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#1 July 4 2020

NuclearVision
Member

Cat owners, need advice

Hey guys, any cat owners around?
With the current economic crisis, our cat's food and litter specially is getting considerably expensive, because I can't find any locally produced brand, it's all imported.
Do you know any locally produced brands I'm not aware of, the litter specially?

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#2 July 4 2020

samer
Admin

Re: Cat owners, need advice

I haven't tested any of those, but if you google for "natural cat litter" you come up with a bunch of ideas:
https://felinefriendlycare.com/natural-cat-litter/

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#3 July 4 2020

Talm
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

I've seen plenty of silica without crystalline based (like the ones for humidity) being sold, made in Lebanon. (Sada etc)

Last edited by Talm (July 4 2020)

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#4 July 4 2020

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

thanks samer, i already did my research, but these seem rather messy and smelly.

Talm wrote:

I've seen plenty of silica without crystalline based (like the ones for humidity) being sold, made in Lebanon. (Sada etc)

Need to ask for them in local shops, thanks.

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#5 July 4 2020

nuclearcat
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

To be honest "natural food" is very hard to balance and might be even more expensive. As cats are obligatory carnivore, it is better to find big bag of good dry food now, before it is too late.
Rough translation of "recipe" russians are using for their cats, if they choose balanced natural food way:

Meat gatherings (called "main-kuh porridge") - a self-prepared food, extremely useful, because it contains the right combination of protein, fiber, carbohydrates. We usually do it once every couple of weeks.
Ingredients: 1 part all in a meat grinder: chicken necks (7-8 pieces), a bunch of lettuce leaves, 200 grams of pumpkin, 0.5 kg of chicken stomachs, 1 sheet of sushi-nori (sheets for making sushi);
2 part cut into pieces: 1 kg white chicken fillet, 1 kg red chicken fillet. We mix everything that pass a meat grinder and cut pieces of chicken, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, mix everything thoroughly.
We pack in bags of 120-150 grams (a single serving for a kitten, as you grow up, you can add weight, bringing a single serving to 250 grams).
We put it in the freezer and leave it frozen for 2-3 days.
We usually make two bookmarks - one of the chicken, the second of beef: 1 part, which is exactly the same in the meat grinder (just remove the stomachs), 2 parts of which we cut 1 kg of low-fat beef and 0.5 kg of beef heart, also mix everything , olive oil, packaged in the refrigerator.
Before eating, we take out 1 bag, defrost and give the kitten (it is better to defrost in the natural way, after defrosting in the microwave, our coons refuse to eat).
Alternate beef and chicken in a serving.
Meat:
Beef (not fatty), chicken (fillet, breast without skin), as options - rabbit, turkey (but they are completely low-calorie). There are two options - either cook or finely chop, freeze as meat gathering, and give in one of the receptions.
We usually cook chicken and alternate it with meat gathering.
Meat, in fact, is cheaper and healthier than canned food due to the naturalness of the product, but over time the tastes of the cats change and they can refuse one or the other.
Milk products:
Sometimes you can give low-fat cottage cheese. Kefir(maybe ayran is same?) - once a week is enough. Do not overfeed in portion size milk products, so that there is no diarrhea. You do not need to give ordinary milk - in adult cats, milk is poorly absorbed.
Fish, egg:
Only once a week can a quail egg be given (if not eating, mix with cottage cheese).
Sometimes you can squid or shrimp (a little).
You should not get involved in seafood, they contain iodine, which is not very good for cats.
Canned food (humidified):
When buying wet food, pay attention to the composition: it should not contain pork, salt, well, there should be meat products, and not freeze-dried meat.

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#6 July 4 2020

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

wow thanks, but as you said it's a hassle.
But again, I might try something similar, the food prices are still bearable for now.
The problem is, again, that both food and litter are imported. You can imagine how much the price multiplied.

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#7 July 4 2020

nuclearcat
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

I think cat owners of Lebanon need to come up with unique recipe and suppliers. Or maybe resort to group buying/import.
And litter is really hardest part, while definitely can be manufactured locally. As i heard there is some local manufacturers.

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#8 July 4 2020

duke-of-bytes
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

let it go .. it is the better choice with what is waiting us

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#9 July 4 2020

nuclearcat
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1288068 … 375837926/
I asked in group relevant to locally made products,if someone manufacture litter locally.

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#10 July 4 2020

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

thanks man followed the post.
And added on fb

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#11 July 4 2020

Guitaret
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

Hawa Chicken's Catty's brand is still affordable.
I bought 4KG dry food 5 days ago for 20,000LL.

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#12 July 4 2020

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

I (edit:she) should try it, i hope she likes it, she's so picky when it comes to food...

Last edited by NuclearVision (July 4 2020)

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#13 July 5 2020

Toufic
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

My advice is
- go straight to dealers that distribute to pet shops
- unless you're still making considerable money, do not buy from vet shops and/or expensive brands (like royal canine which is shit outside of Lebanon), although they are usually better brands/quality, but much more expensive
- start rationalizing food so it can last you longer, this way you'd be buying one or two bags less over the course of 1 year (food and litter)

There is a place in Karakas - Hamra called Sinno (i buy my dog's dry food for a 75-100k LL, 20kgs bags)
Also Faddoul on the highway to Jounieh, they have some reasonable priced products (both treats and dry food)

Im crossing fingers someone will start importing from Turkey (or better yet, start to locally make cat/dog food) because they will be way cheaper than other imports.

Good luck

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#14 July 5 2020

rolf
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

NuclearVision wrote:

Do you know any locally produced brands I'm not aware of, the litter specially?

Last time I bought "City Cat" litter, I think it is produced in Turkey, it used to cost 8000 and now it is 16000 for 5kg. I like it because it is natural.

My next option is: I have found clay in a place in the mountains, I can get clay rocks, I am just not sure how to crush them to the right size, I guess I will try to do it manually at first. Cat litter is often made of clay. I will keep you in mind, NuclearVision!

Moreover, where I live in Beirut, the earth is like fine red sand. Street cats use it as litter and it does a decent job (of drying the poop and masking the smell) so this is another option to keep in mind for me.

As for food... cats don't eat too much so it's fine so far but I keep in mind the option of cooking it myself using the cheapest type of meat that I can get from the butchers (liver, chicken necks, etc.), cooked with rice and cereals maybe.

If you need a recommended vet let me know please.

Last edited by rolf (July 5 2020)

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#15 July 5 2020

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

Thanks rolf, I'm not surprised that most of us are facing the same issue.
Thanks for the suggestions. About the litter, I literally can only find one brand in most shops and supermarkets here outside beirut, plus I have limited options because i live in an appartment, so fine sand and light volatile stuff aren't an option.
My cat is very unpredictable when it comes to food, she wouldnt eat chicken or liver etc. But she adores corn... I will try chicken necks, I wonder what part of the neck do they eat? its only bone and skin..

thank you

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#16 July 5 2020

rolf
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

NuclearVision wrote:

I will try chicken necks, I wonder what part of the neck do they eat? its only bone and skin..

You are welcome! Thanks for bringing up this topic.

I haven't tried it to be honest, I just know that we have fed dogs for years like this just chicken necks cooked whole in rice and served as is. The final result would be about 1/3 chicken necks and the rest sticky rice. Generally it's not too recommended to give cats chicken bones however maybe the neck is not so bad since it's not long sharp bones.

I think it should be possible to prepare food ourselves. I see street cats living off the worst food ever. I'm not saying that you should feed your cats garbage but that they it is likely that with some research it would be possible to prepare cat food of decent quality at home. Maybe we can help each other.

Last edited by rolf (July 5 2020)

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#17 July 5 2020

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

Yes, we need to come up with a local recipe, similar to what nuclearcat suggested, but with available ingredients, but even then i doubt it would work for all cats, each one has its own taste, domestic cats are picky spoiled creatures, and they abuse our care lol.

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#18 July 5 2020

eWizzard
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

Cat litter is much easier and cheaper to maintain than cat food. You can go the sustainable and affordable way, or you can go with just the affordable way.

Sustainable and affordable:
Go to your local ma3mal trabe and buy a bag of بحص خشن and use them as litter. When they get dirty, scoop out the poop, then soak and wash the rocks with soap and water, then reuse them. It's more labour intensive than simply throwing them away, but it's the ultimate recycling/reuse solution I've found.

Affordable:
Go to your local ma3mal trabe and buy a bag of بحص ناعم أو رمل and use them as litter. When they get dirty, throw them away as you would with any other cat litter. The reason this is not sustainable is because the pebbles come from destroyed Lebanese landscapes (same with ba7es kheshin, but at least you're reusing those).

I experimented a lot with cat litter and even thought of a couple of business ideas, but honestly the first solution is the best and most accessible for everyone. When I bought the bags a few months ago, they cost me around 5,000 LBP for 25 kg. Super cheap, but please go with the sustainable method if you can.

Last edited by eWizzard (July 5 2020)

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#19 July 5 2020

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

thanks, the sustainable option seems good, specially if it its خشن، it won't make a mess like fine sand.

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#20 July 6 2020

samer
Admin

Re: Cat owners, need advice

Admin edit: cleaned up the thread. Talm, duke-of-bytes, please keep it friendly.

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#21 July 11 2020

rolf
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

I went to the vet the other day, took two cats for routine yearly vaccination. In the past I was surprised how cheap they are, like 30 000 or something.

When it was the time to pay, they told me 300 000! I asked to see the bill. Two vaccines and one worm treatment per cat, for a total of $50, converted at the rate 6000/USD (Fair enough). Not sure what I was thinking...

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#22 July 11 2020

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

update: i found 10L litter for 20k at happy supermarket.
@rolf, sorry to hear that... Everything is going down, even Hospitals are not able to keep up.
Hope thing reach a steady state soon.

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#23 August 30 2020

Fouche
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

Hello guys

Any updates? did any of you manage to find cheap locally produced cat litter and dry/wet cat food ?!

Last edited by Fouche (August 30 2020)

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#24 August 31 2020

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

yes cheap litter at happy supermarket

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#25 September 19 2020

leblinux
Member

Re: Cat owners, need advice

My cats fav can is Chicken&Salmon from Friskies and I am failing to find available since company is not importing it.
On top of that the can now worth 10K if and only if found.

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