My cats only eat expensive wet food. What affordable homemade meals?

Wild cats are NOT domestic cats, and domesticated cats have very different nutritional needs. Wild cats also do not live as long and may have health issues related to poor nutrition. And while cats ARE obligate carnivores, they cannot get all their nutritional needs from only feeding one type of food (IE only chicken breast) as it doesn't provide a complete amino acid or nutritional profile for your cat. This is why many home-formulated diets require several ingredients and nutritional supplements to balance. It is important to feed your cat a balanced diet in order to prevent nutritional deficiencies, such as taurine deficiencies, which can lead to blindness, organ dysfunction or even death if not addressed. Commercial cat foods are best (and cheaper than formulating your own diet which may require several different ingredients and supplements to provide the right nutrient balance) as they provide your cat with the correctly formulated nutrients to prevent illness or deficiency. If you do want to feed a homemade diet, I highly recommend working with a veterinarian in person in order to formulate a diet for Meo's specific nutritional needs. Otherwise, feeding a commercial cat food will be the easiest, and least expensive option while still providing the right nutritional balance to keep him healthy.

I personally recommend feeding Mila Iams. It's an excellent quality food but it's not as expensive as brands such as Royal Canin and Hill's Science diet. You can also see if Purina ProPlan is affordable for you, that's another excellent food. Each food has a different daily requirement, so I would read the label on the food package and feed her according to that. I hope this helps :-)

The problem with feeding cats a homemade diet is that it is very difficult to get the correct balance of nutrients cats need. They are obligate carnivores, meaning they have to eat meat in order to survive, and their diet has to provide essential amino acids as their body cannot make them on it's own. I can put links below to websites that provide recipes for homemade diets for cats, and I would check that out if you want to try making a homemade diet for Orieo. I hope this helps! https://secure.balanceit.com https://www.petdiets.com

Brands I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. The first three brands are a little pricier, but they are very high quality. Iams is also high quality, but it's at a more reasonable price. If you are looking at a supermarket brand of wet cat food, I recommend Purina. I hope this helps!

Home prepared diets can be successfully fed to cats but it is important to fully research in order to provide all of the necessary nutrients in appropriate amounts to prevent over or undersupply of nutritional needs. IT is important to consult a trained nutritionist such as the Tufts University clinic which provide a range of well balanced recipes for home prepared food. A complete and balanced prepared diet should be fed with occasional treats otherwise

It is very difficult to make a homemade diet for cats because they have such specific nutritional requirements. We don't have a supplement that will meet all the requirements, but if you do want to make a homemade diet, check out these two websites I'm putting below. They offer recipes for homemade diets for cats, and because they are formulated by veterinary nutritionists, you know that your cat's daily requirement will be met. Be sure to follow the recipes exactly so your cats do not suffer any deficiencies in their nutrition. Best of luck, I hope this helps! https://secure.balanceit.com https://www.petdiets.com

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Kaira isn't eating like you believe she should. Home-made diets are typically NOT recommended by veterinarians, as it is very difficult to ensure cats are getting the proper amounts and percentages of nutrients. Cats have very particular needs when it comes to food, and they can become sick if they are either missing certain nutrients or if they get too much of others. Unless you consult a board certified Veterinary Nutritionist who can come up with an appropriate homemade diet for Kaira, I recommend feeding her a commercial cat food formulated for adult cats. There is nothing wrong with feeding normal cat food, in fact, they are much safer and preferred over homemade diets. A significant amount of research goes into formulating cat foods and making sure they are complete and balanced. I hope this is helpful!