Does anyone buy there petfood from a wholesaler or manufacturer?

I have two cats who usually have dry food in the morning and soft in the evening. My boy cat has recently had a reaccurring FUTI so i have been advised to only give him soft food, which is a lot more expensive!

I'm hoping to be able to find a cheap website or contact where i can cut out the middle man and hopefully the price.

It depends what you mean by expensive. What brands are you feeding at the moment? There are brands available online which seem expensive but actually end up being very economical because they are high quality and cats need less. It isn't about feeding 'soft' food, it's about ensuring your cat doesn't get dehydrated. Most cats fed dried food are slightly dehydrated which can lead to UTIs or at the very least make them worse.

Butcher's Classic tends to be known for dogfood but they do catfood too in both fish and meat varieties. They can be bought in supermarkets or Pets at Home and are stunningly good value. They only do 400g tins though which many owners don't find as convenient as pouches.

Hightail, thank you I will look into it. Currently they are on First class and the occasional pouch of applaws as a treat. Also my tom cat is also on Hills c/d prescription food which is £9+ for 12 and generally lasts 3 days!

Last year my elderly cat had pancreatitis and was very ill. Having done a bit of internet research I started feeding her on fish, chicken and Purina Sensitive or Royal Canin Sensitive if it is on offer. Sounds expensive? Pouches are now so expensive it is cheaper. I get frozen Smart Price chicken fillets from Asda for £3.99 per kilo, and their white fish/Pollock fillets for £4 per kilo. There is no waste - usually there'd be dried up food left - and the cat looks amazing. I started off by giving this diet to the elderly cat only, with the younger one cleaning up whatever was left, but then suddenly realized it would be cheaper for them both to have the same diet. Sainsbury's had Purina reduced to only £4.00 per pack a couple of weeks ago - usually £5.47 - so I stocked up on that.

The vet actually wanted to put the cat to sleep because she wouldn't eat for five days while in the hospital on a drip, so I took her home and started her on very small portions and she is really bright-eyed and bushy-tailed now, so the diet has suited her really well.

I do think the price of pouches/trays is just staggering nowadays. It's only a couple of years ago that all the supermarkets regularly offered 2 x 12 packs for £4, then it became £5.00 and now it's £6 or even £7! And of course so many of the pouches only have 85g rather than 100g. What a rip-off!

 

Also my tom cat is also on Hills c/d prescription food which is £9+ for 12

and generally lasts 3 days!

Did the vet sell you that? It isn't a prescription product and there's nothing in it that makes a huge difference. The very fact they do a dried food for cats with UTIs tells you it's nothing more than marketing hype. You can either buy other brands of perfectly adequate food or stick with the Hill's if you must and at least save a bit by buying it elsewhere. I am a Hill's 'qualified' Pet Nutrition Advisor. In order to become one I had to pass an online exam of multiple choice questions. I was meant to study their material first but there was no need. Trust me, the 'right' answer for each question was pretty damned obvious.

Here's a bit of bedtime reading for anyone interested

http://feline-nutrition.org/health/diet-kidney-disease-and-the-urinary-tract

I've deliberately linked to the appropriate page for this thread but the whole site is interesting for anyone who really cares about feline nutrition. I would add that it's a passion of mine but I do believe it is possible to feed a cat a good diet without getting precious about feeding a completely 'natural' diet. I do feed a certain amount of raw food to my cats and I do believe it's the best. I also feed commercial wet food and (horror of horrors) some dried food too. I also have Drinkwell drinking fountains which my cats love to both drink from and play with. Keeping a cat properly hydrated is one of the best things you can do to keep it healthy.

I have found Berriewood wholesale do good prices on our dog food, might be worth a look?

delivery is usually next day too.

A quick comparison shows them as more expensive, admittedly only by 8p, than at least one other supplier who does free delivery. I used Royal Canin Sensible as the check product. Don't be fooled into thinking Berriewood are cheap just because they have have 'wholesale' in their name.

It was just a suggestion! I'm not fooled by their name, I actually find them unbeatable on the dog food I buy, which also qualifies for free delivery (I do buy in bulk though). I can find guinea pig food cheaper elsewhere. Some things are cheaper, some aren't!

I'm told this is pretty good

http://www.markandchappell.com/global/cat-kitten/urinary-tract-health/uti-cat-paste.html

Being the sad person I am I did a quick check to see how that product worked out. Methionine capsules are sold specifically for pets in the USA so I could check for dosage and it seems 500 - 1000mg daily is correct for cats. Going on 500mg daily you'd get 10 or 11 doses from the Mark & Chappell product for £7.69 (Pets at Home). Buy methionine in capsules to sprinkle on the food and you get 60 days supply for around a tenner.

an old thread, but for cat owners...

some AVA dry cat food products recalled

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39117832