BUTCHERS CLASSIC TINNED FOOD ? HOW GOOD IS IT PLEASE ?

[JulieandBarney]

Hi all,

I have recently been reading some good reports on Butchers Classic food. Barney suffers occasional constipation, for which I treat with RC Fibre Response, he has an allergy to fish and I tend to feed him on Thrive Chicken and Sheba Terinne mixed with plain cooked chicken.

I have given him a little at lunch time mashed up with warm water and he wolfed it down ! Does anyone have any experience of feeding Butchers classic food at all ? as I want to make sure that he gets a good diet, due to his occasional dodgy stomach .

[Crewella]

I'm a big fan of Butchers Classic, though I only feed the meat varieties as I try to keep Daz's fish intake down because of his history urinary problems. It may be cheap, but it's free of cereals, additives, colours and sugars and because of that is sometimes recomended for cats with dental/oral problems.

To be honest, I do wonder sometimes about the quality of the meat, but I have the same wonderings about the stuff that Daz catches and brings home to devour by the back door - he doesn't seem to mind if stuff isn't all prime quality fillet ......... he seems to particularly like the gristly bits .....

Personally, I don't believe in feeding cats the same thing over and over - my lot get a wide variety, but it always includes Butchers Classic tins.

I should think the fact that it has a high meat content will make it OK for Barney, and avoid the fish like I do.

[JulieandBarney]

Thanks so much for that crewella.....

I have to be so careful what I feed Barney, any trace of fish and he just sicks it back up again, repeatedly !

I am very much with you in the sense that I really don't like to give him the same thing every day, I always like to vary his diet....Fingers crossed, as I write this, he is snoring away on our bed, having eaten another small dish of the Butchers food.

[Lyn from Australia]

My previous vet gave me a whole spiel about how I should feed my cats exclusively on Royal Canin or Science Diet. I let him go on then told him that NO WAY was I going to give my cats the same thing day after day - I wouldn't do it to myself, so I certainly wouldn't to it to them - plus in the wild they wouldn't, and certainly wouldn't have expensive biscuits.

I do wish though that there were a couple more cheap items in the list of things they will eat! I always wait around and stock up on specials for everything, but am sure that one day I'll run out and there'll be no specials and I'll have to pay full price! Horrible thought.

[JulieandBarney]

My thoughts exactly Lynn !!

Do you get Butchers Choice in Australia at all ?......I sometimes wonder how much commision vets are taking by offering only the "best" food as a recomendation ?....Barney seems to react just as well to 'ordinary' priced food, as he does to the more expensive.....I do wonder....

Our last vet was dreadful, we have a Samoyed dog, who many years ago hurt her leg whilst jumping a wire fence in the fields. This vet said that she needed a steel pin put in to make it better....£ 1500.00 later and the pin was in! Fast forward 12 months and the vet then says that she needs constant injections every month at £75.00 per time, she continued to limp. I moved in with my now husband and did what I had done with my previous dog, Solly, who was a Chow and suffered with arthritis, I gave her a quuarter of an asprin a day and stopped the vets visits and injections each month...the result ? She now bounds across the fields, although much slower as now as she is an old girl...and has never limped since....!

[Lyn from Australia]

No Julie, we don't get Butcher's Classic. There are a couple of really old brands (i.e. I remember them from my younger days) which are probably similar, but they aren't easy to get anymore - sometimes you can buy them at rural supply stores/feed stores, which isn't very convenient.

Don't get me started on useless vet stories - I'll never shut up!! Suffice it to say I can really relate to yours.

[JulieandBarney]

Thanls Lynn...I thought it was just me !!

When our last cat 'CC' had oral cancer, the first vet (the same one we had taken our dog to) kept trying to aggresiively pull his mouth open, I told her quite angrily to stop and realise that this was my pet, not a piece of meat ! She could not dianose a thing and said she had to take bloods ! I told her "No chance if that's how gentle you are now .." I then took him to another vet, who before we even took him from his carrying case said "Oh dear, poor fella..." He gently opened his mouth and gave us the bad news that he had a nasty tumour in his mouth...he was absolutely shocked and agry at the previous vets last records which showed a total lack of knowledge, he even said that it would have been blatanlty obvious a week before the first visit....he was very scathing of the treatment, it haunts me to this day........

[PeanutsFriend]

Hummm, this brand of food isn't over here. But the first vet you explained about, that is the kind of vets we have over here. I know more than them...if I just had their equipment.. I could doctor my own. I do pretty much now. Cancer..well not much you can do. Make them comfortable and happy. That is what I understand they want..the cat..animal.
Jill

[JulieandBarney]

That's so sad Jill....

Thankfully I now have a good vet, who actually cares about our pets welfare and understands our feelings....but there are many, still like the first vet, who only see being a vet as making money ......x

[Hazel]

Butchers food is good, but mine won't eat it, probably because it comes out of a tin not a sachet
Mama Cass eats it. I occasionally put some down with Mika and Jess to have another go (they used to really like it) but it mostly gets flipped about and pounced on.

I wish they would eat it, no cereals and cheap. Coshida from Lidle has no cereals in the 'premium' jelly variety but they seemed to have stopped this, haven't been able to get it for months. I'm stuck trying to find something else they like now.

[Lilith]

Hmmm, if you do have the misfortune to come across a vet who tries to put the hard sell on you, just say, 'yeah right' and follow your own instincts...I reckon us owners can teach the vets a thing or two! (But I have known, and learned from, some excellent vets.)

I was interested to read this- when I took Molly on, her owners gave me a pack of 'Butcher's' which was a food I hadn't used before, and all my cats liked it. I tend to avoid tins as the local council has a tedious recycling policy, well yes, worthy I know but the little green box they provide scarcely holds my beer cans lol; also I resent washing smelly catfood cans out to make money for the council - but it seems we are to get proper bins soon - so I may start buying Butcher's in future

[bobbys girl]

Hazel - I don't know what it is with Lidl's. They always have more gravy than jelly foods and sometimes you really have to root about to find any. But just lately they seem to have it back in stock, so I've been stocking up!

We used to feed my dog Bonnie with Butchers and she loved it. I never even considered the cat food. Must give it a go.

[JulieandBarney]

Thanks everyone for your replies, it has really helped me make up my mind.

Barney seems to love it and as long as I mash it up with some warm water (if I don't he will wolf it down without chewing and make himself sick ) it seems to have filled him up a little more than the other food I have been giving him as well, which is good, as usually straight after eating, he will be constantly asking for more !!

Bobbys girl : Give it a try, I can only feed the chicken flavours, if Barney can eat it without an upset tum, I imagine any cat could ! The only drawback I find is that it can be difficult to find a stockist, currently, only my local little convenience store sells it !

[Alice]

Julie - if you've branches of Home Bargains or Poundstretchers in your area you'll probably find Butchers Classic there, sold by the can, not in packs of 6 or 12. I've bought it from both at 39p per can, but mine have decided they don't like it any more. I'll give them a break, then try it again.

[greenkitty]

I wish my guys would eat it but they of course have other ideas. I can probably go through 2 or 3 tins and then they'll turn their noses up at it so I've given up on it.

[Lilith]

Yes I've found it's not a brand stocked everywhere - but Asda do it - I don't drive and tend to resort to online shopping/delivery especially for heavy items such as the dreaded litter and when my stock of pouch (I over-engineer when it comes to pet supplies) is low I plan to have a shipment of Butcher's delivered. Luckily my lot aren't faddy little gits and on the rare occasions when they are, I spike the next meal with a tin of tuna or mackerel - gets 'em going again lol

[JulieandBarney]

Thanks Lilith and Alice for the advice on where to buy, we have a Poundstretcher not a million miles away in Stratford, so if my local little shop has no stock, I can try there.

[Hazel]

The large Tesco and Morrisons near me both sell Butchers, as do Wilkinsons.

Lidl had the Coshida in again! I bought the lot...then felt a bit guilty in case I'm not the only one with hungry fussy cats! It seems to come into the shop as packs with 5 gravy boxes and 5 jelly boxes, so presumably they can't just reorder the jelly ones.

When I was little I remember we used to feed our dog tins of Butchers tripe. I can still smell it now...

[JulieandBarney]

Thanks Hazel for that, I will take a look at Morrisons again, I know the Stratford on Avon one didn't have it, just hoping my local village shop keeps stocking it !!

I seem to recall Butchers Tripe too ! What a smell

[Crewella]

My local Pets at Home sell it, but only in the big variety packs.

[bobbys girl]

I think I've seen it in Asda. I normally shop on a Tuesday but I've had a rotten cold over the weekend and am still not firing on all cylinders. Don't think I can face the 50 mile round trip to the shops (the perils of living in the 'Wild West' ).

Butchers is on my list, I'm starting to get the 'oh no, not THIS again' look with what they are getting.

[JulieandBarney]

Goodness me Bobbysgirl..50 miles to the nearest shop !!. ....I live in the countryside, and it's very quiet, but thankfully at least the local shop is a little nearer !!...

I know what you mean about "the look"....I get it at least once a week ! It speaks volumes..he looks at his dish, then back to me...then back to the dish and ends with the look that says " Not this rubbish again!!"... ....Its awful being a slave at times....

[booktigger]

Goodness me Bobbysgirl..50 miles to the nearest shop !!. ....I live in the countryside, and it's very quiet, but thankfully at least the local shop is a little nearer !!...

I know what you mean about "the look"....I get it at least once a week ! It speaks volumes..he looks at his dish, then back to me...then back to the dish and ends with the look that says " Not this rubbish again!!"... ....Its awful being a slave at times....

I'm clearly lucky - despite Buster having a very limited diet, he eats it all and never seems to moan, unless he doesn't like the new supplement we are trying (he currently has one down the throat and 2 hidden in food a day, I'd like to give him a third, but he isn't keen on that one)

[JulieandBarney]

Booktigger...you are very iucky !!

My problem with Barney is that he would wolf down his food one day...then the next day, I get the "You must be joking !" atitude... .....though hopefully I have now found a few different choices which I vary from day to day, though only having 2 teeth he tends to wear most of it around his chin at times..

[bobbys girl]

though only having 2 teeth he tends to wear most of it around his chin at times..

Oh bless, he's in good company. Tom is a messy eater and slow with it. He chomps away but the bowl doesn't empty very fast - and Gracie is always hovering, waiting to clean up!

Julie - We do have local shops, but the £10.00 I spend on petrol is more than made up for by the money I save in Enniskillen, eg, locally bread, milk, Felix AGAIL and hankies come to £11.04. Enniskillen - £7.77. That's just 4 items!

[JulieandBarney]

Julie - We do have local shops, but the £10.00 I spend on petrol is more than made up for by the money I save in Enniskillen, eg, locally bread, milk, Felix AGAIL and hankies come to £11.04. Enniskillen - £7.77. That's just 4 items![/quote]

Oh crikey, that's a huge difference ! I can see why you travel !!...Thankfully our local shop is quite good and tends to have some variety in cat foods, though we do also have a Waitrose quite close, not exactly cheap but I love the place

[Crewella]

Blimey - that really is a big difference!

Pugwash ends up with most of his dinner on his chin as well - I have to sponge him every other day or it goes crusty!

[JulieandBarney]

Blimey - that really is a big difference!

Pugwash ends up with most of his dinner on his chin as well - I have to sponge him every other day or it goes crusty!

That made me laugh Barney loves whiskas cat milk and I can honestly say that it looks like he has dipped his face in a tray of white paint for a few minutes after !!!....out come the tissues and a battle as he swipes me while I try to 'mop him up'

[booktigger]

Booktigger...you are very iucky !!

My problem with Barney is that he would wolf down his food one day...then the next day, I get the "You must be joking !" atitude... .....though hopefully I have now found a few different choices which I vary from day to day, though only having 2 teeth he tends to wear most of it around his chin at times..

Apart from his renal food costing £33 for 4 boxes, so he has to have a mixture to make it affordable, and remembering what supplements go I'm each meal! He only has two teeth too, but never gets it anywhere other than his mouth, although did spend 10 mins chasing a chickpea last night cos he couldn't pick it up

[JulieandBarney]

Apart from his renal food costing £33 for 4 boxes, so he has to have a mixture to make it affordable, and remembering what supplements go I'm each meal! He only has two teeth too, but never gets it anywhere other than his mouth, although did spend 10 mins chasing a chickpea last night cos he couldn't pick it up[/quote]


I have visions of him racing around for 10 minutes, chasing a solitary chick pea !!! ...I must admit I spent probably more time preparing Barneys dinner than mine this evening....

My dinner: 1 chicken leg put in over with bake potato, takes 5 minutes. to prepare for cooking....

Barneys meal:..Warm water, mixed with some Butchers Chicken food, which I have mashed up with warm water...heat a little amount of pumpkin in microwave, mix all together with some shredded cooked chicked and serve with a portion of whiskas cat milk...takes 10 minutes !!!

Oh well...I know my place, as his chef !!!

If I get time, I may eat mine later !!!