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Quality (or lack thereof?) or FF Gravy Lovers?

post #1 of 11
2/13/11 at 9:08pm
Thread Starter 
My kitties generally turn their noses up at pate and LOVE gravy. I have been buying mostly grain free high end brands, but it would be nice to feed some cheaper stuff at least PART of the time. Is this stuff relatively OK, or should I stay away from it? Ingredients lists from a couple of the flavors:


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken Feast In Grilled Chicken Flavor Gravy Gourmet Cat Food
3 oz. - Chicken - Case of 24
SKU: 363227
Poultry broth, chicken, liver, wheat gluten, meat by-products, turkey, corn starch-modified, artificial and natural flavors, soy flour, salt, calcium phosphate, added color, potassium chloride, natural grilled chicken flavor, taurine, choline chloride, magnesium sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), manganese sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Beef Feast In Roasted Beef Flavor Gravy Gourmet Cat Food
3 oz. - Beef - Case of 24
SKU: 363235
Meat broth, beef, liver, wheat gluten, meat by-products, corn starch-modified, fish, chicken, artificial and natural flavors, soy flour, added color, salt, calcium phosphate, natural roasted beef flavor, potassium chloride, taurine, magnesium sulfate, choline chloride, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide
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post #2 of 11
2/14/11 at 9:16pm
Fancy Feast is actually not a very cheap food if you consider how much of it you have to feed your cat. According to the label on the can you should feed one can for every 2.5 pounds of body weight. For a 10 pound cat that would cost about $2.40/day if each can is 60 cents which they usually are. I buy Wellness for my cats in a 12.5 ounce can for $2.20 and that can lasts two days. So it would be much cheaper to feed your cat Wellness than Fancy Feast.
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post #3 of 11
2/15/11 at 3:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy'smom View Post
Fancy Feast is actually not a very cheap food if you consider how much of it you have to feed your cat. According to the label on the can you should feed one can for every 2.5 pounds of body weight. For a 10 pound cat that would cost about $2.40/day if each can is 60 cents which they usually are. I buy Wellness for my cats in a 12.5 ounce can for $2.20 and that can lasts two days. So it would be much cheaper to feed your cat Wellness than Fancy Feast.
That's assuming your cat will eat leftovers, which mine won't. I have to buy the smallest cans I can get, and I definitely don't feed them as much as it says to on those ff cans. But I supplement with dry food. So it all depends. I think there's better quality food you can get for a similar price to ff.
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post #4 of 11
2/15/11 at 9:03pm
Thread Starter 
I have 1/3 of a case of Wellness that is going to the Petco donation bin. They don't even take a bite anymore.

They do like the Petco Soulistic brand and some of the bff so I will probably keep getting that, but they do love their gravy so I keep looking for ones that are heavy on the gravy. And sometimes they don't finish the entire can when I put out the big ones. But wasting part of a big one probably doesn't cost me any more than buying two small ones would.

They do eat dry as well.
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post #5 of 11
2/15/11 at 9:10pm
I feed a mix of wet & dry - measure portions of dry are left our for munching & wet meals 2x/day.

I also have several "gravy girls". The gravy/wet foods they eat: Fancy Feast, Whiskas, Friskies, Soulistic, Pro Plan, Solid Gold (Blended Tuna), and I'm sure there's more I just can't think of them right now. IMO, any wet food is better than no wet food, & they often will not eat high quality/pate.

I have enough cats that I use (2) 5oz cans - one pate/one gravy. I try to make sure one is a higher quality.
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post #6 of 11
2/16/11 at 9:26am
"That's assuming your cat will eat leftovers, which mine won't."

My cats won't eat it directly out of the fridge but if I take it out and let it sit out for about half an hour or so it's pretty much like fresh food and they do eat it. Microwaving the leftovers can also help.

"I have 1/3 of a case of Wellness that is going to the Petco donation bin. They don't even take a bite anymore."

Well, my cats will only eat two flavors of the Wellness - the sardine, shrimp and crab and the beef and salmon. The latter is not very liked but if nothing else is coming along they will give in. I usually only buy the sardine, shrimp and crab though and only buy the other one if i can't find the one I want. I've tried a bunch of other kinds of canned foods and this is the only one they will eat except for fancy feast and friskies of course. I actually have started feeding a lot of fancy feast to my special needs boy lately since he's starting to turn his nose up to any other kinds. And when it comes to fancy feast he will only eat seafood flavored that are shredded in gravy. Pate or non sea food kinds are not even touched. He'd rather starve than eat those.

My vet suggested putting chicken or turkey broth on the food to make them eat it. I have yet to try it but it may work. I got one of those gravy bottles you can buy to put on dry food for my dogs hoping that it would make them eat their food but they won't touch it at all. I've actually thought of just getting some brown gravy mixes (for people) and out that on my cats and dog's food. I haven't done the calculation yet but I think it may save me some money.
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post #7 of 11
2/16/11 at 9:35am
Read ingredients in gravy mixes carefully--may have dehydrated onion and/or garlic, which are no-nos for cats.
The general rule of thumb is that the first five ingredients in a wet cat food should be some type of protein. Another rule of thumb is: the best food for your cat is the one she/he will eat!
I feed a stray/feral cat colony Friskies, gravy not pate style, because I assume (correctly?) the gravy has more moisture in it than pate and the gravy style tends to freeze more slowly. Interestingly though, the one really feral (and pregnant) cat prefers the pate style because she can grab it and run.
Recently I re-trapped three of the stray cats and moved them to a cattery (spare room in friend's house). The most timid, scared cat FINALLY came out from under the sofa and ate in front of us when I brought out the gravy style Friskies.
Now for my own love bug, Ritz: I feed high quality wet food such as Wellness, Soulistic, Max and AvoDerm. I also give her the Prina Pro Plan (watch calories!) because sometimes that is all she is in the mood to eat. Dry food is a treat.
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post #8 of 11
2/16/11 at 8:42pm
Ah, yes... the pate/gravy dilemma... sigh... I wish I had a good answer for you.

I try to stay away from the FF "gravied" food because it gives several of my cats really stinky gas from the things in there they cannot digest.

They really like the Wellness pouches --- ooooouchy price-wise... so it is only a treat... and only a few of them actually EAT the chunks.

They also like Nutro chunks n gravy which aren't cheap but I think are better than the FF gravy style cat foods.

I have been contemplating making "cat gravy" --- sauce if you will, by getting chicken and some other meat bones (turkey necks, etc) and just boiling it up to make an unseasoned stock and then freezing it. And using as needed. Maybe freeze in ice cube trays... and thaw as needed.
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post #9 of 11
2/18/11 at 2:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy'smom View Post
"That's assuming your cat will eat leftovers, which mine won't."

My cats won't eat it directly out of the fridge but if I take it out and let it sit out for about half an hour or so it's pretty much like fresh food and they do eat it. Microwaving the leftovers can also help.
I've tried warming it by putting the can in hot water, I've tried microwaving it a little, I've tried adding a little warm water, I've tried right out of the fridge, etc. Sometimes they'll eat a little, more often than not they'll just walk away. Or sit there with expectations of me opening a fresh can. i guess they're just spoiled.
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post #10 of 11
2/18/11 at 6:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Misty8723 View Post
I've tried warming it by putting the can in hot water, I've tried microwaving it a little, I've tried adding a little warm water, I've tried right out of the fridge, etc. Sometimes they'll eat a little, more often than not they'll just walk away. Or sit there with expectations of me opening a fresh can. i guess they're just spoiled.
Hey, that's ok... mine don't eat leftovers, either.
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post #11 of 11
2/19/11 at 9:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Misty8723 View Post
i guess they're just spoiled.
I think you guess right. Spoiled rotten just like it should be
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