Forcing "Premium" Canned Foods - Is It Worth It?

My oldest male cat, Boo (13), used to get Friskies wet and Purina One kibble up until he was 10 years old when I still lived with my parents (they made all the decisions).

When I moved out, I took Boo with me and switched him to grain free kibble and incorporated more wet food into his diet. It was a real struggle to get him to eat any premium canned foods after having Friskies for so long. He would look at me like, "What the heck is this, Mom? I want my Friskies." It took a lot of money and trial and error to get a rotation of premium foods that he would eat. He never really loved the premium foods, but it was what I gave him, so he ate it. He would always leave some in his bowl and it would take encouragement to get him to finish.

My other cat Caesar gets Fancy Feast and Purina Pro Plan pates because that's all he'll eat (he's a kibble addict). Boo wants Caesar's food SO bad to the point where Boo is not finishing his wet food and will hold out in hopes of snagging a bite of Caesar's food. Boo will eventually give up and go lay in his bed, but won't go back to finish his premium food! I'm getting concerned that Boo isn't getting enough calories. He seems to have lost some weight....mainly muscle mass. He's a big cat, he's just more boney now. He had a physical exam, bloodwork, and a dental in May 2013, and he was in excellent health then for a cat his age. Boo will be 14 in February. He still gets very rambunctious for a cat his age and runs all around the house.

 Are the benefits of premium canned foods worth it for me to continue to feed to Boo (with encouragement)? Or should I just give in and give him the "junk" food he wants in the hopes that he'll put on some weight?

Thoughts?

P.S. There was a night when Caesar didn't want to finish all his wet food, so I decided to give it to Boo, and he licked the bowl so clean it looked like it went through the dishwasher. 

Honestly, if he's 13 and seems to be losing weight, I'd give him what he likes best at least some of the time. Maybe you could give it to him "straight" some days and mixed in with the premium others? There are a lot worse foods he could be hooked on. We've been going through pretty much the same thing with Miezi (who probably turned 13 in August) for most of this year and have been giving her what she wants to eat (within reason - no junky dry from the box stores). In her case, she doesn't want the premium brands she ate for years, but will eat brands like Sheba or Fancy Feast alongside the homemade food she's now decided she enjoys.

You know, honestly, Friskies is a decent wet food anyway, particularly the grilled line. So is Fancy Feast pate. And with an older cat -- being that older cats are prone to losing weight anyway -- I would just feed him what he likes.

The most important thing, at his age, is to be eating wet food. Making sure he is hydrated enough to keep his kidneys and urinary tract functioning properly is really the biggest thing, since that is something cats are really vulnerable to. If he's eating wet, he's getting better hydration. Perhaps the ingredients are not the best of the best, but really, the stuff he likes is pretty good. It's probably the best of the big box cat foods.

When Pearl was elderly and losing weight due to age and a bunch of other issues, I fed her basically whatever she wanted and I knew she would eat enthusiastically. Fortunately for me, her favorite food was Fancy Feast, and like I said, that's a pretty decent wet food.

If you're really worried about feeding the highest quality you can get in him, then there's still more options. Premium canned is the most expensive of all available options, so maybe buy one of those little trial size bags of frozen raw or freeze dried raw and see if he likes that. It'll cost you about the same as the Fancy Feast. It's worth a shot.

But at the end of the day, there's really two overwhelmingly important things for an old cat: proper hydration, and keeping weight on. Any wet food that he eats with enthusiasm will do that. And his preferences are actually pretty decent.

I agree with the above posters. The Friskies and Fancy Feast pates are not that bad. Maybe use those as toppers (or mixed in depending on his preference) on the premium canned? You really don't need to be worrying about another cat right now. If Boo will eat more and put some weight back on, I'm sure you'll both be happier even if it's not "the best food."

The Friskies pate foods and Fancy Feast are wet and high protein - just what he needs. :rub:

Thanks all! I kind of figured this was the way to go. I just hear all kinds of horror stories about by-products and "4D" and what not, which is why I hesitated. I'm just tired of fighting him about it. If I give him what he wants, then he's happy...and I'm happy that he's happy.

I did try mixing half and half one time, but he only half liked it.    And still didn't finish it. But when I gave it 100%, he licked his bowl clean. He's always been very stubborn and independent, and it's worse with old age!

vball91 said:

 
You really don't need to be worrying about another cat right now.

Click to expand...

This made me LOL. You got that right!  

My cats who are kibble addicts prefer the Friskies and Fancy Feast pates.  They will eat Wellness.  Unfortunately, Patches who never could eat beef has come up with a chicken allergy which kind of threw a monkey wrench into things.  The only Friskies and Fancy Feast are the fish ones.  They do really like the Natures Variety Lamb Limited ingredient but at $2.99 a can that's too much for daily feeding.  If it weren't for him showing up with itchy infected ears because of chicken I would've just continued with the Friskies and Fancy Feast.

I was talking to his vet about his food situation and told her about the price of the lamb and she said it would be cheaper to make it yourself.  We talked a little bit about homemade cat food.  She knew Natures variety made raw food but I think she still prefers for the meat to be cooked.

Nature's Variety is treated with High Pressure Processing, and is guaranteed to be pathogen-free.

But it's made with ground bone, which can be a problem for IBD kitties.

Okay, weird observation...

As a result of me starting this thread, the past couple of days I've been giving Boo a premium food in the morning and a cheaper food in the evening, or vice versa. Since I've been doing this, his FHS episodes have been horrible. It seems too much of a coincidence that this would happen right when I've been adding in some cheaper canned foods. 

I wonder if it's the beef, as there seems to be a higher concentration of beef in the cheaper foods (by way of "meat by-products"), or perhaps an additive they are using.  

Wait, I forget, does Boo have an intolerance to beef? I don't know if I've ever heard that FHS and food intolerances are related, but it wouldn't surprise me. I do worry about the additives in some foods (added color especially). Gosh, what a conundrum. If there is a correlation (and it seems like an awfully big coincidence if there isn't) between his FHS episodes and the junkier foods, I'm not sure what I would do in your shoes. Sorry I don't have anything helpful to suggest. Just lots of hugs and commiseration.

I've definitely seen food linked to FHS. :nod: I also know I didn't bookmark it, as FHS wasn't on my radar at the time.

Hun, between Sebastian and Boo, maybe it would be easier just to make your own homemade rabbit-based food, and feed it to all of them. :dk: Then there's no guesswork, no extra, unnecessary ingredients, you have total control on all inputs....

vball91 said:

 
Wait, I forget, does Boo have an intolerance to beef? I don't know if I've ever heard that FHS and food intolerances are related, but it wouldn't surprise me. I do worry about the additives in some foods (added color especially). Gosh, what a conundrum. If there is a correlation (and it seems like an awfully big coincidence if there isn't) between his FHS episodes and the junkier foods, I'm not sure what I would do in your shoes. Sorry I don't have anything helpful to suggest. Just lots of hugs and commiseration.

Click to expand...

I second this. Even if he has tolerated beef fine in the past, that doesn't mean he can now. Some cats don't do well with it. Try a food without it, and with as few additives as you can.

There is some evidence that there is a correlation between FHS and diet/food. One recommendation is to fed the most additive free food you can find/afford, i.e., raw. And sensitivity to a protein can increase/decrease over time. (The first time you get stung by a bee, no problem; the second time, call 911.)
Ritz' FHS symtons decreased when she was Prozac in spring 2013, have increased a little since she was weaned off Prozac a few months ago. I'm still trying to figure out if there is a correlation between the recent uptick in symptons and protein (turkey gizzards are out because of some stomach issues).

Had a quick search while Gary's driving and found an interesting collection of info and experiences: http://www.mabeltalk.com/p/hyperesthesia-fhs.html?m=1

vball91 said:

 
Wait, I forget, does Boo have an intolerance to beef? I don't know if I've ever heard that FHS and food intolerances are related, but it wouldn't surprise me. I do worry about the additives in some foods (added color especially). Gosh, what a conundrum. If there is a correlation (and it seems like an awfully big coincidence if there isn't) between his FHS episodes and the junkier foods, I'm not sure what I would do in your shoes. Sorry I don't have anything helpful to suggest. Just lots of hugs and commiseration.

Click to expand...

Not that I know of! The premium foods I've been giving him are mainly chicken, turkey, duck, and lamb proteins (very little fish and beef). So, in giving him the cheaper canned foods, all of which contain meat by-products as a primary ingredient, he's been exposed to more beef than he ever was. Again, either that or it's the additives/artificial stuff. He was actually doing really well lately and I hadn't noticed many episodes until these past couple of days!   

LDG said:

Hun, between Sebastian and Boo, maybe it would be easier just to make your own homemade rabbit-based food, and feed it to all of them.

Then there's no guesswork, no extra, unnecessary ingredients, you have total control on all inputs....

Click to expand...

I appreciate your persistence!       Still working through this.... 

Thanks Lilin and Ritz.

I mean, its still very possible that it is a coincidence, but the timing with the food is very suspicious. He does have spinal disc degeneration, which could be a factor.  I was looking into a kitty chiropractor for him.

LDG said:

Had a quick search while Gary's driving and found an interesting collection of info and experiences: http://www.mabeltalk.com/p/hyperesthesia-fhs.html?m=1

Click to expand...

I do remember coming across this site. Thanks for jogging my memory. I found that it was all over the place, though, and there was really no rhyme or reason to what exactly triggered this cat's episodes.

Boo is already on grain-free.

I forgot to mention that I did do a no-chicken and no-fish food trial for 6 weeks. It didn't help. So it could very well be some other protein that is bothering him (fingers pointing at beef). I'll stay away from beef for the next couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference. That means, however, that he doesn't get the cheaper canned foods. They ALL have meat by-products in them!   

Yeah, it's just a blog summary of everything the person found. The most interesting thing was the potential relationship to thiamine. Haven't had a chance to look further.

That sounds like a good plan for now.