I really need help finding a wet canned food for multi cat household, please

hissandtell

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I have had cats for 20 yrs and just now realizing how important wet food is vs kibble.  I have been feeding my 7 cats Wellness Core grain free and Origen kibble and wet food twice a day.  I have tried just about every kind of wet food out there.  They are hooked on tuna flavored, or anything fish pate wet.  They like Dave's grain free tuna/chicken but after reading about fish diets, I am scrambling to find a non fish wet. 

Also, I have read where people say feeding Friskees wet food is still better than even the best food such as Origen.  The ingredients in Friskees are disgusting to me.  Just about every kind of wet has some kind of fish in it.  Only 4 of my cats will eat non fish flavored.  One won't eat wet at all, only kibble.

What are my priorities?  They are all healthy and range from 5-15 yrs.  One, my oldest, was dx with hyperthyroidism a few months ago.  Luckily, she is one that will eat chicken or turkey wet.

Feeding a raw diet is just not an option so please don't flame me for that.  I am diabetic so I am believe carbs are bad for me so are they bad for cats as well?

Cost gets to be an issue with so many cats as well. 

Can you please help me with a plan or something better than feeding dry 100% of the time?   Sorry to ramble.  I need to come to a happy medium.  I've read so much my eyes are crossing and have information overload  :dk:

Thanks in advance,

B
 

laralove

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Have you tried Fancy Feast Classics? They have several good non-fish varieties and there are no grains in the Classics line. They're also affordable. You can usually get them on sale for between 50 and 60 cents per 3.2 oz can.
 
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hissandtell

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Have you tried Fancy Feast Classics? They have several good non-fish varieties and there are no grains in the Classics line. They're also affordable. You can usually get them on sale for between 50 and 60 cents per 3.2 oz can.
Yes, I forgot to mention that.  For a couple of months, I fed only Dave's and now they mostly get FF Seafood or Salmon classics, pate.  I didn't realize they were grain free though.  Still I have 3 that refuses to eat any wet that isn't tuna or salmon so they eat kibble.  If I go by the feeding instructions, they would all get a min of 2 cans each per day ($7 a day).

Thanks for responding, LaraLove.  I am desperate to get them on a suitable, healthy diet.
 

laralove

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Could you possibly mix flavors? For example, give 75% of their meal as a fish variety and 25% another variety, such as chicken. Do that for a few meals, then make it 50/50 for a few. Then 25/75 for a few. Finally, introduce a whole meal of the non-fish variety. 

That would have the meal be a familiar flavor that gradually gets them used to the new flavor. 
 
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hissandtell

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Could you possibly mix flavors? For example, give 75% of their meal as a fish variety and 25% another variety, such as chicken. Do that for a few meals, then make it 50/50 for a few. Then 25/75 for a few. Finally, introduce a whole meal of the non-fish variety. 

That would have the meal be a familiar flavor that gradually gets them used to the new flavor. 
I could try that.  They are so darn finicky!  I even thought about crushing Temptation treats to sprinkle on it but haven't yet.

Thanks again!
 

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I would just be careful about topping food with treats because your cats may get used to the idea and then only eat food with treats...
 
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hissandtell

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I would just be careful about topping food with treats because your cats may get used to the idea and then only eat food with treats...
True. See?  I keep running into walls :(
 

missm

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True. See?  I keep running into walls :(
Ah I don't mean to discourage you!! It  may work after all - have you already tried mixing different flavours like LaraLove suggested?
 
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anne with cats

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I  also have 6 cats ranging in age from 18 years old down to about 1 year old. With carb issues for old kidney, mega colon old kitty, I  wanted cat food without weird fillers, and not $1.590r more per little can!  Don't know what part of the country you live in, but we have Trader Joe's out here on the west coast. I  buy the Turkey giblet, as there are no grains or fillers., first ingredients are eiher turkey or broth, ten turkey. They also have a I think turkey/chicken and rice - but I  don't get stuff with rice, as it interferes with absorption on Biotin. Also have a seafood platter, but fish really isn't that good fo cats.  totally stay away from the tuna, although it looks like solid dark tuna. I worry also where that one is coming from as it has the lid that needs a can opener, and I  am thinking China which now scares me from anything from China these days - throwing sick pigs in the river, tainting milk any baby milk with melamine whiteners -now to possibly be a partner with Smithfield hams - glad Paula Dean lost that account! Anyhow that's my current choice - buy it by the flat every few weeks - well, several flats with my brood here. I  think it's about 69-79 cents per can. I also feed a little Raw chicken thighs when on sale, a few raw chicken hearts and chicken livers, but not too many as I gave the gang a whole pack one  night and lets just say they came out the other end not to my approval!  No dry here at all, which would be so easy, but I have been through the urinary problems, crystals or blockage, blood in urine.  Now I  have constipatd/ possible mega colon old cat, which can get up to $400 for a little vet visit when old cat gets bad!   Sorry, I  digress...just saying...
 

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Some people use Bonito flakes, which are probably available in Asian aisle or Asian market and most likely whole foods.
 
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hissandtell

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I  also have 6 cats ranging in age from 18 years old down to about 1 year old. With carb issues for old kidney, mega colon old kitty, I  wanted cat food without weird fillers, and not $1.590r more per little can!  Don't know what part of the country you live in, but we have Trader Joe's out here on the west coast. I  buy the Turkey giblet, as there are no grains or fillers., first ingredients are eiher turkey or broth, ten turkey. They also have a I think turkey/chicken and rice - but I  don't get stuff with rice, as it interferes with absorption on Biotin. Also have a seafood platter, but fish really isn't that good fo cats.  totally stay away from the tuna, although it looks like solid dark tuna. I worry also where that one is coming from as it has the lid that needs a can opener, and I  am thinking China which now scares me from anything from China these days - throwing sick pigs in the river, tainting milk any baby milk with melamine whiteners -now to possibly be a partner with Smithfield hams - glad Paula Dean lost that account! Anyhow that's my current choice - buy it by the flat every few weeks - well, several flats with my brood here. I  think it's about 69-79 cents per can. I also feed a little Raw chicken thighs when on sale, a few raw chicken hearts and chicken livers, but not too many as I gave the gang a whole pack one  night and lets just say they came out the other end not to my approval!  No dry here at all, which would be so easy, but I have been through the urinary problems, crystals or blockage, blood in urine.  Now I  have constipatd/ possible mega colon old cat, which can get up to $400 for a little vet visit when old cat gets bad!   Sorry, I  digress...just saying...
Hi Anne,

We do not have a TJ in Savannah but one is being built 2 hrs away.  I may try to get a friend to mail me a few cans of what you use and see how that goes.  Knowing fish/tuna is not good for cats, I don't understand why cat food manufacturers make so many varieties of it.  Would you say the wet food from TJ that you feed is low carb?  I won't touch anything from Smithfield and it used to be my favorite ham.    How often do you feed your cats and how much at a time?

Thanks for your input,

B
 
 

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I would just be careful about topping food with treats because your cats may get used to the idea and then only eat food with treats...
Not necessarily. I'd still try it as a transition tool than feed inappropriate ingredients.

Hissandtell, I'm not going to flame you about raw. I just want to mention some options. Do you have a Winn Dixie in Sav? I'm south of you on SSI and Winn Dixie is
how I save on making cat food (BOGO sales). There's also the option of home-cooked. If these still aren't options that's OK, I just wanted to help reduce costs if that's the obstacle.

When I fed FF classics, Grey (RIP) actually preferred the Winn Dixie brand. Once again it saved me money and my cat ate better.

As far as improving your situation overall, yes 100% wet diet is best but if all you can do is change 1 meal per day to wet then it's still an improvement. As far as Friskies wet, many of them are good canned foods. Is there an ingredient other than fish in Friskies that concerns you? The small amount of fish in it might be the ticket in transitioning some of your cats. Getting the large cans will help save money too.
 

betsygee

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I would just be careful about topping food with treats because your cats may get used to the idea and then only eat food with treats...
I have one cat who's absolutely addicted to Temptation treats, unfortunately.  She also doesn't eat much so when I mix her meds in with her food, she often doesn't get them all because she won't eat all her food.  So I give her a smaller amount of food and sprinkle in some Temptation treats.  Then she SNARFS down her food, looking for treats.  I don't give a lot of the treats and don't do it with every meal.  This morning, for example, I didn't put any in.  But she ran to the food bowl, LOOKING for treats and ate the food anyway (since she was already there I guess LOL).  I'll put in a few treats with tonight's meal.

Trial and error...
 

mrsgreenjeens

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HissandTell, what's wrong with the Dave's that you were feeding?  That is a great price when ordering via the internet, and it comes in the 13 oz cans, PLUS it's a very good low carb food!  I LOVE Dave's, and I'm a raw feeder, but sometimes I simply cannot do raw (vacation, etc.), so I always keep Dave's on hand.   (they have several flavors, you know, and I think if you have already been feeding tuna/chicken and have had no issues, you should be fine to continue, honestly). 

But in answer to your question "are carbs bad for cats?", the answer is YES!  (and BTW, the Trader Joe's canned food is not particularly low carb
),  Cats can get diabetes, just like us humans.  And there are LOTS of cats with it, sadly. 

Fancy Feast CLASSICS are low, and  Friskies Classic Pates are fairly low in carbs, and their Special Diets are even lower in carbs, but those are hard to find (at least in my area).  Additionally, whatever the can says to feed is usually on the high side.  I have a very active 9 lb cat who doesn't even eat one 5.5 oz can per day.  If I followed the advise on the can, he would be eating TWO cans per day 
(I do give him freeze dried raw treats to start out the day though 
)
 
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hissandtell

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Update, 2 months later.......  I still have not found a flavor that all of the cats will eat.  Just when I think they LOVE a certain kind and stock up, several will walk away from it.  I have 3 that keep horking up the Dave's wet food so I am giving them a break from that for now.  I tried Wellness Turkey again.  Only 2 will eat it.  I've been keeping Origen dry on hand and feed small amounts to the ones (2 cats) who won't eat the wet.  I spend way too much time trying to satisfy my little darlings <3
 

betsygee

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Yeah, it can get exhausting.  I've spent quite a bit of time, too, trying to find something they'll all eat.  Mine will all eat Fancy Feast pate and Friskies pate so they get that as a base and I mix it with Soulistic or Weruva pouch food.  The older, ill cats I may just leave on that combo--they like it, it's affordable and nobody vomits it up.  The younger ones I may try to eventually transition completely to Weruva or Soulistic.  

I'm not thrilled about Friskies, either, but that or Fancy Feast (classic/pate) might a way to at least get the two dry food eaters started on wet.
 

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Not sure if anyone mentioned it (I see FF CLASSICS had already been mentioned and you use it.) But Sheba (pate) is a good low cost food. I'm not sure how many carbs it has though.

As for my feeding schedule (I have 4 cats) I feed all four of them either half of a 5.5 ounce can in the morning or one 3 ounce can in the morning a piece, and then the second half in the evening, except one cat gets kibble in the evening, or he will eat dog kibble. haha

Some people feed three times a day (I use to) but I started twice a day and they do just fine on that schedule.

Also, I too have diabetes (type 1) and wet definitely has lower carbs than kibble.

Also a tip, you could blend a turkey or chicken flavor and a salmon flavor in the blender!

Good luck with your kitties!
 
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