My cat will only eat wet food and Fancy Feast only!

[shashagirl]

I feed my cats FF and Wellness canned. I personally feel that FF is a good food for my kitties because they'll eat it and I don't have enough time in the day to worry if my cats are eating. I occasionally try different brands but they seem to turn their little noses up. I was wondering what kind of schedule do you gals or guys feed your cats on an all wet diet. I'm still trying to figure that out. I have one cat that likes to graze and I don't like leaving wet food out too long. I've been feeding 3x per day of 3oz cans, but I have one cat that won't eat if its been sitting out. I'm also sometime not home to feed in the afternoon and come home to an angry trio. They have dry food to eat whenever they want also.

 

[shashagirl]

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack this topic.

 

[blaise]

Originally Posted by angryrectangle

If you're worried about junky wet food, try feeding your cat straight up salmon or tuna. Cats (usually) love it, and it's good for them!

Yeah, I've heard there can be problems with feeding your cats tuna, but I would think a salmon diet would be just fine.

SORRY........Why Fish is Dangerous for Cats

 

[rang_27]

Originally Posted by jkalex05

My male cat eats EVO dry cat and kitten food and she will eat some of his from time to time.

Evo is the only other food my Jordan will eat right now. Usually he is all about the F.F. melodies. Specifically the florintine flavors. He's had some health issues so the vet says if that is all he will eat, keep feeding it to him. Lately he has been eatin the EVO at night for dinner & his FF for breakfast. That way I feel like at least I'm getting him to eat one good meal a day.

 

[mistressotdark]

both my cats love fancy feast..and of course the *grilled* kind...
sometimes I can get them to eat the pate stuff..but only certain ones...they like the turkey and giblets one...
found out they love that "chef's" one of friskies pate...I bought a couple cans of max cat..and they do eat the chicken and rice one...
but only in between the fancy feast..they do have dry food out during the day too...

 

[sakura]

First, why isn't she spayed? I'm more worried about the fact that she's pregnant than the fact that she only eats Fancy Feast. It's not healthy for her to be pregnant and to keep going in to heat. It's going to be awfully expensive to spay and neuter every kitten she produces (not doing so is incredibly irresponsible), not to mention finding good homes for them.

I looked at the pictures of your kitties and they are beautiful. I'm concerned because it doesn't sound like you have an actual breeding program or a mentor or even if they are registered with papers. Did you have them genetically tested before breeding? Do you have the breeding rights for them from the original cattery you bought them from (assuming that's where you bought them).

Info on backyard breeding:

This is for dogs but applies to cats as well:
http://www.jlhweb.net/Boxermap/reputablebreeder.html

http://home.comcast.net/~NoPuppyMill..._breeder_.html

Some general reading on the importance of spaying/neutering:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/my...neutering.html

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/wh..._your_pet.html

http://www.spayusa.org/

A simple google search will lead you to many reasons why she needs to be spayed, but I realize that you are seeking food advice.

So as far as the food is concerned:
- She needs to be on kitten food while pregnant, not regular adult food. Fancy Feast is all-life-stages but I would try to find a kitten wet food, like Nutro Max Kitten. It's the same price as Fancy Feast but better ingredients and cats seem to like it a lot. It might just be that you have to try a lot of brands to find the right one. Or sprinkle parmesan cheese or catnip on the new wet food. My kitten doesn't seem to like wet food so I sometimes sprinkle the dust from freeze-dried chicken (like Halo's Live-a-Littles, they have them at my PetCo) on to the wet food. I know you said you tried mixing. Maybe try mixing human tuna with the new wet food? Also maybe heating it up a bit would help.

- As a general rule, I think that wet food is better than dry food. It's not really a bad thing that she only eats wet food. I would just try to wean her off of the Fancy Feast (a.k.a. Kitty Crack). There are so many higher quality food options out there. Does she like the flavors with gravy? Pate loaf style? Chunks? You might have good luck with the pouches instead of cans.

I'm not sure what types of pet food stores you have where you live, but at PetSmart I would check out Nutro Natural cans and pouches, Nutro Max cans and pouches, Authority cans, Avoderm cans, By Nature Organics cans & pouches, Blue Buffalo Spa cans. I would also consider trying Meow Mix. It's not really the same as the other brands I mentioned, but it's a little better than Fancy Feast and she might like it. Meow Mix makes pouches and cups.

PetCo carries most of those brands I listed, and also Natural Balance (which you tried).

If you have a small independent pet food store by you, look for brands like Wellness, Evo, Innova, Chicken Soup, etc. I have a feeling you might have less luck with these than you would the the easier-to-find foods I just listed. That's just based on my own experience with my own picky cats. These particular foods are very good but also very rich.

Originally Posted by angryrectangle

Yeah, I've heard there can be problems with feeding your cats tuna, but I would think a salmon diet would be just fine.

It's not even just about the mercury or the fact that a high-fish diet can lead to urinary issues. It's that the cat is not eating a well-balanced diet and will not be getting important nutrients that are added to cat food. It'd kind of be like eating only oranges for your whole life. I feed my cats human-tuna as a treat maybe once a month, if that. I give them little pieces of plain chicken sometimes but always as a treat.