dry food vs raw financially

[Marinka]

There's no question about which kind of diet is best. I do want to ask you all who had experience with both how did it affect your budget. If there's a thread that's similar to mine I would greatly appreciate if you give me a link

 

[Helsinki]

I'm curious about this too. I read some threads on it a while back but can't remember off the top of my head where they are. I feel like I recall someone saying they were spending something around $60/month on raw, which seemed expensive to me, until I realized that with the dry food I feed, if I also fed her half a can of wet food twice a day every day (which I don't - I feed wet food mostly as a treat - but many members feed this way), I would be spending upwards of $80/month. With the amount of wet food I currently feed combined with her monthly intake of her kibble, I'm probably spending at least $50/month on feeding - I may end up doing raw after all in the future. If the price is comparable, and raw is a better diet (and for most cats without really bizarre issues, raw IS the best diet you can feed), then it would make sense to make the switch.

 

[zoinks]

Raw costs more for sure. For me I pay about $200 a month for pre-made raw for 2 cats , if you make it yourself you can save some - that's probably as cheap as it gets. Buying better in the raw powder, mixing it up with meat bought in bulk and freezing it, taking out what you will use for the next day. I just got 3lb of meat and bitr for around $25 which will last a week and a half for 1 cat. So around $82 a month. Could be a bit cheaper if I bought the bigger better in the raw.

Dry food I used to buy the big huge bag from Costco can't remember the price? $40 maybe ? And it lasted for 1month+ for 2 cats. But it gave them poop issues and I felt bad about being cheap.

Dry food is way cheaper but after switching to raw they have been so much healthier I find it so worth it. Plus no smelly litterbox is worth paying for

The way I look at it is that you should feed your pets the best you can afford. Have a budget and find out the best quality food that fits into that budget. I think of it like feeding my kids in the way that I want them to eat good food and be as healthy as possible.

 

[MollysMom]

I spend $140 on a bag of the Better in the Raw Powder (biggest size) and it makes 100 lbs of food when mixed. I get my meat for free, and we got a grinder for Xmas from Cabelas that was $120 on sale.

I freeze the meat in 10 gallon pails, and take them out to thaw slowly a couple days before we need them. I grind the meat and mix it up immediately, then portion and re-freeze it. I make 100 lbs at a time now.

If you could buy the meat in a large quantity from a butcher, it would probably be the most economical!

 

[andreanar]

When I feed raw I fed whole prey raw, spent about $130-160 a month to feed 2 dogs and 2 insatiable kittens. I took 1 day a month to cut up, measure and put in portion size freezer bags. I was always on the look out for meat bargains. Lol

 

[muddpuddles01]

Lenore is a peanut, so feeding BITR only cost us about $40 per month. I'm paying way more feeding dry right now, and it's not nearly as good. As soon as I'm able, we're going right back to raw!

 

[Ollie]

I know those on a tight budget are concerned but the fact that there are no poop issues, almost no litter box smell and no gas makes it totally worth it to me. I figured the good quality grain free wet and dry food were expensive and yet he still had digestive issues so if this is what it takes.....I've gone the route of convenience with pre made raw (primal and Nature's Instinct) so more expensive at about $100 a month. But Oliver eats a lot right now (9oz a day) When he is grown I'm guessing it will be cheaper at around $80 a month.

 

[nfaerie]

Bear with me while I write out my calculations, I am still figuring out the price comparison myself!

Ziwipeak grain free wet 12 x 170g cans $45
Applaws Dry food 800gr $9

Vets All Natural Complete Raw Mix for Cats 1kg $15
Raw fresh meat from butcher 1.5kg $23

For each 1.5kg raw, I need 105grms of Complete Mix. So for each 1kg bag o complete mix it can make about 10 batches of 1.5kg meat.

Each batch of 1.5kgs of meat I portion it into 1/2 cup servings. Makes about 20 servings.

One tray of Ziwipeak makes 24 servings (half can per meal).

So in cost terms, it is about $25ish for Raw and $45ish for my canned wet.

In comparison to the dry food which makes her poop stink, the wet food is better for her. At $9 per 800grm my dry food is cheaper, but she would need to eat a whole lot more of it because most of it is not used because its not 100% meat protein. In theory if I didn't feed wet she would probably eat 300grms a day of dry. Which is almost 1/2 a packet, $3.50approx.
Of Ziwipeak, at 3 meals a day it would be $5.60
Of Raw at 3 meals a day, (25/20=1.25 x3 =)$ 3.75

CONCLUSION
Just a tiny bit cheaper to feed dry food, but way worse for her. Raw wins this battle of price and healthiness.

 

[Marinka]

Thank you all so much. Basically just like I thought you pay more for healthier animal with no tummy, poo issues and who will live longer. Just like I would feed my own child for him to be healthy...rather than be cheap and lazy. I cook all the time for my family and we rarely eat meat, so I think we will make it work budget wise. I'll try to find a butcher or some place where I can buy a ton at once.
Will never get tired of saying this - SL is an incredible place, thanks to creators of this awesome forum.

 

[bceanpa]

I switched from wet and some kibble to raw. I make the food myself and its prob the same financially or a bit more. But now no stinky butt or diaper rash issues. A few weeks ago I tried to switch my Rexie and didnt persist but then he got sort of a diaper rash. And he hates it when I clean his butt, but I had to treat him with desitin cuz his butt got so raw. So after that episode I stuck to it and now he loves it. The raw diet is just good all around-- worth the time, effort, and extra expense.

 

[Calicocious]

The benefits definitely outweigh the cost for me. I feed Bravo balanced in the 5lb chub. It's $12.99 per chub which lasts me 6 days with 3 cats. I go through 5 chubs in a month so around $65. Primal makes a frozen raw as well that's worth looking into. Good luck with it.

 

[lapril]

I have a great natural pet food retailer who sells pre made raw beef 6lbs for $30 (natures variety)
My 2 cats go through about 4 of those a month, so $120/month for me. I can't deal with the smell of their poo when they eat wet/dry food….so it's well worth it to not smell the litter box. They're also more healthy in general, so I like it.

 

[heather76]

I think you can do it far less than that!! Wholesale or going to markets where you can get it for better prices and the quality is not compromised. I'm not being tight but if you look around check out prices everywhere, I recon you could cut at least $50 off a month. Mine get science plan trade price as have family business then £25 of sliced and finely diced good quality fresh beef. Get to know enough people and u will be amazed what u can get and find out.

 

[heather76]

Oh and the meat last 2 months if frozen into small food size bags

 

[zoinks]

That is true you can get real good deals on meat if you are prepared to make your own from scratch, especially if you have the freezer space to buy in bulk, but when you are looking for pre-made raw usually the prices are quite a bit higher for the convenience that someone has already mixed it all up or portioned it out for you.