Am I harming my cat by using chicken broth to entice him to eat wet food?

[straycat212]

He barely touches the wet food, so I tried using some unsalted chicken broth, and while he doesn't eat it all, he's eating more than without it.

He has bladder issues and vet told me to get him on a wet diet, am I going to end up making his bladder issues worse?

 

[crazy4strays]

There's nothing wrong with mixing unsalted chicken broth into his food. 

 Go for it!

 

[Kat0121]

I agree. There's nothing wrong with it at all. I use it with mine too. are you making your own or using store bought?? I make my own by putting a whole chicken in the crock pot with filtered water to cover. I let that cook on low all day and night, The broth comes out a very rich dark yellow. I remove the meat from the bones and shred it before portioning it out into freezer bags to use as toppers for wet food but you can use this for yourself if you want. The broth can be frozen in ice cube trays and then the cubes stored in freezer bags so they are already portioned when you need some. You can get a big pot of meat and broth for about $5. 

 

[molly92]

Just make sure the broth you use doesn't have any onions or garlic in it! Otherwise, the extra fluids the chicken broth gives him will be VERY good for his bladder health! 

 

[straycat212]

I'm using Swansons Unsalted just a bit concerned because it still contains sodium, but is the only way I can get him to eat some wet food.

 

[LTS3]

Have you tried the typical suggestion of crushing up treats and mixing it into canned food to make it yummier? FortiFlora is also great and it's irresistible to cats.

 

[straycat212]

I got rid of his treats, gave them to some kitties roaming the street, I want him on wet like the Vet said for his own well being.

Knowing Nic, he would just pick out the treats and leave the wet food behind, will look into this fortiflora, thanks for the tip.

 

[crazy4strays]

Good for you! Wet food is the best thing that you can do for his bladder. 

Have you tried various textures of canned foods? Which brands have you tried so far?

 

[straycat212]

I've tried Merrick Purrfect Bistro-He seemed to like the cowboy cookout-he ate a can split in 2 meals(but this is beef-not sure how healthy for cat's it is), but again that's with added chicken broth, he sniffed, licked and walked away from Natures Variety instinct chicken(which left me perplexed because he LOVED the dry), He nibbled at Rachel Ray Nutrish Chicken, wouldn't touch purina pro plan, weruva, blue buffalo, wellness, it's getting expensive trying to find something he will eat.

He'll eat maybe 1/3 can of fancy feast, and walk away...he's a big kitty, 11.1 lbs and growing,he's a siberian and they don't reach full maturity until 5 yrs,  so I'm starting to get a bit worried, kind of hoping he'll be so hungry he'll eat whatever I put in his bowl.

He ate Soulistic good karma for about 2 months a while ago, then suddenly stopped, would just lick out the gravy and leave all the chicken behind, that's when I started feeding him the Instinct dry cat food...

I need to do my homework on cat food, as I purchased some with fish, and my friend told me that's no good for his bladder, so more food for the strays...

planning to buy Nutro, Max cat and some other brands next payday to experiment with.

 

[crazy4strays]

Do you have a Tractor Supply Company in your area?

 

[straycat212]

unfortunately no tractor supply nearby, I got him to eat 1/2 can of purrfect bistro chicken pate by blocking his way after he was done, and holding the bowl near his face, he has to eat! no broth this time either, I'm going to petco tomorrow & get some other ones

 

[LTS3]

Treats are ok

As long as they are given once in awhile and no more than a few pieces, they will not cause any urinary issue. Freeze dried 100% meat or fish treats are great and you can even re-hydrate them in water first. Many people crush up the freeze dried treats into powder to sprinkle onto food so the cat doesn't pick out the treats to eat. Plain cooked chicken is great as treats, too.

A little juice from a can of stinky tuna (the kind in water) sometimes helps get a cat to eat.

 

[Kat0121]

unfortunately no tractor supply nearby, I got him to eat 1/2 can of purrfect bistro chicken pate by blocking his way after he was done, and holding the bowl near his face, he has to eat! no broth this time either, I'm going to petco tomorrow & get some other ones

Does he only like pates?? I was in Petco on Monday and picked up a can of Merrick Purrfect Bistro Chicken Divan. It's morsels in gravy. They had some for breakfast and it went over pretty well. I also have a can of Grammy's Pot Pie that I will give them for breakfast tomorrow. They run hot and cold towards a lot of foods like these so I put  a can in here and there to mix things up a bit. 

ETA- Petco is running a deal now on cans, cups, pouches or rolls of cat and dog food. Buy 12 of the same brand and get $5.00 in pals rewards. My Petco had 3 oz cans of some sliced and cubed Wellness flavors on sale for .98 cents. I had 2 coupons from Wellness for buy 8 get 2 free. I bought 20 so I ended up getting them fro .88 cents a can and then they gave me the $5 rewards.Unfortunately the Merrick wasn't on sale when I was there. 

 

[straycat212]

to be honest, I don't know what he likes now, he use to like anything smothered in gravy, then just ended up licking the gravy and leaving the chicken untouched which is why I switched him back to dry, but now he HAS to be on wet as per Vet.
I don't want to commit to one brand as of now, since I'm not sure what he will eat.
I'll def pick up the chicken divan you mentioned, plus I want to try soulistic chicken pate & shreds in gelee.
Thanks for the rec

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• straycat212
• Mar 16, 2016

 

[Kat0121]

He is GORGEOUS!!!  

 

[mrpurrrfectcat]

He is beautiful!

Have you tried slightly warming the wet food up? Sometimes it encourages them to eat it, just slightly warmed and they can smell it better too.

My cat sometimes likes things mashed up a bit more, so I cut the meat up more so that he can't just lick the gravy off!

My cat is also really fussy, won't eat anything with jelly, no pate, no fish but that's good because I don't want him to have it, he will have a tiny bit of tuna in water very occasionally.

Good luck, if only our cats knew how much time we spent trawling the pet food shops for them! And how much money we spend when they turn up their noses, lol. They are so worth it though.

 

[straycat212]

Nikolai says thank you for the compliments!

His Vet just called me and told me his urine protein results came back below normal which according to him is a good thing, basically his kidneys are working properly.

When I told him I was having a hard time getting him to eat wet food, he said they carry Royal Canine Feline Urinary SO canned cat food in morsels and pate, if I wanted to I could stop by and buy a couple cans to try out.

Has anybody used this prescription food with their cats? I might  not bother if I find something he will eat, I'm sure it's expensive.