Which is more important: me saving money or flavor variety in a cat's diet?

What if you got a case of all chicken this time, and a case of a different flavor before this one runs out? Cats really do better on a variety of similar quality foods (or different flavors of the same food). I rotate among several different brands - Wellness chicken is the staple food, followed by Merrick, Natural Balance, and some Blue Buffalo and Weruva. This gives the cat variety, and protects you if the store happens to be out of the one brand/flavor she is used to eating.

BTW - feeding canned of equal quality but different brands/flavors will NOT upset a cat's stomach any more than eating turkey one night and chicken the next will upset ours.

I think variety is important.

It seems unnatural for a cat to eat just one thing. A wild cat would eat what it could catch and that might mean something different for every meal.

Also, the cat could get "stuck" on the one variety and what would happen if it were suddenly unavailable?

The $10.00 is significant though plus you'll use more gas geting there so why don't I complicate matters by suggesting the 12 ounce cans... Those should be about $2.00 each so if you buy only 12 it'll work out about the same as option 1.

Another idea is to buy it online, you might find a good deal. Figure out how much shipping costs versus gas and your time.

Well I plan on vaccinating every 3 yrs from info I've read stating that vaccinations aren't necessary every year. My vet only charges for 1 cat when I bring the both of them in so that saves; I only pay 1 office visit for the both. Raw starts out expensive but significantly goes down in monthly costs. 7 mos later after first feeding raw, I pay $35-$45 per month. I feel this cost will go down to a steady $30 per month as they continually consume less. So if you have 1 cat, after 6 mos, you should only be paying $15 per month. I just started buying Exquisicat (spelling) which is Petsmart's version of World's Best litter and I saved about $7 and this litter lasts 4 weeks.

Save yourself some money, girl! Seriously because, believe it or not, the more variety a cat gets the more their tummys become and stay upset. Ive never encountered a cat yet that has gotten bored with their food. Cats will continue to eat the same food, as long as the like the particuliar brand, (You know, theres always going to be your fincky ones!) and as long as you keep feeding them. If your heart is set on variety for your cat, I would recommend buying a bag of treats every once in awhile.Thats all the variety she needs, not to mention, she will love them! Hope this helps u

I think you should stick with the first option, but when she starts to look or act bored around the food, or refuse to eat, then you should change to the other option. We all know that cats need the nutrition, but they also need the variety. Imagine you have to eat the same thing every meal, everyday, for the rest of your life. You'd definitely get bored with it and even start to dislike it after a while.

As long as the food is healthy, it doesn't matter which flavor you pick. Wellness is generally a good brand, so just go with the cheaper flavor. If she's hungry, she will eat. Plenty of cats eat the exact same thing every day with no problems.

Honestly, I think that if your cat eats it then it doesn't really have a problem with the food. We can not communicate with animals (obviously) so we can not tell if they like the flavor or not. I think that saving money would be more important. I have a cat that doesn't really care much for what it eats.

i feed my 2 cats the best possible food on the market....heres why...

do some research on the food content.if you care about the lenghth of your pets life you will feed it actual food. not ground up fat hair and bones.. i am not sayin go super crazy about it but check it. i feed my 2 cats fancy feast. i only go thru a can or two a day. i make sure they have dry food as well. they dont need much as far as variety....i would say quality and frenquency is very important though. i usually use small cheap paper plates and split up a very small can of fancy feast or sheba equally between two of them . i do this one or 2 times daily. i fill the dry food bowl once a day. you see the wet food is a treat and adds dietary balance, where the dry food is their staple and holds the tuarine , fat, and fiber they need daily.

Trust me-- you probably care more than your cat does! :-)

i agree with the previous poster... ocassionally buy another flavor as a treat. i have had cats just about all my life, and you actually can make the cat MORE finicky if you keep switching up every day.

you can also save $ by mixing wet with dry to add a little flavor, since generally, the wet cost more than dry.

Why are you feeding canned? Dry food is perfectly good, doesn't go bad, and is WAY cheaper! Give the wet food as a treat and buy 5 or 6 cans at a time!

My cats won't touch wet food. I drugged it once when I drove them from Michigan to Arizona, and they remember.