Post-decision to BK, whose lifestyles suffered while their pet's haven't?

[APL]

Sigh... another night of a dinner consisting of a $.39 box of Aldi macaroni and cheese and half a can of peas (and dying of heat with no A/C), while MIss Finicky Cat here dines on her favorite Fancy Feast.

I'm learning to live on only true "necessities," but could never/would never lets my pets not have their favorite foods and proper medical care.

Anyone else the same?

[daxtell]

absolutely. while scrimping to pay the necessities i frequently eat the 10 for a $10 deals like smart ones or banquet frozen dinners or oodles of noodles.. ha ha....and my two pugs get their favorite food of mighty dog canned food. its not the most expensive but middle of the road and they absolutely love it. i get such joy in these trying times of seeing the happiness on their little cute faces when i say 'dinner'!! or 'walk'!! it is the little things that count. and i was so proud when i had to take my little boy pug jack to the vet for a hurt toe he was such a little gentleman sitting in my lap for the 2 hour wait at night. his vet has evening hours first come first serve. that vet saw him and treated him and only charged me the cost of the medicine to prevent infection. he did not even charge me for the office visit. there are kind people out there!!

[helpmeout]

No, I would not give my pets their favorite foods if I can't afford it. I will provide needed medical care, food and water. But I won't break the bank to do it. They can learn to live with the cheaper stuff.

[lillymarlene]

I love my two cats, and provide them with medical care when needed, but I feel if I have to cut back and live on cheaper food, they can, too. Unfortunately my boyfriend has hooked one of them on Iams, but now we're only going to get that out of places like Walmart, or when it's on sale. :-)

[shark66]

My cats eat mostly table food, and are as happy when given store-brand ham or turkey as they are with Boar's Head or Dietz & Watson...

As long as we share with them whatever we have, they are content, which is fine by me - couldn't ask for more than that.

Good luck to us all.

[daxtell]

i got really worried a few years ago with the pet food scare and recall with my pugs. i think of them like my children. i mean even the government approves only certain foods for kids as nutritious. i find that the cheap pet food store brands do not provide the same nutrients and quality for healthy growth and energy as some of the others do. i even go so far as to prepare their meals myself sometimes. it is easy to make a meal for them with some rice or pasta and a little broth and some veggies and some cooked meat like chicken or beef. i mean i look at like this. i chose them to be a part of my family. it is not their fault i fell on hard times due to my financial troubles and i owe it to them to take care of their health. otherwise they could develop health problems because of poor food choices. and have you smelled that store brand pet food? ugh. i would not eat it.

[tobee43]

we used to go to the store and get packages of cold cut "ends" for cheap and put cereal and vitamins and make our own...when we did have pets.

while during our move, we left to make a trip to our new state and left our cat as usual since he was an outdoor cat. we had someone checking him regular for food...but when we got back from the trip we found out our beloved cat of 11 years was shot by the neighbor.. since that time, we are so heartbroken, we will never have another, although there has never been a time in our entire lives we did not enjoy the love and company of a wondrous family pet. we both miss it but know, now is not the time since we are just getting back on our feet. vet bills have gone sky high, at least here. our last dog, bless her soul, died of Lyme disease, which is fatal in all golden retrievers...(and she was given her shot for it!). if losing her wasn't bad enough, the $700 bill we got handed from the vet to put her down was to say the least shocking and disturbing.

now we just have to wait it out. we lived on scramble eggs with toast...peas and macaroni, oatmeal! and a ton of soup for the first 2 years or so. it does get better ...promise APL!

[sunshinepa]

I have to agree with some of the others. If I have to cut back and eat cheap, so do pets. I don't mean that they should not get proper care, just that there is cheaper food out there. BK has an effect on everyone in a household....that should include pets in my opinion.

Once back on your feet, then return to the more expensive cat food.

Incidently, I have central air but have only used it 3 days so far. I spend most of my time ourdoors and figure why put air in the house when I am hardly ever in it. My family makes fun of me but personally, when there is a picnic or something, they all die of the heat where I am fine. I think it's because they are so used to air conditioning, they can't hand any heat when they do have to go out. I rarely ever even use it in the car unless it's at least 90.

[Pandora]

Our cat also eats only Fancy Feast as he's picky as hell; we've tried every cat food out there on the market as well as not on the market nationally, FF is it. He's like our 3rd child as well, as I think most people view their pets that way.

With that being said - you should not have to live on boxed mac n cheese and a can of peas. If you are, then something isnt right in your budget. You need to learn how to cook using one thing and make it into 2. Example: Buy a $5 fryer, cook the breasts for one dinner, saving the legs / wings for another. You can make a huge pot of chicken soup or chicken & dumplings using the legs/wings. Last week I took 2 lbs of burger - make a huge batch of spaghetti sauce with 1 lb, and the other made chili; froze half of each for those "dont feel like cooking" nights.

Breakfast for dinner is another option. Eggs are cheap, flour is cheap - you can make homemade pancakes that will serve 4 with just 2 cups of flour, and have pancakes that are the size of a small dinner plate. There is no reason that you should suffer eating next to nothing - for $10 you can feed a family of 3 two dinners (or at least I can) that are healthy. Also, look into Angel Food Ministries if you havent already; sometimes you can get a good deal there depending on what you order. We've tried them and while we didnt care for the food and I found that I can get some things better priced / quality on my own using coupons, we at least tried it.

[Goteki45]

I had to break the news to my goldfish that we have to cut back on expenses. He's floating on top of the water right now in protest of my decision. Oh well, he'll get over it.

[tobee43]

I had to break the news to my goldfish that we have to cut back on expenses. He's floating on top of the water right now in protest of my decision. Oh well, he'll get over it.

nice! poor fishy

[mdl]

My animals (3 cats, 2 dogs and 1 dog who thinks she is a princess) continue to eat what they have been eating......
My princess has been the bright spot in our lives while I was keeping this mess we're in from my DH and letting it eat at my brains...
No matter how bad a day can be, just to look at her makes me smile......I guess thats why God gave us pets........no matter HOW bad, they only have unconditional love!

[Freddy03]

I had to break the news to my goldfish that we have to cut back on expenses. He's floating on top of the water right now in protest of my decision. Oh well, he'll get over it.

Sorry I had to LOL!!