Is fancy feast truly horrible for cats?

Thanks for the two websites. It reconfirmed my understanding that dry food should be eliminated from all my cats' diets. We have to really get the word out to others that dry food, even dry prescription food, is dehydrating our kitties, causing kidney and urinary problems, and that wet food is always better for cats.

Great websites:  http://feline-nutrition.org/health/diet-kidney-disease-and-the-urinary-tract

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

I constantly worry that cat's are not getting enough fluids.(we are in central Florida, it's been 90+ last few months)

 They are both indoor/outdoor cats.

Kat-Kat is smart enough to come in and sleep in the AC most of the day (then usually goes out all night)

When he's thirsty he's pretty good and will stare at me then wander around until I figure out exactly what he wants.(food, out, water. play, pretty much in that order )

He's 'fussy' and likes filtered ice water, but, bowl has to be on kitchen table (he won't drink if it's on the floor by food bowls?)

Pauli, totally hates water and completely refuses to drink it (or go near it, she got caught outside in the rain and now panics when she hears anything that sounds like thunder)

 I've been adding some water to her canned food as she frequently laps up the 'gravy' but doesn't eat the 'solids'

 It seems to be working so far
 

Aeroflot57 said:

I have six cats (had seven, but Freckles had to be put to sleep becasue of acute kidney disease when he was 19 years old). I now have another cat who has kidney disease in the early stages, and another two cats (who were eating fancy feast sliced chicken) who now have crystals in their urine. I've had to stop the dry food for all of them, because after eating dry food, three of them consistenly throw up. I was also told that feeding cats dry food came about because it is cheaper and more convenient for humans, but since cats are obligate carnivores, feeding cats dry food is a big contributor to kidney failure and urinary problems because they don't get enough moisture in their food. I'd rather not take the chance after spending over $1000 on Kosmo being in the hospital last month with IV fluids. He is doing better now (I give him Kidney Gold, which I found on http://www.petwellbeing.com. The only problem is, with one cat on Royal Canin veterinary food for kidney failure, and two on Royal Canin veterinary food for urinary problems, I'm spending way too much money on cat food. I get 24 cans for $31.00, but they are those small cans, so I end up feeding the six of them six of those cans a day, and I'm not sure they are getting enough food, becasue they always look at me like they want to eat. I definitely want to find a cheaper, healthier wet food to feed the other three cats who so far are not sick, although it is problematic getting them to eat the right food from the right dish, but if I try to put any of them in another room to eat, they won't touch their food. Still, so far I've got three big plates, one with renal failure food, which the one cat eats and the others sample from, and the other two plates for the urinary food. I try to keep the other cats away from the renal food because it doesn't have enough protein for a healthy cat, and I'm not even sure if it's sufficient for my kidney failure cat, because he is so skinny now. Any suggestions?

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I would definitely feed them more than 3 oz. of wet a day.

5- 6 oz. of wet a day per cat is average.

Originally posted by Bailey and Grover's Mom:  I would definitely feed them more than 3 oz. of wet a day. 5- 6 oz. of wet a day per cat is average.

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Thanks for the tip. I know I said six cans a day, but actually, I meant 8 cans a day, (four in the morning, and four in the evening). More cat food companies need to sell the bigger cans of cat food, because so many of us have several cats.

I have two Persians who are small and only 6 pounds, so they don't eat as much as the others. I also feed baby food to Kosmo, as a supplement to his wet food, 'cause he has CKD and his appetite fluctuates. I feed Kosmo Beechnut chicken, turkey, beef, and ham, alternately, when he'll take a couple of teaspoons, because baby food is very low in phosphorous, and cats with CKD need low phosphorous. I use Beechnut because it doesn't have corn starch, which Gerber does. Oddly enough, the ham is the lowest in phosphorous.

It would be so much easier if the healthier cat food companies used larger cans, and it would hopefully be more economical. Why can't we have small and large cans? Why does it have to be just one size?

It seems that corporations are no longer consumer-driven; they decide what we want, and that's what we get, whether we want it or not. Like forcing CDs on us, and DVDs, when I was perfectly happy with VHS. I can't always see those stupid menus, and I invariably press the wrong button on the remote and have to start all over again. So much easier when we just stuck it in and hit "play". And CDs get scratched, just like records. We went to cassette tapes, because records got scratched or broke, and then they pushed CDs on us, which break and scratch just like records. Now lots of people are going back to records because they sound better. Why can't we just have what we want, instead of having goods shoved down our throats whether we want them or not? Okay, my ranting is at an end. ) Have a great day, everybody!

Corporations definitely listen to consumer demands.  They just don't respond as well as we would like and favor new, "shiny" stuff over the older ones that work.  For example, I bought my first car with automatic windows in the early 90's.  Before that, I just used the crank which worked fine.  Naturally that car had window problems, and I couldn't just replace the crank!  I really like the idea of more choices in can size for multiple cat families.  One trick to getting cats to drink more water is to use the water from canned tuna or chicken.  6 ounces of canned food a day is quite a bit for any cat under 10 pounds. 

No, no--I'm not feeding 8 cans of food to 2 cats--I have six cats, and 2 of them are small Persians. The rest are mixed breeds. So, I was worried they weren't getting enough food, since I stopped the dry because a few were throwing up, one has CKD and two have crystals in their urine. But I am going to end up in the poor house buying all this prescription food and high quality food for my six cats, so I'm trying to find healthy quality food in big cans, but the only one I saw was Evo, which has bones in it, which is not good for cats with CKD-Chronic Kidney Disease. I guess I'll have to start writing letters and e-mails to all the pet food companies suggesting they realize that many of us have more than one cat and could use a little help with larger, more economical canned food, which would also cut down on waste.

DrBobCat said:

.  One trick to getting cats to drink more water is to use the water from canned tuna or chicken.  6 ounces of canned food a day is quite a bit for any cat under 10 pounds. 

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Personally I think that would be a bad idea as tuna or chicken in water means it has a lot of extra salt, the tuna my wife buys says it's in brine, haven't checked the canned chicken

Hi all just wanted to know how many cans of fancy feast are you suppose to give a day my cat is like 17- 20lbs and pretty long framed cat?

Thx

For those on a budget looking to stretch their cat food $$$$....

Remember to look at the calorie counts of the canned food you are considering.  I recently began looking at this much more closely, as one of my cats needs to gain weight.  You'd be surprised at the difference - and calorie energy is one of the things you ARE purchasing.    Some 5.5 oz cans are 147 calories, while others can be as high as 212.  A difference of 65 calories doesn't sound like a lot, but if your cat requires 200 calories a day...the can with the lower calorie count would leave your cat wanting, and you could have gotten more bang for your buck with the 212 calorie can.

Unfortunately, not all cans have that info!

pampam said:

Hi all just wanted to know how many cans of fancy feast are you suppose to give a day my cat is like 17- 20lbs and pretty long framed cat?

Thx

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Is he just a big cat and you are trying to maintain that weight, or does he need to lose weight?

Pauli is only 8lbs but very long cat, at least 30 inches when she stretches out (foot to foot not tip of tail)

She probably isn't overfed but she does eat an awful lot, we get through 5~8 cans a day between 2 cats

Kat-Kat is 14~15 lbs and eats about the same as her, 'several' tins of 'wet' food between them a day plus 'dry' that's left out for whenever they want

 They both get 'hyperactive' several times a week (probably more but I'm not always watching)

 I've started giving her some of the 'dry' food soaked in water, she seems to like it occasionally but prefers it mixed with canned

They both get Fancy Feast, Publix own brand and Friskies. as it's a larger can they 'share' for breakfast

We tied 'Sheba', they won't touch it
 

Hi everyone. @smitten
I would like for him to lose maybe 5 lbs .My cat has a little pouch i wish he can lose but hes always carried since hes been spayed years ago .He is almost 11 years old now.

I use to feed my many cats Fancy Feast.

I tryed the brands you spend more money on. Evo and so on.

After reading the labels... I don't think it matters what brand it is. It is all the same.

The cats these days are liking Friskies and can Meow Mix.

I give them dry ONE kitten for it has more protein in it.

I tryed raw/cooked chicken. They don't get into that.

My cats are just a bunch of allie cat types. They get what they like.

I love them. But I don't worry too much about the food. They could have mine if they wanted it, they don't

I use to feed my many cats Fancy Feast.

I tryed the brands you spend more money on. Evo and so on.

After reading the labels... I don't think it matters what brand it is. It is all the same.

The cats these days are liking Friskies and can Meow Mix.

I give them dry ONE kitten for it has more protein in it.

I tryed raw/cooked chicken. They don't get into that.

My cats are just a bunch of allie cat types. They get what they like.

I love them. But I don't worry too much about the food. They could have mine if they wanted it, they don't

Good for you.

My cats are incredibly 'spoiled' and get what they like as well.

It may be shortening the lifespan but they will be damn happy little critters while they are here.

Mowed the lawns this afternoon, they love it; rolling around in the cuttings and 'hunting' each other.

Really fun to watch

 I tried various 'fresh' foods, turn their noses up at just about everything

I miss those days when my cats could enjoy the outside.Aren't cats cutest when they are able to be cats?Your cats are lucky to and rich because they are able to run. My Mitten would say they are the richest cats ever.

Fancy Feast Classic is recommended on many online sights for cats with diabetes, which is how I started feeding it to my cat  He seems to like it better than anything else.  Friskies Classic is similar, so I hear.  I also don't feed my cat much dry food anymore;  just 1/3 cup at night of no-grain granules to help tide him over til morning.   He seems to be thriving.

Fancy Feast Classic is recommended on many online sights for cats with diabetes, which is how I started feeding it to my cat  He seems to like it better than anything else.  Friskies Classic is similar, so I hear.  I also don't feed my cat much dry food anymore;  just 1/3 cup at night of no-grain granules to help tide him over til morning.   He seems to be thriving.

It is not the best BUT the turkey and giblets has turkey, and liver as the main ingredients. No cereals or grains.
 

That's good to know, it's one of their favorites