I fed my cat dupes and he couldn't tell a difference – the savings are huge
OUR pets can often make the house feel more like a home.
But as the cost of living worsens, more owners than ever are being forced to give up their furry friends.
The price of cat and dog food has risen by almost 60 per cent in the past 12 months and research from the RSPCA shows that almost a quarter of owners are concerned about how they will continue to feed their pets.
Dogs Trust has also revealed that the rising costs of food, vet care and insurance are responsible for the record number of calls the company has received from people asking the charity to take in their pets.
As the owner of two cats, I am acutely aware of pet inflation and how picky moggies can be when faced with cheaper food alternatives.
I put eight private label alternatives to the test with my pickiest cat, Wiggins.
Here's how they went down. . .
Whiskas, Waitrose pouches (12 x 85 g) €4.25 and dry food (800 g) €3.30
9
It should come as no surprise that these jelly sachets you buy from Waitrose are the most expensive of all the supermarket options.
But to make matters worse, they are also the smallest.
They have the classic overpowering smell of cat food – a mix of processed meat and sick. Each bag contains irregularly sized chunks of meat, which must be ground into a paste to fit into the slow feeder.
It takes Wiggins several trips to the court to eat it all.
The dry food is a hit as usual and smells like a diluted version of the bags.
They are also coated with some powder, which means my cat can smell it as soon as I take the packet out.
Rating: 2/5
Coshida, Lidl Pate and Premium Mix (100g), 39 pcs
9
THIS barely smells, which I'm not used to, as most cat food has a rather pungent stench.
The pate looks like unformed hamburger mince, but is much softer than you would like.
It took a while for Wiggins to realize there was food in his bowl, probably due to the lack of smell.
But within 45 minutes of eating the can, he threw it up again. If this isn't a no vote, I don't know what is.
The dry food was better appreciated.
By that I mean that they did not return half-digested.
They are designed to look like the fancy ones the vet sells, but I can barely smell any meat in them.
Rating: 1/5
Complete and balanced nutrition, Tesco pouches (12 x 100g) £2.99 and dry food (2kg) £3.35
9
THESE pouches smell pleasantly meaty – not the classic overpowering processed aroma you get with most wet cat food.
The smell is so strong that Wiggins appears out of nowhere and starts scratching my neck.
All pieces of meat in the jelly are perfectly oval and can be easily separated from the jelly. It's a hit everywhere.
The dry food has the best price-quality ratio, but hardly smells, which worries me a bit.
But that doesn't seem to bother Wiggins, who eats them with pleasure.
It's a hit – and a bargain price.
Rating: 5/5
Vitacat, Aldi bags (12 x 100 g) € 2.79 and dry food (800 g) € 3.19
9
THE budget supermarket has done its best to give this offering the appearance of a premium brand.
The bags are even branded, which most of our own brands are not.
Like Tesco, the meat pieces are perfectly oval and separate easily from the jelly.
They have quite the meaty smell and make me not want to hold my nose.
The dry food is more expensive than I would like, considering Aldi.
These are also shaped to resemble the type vets give you.
They smell strongly and immediately attract my cat for mealtime.
But after a few bites, Wiggins has lost interest.
Rating: 4/5
Morrisons Tasty bags (12 x 100 g) € 3.90 and complete dry food (2 kg) € 3.55
9
As I tear open these bags, they don't smell strongly.
It takes Wiggins breaking them up in the bowl before he shows up for his dinner.
He likes to eat, but it's not as fast as some of the others he's tried this week.
He licks the bowl clean, which is a sign of pleasure.
This wet food is one of the most expensive.
The slightly sweet smell of the dry food reminds me of Go Cat, which is what I normally get.
They look small and round, a bit like rabbit poop.
When I pour them into the dry food bowl, Wiggins shows no interest whatsoever. He stays in his basket.
After an hour he goes to investigate and seems happy with it.
They are slowly eaten over the next 24 hours.
Rating: 3/5
Complete Nutrition Sainsbury's pouches (12 x 100g) £3.50 and dry food (2kg) £3
9
THESE bags have a pungent odor that emanates as soon as you tear them open.
Halfway through the tear I feel cat claws digging into my skin.
Wiggins almost starts drooling as I pour the contents into the bowl.
Another with oval-shaped pieces of meat covered in jelly.
He licks away all the jelly before starting on the pieces.
He gets bored quickly and leaves half the bowl.
However, he is less interested in Sainsbury's dry food.
Wiggins appears as I pour the pieces into the bowl, takes a sniff and walks away.
The next morning I see that he ate a snack during the night, but it is minimal compared to the selection in the other supermarkets.
Rating: 3/5
Essential Waitrose pouches (12 x 100g) €3.90 and complete and balanced dry food (950g) €2.20
9
DESPITE being a budget option from the supermarket, these pouches are one of the most expensive in the taste test.
Again, the pouches, like many others, are oval, fleshy pieces in jelly.
Wiggins doesn't appear when I open the package, which isn't a good sign because he normally does.
Once it's on his feeding mat, he'll come out and taste it.
He seems unimpressed as he pauses before continuing. That said, he licks the bowl clean.
The dry food smells a bit chemical, which puts me off, but I persevere for the test.
Wiggins smells them and quickly turns his nose up too.
By morning he still has to eat them. That's enough, these are for the trash.
Tiger, Asda bags (12 x 100 g) € 3.90 and dry food (1.2 kg) € 2.50
9
THESE bags are cheaper the larger the quantity you buy them in.
I love the packaging and that you get four different flavors in it.
Wiggins appears out of nowhere when I take one out of the box.
Within seconds he is up on the counter trying to poke his head into the unopened package.
Again, they're oval pieces of meat in jelly, like many of the other own-brand options.
It's polished off in seconds, but he doesn't bother to lick his bowl clean.
The dry food is less of a success than the bags.
He barely eats a handful before going to sleep.
But at night he finishes the rest of the dish.
This is a bit too expensive for me to make it a closet staple.