Do Cat Foods Need Additives?

[Sammiches]

Recently I just tried out Applaws meanwhile expensive, my cat Luna really loves the food. I mean look at it, it could pass as human food!

The side says that it has no additives and only 4 ingredients. Says it's served as a good addition to other cat food. I'm wondering if she could just pass by getting 2 cans of 5.5oz per week or is it just unhealthy as she'll be skipping two days of additives of nutrients that she needs? It's hard finding food that she likes to down right away.

I want her to thrive but if feeding her this is just taking away her chance at proper nutrition I may just use this as a side meal and not actually treat it as a meal.

 

[duckpond]

Cats do need the added vitamins and minerals from a balanced food. I would be a little hesitant to feed it as her only food two days per week. I think the recommendation on supplemental foods is 10% of daily calories? i may be wrong but that is what i think i have read.

Almo nature has quite a few supplemental foods, but they have recently come out with some complete and balanced foods too, you might try them as they are similar to applaws in looks i think.

other foods i feed that look like this, kind of like people food, is against the grain, chicken and cheese, chicken and pumpkin. Fussie cat super premium chicken and beef and chicken and liver. Some of weruva foods, like the paw lickin chicken, and some of their truluxe flavors look like really good people food Earthborn holistic is a good brand to try as well. Tiki cat is another one, my cats are very fond of the after dark right now. maybe hit the petfood store and pick up a few cans of this and that, see what she likes?

 

[EmersonandEvie]

I personally would be weary to feed it as an exclusive meal unless it was literally the only thing I had and needed to get more food.
What you could do is transfer the Applaws to an airtight plastic container and top her food with it once a day or a few times a week! I'm sure she would get excited for the treat.

When I fed Weruva, their Chicken Frick'aZee (or however they spell it) looked identical to that. Very shredded and moist. The reason I sopped feeding it was because it was very low calorie and I would have been feeding around 5 cans a day which is not exactly in my budget.

 

[Sammiches]

Thanks for the reply guys! That's unfortunate but guess I'll be feeding it as a side thing. I'm actually wondering if this is even beneficial as it has a lot of water content which I would imagine not mix with other wet food with a lot of water content. I'd imagine it would taste very weird even for the cat if you mixed two soupy food together.

 

[duckpond]

Thanks for the reply guys! That's unfortunate but guess I'll be feeding it as a side thing. I'm actually wondering if this is even beneficial as it has a lot of water content which I would imagine not mix with other wet food with a lot of water content. I'd imagine it would taste very weird even for the cat if you mixed two soupy food together.

i keep some of the Almo plain chicken in my pantry. I dont feed it as a regular meal, on a regular basis. My cats like it a lot, so they get it as a meal every few weeks, just for a change of pace.

I also find it easier to digest, and they are more prone to eat the plain chicken if someone doesnt feel well. Cats like us can have a tummy bug, or just not feel quite right on certain days. Then i may feed them the plain chicken for a meal or two. Just not on a regular basis, but i find the plain food handy to keep in stock. If they are not feeling better in 24 hours then i normally schedule a vet visit

so if your cat likes the food, feed her a meal of it, every few weeks, just not on a daily, or even weekly basis. this is my opinion anyway.

 

[abyeb]

Looks like it is just meant as a supplement: Chicken Breast with Pumpkin - 5.5oz - Applaws US

I think it would make a nice treat, though!

 

[Sammiches]

Looks like it is just meant as a supplement: Chicken Breast with Pumpkin - 5.5oz - Applaws US

I think it would make a nice treat, though!

Where do cats get all these nutrients in the wild is my question now lol. I mean if pumpkin and chicken is short on nutrition, how do cats thrive in the wild?

 

[abyeb]

Where do cats get all these nutrients in the wild is my question now lol. I mean if pumpkin and chicken is short on nutrition, how do cats thrive in the wild?

Cats in the wild do live a lot shorter than our pet cats. The life expectancy for a free roaming cat is only about four years.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

Where do cats get all these nutrients in the wild is my question now lol. I mean if pumpkin and chicken is short on nutrition, how do cats thrive in the wild?

Wild cats also eat fresh, entire prey animals (think mice, squirrel, lizards), which provide nutrients that we have to give to cats synthetically in most canned food. The prey model diet is the premise behind feeding cats a raw diet, although those diets are still supplemented because nutrients can be lost in the grinding/freezing process.

 

[Merlin77]

Where do cats get all these nutrients in the wild is my question now lol. I mean if pumpkin and chicken is short on nutrition, how do cats thrive in the wild?

Well cats in the wild would eat whole mice, squirrels, frogs, insects, birds, etc. That would include kidneys, livers, intestines, brains, hearts, bones, spleens, lungs, skin, fat, muscle, and hair/feathers/fur**. The nutrients in those are very plentiful and also the prey they catch would be fresh and raw, so the nutrients would be in their peak levels (or so my theory is). In a can of pumpkin and chicken, all you really have is veggies for fibre and chicken breast for protein. Nothing else to fuel the cat.

**The hair/feathers/fur is a source of fibre and helps to pass stools.

I believe cats are healthier when they hunt and catch their own food. Snake is the finest hunter at our cabin and she clearly is in better shape physically and mentally than the other cats who are too lazy to go out hunting. Plus, I should add that the dental benefits of hunting prey and chewing through bone are great.

 

[LTS3]

If your cat likes Applaws, try Weruva, Soulistic, or Tiki Cat which are complete balanced diets. Weruva and Soulistic are made by the same company.

 

[Sammiches]

Thank you for the reply guys, very informative!

As for Soulistic and Tiki cat, my cat really seems to enjoy Soulistic! Tiki Cat however my cat sniffed it and walked away. I didn't give her anything else so that she'll eat it and when she eventually did, it was only a few nibbles. She had the runs afterwards though so I'm not gonna make her try any food she doesn't want to anymore. She seems to know best of what her body will like.