My "beef" about the supposedly better brands of cat food
When Nicki went off his regular food after his vet appointment in July, I went out to PetSmart to pick up a few other brands for him to try.
This is one, which I opened this morning. Those white globs? Fat.
Both boys gave this a sniff; neither would even give it a lick. Gee, I can't imagine why.
This food supposedly has no grain, no filler, no by-products. I would dispute the "no fillers" on the label, as all the added fat certainly is a filler, as are vegetables and fruit--all of which can come in the "better" brands, to keep the companies' costs down and maximize their profits.
Short of making my own raw, the alternative seems to be the lower end brands that do have by-products, but are grain-free, fruit, veggie and fat-glob free.
BTW, when Nicki was off his regular food, I foolishly (in retrospect) picked up some Whiskas paté. The chicken and the beef flavours. And yes, I know, don't feed your cats beef. Or chicken. Or fish. Or any other number of things, according to various and contradictory sources found via Google.
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| Image from Google Images |
Now, I've heard it said that Fancy Feast is like kitty crack, but for Nicki and Derry, this stuff is kitty crack. That's all they want, even though the deal I have with them is that they get their regular food in the morning and for their early supper, and they get Whiskas for their second supper/bedtime treat.
They're not impressed.
I'm not impressed that I have two food fuss pots who don't want to eat any--not one single brand--of the "better" and "premium" brands I've tried over the years.
I'm not impressed with the pet food industry in general.
There. Got that off my chest, so to speak.
Purrs from the four-leggeds and peace from me.
Comments
I do feed my bunch Fancy Feast, though I try to stay away from the ones with gluten. But, though I'm told that an all soft-food diet is good for cats, mine just won't eat enough of it for their good, and I can't afford that with a couple of my skinnies. So, at breakfast, dinner and snack times, the Fancy Feast comes out. Otherwise, the hard food bowl is on the floor. At least they like the better kind of hard-food.
xoxoxo
I would much rather feed my carnivore left over bits of the animal than an apple, so I tend to go for the 'lower quality' foods when we aren't feeding raw.
as for Fancy Feast being crack, they actually do make several really good flavors that aren't full of plants. I tend to gravitate toward the turkey and giblet 'classic' style food but all of the 'classic' (pate) flavors are among some of the healthier cat foods that I've found.
FF does make those appetizer things--just shredded chicken or chicken and beef, no vitamins/minerals. Derry won't touch them (too close to "real" food for him), but Nicki loves them. He's had two now, one on each of the past two Sundays. Sunday brunch for him. LOL.
Riffa's reply to my post was very sensible though: The most important thing being that the cat is eating! :-)
There are days I just want to tear my hair out. And it's not just about the kind of food served. I can't let Cosmo smell Whisky's raw food or he'll skip his meal completely. No using the same spoon for Whisky's raw and his canned (even after the spoon is washed and scrubbed clean). No sudden movements when Ling is eating or she'll run off and not eat...
The cats think dog food taste better and they will take Fenris & Tuiren's food away from them. Really sad/funny to see Fen laying down whimpering because one of the cats stole his food.
Whatever that is in the picture looks really awful...
My cats aren't very picky but tend to walk away from the expensive stuff. They get kibble during the day (with as little grains/gluten as possible) and share a half can of soft pate (IAMS) in the evening along with their kibble.
I've been fortunate - other than poor Silas, none have had any serious health/tummy issues. He was a special diet of expensive food which he hated and none of the others would eat. We hid the other cats bowls in the cupboard and he figured out a way to open the door to get it. I felt so bad!
I'm with the earlier comment, as long as they are eating and not having tummy troubles I'm satisfied.
Good luck!
LOVE both these pics of the boys, especially the bottom one, LOL!
Well not matter what they are eating, Nicki and Derry look perfect!
xo Catherine
I wish she liked people foods as I would love her to be on a real meat diet, but she turns her nose up at chicken/fish/beef/lamb etc. Grrrr.
Julie and Poppy Q
xxx
Awwww so have you found what your lovely boys like? I hope so! Do you have Sheba over there? Or something like this?
http://www.lilyskitchen.co.uk/cat/all
The thing I don't like about whiskas is the smell and sorry to be so explicit but kitty pooh after whiskas is the worst! bleagh! What do they put in these things!
Hugs to Nicki and Derry!
Take care
x