Feeding a Rescue 300 Cans a Month: Building a Feeding System That Works for Our Rescue

At Lightning Tsubaki Rescue, one of the biggest ongoing challenges we face is simply keeping everyone fed. Between our foster cats and the stray and feral colonies we care for, we go through an incredible amount of food every single day.

On average, we use about 10 cans of 13 oz wet food daily, that adds up to roughly 300 cans every month, and that doesn’t even include the dry food we also provide. Feeding this many animals is a constant commitment, and the costs can add up quickly.

To make this sustainable, we’ve had to be strategic about what we buy and where we shop. We often purchase from Dollar Tree, where cans are around $1.50 each, helping us keep costs manageable while still ensuring that every cat gets fed.

We didn’t always have this system in place. Previously, we relied on Friskies because it’s known as a cheaper option. However, with rising prices and smaller 5.5 oz cans, it quickly became unsustainable for the scale of feeding we do. We found ourselves needing more cans to meet the same demand, which ultimately increased our overall costs.

Now, we typically use a mix of brands like 9 Lives and Strong Heart, comparing both price and nutritional value to stretch our budget as far as possible. At the same time, we’ve found that Salty Cat is a better alternative to store brands like Special Kitty from Walmart, especially when considering ingredient quality. Salty Cat uses more whole ingredients while still remaining affordable, making it a strong option for rescue work like ours.

Because of this, we don’t rely on just one brand, we use a combination of 9 Lives, Strong Heart, and Salty Cat to balance affordability and nutrition. This approach allows us to feed a large number of cats without sacrificing their well-being.

This system is something we’ve implemented out of necessity, but it’s also become a core part of how our rescue operates. Every can matters, and every dollar saved helps us continue rescuing, feeding, and caring for the animals that depend on us.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that even small, practical decisions, like where to buy food and which brands to mix, can make a huge difference when you’re feeding hundreds of meals each month.

At the end of the day, feeding this many cats is only possible because of community support. Every can, every bag of food, and every share helps us continue caring for the foster, stray, and feral cats that rely on us daily.

If you’d like to follow our journey, support our mission, or simply help spread awareness, you can find us here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightningtsubakirescue/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lightningtsubakirescue

Sharing our posts, donating supplies, or even just telling others about what we do makes a real difference. Thank you for being part of helping us keep every bowl filled.