NOTE: We are talking about food for your cat, not as an alternative meat product for humans.

CATS ARE FICKLE EATERS! That's why downsizing the cat's food budget will be challenging....

CANNED CAT FOOD:

Meow Mix $0.56 / 2.75 oz = $0.20 / oz (one meal for our cat)

Friskies or 9-Lives $0.40 / 5.5 oz = $0.07 / oz (cheapest of all the many brands at Walmart)

Walmart Great Value canned tuna $0.47 / 5 oz = $0.09 / oz

Walmart 5 lb chicken breasts $0.61 / 5.5 oz = $0.11 / oz

NOTE: There is no GV house brand for cat food, wet or dry.

DRY CAT FOOD:

Iams Digestive $4.57 / 1.8 lb bag = $0.16 / oz

Purina Cat Chow $4.77 / 3.5 lb bag = $0.09 / oz

See article on the evils of dry cat food here: Dry Cat Food May be Killing Your Cat

CONCLUSIONS:

We didn't end up with the most expensive cat food on the planet because we love our cat. She gobbles up Meow Mix so fast that she will vomit if you give her more than 1 oz at a time. Previous attempts at other canned foods had her either ignoring the food completely or vomiting later. At 11 years old, she is less picky than she used to be though (just feed me and let me get back to my nap...). We're going to try Friskies and 9-Lives again. I always assumed tuna would cost a lot more but that's a back up plan. News Update: She loves the Friskies!

Even chicken breasts would be half what Meow Mix costs, and we're cooking those anyway for ourselves and cubing them for freezer storage for salads and casseroles. We could make some side bags for kitty (smaller cubes and servings) that could be microwaved later in the week and kept in the fridge the first few days after cooking. 

The dry food packs more food nutrients per ounce (since it is dried) but I've heard that it is not good to only feed your cat dried food. I'll update this blog with results after the food budget trial ends for our cat.