Am I feeding my cat junk food?

O

owneroperator

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 29, 2006
Messages
41
Purraise
1
Location
Clovis, CA
She eats Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys canned food and Iams Healthy Naturals dry food. She is about two pounds overweight, maybe more.

I feed her the wet food when she tells me to. The dry food that I call "cereal" is available to her on her tray along with her water 24/7.

She is 7 years old, spayed with all her shots updated annually. I plan on taking her in for a dental cleaning and to have her shots updated sometime in September.

What would you guys say?
 
white cat lover

white cat lover

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Nov 17, 2005
Messages
22,206
Purraise
35
IMO, neither of those are great foods. I look for a food primary without by-products at all. The less grains the better. Sharky is our resident food expert...you can PM her. Or try searching the forums for food....there are tons of threads on it.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3
O

owneroperator

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 29, 2006
Messages
41
Purraise
1
Location
Clovis, CA
I should mention she has tried Natural Balance salmon flavor and will eat one serving, but the next time she's hungry, she won't eat anymore of it.

Which one do you think is putting the most amount of weight on her, the Fancy Feast wet food or the Iams cereal?
 
sharky

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
I would prefer fancy feast to the Iams as it is wet...

Have you discussed the wt issue with the vet?? at 7 is a great time for a baseline senior blood panel

where can you shop for food??
 
laureen227

laureen227

Darksome Duo!
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 3, 2003
Messages
19,260
Purraise
387
Location
Denton TX
Originally Posted by OwnerOperator

I should mention she has tried Natural Balance salmon flavor and will eat one serving, but the next time she's hungry, she won't eat anymore of it.

Which one do you think is putting the most amount of weight on her, the Fancy Feast wet food or the Iams cereal?
Click to expand...
probably the Iams - it's mostly corn.
 
S

sakura

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
Messages
1,604
Purraise
3
Is there a reason you are sticking to grocery store brands? Fancy Feast wet food here is more expensive than some premium foods but with sub par ingredients (it's more expensive than Natural Balance and Chicken Soup. It's also more expensive than Nutro). I consider both Fancy Feast and Iams junk food. I think the Iams Naturals is better than other grocery store brands but you could do so much better.

Are you willing to switch brands on both dry and wet?

I like this website:
http://www.petobesityprevention.com
http://www.petobesityprevention.com/...nformation.pdf
http://www.petobesityprevention.com/...t_Dry_Food.pdf

Based on how she is eating (not what) it'd be pretty easy to get her to cut back on calories. Just stop free-feeding her dry food and instead give her a measured amount (1/3 cup could be a starting point but I don't know her weight) in the morning and when it's gone, don't give her more. This will fix the calorie intake problem but you still need to address the quality of food that those calories are coming from.

In general, wet food is much lower in calories than dry food. I doubt she is gaining weight from the Fancy Feast. She is probably getting too much dry food and not enough playtime/exercise.

I would still switch the brands you are feeding only because they are not high quality foods. Do you live by any small independent pet stores? petco? petsmart? how much do you want to spend each month on cat food?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8
O

owneroperator

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 29, 2006
Messages
41
Purraise
1
Location
Clovis, CA
Originally Posted by sharky

I would prefer fancy feast to the Iams as it is wet...

Have you discussed the wt issue with the vet?? at 7 is a great time for a baseline senior blood panel

where can you shop for food??
Click to expand...
The vet of course recommended she lose weight to around 11 pounds; she's 13+ now. I've tried her on the diet Iams and she will not eat it. I can get any of the foods you guys recommend in the Fresno/Clovis area; the only ones that I haven't been able to find are the Chicken Soup brand and the Merrick brand. I've tried all kinds of "high-end" foods on her, but often times she refuses to eat it. Why do I shop for grocery store brands at Pets Mart? Because that's all she will eat. I wish I could get her to eat the healthier brands. Incidentally, it seems like she eats more of the wet food than the cereal; so it would seem she should be losing weight, not gaining it.

Originally Posted by Sakura

Is there a reason you are sticking to grocery store brands? Fancy Feast wet food here is more expensive than some premium foods but with sub par ingredients (it's more expensive than Natural Balance and Chicken Soup. It's also more expensive than Nutro). I consider both Fancy Feast and Iams junk food. I think the Iams Naturals is better than other grocery store brands but you could do so much better.

Are you willing to switch brands on both dry and wet?
Click to expand...
I am willing to switch brands to anything that she will eat; preferably something healthier. She also doesn't get enough exercise because she is forced to stay inside because of these two homeless
cats I got stuck taking care of that dominate the outside. I don't let the homeless cats come in, they stay outside; I do that so my cat can have her space.

I appreciate all the help you guys are giving me and will seriously consider any advice you can offer me.
 
sharky

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
have you tried the meow mix wet?? it is actually a decent quality and most cats will eat it .. it also is lower calorie thus for the ave cat they eat 4 ish pouches a day ... Have you tried petsmarts authority ?? for a dry food may I suggest not giving her a diet as they tend to be very high in carbs .... try a senior for a few less calories than adult

have you ever tried a lazer toy???
 
cc12

cc12

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
3,370
Purraise
4
Location
Pacific Northwest
I agree that you can improve the quality. I always think it is best to transition a finicky cat slower. I have one so I know your pain.
You could try buying a few smaller cans of about 3 different foods. Mix some in with her FF and see if she eats it. If she does then try another one and see if she eats that. If not then exchange it for the one she likes. I say 3 because you may find 2 that she likes and you can switch around and have more choices.
I have to do this with Cleo.

Cut way back on the dry and she should lose weight. Wet has less calories.
 
S

shanynne

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
580
Purraise
4
Location
Bellingham, WA USA
Originally Posted by OwnerOperator

She eats Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys canned food and Iams Healthy Naturals dry food. She is about two pounds overweight, maybe more.

I feed her the wet food when she tells me to. The dry food that I call "cereal" is available to her on her tray along with her water 24/7.

She is 7 years old, spayed with all her shots updated annually. I plan on taking her in for a dental cleaning and to have her shots updated sometime in September.

What would you guys say?
Click to expand...
Here's a link you might find helpful: http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Do...ne_on_Dry_Food
 
G

goldenkitty45

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 29, 2005
Messages
19,900
Purraise
44
Location
SW Minnesota
FF is more junk food IMO. Iams is ok food (used to be better quality). My guys get Royal Canin for dry and Max Cat, Iams Beef, Natural Balance for the canned foods.
 
laureen227

laureen227

Darksome Duo!
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 3, 2003
Messages
19,260
Purraise
387
Location
Denton TX
Originally Posted by Sakura

Is there a reason you are sticking to grocery store brands? Fancy Feast wet food here is more expensive than some premium foods but with sub par ingredients (it's more expensive than Natural Balance and Chicken Soup. It's also more expensive than Nutro).
Click to expand...
it's also more expensive than Authority, Petsmart's brand - Authority comes in both a wet & a dry, just like the Chicken Soup.
 
wishiwas

wishiwas

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 11, 2007
Messages
155
Purraise
1
Location
Clarksville, TN
I've got an Elegant Medleys addict here too. It's so frustrating because it is sooo overpriced. She will occasionally eat the Meow Mix wet.. she's more likely to eat the pouches than the cups for some reason. I'd recommend giving that a try at least. She used to eat the Nutro Max small cans. She won't anymore for some reason, but maybe your cat would?

For dry, Kitty's favorite has pretty much always been Nutro Natural Choice. She does better weight-wise on the Indoor. Right now, though, we're in the process of trying to transition to Orijen and see if that helps her drop a couple lbs. She hardly eats any dry, a small handful a day, and two cans of the FF, though, so I think her main problem is lack of exercise.
 
S

sweetkara

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Messages
212
Purraise
3
I have found cats become less "picky" when you start scheduled feedings versus having food out 24/7. My cat used to turn her nose up at wet food because I don't think she was ever hungry since she always nibbled on dry food.

Now that she's fed on a schedule, she comes running when I go to feed her and will eat anything I put in her bowl.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top