Is it so bad?

happilyretired

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I'm struggling with how best to feed my 5-year-old male, adopted 8 months ago from local shelter.

Background--my first cat (who adopted ME) thrived on a diet of Fancy Feast and supermarket dry (I didn't know any better) for her almost 20 years of life.

Now I know better, and was determined to feed my boy a healthier diet. He prefers wet, and I've tried almost every premium brand--most of which he rejected and would not touch. We've had a long struggle over food. He'll eat Fromm sometimes, but not always. He absolutely detests Wellness and Felidae and every other brand I've tried. He LOVES Fancy Feast.

He will eat some dry, and he eats Fromm and Taste of the Wild.

Is it so terrible that he eats Fancy Feast? My former cat had a long healthy life on it, and I'd hate to deny him his food preference unless it's really important. What do you think?
 

katiemae1277

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I'd say that a mid-grade wet is better than no wet at all
Have you tried the Meow Mix cups? They are fairly decent quality (no by-products) and my kitties loooooooooove them
 

cruisermaiden

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I too have had cats live long healthy lives on supermarket brand dry foods exclusively but now with my boys I try to feed them the best quality I can afford and give them wet daily since I feel like any wet is better than all dry. I feed my boys Friskies canned and they do fine on it, they turned their noses up at most of the higher quality (more expensive) foods or only nibbled at it where with the Friskies they eat it all and only nibble at their dry. On my budget I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t buy anything much more expensive regularly, so its either Friskies (or something comparably priced) or no wet at all.
 

mschauer

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IMO FF is not a terrible food, especially the low-carb ones. I'm not crazy about the byproducts but they don't bother me that much.

Have you tried introducing a better quality food gradually by mixing a bit of it into the FF and gradually increasing the amount over a week or more?
 

wildflower79

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Fancy Feast is all Gizmo will eat as well. I spent a small fortune in the past buying high quality canned food only to have him turn his nose up at most of it. I was feeding him Nutro Max for a while which made me feel a little better about feeding FF but I've since had to put my boy on a diet, which meant cutting out the dry food. He's been eating only ff for the last few months and seems to do ok with it.

I think if that's all you can get him to eat, then go with it. I know it's far form the best food but it's definitely not the worst.
 

devanagara

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I don't think it's so bad. Mony free feeds on high quality dry food (Blue Spa Selects Indoor) so I don't worry about the by-products in Fancy Feast as much. It is inexpensive and she likes it, so I'm happy. Plus, she only eats 1/3 of a can per day at breakfast time. (I stir up the pate, set the can on the floor, and let her eat as much as she needs. She can only eat about 1/3 at a time.)
 
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happilyretired

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Thanks for your kind replies! More info:

Yes, I tried Meow Mix in the cups, and he loves that. I didn't know it was good, but I'll get more of it for him.

My experience with Purina Pro Plan is interesting. He was hospitalized for 5 days with subcutaneous emphysema (they nicked his trachea during his teeth cleaning), and the vet told me they fed him Purina Pro Plan. I checked it out, and since he was eating it in the hospital, I thought he'd go for it. And he did--the first time I bought it (12 cans). He clearly wasn't wild about it, but he ate it. However, the next time I bought it, it wouldn't touch it.

And, yes, I've tried mixing the premium with FF and Meow Mix to get him "used" to higher quality foods, but he rejects the entire dish whenever I do that, so I've given up. I'm sure you all know how subborn cats can be:-)

I think I'll go with FF and Meow Mix and see how he does. At least when he nibbles on dry, he's getting good stuff with Fromm Surf and Turf and Taste of the Wild.
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by HappilyRetired

I think I'll go with FF and Meow Mix and see how he does. At least when he nibbles on dry, he's getting good stuff with Fromm Surf and Turf and Taste of the Wild.
You might want to use "fishy" foods sparingly. They increase the risk of crystals in the urine and that is especially worrisome with a male. I *think* most of the Meow Mix cups have at least some fish. I use some FF but none that have fish.
 

cruisermaiden

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Originally Posted by HappilyRetired

However, the next time I bought it, it wouldn't touch it.
Have you tried changing the types and flavors up for him? My boys get a rotation of flavors and textures because if I feed just one type (say all chicken, or all shredded) for more than two days they stop eating it. I have to switch it up to keep them eating it.

Originally Posted by mschauer

I *think* most of the Meow Mix cups have at least some fish. I use some FF but none that have fish.
When I bought the cups I got only non-fish flavors but when I got home I heard about this and checked the ingredients and yes even the non-fish flavors had fish ingredients pretty high up on the list. I didn't see any of the Meow Mix cups without fish.
 
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happilyretired

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Yes, I rotate the flavors, and he gets mostly FF meat. Thanks for the tip about the fish in Meow Mix because I've been feeding him what I thought were meat flavors.

He gets 90% meat flavors with occasional fish [ff Salmon], perhaps once a week. Do you think that's OK or should I completely eliminate fish?
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by HappilyRetired

Yes, I rotate the flavors, and he gets mostly FF meat. Thanks for the tip about the fish in Meow Mix because I've been feeding him what I thought were meat flavors.

He gets 90% meat flavors with occasional fish [ff Salmon], perhaps once a week. Do you think that's OK or should I completely eliminate fish?
I've heard once a week should be OK.
 

sharky

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Most cats can handle fish a few times a week ... the BIG exception is UTI and crystal prone cats , fish should be avoided

Some wet IMHO is better than no wet
 

carolina

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Since she has thrived for almost 20 years on FF, I would not change a thing!!! This is more than most cats will ever live, and point proven it worked for her... as we say in Brasil.... Don't change a winning team!
With that said, I would perhaps just add some good quality wet food to her diet every day, just to make sure she gets as much water as possible...
 

artgecko

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What's sneaky is that some "meat" flavored cans actually contain fish..like the third, fourth, or fifth ingredient.

I feed a lot of friskies...I think it's about the same quality as FF and is a lot cheaper... I feed primarily the "special diet" ones without fish and the "country dinner" and "mixed grill" regular ones (have no fish). Have you tried authority? They're a petsmart brand. Pretty cheaply priced, but only the lamb/rice is no fish.

I've had good luck with mine eating Natural balance cans...the chicken/liver variety is no fish and mine love the vennisen/pea and duck/pea kinds (have fish oil).

Have you tried any of the 95% meat cans? EVO has a nice line, also by nature sells some as well (I found some of those at a petsmart recently).

I've noticed that mine like the quality foods less and less now that I"ve been feeding them friskies...I think they must put some artificial flavorings in them or something to make them taste "good".

Art
 

laureen227

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read your labels carefully to avoid the fish-heavy stuff - but otherwise, if that's the wet he'll eat, go for it.
i had to stop the meow mix due to the high fish content. since the kibble has fish meal [can't seem to avoid it
] i want to keep the wet as fish-free as possible since Chip's had crystals in the past.
 
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happilyretired

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I was at the supermarket today, and Meow Mix has another "cup" that's a rectangular shape (I don't know what it's called), but I read the label VERY carefully, and it has no fish. I bought two to see if he likes it.

The regular cup was startling when I read the label. I was buying a "chicken/beef" combination, and fish was listed as the second product on the label--that means there was more fish than meat in it but you'd never know unless you read the small print on the label.

I'm used to reading labels for my food, but now I'll have to carefully read the cat food labels as well!
 

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I don't think FF, Friskies, or Meow Mix is that bad. Marshmallow primarily eats Friskies (non fishy flavors) She likes it the most and it works well for her. And really a food is only good if it will be eaten and tolerated
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by HappilyRetired

I was at the supermarket today, and Meow Mix has another "cup" that's a rectangular shape (I don't know what it's called), but I read the label VERY carefully, and it has no fish. I bought two to see if he likes it.
I just looked it up. No by-products and no wheat gluten. Good find! I'm going to try it also.

Thanks!
 

snake_lady

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Originally Posted by HappilyRetired

He LOVES Fancy Feast.

He will eat some dry, and he eats Fromm and Taste of the Wild.

Is it so terrible that he eats Fancy Feast? My former cat had a long healthy life on it, and I'd hate to deny him his food preference unless it's really important. What do you think?
I have not read the other responses, this is my opinion only.

If all he'll eat is FF, then go for it. Any wet food is generally better than no wet food, and there are brands worse than FF out there.

A good food is one your cat will eat, his tummy likes it, and you can afford it. He's getting a good dry kibble.....definately watch for the fish tho, you don't have to be anal about it unless he's ever had probs... but limiting it in a male is a good idea. Once or twice a wk isn't bad.

Good luck
 
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