Premium Food (Orijen) to Fancy Feast...am I a monster?

Hey guys!

I've got three cats: Butch, Cosmo, and Millie. Two boys and a girl.

I've had them on Orijen for about a year (sans Cosmo because he's only 7 months old) and they've been doing great. I chose Orijen because it is supposedly one of the best foods. The only problem? It's dry. Millie never finished her food and hardly ever drinks, but has been fine up until this point. Cosmo doesn't drink much. Butch is obsessed with drinking.

I'm familiar with the dry vs. wet battle. Both sides have strong arguments but I figured I was fine since I was feeding super premium food. I want what is best for my cats. On Christmas morning, my brother's cat was taken to the vet for the third time for a urinary blockage and had to be put down. This shook me up and made me rethink my position.

For about a week I've been feeding my cats Fancy Feast, two cans a day, and they seem to be doing great. Would I like to feed a better canned food? Hell yeah, but with three cats that would add up A LOT. I've read about Fancy Feast and it sounds like the CLASSIC ONLY variety is an okay way to go. Is this reasonable? Should I feed dry in the morning and the wet at night?

Basically, I'm just looking for people to tell me what I've done is okay and I'm not feeding my cats McDonalds every single day...

Thanks!

Yep. Go all canned. I fed orijen kibble for years, until i learned more about cat nutrition and now all my cats are raw fed. I was lucky that my male cat (now a senior at 14) never got a blockage, but he has digestive issues from being on kibble for so long. FF classic is totally fine. If you can try and throw some premium brands in there for some variety and rotation. 

I feed another can of FF classic as soon as they clean one up, I have two kittens right now so it goes fast. I have one cat that will only eat dry or sometimes lick gravy. However I consider the gravy as bad as some kibble. I'm lucky all my cats are good water drinkers. I have orijen in the house and use it as a topper sometimes.

Not to the food issue but having a water fountain can really help with your cats water intake. Upping water intake and desire to drink can help prevent kidney problem immensely. You can do a cat fountain instead of their water dish where it is and even do a decorative fountain elsewhere in the house that you can enjoy and the cats will probably too. I really cannot say how great fountains are. 

My cats are all frequent drinkers. Both of the boys love coming to the bathroom sink in the morning and drinking out of their little cups while I brush my teeth (those little paper bathroom cups, 3oz they probably drink 2 to 2.5 oz just in one sitting). We have a cat fountain in the kitchen. Keep the paper cups in the bathroom and give them drinks whenever they want them. All the cats love the various outdoor fountains we have (total of 5 fountains of various sizes outside and each gets drunk from at some point). We joke that Link pees like a racehorse and his pee clumps usually fill the entire scoop. 


Food wise mine get dry free fed and wet in the evening (they will only do gravy heavy wet food and sometimes leave behind pieces if they run out of gravy, bad I know but all are healthy weights and get annual blood work). I have never had problems with UTIs, blockage or kidneys in any of my cats in my life. A total of 6 cats without problems and I credit it to their water intake and give fountains all the credit in that regard. They really do prefer fresh and moving water over still and stale water. 

I will say I am not a fan of Orijen. The cats I know personally on it tend to be overweight. When I was looking at it for my cats the fat content seemed a little high but that was a few years ago so it may have changed since. Fancy Fest is a good wet cat food that is affordable. You do want to keep rotating flavors though to prevent someone from getting stuck on a specific flavor. 

I feed 2 cans daily of FF Classic. My Tuff is in excellent health with a shiny coat. It's definitely the way to go. I also feed one snack a day,which is either 1 oz of raw chicken gizzard or 2 tsp dry Fromms.

Lol youre definitely not a monster! Some people say that any wet food is better than the best dry food brands. If you choose to feed dry for one meal i recommend sneaking in a little extra water for their wet meals. My ginger boy had urinary problems even with the above combo so i switched him to wet and raw food and hes good now! Hes only 3 years old. So yes its very important to get more water into their system since cats cant tell how dehydrated/thirsty they are.

Might be better to get a cheaper grain free dry food and get better quality canned or feed more canned in general.

Fancy Feast Classics is definitely one of the better 'cheap' wet foods, and if you want to add something else comparable around the same price for some variety- Sheba pates are also one of the better ones.  I agree about finding a cheaper priced grain-free dry food so that you could afford to throw in some higher quality canned food as well if you still want to include dry food.  All of us here can give good recommendations of brands. 

HatchinCat said:

 
Basically, I'm just looking for people to tell me what I've done is okay and I'm not feeding my cats McDonalds every single day...

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As long as you're feeding the Fancy Feast Classics, I'd say it's an improvement! Personally, I'd say the more wet food you can feed, the better. I also agree with the thought that it might be nice to mix in another brand or two for variety: @destinyz12's idea of Sheba is good because it's also a food without carby fillers, which it's definitely good to avoid.