specifically like to see?

I'm not sure what, outside of birds, makes for a good seed/pellet.

well, since i personally have mice and a rabbit, those would be of interest to me. 3nodding as far as i know, for small mammals, foods without corn are best, or they at least need to be well rounded in the nutrients they provide.

[x-kazzy]

Whats the best/good food for puppies?

[Moth Feathers]

x-kazzy

Whats the best/good food for puppies?

You'll want to check out Cardinal's "I used to feed my doggy poison!" thread for that. There's a link to it in my first post.

[Moth Feathers]

Spifficated

Chicken soup makes some decent food. I used their puppy formula for my Apso and he loved it. It wasn't very expensive either.

Thanks for the suggestion- it's added!

[USS_Galactica]

And alternatively. Expensive food isn't always good food.

Example, Royal Canin German Sheperd, and Boxer formulas. Both $54-$60 on Petco.com (one is the repeat delivery price, the other is I guess the buying it the first time price), $56.99 on Petsmart.com, all for 33 pound bags.

German Shepherd

Quote:

Chicken, brown rice, oatmeal, chicken fat, barley, rice, natural chicken flavor, pork meal, soy protein isolate, sodium silico aluminate, wheat gluten meal, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), powdered cellulose, anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), soya oil, potassium chloride, salt, calcium carbonate, dried egg product, sodium tripolyphosphate, DL-methionine, L-tyrosine, taurine, dried brewers yeast extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), vitamins (DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, choline chloride, glucosamine hydrochloride, marigold extract (tagetes erecta L.), trace minerals (zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), tea (green tea extract), chondroitin sulfate, rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid.

Boxer

Quote:

Chicken meal, brown rice, rice, chicken fat, oatmeal, wheat gluten meal, pork meal, natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), sodium silico aluminate, pea fiber, anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), soya oil, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, potassium citrate, sodium tripolyphosphate, DL-methionine, dried brewers yeast extract (sourc of mannan-oligosaccharides), taurine, vitamins (DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamine E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitract (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, choline chloride, glucosamine hydrochloirde, L-carnitine, marigold extract (tagetes erecta L.), trace minerals (zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), L-tyrosine, tea (green tea extract), lycopene, chondroitin sulfate, rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E) and citric acid.

Why would anyone pay that much, for a middle of the road/mediocre food?

The same size bag of one of Solid Gold's formulas costs less than that. And we spend way less ($43 for a 30 pound bag) on Taste of the Wild.

[Moth Feathers]

Lunarflowermaiden

And alternatively. Expensive food isn't always good food.

Example, Royal Canin German Sheperd, and Boxer formulas. Both $54-$60 on Petco.com (one is the repeat delivery price, the other is I guess the buying it the first time price), $56.99 on Petsmart.com, all for 33 pound bags.

German Shepherd

Quote:

Chicken, brown rice, oatmeal, chicken fat, barley, rice, natural chicken flavor, pork meal, soy protein isolate, sodium silico aluminate, wheat gluten meal, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), powdered cellulose, anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), soya oil, potassium chloride, salt, calcium carbonate, dried egg product, sodium tripolyphosphate, DL-methionine, L-tyrosine, taurine, dried brewers yeast extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), vitamins (DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, choline chloride, glucosamine hydrochloride, marigold extract (tagetes erecta L.), trace minerals (zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), tea (green tea extract), chondroitin sulfate, rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid.

Boxer

Quote:

Chicken meal, brown rice, rice, chicken fat, oatmeal, wheat gluten meal, pork meal, natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), sodium silico aluminate, pea fiber, anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), soya oil, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, potassium citrate, sodium tripolyphosphate, DL-methionine, dried brewers yeast extract (sourc of mannan-oligosaccharides), taurine, vitamins (DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamine E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitract (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, choline chloride, glucosamine hydrochloirde, L-carnitine, marigold extract (tagetes erecta L.), trace minerals (zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), L-tyrosine, tea (green tea extract), lycopene, chondroitin sulfate, rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E) and citric acid.

Why would anyone pay that much, for a middle of the road/mediocre food?

The same size bag of one of Solid Gold's formulas costs less than that. And we spend way less ($43 for a 30 pound bag) on Taste of the Wild.

Yeah, I stated such in my first post. I can't believe how people will gawk at the prices of good food but think nothing strange about feeding pets overpriced corn-kibble like Iams or Pedigree.

Added German Shepherd Royal Canin. Unfortunately it has to be in the "Better" category since its first ingredient is a meat. But it's more expensive compared to the other brands, I hope people will avoid buying it.

[Sparkielove_98]

my dog , he eats a lot of nutro and a huge bag isnt that much $$$$ lol