Generic Pet Food

Discussion in Pets started by Ke Gordon • Jan 25, 2016.

  1. Ke Gordon

    Ke GordonWell-Known Member

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    Do you try to save money by generic pet food? My cat really likes store brand wet food and it is much cheaper than Friskies or some other name brands. As long as the food is not made in China, I am all for buying generic pet foods to save money. Some of it they seem to like quite well, and others not so much. Coupons help with name brand dry cat foods.
     
  2. rz3300

    rz3300Active Member

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    I sure do. I figure if I am trying to save some money by buying generic human food for myself, I am pretty sure that my little friend can make the sacrifice too. I did get a good laugh when I first started reading this too though because I think that my least favorite commercial is the dog food brand one where they talk about the ingredients being so much better than generic, because that may be the case but who really gives a rip. I love my dog more than most everything but he'll do fine with some generic dog food.
     
  3. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I'd be a little hesitant to be completely honest but I don't see harm in it as long as I do proper research. I may even go as far as to ask the vet the next time I visit or just looking around for online reviews might already be sufficient. For the most part I'd probably just rely on experimentation and see how my pet would react or how they would behave within the next few weeks of switching. If there is anything off by the way they move or react to things then I'd look into it, but I'd definitely be up for giving it a shot as long as it won't end up being too dangerous of an experiment.
     
  4. xTinx

    xTinxWell-Known Member

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    Well my family always buy dog food and cat food sold at wholesale grain stores. Price-wise, pet food sold at wholesale stores would cost less than the ones sold at groceries or pet shops. Also, you can buy more pet food at a fraction of the usual commercial price.
     
  5. Corzhens

    CorzhensWell-Known Member

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    Normally generics are cheaper than branded. When our dogs were still puppies, we were feeding them with dog food, the crunchy biscuit-like balls that we soak in water before feeding. But my husband said that it is not good to be dependent on canned/packaged dog food because what happens when there is no stock? Now we are cooking our own pet food of chicken meat or fish and sometimes even pork. Our dogs just love those cooked food.
     
  6. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    Our dog is quite finicky in the sense that he doesn't eat dog food at all, so we actually get to save money because we have stopped buying dog food already and we have just decided to give him human food.
     
  7. valedevento

    valedeventoNew Member

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    Our dogs eat the generic wet food from the local grocery store, but I try to limit the amount they eat. A lot of pet food, cheap and expensive, contains a high amount of grains. Feeding your dog to much grains can cause skin allergies and bacterial ear infections, and it is not healthy for them. The majority of their diet should be meat, that's why I mix the store bought food with home cooked meats and veggies.
     
  8. thenextGeek

    thenextGeekActive Member

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    Well we're buying pet food so that we have something to feed our dog when we can't make him food but we always try to give him rice coupled with some cooked chicken meat or liver. We noticed that generic dog food usually makes him smell worse while natural food maintains his cute dog smell.
     
  9. Ke Gordon

    Ke GordonWell-Known Member

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    Well, there are many dog foods that are not based on grains. But that would have to be the canned wet food. I feed my cat canned wet food in the generic version...for the dry food I usually buy name brand because he won't usually eat store brand in that. I suppose he would if he was hungry enough though!
     
  10. JosieP

    JosiePWell-Known Member

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    Doesn't matter what brand or where it's made, they're almost all the same. Low quality, awful ingredients.. it's a risk either way and most animals do fine with most. Unhealthy, but brand won't make a difference there really. Some will make food with less fillers, which is better, but the type of meat and other questionable "ingredients" are most likely still in there. I'm not sure why you would avoid china, when the rest of us still put awful things in our pet food as well.. things you would never consider feeding your pet. The only way to be sure of what they eat, is to make it yourself. Most can't/won't do that.. so if you have to go processed, it really doesn't matter which you buy.. I guess just do the best you can with what you know about labelling.
     
  11. Diane Lane

    Diane LaneWell-Known Member

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    Speaking of this, have y'all noticed how expensive the specialized pet foods are? I've been trying different food to see if it would make a difference with the litter box issues I've been having. I tried one out that I was sent from Pinch Me, and Ryan loved it, but of course the bag was pretty small. When I priced it at the store, the cost was ridiculous. It was a grain free product, and I'd probably buy it if I had an abundance of money, but I don't. I have noticed some differences in how their fur feels and their behavior, though, so I will probably try to keep doing what I'm doing, and only supplement with the cheaper food when I absolutely need to.
     
  12. valedevento

    valedeventoNew Member

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    It is true that the higher quality, specialized pet foods are sometimes ridiculously expensive and most of us cannot afford spending that much money on something that is probably crap to! That's why I try to make my own food for the dogs and buy story bought food sometimes if I have don't have time to make their food.
     
  13. Diane Lane

    Diane LaneWell-Known Member

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    I was 'making' the food for a while, but since I have a very tight budget, it involved mixing some fresh (cooked) meat with brown rice or oatmeal, along with some vegetables. I did notice a little difference, but they weren't all that thrilled with the taste. When my kitchen appliances all died at the same time, it became really difficult to get it mixed, and my cats are very fussy about chewing, after years of wet cat food that's basically gruel. I would love to be able to make high quality homemade cat food again someday, but for now, I'm trying to buy the best I can from the store.

    I agree, the quality of all of it is probably questionable. I read a lot of articles on various sites, and it seems the best quality ones are out of my budget, unfortunately, at least for now. But, they do seem to be doing a little better with the food I'm buying. At one point, I was buying the cheapest dry food, and noticed a decline in behavior, as well as their coats being less soft and shiny. Also, the litter boxes and the surrounding areas were super messy and stinky. I've heard the 4Health brand at Tractor Supply is good, but I can't afford that plus shipping right now, and they aren't close enough for me to get to on a regular basis.
     
  14. MichelleVL

    MichelleVLMember

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    I buy the generic brand when I'm low on cash or broke. The problem with the generic brands is that my cat hates them. She doesn't like anything outside Friskies or Whiskas. The times I've bought the generic brands she won't eat from them until she is starving. I do get to save using coupons and receiving free samples from Friskies, Whiskas, and Fancy Feast. If you subscribe to their news letter you can get a lot of perks.