started Hecate on wet food...

So, after reading several forum posts on here, I decided to start Hecate on wet food. I am on disability, so my income is limited. Bearing that in mind, the wet food I have her starting on is Iams purrfect delights flaked, (Tempt Me Tuna and Mackerel Dinner, Packed with Sardines Dinner, and Tuna-Topia Dinner). It's still got the carrageen, but it's no gluten, fillers, corn, wheat, or soy, so that's something. And since she's not done growing and is used to having dry food out all day for nibbles, she's still getting her Purina Kitten Chow. I gave her a three ounce can yesterday and she didn't eat it all. She only ate about half. So, I only gave her half a can this morning, and she ate all but two bites. Will she start eating more of it as she gets older? She's about five or six months old now. I'm partially thinking she thinks she's getting treats. But, I don't want to take her Kitten Chow away yet, since she's still growing and heaven knows when she'll get hungry. On the Kitten Chow alone, she's doubled or tripled her size in the three months we've had her. And it's not fat. She's grown. She looks like a healthy adolescent cat. I just don't know if she's actually hungry when I'm offering the wet food since she has dry to snack on all day.

Oh... I put the other half a can in a sandwich baggy in the fridge without the can. I can't afford to waste with the Iams being $10 a box.

And she's back at the bowl snacking on the Kitten Chow. Maybe it's just that she's not used to special feedings? She's used to having her food available all day long for snacking. Maybe it will just take time for her to get used to the idea of having wet food twice a day?

Hatchytt said:

So, after reading several forum posts on here, I decided to start Hecate on wet food. I am on disability, so my income is limited. Bearing that in mind, the wet food I have her starting on is Iams purrfect delights flaked, (Tempt Me Tuna and Mackerel Dinner, Packed with Sardines Dinner, and Tuna-Topia Dinner). It's still got the carrageen, but it's no gluten, fillers, corn, wheat, or soy, so that's something. And since she's not done growing and is used to having dry food out all day for nibbles, she's still getting her Purina Kitten Chow. I gave her a three ounce can yesterday and she didn't eat it all. She only ate about half. So, I only gave her half a can this morning, and she ate all but two bites. Will she start eating more of it as she gets older? She's about five or six months old now. I'm partially thinking she thinks she's getting treats. But, I don't want to take her Kitten Chow away yet, since she's still growing and heaven knows when she'll get hungry. On the Kitten Chow alone, she's doubled or tripled her size in the three months we've had her. And it's not fat. She's grown. She looks like a healthy adolescent cat. I just don't know if she's actually hungry when I'm offering the wet food since she has dry to snack on all day.

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My cats dont like that food, try fancy feast classic pates or Sheba pates or Friskies pates, they like that better. Also timed feedings and not free feedings are best when transitioning to wet food

It could be the flavour, could be the texture, could be that she's not used to seeing wet food as food, or could be that she's filled up on the dried. I got Ollie and was told "he doesn't get on with wet food" and in my experience so far? Food in jelly and gravy is a no-go as he only licks the jelly/gravy and ignores the meat chunks, but he'll happily chow down on a pate or terrine style.

Being raised on dried and free-feeding, Hecate is always going to go for the dried because she a] knows and likes it and b] it's always available. It's always advisable to transition to set meals when choosing to feed wet food (either exclusively or in combination with dried) because otherwise you run the risk of the cat nibbling at the wet, leaving most of it, and you having to throw it away (as you've seen).

This is an article on how to transition and an online search will bring up numerous guidelines as to how to transition as well.

In regards to the wet food itself, I'd probably give 1-2 tablespoons of the food as a little treat a couple of times a day -- small enough that Hecate (hopefully) eats it, but enough that you can work your way through it without wasting too much of the current open can. Once you've got her on timed meals, you can start introducing it in larger amounts as a replacement for the dried.

She's actually gotten better about eating half a can three times a day. She doesn't seem to like the tuna flavors as much as the sardines, but she does eat it. Half a can appears to be about the size of a mouse, and for the time being, it's good enough. I'd like to find flavors that aren't fish. She loves cooked and raw chicken, so maybe she'll appreciate a chicken flavor more. It's just that fish was the only flavor that the WalMart Neighborhood Market had.

I seem to have found a winner with Whiskas Purrfectly Chicken. She's going nuts on it. It's a chicken and duck entree packet and she ate slightly more than half. It's got a lot of gravy and she lapped all of it up.

Be wary of gravy goods, usually contain wheat gluten. I prefer pates or shreds without wheat gluten. I just add water to make gravy.

Secret gets Sheba pates, in chicken and turkey flavors. I don't feed her any dry food. She gets a 3-oz can in the morning and another in the evening. She's a petite little thing, and I was worrying about her being too thin, so I added a 5.5-oz can of various Friskies pates, split between morning and evening feedings. I also add 3 tbsp of extra water mixed in.

After a few days, I decided 11.5 oz of food was way too much every day, so now she gets half a can of Friskies a day along with the two cans of Sheba. I'll see how that goes. Might need to cut back a little more on the Friskies. I do NOT want her to have to deal with cat obesity. On Monday she was 7.9 pounds, which the vet said was a good weight for her. She said Secret would still be okay if she gained up to half a pound more, but that she is fine as she is now.

I think of the Sheba as the more "nutritious", and the Friskies is the kitty-crack treat.  Generally I stick with poultry dishes for her, because the research I found warned about too much fish for cats (one of the sites I got a LOT of information from was Dr. Pierson's).

I know there are better foods out there, but unfortunately I'm on a very limited income, and this is the best I can do for Secret right now.

I also read that kittens don't require "kitten" food, but can go directly to adult food. The basis for this was that "in the wild", once kittens are weaned, they are eating the same food as adults. Secret is ten years old, so I don't have that concern, but it might interest you to do some looking into on that one?

~mk

[I am not a vet, cat nutritionist, specialist, or expert of any kind.]

She's actually getting much better about eating her meals. I added some hot water to this morning's. She seems to have figured out that this is going to be a regular thing. In fact, she came running as soon as she heard my voice this morning, like "when's breakfast?".

That's good she's come around so quickly!

bonepicker said:

Be wary of gravy goods, usually contain wheat gluten. I prefer pates or shreds without wheat gluten. I just add water to make gravy.

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I agree about the gravy foods. I try to stay away from them with the non premium brands. Fortunately, my kids like their pates. 

I'd definitely try the Sheba pates. They run .50 a can at Wal Mart and you can often find coupons for Sheba on the cans at the store, in the newspaper pull outs and online at coupons.com. They also have a pretty good variety of flavors. My cats like the turkey best (green can)

Friskies pates are a big hit in our house. I get a case of 32 5.5 ounce cans of the poultry pates for about $15.00 at WM. For you though, I'd ,make sure that Hecate will eat food that has been refrigerated before going into 5.5 ounce can territory. These cans work for me because I have 3 cats. None of my cats will eat food that was refrigerated.  

You can also try out Grreat Choice pates from Petsmart if you have one near you. It's their house brand and is reasonably priced. It is comparable to Fancy Feast. I'd stick to the pates with that one, too. 

Tractor Supply Company has a grain free line called 4Health. You can get a 5.5 ounce can for .69. Many members have had success with it. It's a good one to try if you have a TSC nearby. 

You can get good deals at Petsmart and Petco if you have their rewards cards, shop sales and use coupons. Petco has the Pals rewards so you get a $5 coupon for every $100 spent. 

Well, any other foods are going to have to wait until next month, as I've already spent $45 this week on cat food alone. She's currently getting more of the Iams than the Whiskas, but she really likes the Whiskas. I don't remember seeing Sheba packs at the WalMart Neighborhood Market, but I'll look next month. I like the flavor assortment boxes because they seem to be a better deal. The Iams assortment is $10 for 18 cans, and the Whiskas is $5 for ten packets. Seems to me that the Neighborhood Market isn't as well stocked as a regular WalMart.

And I'm not sure if there's a PETsMART nearby enough for me to walk.

Hatchytt said:

Well, any other foods are going to have to wait until next month, as I've already spent $45 this week on cat food alone. She's currently getting more of the Iams than the Whiskas, but she really likes the Whiskas. I don't remember seeing Sheba packs at the WalMart Neighborhood Market, but I'll look next month. I like the flavor assortment boxes because they seem to be a better deal. The Iams assortment is $10 for 18 cans, and the Whiskas is $5 for ten packets. Seems to me that the Neighborhood Market isn't as well stocked as a regular WalMart.

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I like the neighborhood markets. They are night and day from the supercenters which I refer to as the seventh circle of hell. I have no patience for that place anymore and will avoid them unless I have no other choice. I do get the 32 pack of Friskies poultry pates there because I can't seem to find it anywhere else locally. Chewy doesn't have it and Amazon only has it through a 3rd party seller who has clearly lost their mind because they want $33.91 for it. 

Try a few cans of the Sheba pates out on her before you go for a multipack. Whenever I try a new food out, I get 3 of the 3 ounce cans. One per kitty and have them do a taste test. If they like it, I get more of it and if they continue to eat it, I will add it to our rotation and start buying it by the case. This can definitely save money and time.

If you use Amazon (my soul mate  ), I highly recommend you give their subscribe and save program a try. you do not need to be a Prime member to use it. Up to 4 items in your S&S gets you a 5% discount on all items. 5 plus items gets you 15% off. They have so many items available. I get toilet paper, paper towels, laundry stuff, vitamins, shampoo, cat food, cat treats, etc this way and you get free standard shipping (3-5 days) unless you happen to be a Prime member. Then you get free 2 day shipping (if the items are Prime eligible). So you're saving money from the discount but you're also saving money because you're not driving around buying this stuff. It also keeps me out of WM. 

Amazon has Sheba pates on the S&S program. If you only got the 5% discount, it's $11.40 for 24 cans so it works out to .48 cents a can. .2 per can cheaper than WM. Add in the gas you're not burning and the time you're not spending in line and it adds up. 


I have about 30 items in my S&S and once a month I go through them to see what I need. I skip what I don't and keep what I do. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/subscribe...*=0&app-nav-type=redirect&tag=&tag=thecatsite

Oh, we don't drive. The Neighborhood Market is a block away, so I walk. Rune drives a cab, so if we absolutely must go to the regular WalMart, we wait til he has a cab and has had a good day.

Hatchytt said:

 
Oh, we don't drive. The Neighborhood Market is a block away, so I walk. Rune drives a cab, so if we absolutely must go to the regular WalMart, we wait til he has a cab and has had a good day.

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If you don't drive then S&S could definitely be your friend. It's a big time saver. I know my UPS driver better than I know my neighbors. 

Good to hear that Hecate is now getting used to wet food and meals I can add my voice into a recommendation for Sheba -- I dunno if the ingredients are markedly different in the US, but in the UK the classic terrine versions seem to be just meat & animal derivatives and minerals in the ingredients, none of the fillers and sugars in the other varieties (sauce, gravy, mousse). Not the best kitty food on the market, but I was able to grab a couple at my local supermarket and try Ollie out on them, and he ate them fine. So much so that I'm waiting on a bulk order online to be delivered.

She's all over the Iams when I add some warm water. She seems to like the gravy from the Whiskas too. She is eating a lot less of the dry kibble now.

I agree with what everyone has been saying about Sheba too. It's the food I put into my rotation to make it affordable. My cat LOVES the turkey pates. The ingredients are the best you can possibly get for the price. I love Sheba.