OUR pets can often make the house feel more like a home.
But as the cost-of-living crisis worsens, more owners than ever are being forced to give up their furry friends.
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The price of cat and dog food has rocketed by nearly 60 per cent in the past 12 months and RSPCA research shows almost a quarter of owners are worried about how they will continue to feed their pets.
Dogs Trust has also revealed the rising cost of food, vet care and insurance is behind the record numbers of calls it has received from people asking the charity to take in their pets.
As the owner of two cats, I’m well aware of pet inflation and how picky moggies can be when faced with cheaper food alternatives.
I put eight own-brand alternatives to the test with my fussiest cat, Wiggins.
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Here’s how they went down . . .
Whiskas, Waitrose Pouches (12 x 85g) £4.25 and dry food (800g) £3.30
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IT may come as no surprise that these jelly pouches bought from Waitrose are the most expensive of all the supermarket options.
But to add insult to injury, they are also the smallest.
They have the classic overwhelming cat food smell – a mix of processed meat and sick. It has got irregular-sized pieces of meat in each pouch, which has to be mushed up to fit into the slow feeder.
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It takes several trips to the dish for Wiggins to eat all of it.
The dry food is a hit, as usual, and smells like a diluted version of the pouches.
They are also coated in some powder, which means my cat can smell it as soon as I tip out the packet.
Rating: 2/5
Coshida, Lidl Pate and Premium Mix (100g), 39p
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THIS barely smells, which is not something I’m used to, as most cat food has a rather pungent stench about it.
The pate looks like unformed burger mince, but much softer than you’d want it to be.
It took Wiggins a while to realise that there was food in his bowl, probably due to the lack of smell.
But within 45 minutes of eating the tin, he had thrown it back up. If this isn’t a no vote, I’m not sure what is.
The dry food has gone down better.
By that, I mean they have not reappeared half-digested.
They have been designed to look like the fancy ones the vet sells, but I can barely smell any meat in them.
Rating: 1/5
Complete & Balanced Nutrition, Tesco Pouches (12 x 100g) £2.99 and dry food (2kg) £3.35
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THESE pouches smell meaty in a nice way – not the classic overpowering processed aroma you get with most wet cat food.
It is a strong enough smell for Wiggins to appear from nowhere and he starts clawing my neck.
Each of the chunks of meat in the jelly are perfectly oval and separate easily from the jelly. It is a hit all round.
The dry food is the best value for money but barely smells, which worries me a little.
But that doesn’t seem to bother Wiggins, who happily wolfs them down.
It is a hit – and a bargain price.
Rating: 5/5
Vitacat, Aldi Pouches (12 x 100g) £2.79 and dry food (800g) £3.19
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THE budget supermarket has done its best to make this offering look like a premium brand.
The pouches are even branded, which most of the own-brand ones aren’t.
Like Tesco, the chunks of meat are perfectly oval and separate easily from the jelly.
They’ve got a decent meaty smell to them and don’t make me want to hold my nose.
The dry food is more expensive than I’d like, given its Aldi.
These have also been shaped to look like the type vets give you.
They smell strongly and immediately attract my cat for dinner time.
But after a couple of bites, Wiggins has lost interest.
Rating: 4/5
Morrisons Tasty pouches (12 x 100g) £3.90 and Complete dry food (2kg) £3.55
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AS I tear these pouches open, they aren’t strong smelling.
It takes Wiggins until I’m breaking them up into the bowl to appear for his dinner.
He happily eats, but it’s not as quick as with some of the others he’s tried this week.
He licks the bowl clean, which is a sign of enjoyment.
This wet food is one of the most expensive.
Due to the slightly sweet smell, the dry food reminds me of Go Cat, which is what I normally get.
To look at, they’re little and round, a bit like rabbit droppings.
When I pour them into the dry-food bowl, Wiggins doesn’t show any interest. He stays sat in his basket.
After an hour he does investigate and seems happy with them.
They are slowly munched on over the next 24 hours.
Rating: 3/5
Complete Nutrition Sainsbury’s Pouches (12 x 100g) £3.50 and dry food (2kg) £3
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THESE pouches have a pungent smell that pours out the second you rip them open.
Halfway through the tear, I feel cat claws pricking into my skin.
Wiggins is practically salivating as I pour the contents into the bowl.
Another one with oval-shaped meat chunks coated in jelly.
He licks away all the jelly before starting on the chunks.
He’s quickly bored and leaves half the bowl.
He is less interested in the dry food from Sainsbury’s, though.
Wiggins appears as I pour the pieces into the bowl, has a sniff and walks off.
The next morning, I can see he’s had a chomp in the night, but it’s minimal compared to the other supermarket offerings.
Rating: 3/5
Essential Waitrose Pouches (12 x 100g) £3.90 and Complete & Balanced dry food (950g) £2.20
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DESPITE being the supermarket’s budget option, these pouches are one of the most expensive of the taste test.
Again, the pouches are, like many others, oval meaty chunks in jelly.
Wiggins doesn’t appear as I open the packet, which isn’t a great sign because he normally does.
Once it’s on his feeding mat, he does emerge and has a taste.
He seems unimpressed as he pauses before continuing. That said, he licks clean the bowl.
The dry food smells a bit chemically, which puts me off but I persevere for the sake of the test.
Wiggins smells them and quickly turns his nose up too.
He is yet to eat them by the morning. That settles it, these are for the bin.
Tiger, Asda Pouches (12 x 100g) £3.90 and dry food (1.2kg) £2.50
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THESE pouches are better value the larger the quantity you buy them in.
I love the packaging and that you get four different flavours inside.
Wiggins appears from nowhere as I get one out of the box.
Within seconds he’s up on the counter trying to get his head into the unopened packet.
Again, it is oval chunks of meat in jelly, like many of the other own-brand options.
It is scoffed down in seconds, but he doesn’t bother to lick his bowl clean.
The dry food is less of a hit than the pouches.
He barely eats a handful before heading off to sleep.
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But overnight he finishes off the rest of the dish.
This is slightly too expensive for me to make it a cupboard staple.
