Cans of Just Gravy?

This is related to my previous question about keeping canned cat food moist.  But this time, I wonder about going all the way.    My cat Kitty often licks all the liquid off the clump of canned food I put out, maybe nibbles a bit off the clump, and then usually ignores the leftover.    If I buy $50 of canned food, only the $5 worth of gravy/slop is used, and I'm tossing nearly $40 of food into the trash.

So, is it possible to buy a can of just the gravy or sauce found in the usual cans?   If I did that (or was okay with tossing out $40) is my cat getting sufficient nutrition?

BTW, this has nothing to do with the cat being thirsty. There is plenty of clean water nearby.

There is lickable treats and fancy feast has the broths. But can be pricey. But if they eat the whole thing it may be worth it. You may have to just experiment with different styles and flavors til you find one they will eat all of. It can take time, money and patience. 

Maybe try putting it all in the blender to make the chucks turn to gravy as well?

I'll try that! Maybe add in a bit of water, or chicken broth or something, to make sure it's juicy. 

But first, I think I'd like to buy a separate blender - wouldn't want a hint of turkey & giblets taste in my fruit smoothies!

I have one who'd eat cans of gravy too if he could! Actually, I'm pretty sure both of mine would. And I'm sad to say, I would buy it. I tried mashing it up rather than blending it but once it resembles pate instead of gravy he won't touch it

There are bottles / pouches of pet food gravy / sauces you can buy but the ingredients are pretty bad: glutens and starches and chemical flavorings. You can just take any can of cat food and run it through the blender with a little water to turn it into gravy / broth / soup. Plian water is best and you can always flavor it with some freeze dried chicken or other meat treat. Chicken broth from the supermarket often contains garlic and onions and other ingredients that are not good for cats.

When I poach boneless chicken I save the broth--it's just water that chicken was cooked in, no salt or anything else added--to use in cat food. The cats love it!

BINGO, LisaHe!!!

Commercial chicken stock often is loaded with salt etc., so it is best to make your own chicken stock specifically for your cat.  It's very easy, as LisaHe indicated, although I would use chicken parts that have more fat and skin, such as the thigh and the back, but really any part will do.  If you prefer a thicker gravy for the cat, simply add a bit of cooked squash to the blender.  With regard to feline health/digestion, the squashes are a better thickener than wheat gluten or corn gluten.

Molly22 said:

Maybe try putting it all in the blender to make the chucks turn to gravy as well?

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I have one of the small blenders with a blade and cup I use just for pet food. One of the old bullets.

I do the boiled chicken thing too!  But I actually feed the boiled, picked chicken along with the broth.  Just boil it at a slow, low boil until it is falling off the bones, then let it cool, and pick the meat off the bones.  I have a weirdo that goes on binges of where he won't eat anything but "real" meat, so I keep some handy most of the time.  I buy the thighs in a big pack and separate them out and vacuum freeze them, so I always have an easy meal for him when he is having one of his "I don't want that" episodes.  (He gives me the look--the "I don't want that, YOU eat it if it's so good" look over 2nd or 3rd can of cat food I've opened, that's when I know to pull out the chicken)  And yes, he is spoiled rotten.  But it probably comes out cheaper than cat food!

DrunkenUFOPilot said:

I'll try that! Maybe add in a bit of water, or chicken broth or something, to make sure it's juicy. 

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Adding chicken broth, tuna water, or simply warm water to canned food to give it slurry consistency is a great idea! I've actually considered buying a "Baby Bullet" to blend up cat food for my pickiest eaters.

I have also found that crumbling freeze-dried food (Stella & Chewy's) or freeze-dried treats (PureBites or WholeLife) works to get my cats to eat more of their canned food. I also use this when introducing new foods to my picky eaters.

To add, the "gravy" part of canned food contains very little nutritional value on its own. The Fancy Feast broths and pouches of just gravy are intended for supplemental feeding only, so should comprise more than 10% of the overall diet.

CatPack said:

I've actually considered buying a "Baby Bullet" to blend up cat food for my pickiest eaters.

 

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That is a wonderful idea!  I saw one on a local buy/sell/trade site on Facebook the other day and it was pretty cheap, I'm going to go back and look for that posting!

TheGreyStalker said:

 
BINGO, LisaHe!!!

Commercial chicken stock often is loaded with salt etc., so it is best to make your own chicken stock specifically for your cat.  It's very easy, as LisaHe indicated, although I would use chicken parts that have more fat and skin, such as the thigh and the back, but really any part will do.  If you prefer a thicker gravy for the cat, simply add a bit of cooked squash to the blender.  With regard to feline health/digestion, the squashes are a better thickener than wheat gluten or corn gluten.

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Ha ha, I make chicken water with chicken that I use for human meals: it's usually boneless, skinless chicken thighs! When I bake/roast various meats for the cats' homemade food, though, that's combinations of various cuts of boneless chicken and pork: there's almost always some fatty gelatinous slurry that forms from the water I put in the dish. That's an important part of their homemade food and it's a great natural thickener when it cools.

I have a little Cuisinart Mini Prep processor that I've used to blend cat food. It works great!

I wrote Purina and asked them about a GRAVY ONLY food for cats. Their response:

We are always looking at and testing new product ideas based on our ongoing dialogue with our highly valued consumers. Should consumers indicate that other products or varieties are desired, we will certainly try to meet their needs. The Fancy Feast[emoji]174[/emoji] brand is looking into the possibility of such a product.

While we don't have an "all" gravy type of cat food available, I'm excited to inform you that in June we have introduced a new product called Fancy Feast[emoji]174[/emoji] Gravy Lovers[emoji]8482[/emoji] gourmet cat food.

As the name implies, it's designed for cats that love gravy. We know that cats truly enjoy the taste of our Fancy Feast[emoji]174[/emoji] gravy and Gravy Lovers[emoji]8482[/emoji] offers more of the delicious gravy, complimented with just the right amount of high quality tender morsels. We've designed the product with small chunks and a thick gravy which sticks to the chunks for cats that crave gravy throughout their meal. We hope you'll watch for it at your favorite store in the coming months.

drunkenufopilot said:

This is related to my previous question about keeping canned cat food moist. But this time, I wonder about going all the way. My cat Kitty often licks all the liquid off the clump of canned food I put out, maybe nibbles a bit off the clump, and then usually ignores the leftover. If I buy $50 of canned food, only the $5 worth of gravy/slop is used, and I'm tossing nearly $40 of food into the trash.

So, is it possible to buy a can of just the gravy or sauce found in the usual cans? If I did that (or was okay with tossing out $40) is my cat getting sufficient nutrition?

BTW, this has nothing to do with the cat being thirsty. There is plenty of clean water nearby.

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My Cleo does the same thing.
Unless she's real hungry, she will eat the chunks.
Try "streching" the gravy with a little water.

molly22 said:

Maybe try putting it all in the blender to make the chucks turn to gravy as well?

Click to expand...

Yes, I give Cleo the Fancy feast With Gravy and little chunks of meat,
Usually if it's handy, I find A small "Shrimp Fork" works well, after chopping up the meat chunks with a knife.

thegreystalker said:

BINGO, LisaHe!!!

Commercial chicken stock often is loaded with salt etc., so it is best to make your own chicken stock specifically for your cat. It's very easy, as LisaHe indicated, although I would use chicken parts that have more fat and skin, such as the thigh and the back, but really any part will do. If you prefer a thicker gravy for the cat, simply add a bit of cooked squash to the blender. With regard to feline health/digestion, the squashes are a better thickener than wheat gluten or corn gluten.

Click to expand...

lisahe said:

When I poach boneless chicken I save the broth--it's just water that chicken was cooked in, no salt or anything else added--to use in cat food. The cats love it!

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Good Idea, don't want to feed her junk.
I just put some chicken Up in the freezer, l need to cook, I will boil some of it for her and save the water.
Thank You!