Broke Down: Fed 'Em Soft Food (Also, Iams?)
 

Well I broke down & did it. ***As a treat*** anyway, I got a couple of cans
of SOFT food. Friskies, Salmon Dinner. Cats are EATING it UP.

What the heck, at 10/3.50 (35c a can), why not. As a TREAT anyway, I'd say
(maybe) 3-5 cans a week for both cats, with hard food the rest of the time.

I don't know if I will regret this, as I do believe that with them eating
hard food for months without a complaint that it's OK to give them soft but
AS a TREAT, not to indulge/spoil them. But as a treat, why not? They went
crazy over it, and it was nice to be loving to them that way. I don't have a
problem spoiling them every now & then anyway (but I'm still watching to see
if they turn their nose up to the hard food which, in fact, they were
starting to come around to now).

One option I had considered: hard food, but IAMS brand. My mother, who is
something of a cat lover, recommends it--saying that it causes them to go to
the bathroom less, and she seems to imply it would be better nutrionally for
them. If it makes them go to the bathroom less, I think that would about pay
for the difference between it vs cheap food, since you'd use less litter
(and I do use "clumping" type) and I find litter to cost much more than the
food does. If it's better for them nutritionally, I have no problem with
that.

Thoughts?

Broke Down: Fed 'Em Soft Food (Also, Iams?)
 

"noone" wrote in message
. com...
Well I broke down & did it. ***As a treat*** anyway, I got a couple of
cans of SOFT food. Friskies, Salmon Dinner. Cats are EATING it UP.

What the heck, at 10/3.50 (35c a can), why not. As a TREAT anyway, I'd say
(maybe) 3-5 cans a week for both cats, with hard food the rest of the
time.



Premium-quality soft food is *healthier* for your cats, so I would recommend
that you reverse the process. That is, use canned food (*not* the type of
"soft" food found in foil packs) almost exclusively and perhaps have an
occasional use of dry food as a treat.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e
Recent pics: http://tinyurl.com/clal7

Broke Down: Fed 'Em Soft Food (Also, Iams?)
 

noone wrote:

: Well I broke down & did it. ***As a treat*** anyway, I got a couple of cans
: of SOFT food. Friskies, Salmon Dinner. Cats are EATING it UP.
:
: What the heck, at 10/3.50 (35c a can), why not. As a TREAT anyway, I'd say
: (maybe) 3-5 cans a week for both cats, with hard food the rest of the time.

Good decision, shows you have a good heart. :) I agree with MaryL that
you should work towards feeding mostly canned, using dry as treat,
maybe 75:25 ratio. However, if it keeps things simple, 50-50 is OK.

At 35 cent level, stick to Friskies (avoid Whiskas, Nine Lives etc).
Next step up is only about 50c during sales: Iams, Science Diet. There
is no need to go more expensive. Good quality canned food will pay for
itself: with fewer fillers, they'll eat less of it; less litter; fewer
health problems.

As with people, so with pets in America: obesity is a big problem.
Don't free-feed; watch their weight/shape, adjust portions if needed.

Broke Down: Fed 'Em Soft Food (Also, Iams?)
 

"Ajanta" wrote in message
...
noone wrote:

: Well I broke down & did it. ***As a treat*** anyway, I got a couple of
cans
: of SOFT food. Friskies, Salmon Dinner. Cats are EATING it UP.
:
: What the heck, at 10/3.50 (35c a can), why not. As a TREAT anyway, I'd
say
: (maybe) 3-5 cans a week for both cats, with hard food the rest of the
time.

Good decision, shows you have a good heart. :) I agree with MaryL that
you should work towards feeding mostly canned, using dry as treat,
maybe 75:25 ratio. However, if it keeps things simple, 50-50 is OK.

At 35 cent level, stick to Friskies (avoid Whiskas, Nine Lives etc).
Next step up is only about 50c during sales: Iams, Science Diet. There
is no need to go more expensive. Good quality canned food will pay for
itself: with fewer fillers, they'll eat less of it; less litter; fewer
health problems.

As with people, so with pets in America: obesity is a big problem.
Don't free-feed; watch their weight/shape, adjust portions if needed.


I had to stop feeding my kitties canned food because they didn't seem to
like any brand of it. They'd leave the whole bowlful behind -- and before
long I was feeding cute little roaches instead of kitties. Since I really
didn't want cute little roaches for pets, I had to switch to dry food.*
(Living in Texas it doesn't take much to acquire a whole houseful of roachy
pets.)

But the dumb kitties do get canned food occasionally as a treat. They'll eat
about a spoonful at a time for variety. I think its probably better for
them too, its a shame they don't agree.

-- maryjane

* I once owned a cat who was a great exterminator. Roaches, flies, spiders,
little lizards that got in - she not only hunted but devoured them. She
thought they were great mice substitutes. Not my current lazy kitties
though - they'd rather not work for their food.

Broke Down: Fed 'Em Soft Food (Also, Iams?)
 

wrote:

: I had to stop feeding my kitties canned food because they didn't seem to
: like any brand of it. They'd leave the whole bowlful behind -- and before
: long I was feeding cute little roaches instead of kitties. Since I really
: didn't want cute little roaches for pets, I had to switch to dry food.*

Keep trying. There are so many brands, flavors, and textures, that
after a little experimenting you'll find something they like. I feed a
"visitor" cat that was hooked on dry (what she was fed), but I switched
her to canned, not 100% but I don't mind occasional dry treat. Then I
went overseas and the apt sitter had to leave dry food because of tight
schedule. So she got rehooked on dry and I have been trying to
reconvert her. It is a slow struggle but it can be done.

In the beginning it is harder because she will eat only a little
canned, which means refrigerating and rewarming the food a few times.
Once she can eat most of a small 3oz can in one meal, life gets easier.

Broke Down: Fed 'Em Soft Food (Also, Iams?)
 

Yes - I think I'll try that. Just get small cans of several brands, and see
if I can find one they like. Canned food is certainly healthier - if only
for the greater moisture content. (Just don't like the little roach
pets!!!)

I used to rewarm cat food for another cat I owned. She certainly liked it
better warm - it was smellier too which makes it a cat favorite!!

-- maryjane

"Ajanta" wrote in message
...
wrote:

: I had to stop feeding my kitties canned food because they didn't seem to
: like any brand of it. They'd leave the whole bowlful behind -- and
before
: long I was feeding cute little roaches instead of kitties. Since I
really
: didn't want cute little roaches for pets, I had to switch to dry food.*

Keep trying. There are so many brands, flavors, and textures, that
after a little experimenting you'll find something they like. I feed a
"visitor" cat that was hooked on dry (what she was fed), but I switched
her to canned, not 100% but I don't mind occasional dry treat. Then I
went overseas and the apt sitter had to leave dry food because of tight
schedule. So she got rehooked on dry and I have been trying to
reconvert her. It is a slow struggle but it can be done.

In the beginning it is harder because she will eat only a little
canned, which means refrigerating and rewarming the food a few times.
Once she can eat most of a small 3oz can in one meal, life gets easier.

Broke Down: Fed 'Em Soft Food (Also, Iams?)
 

wrote in message
. net...
Yes - I think I'll try that. Just get small cans of several brands, and
see if I can find one they like. Canned food is certainly healthier - if
only for the greater moisture content. (Just don't like the little roach
pets!!!)

I used to rewarm cat food for another cat I owned. She certainly liked it
better warm - it was smellier too which makes it a cat favorite!!

-- maryjane

"Ajanta" wrote in message
...
wrote:



Experiment by leaving the canned food out only for a limited period of time.
You could start with a longer period (say, about an hour) and gradually
reduce that to 20 minutes. Feed your cats twice a day, 12 hours apart or as
close to that as possible. Your cats will become used to that schedule.

MaryL

Broke Down: Fed 'Em Soft Food (Also, Iams?)
 

wrote:

: Yes - I think I'll try that. Just get small cans of several brands, and see
: if I can find one they like.

If you want to e creative, serve them a "buffet" of 2-3 kinds each time
and see which one they are most enthusiastic about. However, if by
chance they don't like any, be sure to eventually serve something you
know they will eat, wet or dry, so they do get their food.

: I used to rewarm cat food for another cat I owned. She certainly liked it
: better warm - it was smellier too which makes it a cat favorite!!

How did you rewarm it? If I can remember to leave it out (closed lid,
of course) long enough that is best, otherwise microwave on very low
power setting like 2 (the usual power level is 10).

Broke Down: Fed 'Em Soft Food (Also, Iams?)
 

"Ajanta" wrote in message
...
wrote:

: I used to rewarm cat food for another cat I owned. She certainly liked
it
: better warm - it was smellier too which makes it a cat favorite!!

How did you rewarm it? If I can remember to leave it out (closed lid,
of course) long enough that is best, otherwise microwave on very low
power setting like 2 (the usual power level is 10).

Microwaved it. Then stirred well. Then poked my finger into it to make
sure it wasn't TOO hot (like making sure the baby's formulas not too warm).
Had to be sure to cover the dish while heating - some brands have enough
water to spit and pop in the microwave.

Of course, the cats are smart enough to only take 1 bite if its too hot -
but no point in making them suffer.

My roommates could never understand why I went to all that trouble. "You
heat your cat's food?". I had to explain that is wasn't just that the food
was room temp again, its that heating released all the wonderful smells
(phew!) that cats like. Preferred the roommates odd looks to the sad looks
the cats gave me when I gave them ice-cold food.

-- maryjane

Broke Down: Fed 'Em Soft Food (Also, Iams?)
 

wrote:

: Microwaved it. Then stirred well. Then poked my finger into it to make
: sure it wasn't TOO hot (like making sure the baby's formulas not too warm).
: Had to be sure to cover the dish while heating...

I do about the same but am often lazy about covering. She is more
accepting of rewarmed food if I use very low power setting (2 out of
10), then it splatters and pops less. Still it would be best to cover,
which would also prevent smells from mixing.

: My roommates could never understand why I went to all that trouble. "You
: heat your cat's food?". I had to explain that is wasn't just that the food
: was room temp again, its that heating released all the wonderful smells
: (phew!) that cats like. Preferred the roommates odd looks to the sad looks
: the cats gave me when I gave them ice-cold food.

I understand. People can be so self-centered. Should serve them
something cold that they like to eat hot.