Picky cat: Friskies or Whiskas?

"Newbie" wrote in message
...
Phil P. wrote:

: Have you offered her any of the 'loaf' type SD diets such as Liver &
: Chicken Entrée, Gourmet Turkey Entrée, Turkey & Giblets Entrée,
Savory
: Chicken Entrée ?

Yes, indeed. Here is the hisory.

At first, I bought food by price; they were mainly Whiskas and
Friskies. By sheer chance (I didn't pay attention to texture), they
were bits-in-gravy type. She ate them happily.

Later, after receiving nutritional advice from a few persons, including
here and including comments from you, I bought an assortment of premuim
cans (SD, IAMS, Max Cat, Nutro). Again by chance most happened to be
paste or loaf type. She was quite resistant (but she did eat a little).


Did you offer her the different diets as a smorgasbord- putting them all out
at the same time and letting her choose her favorite?




I still had a few Friskies left; when offered those she ate
enthusiastically. Maybe this was a mistake, because after this she
stopped accepting paste-like premium food completely!


Try offering the loaf diet again, alone. But this time, cut it up into
small chunks with a knife- don't mush it.



At this point I theorized that maybe she likes the bits-in-gravy
texture better than paste. So I went out and bought several SD Savory
Cuts.

Now her discrimination became more perplexing:
Offered SD alone, she would lick the gravy off quite happily and leave
most of the meat behind.
Offered Friskies alone, she would finish everything.
Offered both side by side, she would eat Friskies and not touch SD.

This is where we are now.

: The reason for that is probably the triple sodium content and higher
: phosphorus content of Friskies which cats find very palatable.

Figures, :-)

: The last time I researched the Whiskas line, I found it completely
: unacceptable. Friskies, however, puts out a few diets that I've found
: acceptable and would recommend if the budget was an issue: Three of the
: first 4 ingredients in the "Fine Cuts" line (pouches) contain meat or
fish
: as the primary protein sources and relatively low phosphorus and sodium
: contents. The Prime Filets with Chicken in Gravy (can), Seared Filets
With
: Turkey & Giblets (can), Seared Filets with Salmon (can), Shredded
Chicken &
: Salmon Dinner in Gravy, and Sliced Gourmet Grill (cans) are also
acceptable.

Thanks. In the near term, Friskies is it; this list will help.

If budget isn't issue, I'd recommend Fancy Feast over Friskies because it
contains more meat products and more protein from animal tissue than
Friskies.



: Actually, the cost of two 3 oz. cans of Fancy Feast is very close to the
: cost of one 5.5 oz can of 'premium' food. FF tends to be less expensive
in
: Petsmart than anywhere else (.40/can). FF Chicken Feast in Gravy
contains
: more meat products, much higher protein and lower phosphorus than most
of
: the other 'premium' brands including Wellness.

Petsmart and Target happen to be most convenient for me (I prefer
Petsmart because you can buy individual cans). I am certainly prepared
to pay more than 32 cents/can Friskies cost me. I was able to buy most
premium cans for 49-59 cents on sale (which is why I stocked up), may
have paid 69 for some. Those prices are fine. With FF, it wasn't so
much the price, but my "alert consumer" personality, :-) maybe I will
get over that and try a few of those as well.


The caloric content of two 3 oz cans of FF is about the same as one 5.5 oz
can of most premium brands- which is about the same as the daily caloric
requirement for most cats. With 3 oz cans, you can feed a freshly opened
can at both feedings; with 5.5 oz cans you must refrigerate 1/2 the can and
reheat it before serving. Sometimes the cooling and reheating affects
flavor and texture.



Besides shopping carefully within the Friskies line, I am toying with
the idea of blending a little bit of SD (savory cuts), increasing its
portion gradually, to see if she can be taught to eat SD.

I would love to be able to feed her loaf- and paste- type food as well,
just to increase her variety and my options, but I don't know how to
approach it. I don't want a stand-off with my cat and I don't think
blending paste into gravy would work well. :-)

You could try to accustom her taste and smell to SD by putting a dab of SD
on her nose. The odor will satiate her olfactory system and when she licks
it off, she'll satiate her gustatory system so she won't detect the SD in
the mix until after she's eaten it. Then gradually increase the amount of
SD in the mix while simultaneously decreasing the amount of Friskies by the
same amount. I found also smearing a little food on a cat's belly helps her
get accustomed to a different food.



At friends' homes I have seen cats that rush to the bowl and eat
whatever is offered. It is really eerie, though also a little cute, to
watch this cat inspect and sniff the bowl, think for a moment or two,
and then decide to either eat or move and sit quietly a few feet away
waiting for something else.

I've learned that feeding a variety of foods at a young age will often avoid
fixed food preferences later in life. This is very important if the cat
develops a condition that requires a prescription food. I try to accustom
cats to low phosphorus diets early on because that seems to be the hardest
addiction for cats to break.

Keep the faith- and keep trying!

Good luck,

Phil

Shawn Hirn wrote:

: I don't think it matters from a nutritional standpoint which brand of
: food you feed your cat. I think those premium cat foods with premium
: prices are just a way to separate consumers from their money. My cat
: isn't a big fan of Science Diet and the other high end cat foods either,
: but she will eat them.
:
: My suggestion is that you let your cat decide which cat food brand she
: likes best. My cat will eat most brands of sliced cat food, but she
: really gets excited over Whiskas. I usually buy the brand that's on
: sale. My cat's never complained.

I am hesitant to accept your premise. As with human junk food, it is
possible for manufacturers to offer 'food' that tastes good but
provides poor quality nutrition. Ill effects may take years to surface.
Please be careful.

Phil P. wrote:

: Did you offer her the different diets as a smorgasbord- putting
: them all out at the same time and letting her choose her favorite?

Not yet. (Unless we count the time when I put SD, Friskies, and some
kibble at the same time. She ate only Friskies.) But I have made a note
of the process. Do you put very little of each? Otherwise she would eat
her favorite and have no appetite left to continue with the
experiement.

: Try offering the loaf diet again, alone. But this time, cut it up into
: small chunks with a knife- don't mush it.

Thanks. Never thought of that. I don't know why but I realize I did
tend to mush it around with a spoon.

: The caloric content of two 3 oz cans of FF is about the same as one 5.5 oz
: can of most premium brands- which is about the same as the daily caloric
: requirement for most cats. With 3 oz cans, you can feed a freshly opened
: can at both feedings; with 5.5 oz cans you must refrigerate 1/2 the can and
: reheat it before serving. Sometimes the cooling and reheating affects
: flavor and texture.

True. The cat is always less enthusiastic about reheated food, no
matter how or how carefully I have done it. I have tried adding a spoon
of boiling water, 5-sec microwave at defrost setting, and a few other
tricks.

Also, thanks for the following comments:

: You could try to accustom her taste and smell to SD by putting a dab of SD
: on her nose. The odor will satiate her olfactory system and when she licks
: it off, she'll satiate her gustatory system so she won't detect the SD in
: the mix until after she's eaten it. Then gradually increase the amount of
: SD in the mix while simultaneously decreasing the amount of Friskies by the
: same amount. I found also smearing a little food on a cat's belly helps her
: get accustomed to a different food.
:
: At friends' homes I have seen cats that rush to the bowl and eat
: whatever is offered. It is really eerie, though also a little cute, to
: watch this cat inspect and sniff the bowl, think for a moment or two,
: and then decide to either eat or move and sit quietly a few feet away
: waiting for something else.
:
: I've learned that feeding a variety of foods at a young age will often avoid
: fixed food preferences later in life. This is very important if the cat
: develops a condition that requires a prescription food. I try to accustom
: cats to low phosphorus diets early on because that seems to be the hardest
: addiction for cats to break.
:
: Keep the faith- and keep trying!
:
: Good luck,
:
: Phil

In article , Newbie
wrote:

Shawn Hirn wrote:

: I don't think it matters from a nutritional standpoint which brand of
: food you feed your cat. I think those premium cat foods with premium
: prices are just a way to separate consumers from their money. My cat
: isn't a big fan of Science Diet and the other high end cat foods either,
: but she will eat them.
:
: My suggestion is that you let your cat decide which cat food brand she
: likes best. My cat will eat most brands of sliced cat food, but she
: really gets excited over Whiskas. I usually buy the brand that's on
: sale. My cat's never complained.

I am hesitant to accept your premise. As with human junk food, it is
possible for manufacturers to offer 'food' that tastes good but
provides poor quality nutrition. Ill effects may take years to surface.
Please be careful.

This is only anecdotal evidence, but my cat is around 15 years old.
Other than a minor thyroid problem, my cat is healthy on the food I
provide for her. My cat visits the vet for a check up with full blood
work roughly every six months, so I now of what I speak. My cat is fed
roughly about 75% dry food and 25% canned. I buy whatever's cheapest,
but I buy her Whiskas if the price is not much different than the
cheapest food.

I think those expensive high end pet foods are all marketing and no
substance. I am 43 and I have had cats for pets as long as I can
remember. My parents fed one of their cats Science Diet canned food
exclusively. Its longevity was no better than our cats who are fed the
bargain priced cat food. Of course, if you feel better by spending more
money on premium cat food, more power to you.

Shawn Hirn wrote:

: This is only anecdotal evidence, but my cat is around 15 years old.
: Other than a minor thyroid problem, my cat is healthy on the food I
: provide for her. My cat visits the vet for a check up with full blood
: work roughly every six months, so I now of what I speak. My cat is fed
: roughly about 75% dry food and 25% canned. I buy whatever's cheapest,
: but I buy her Whiskas if the price is not much different than the
: cheapest food.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Please let me clarify one
general point: I know that if I ate by taste alone, I would not be very
healthy. I have been fearing the same may be true for my cat too. But
that does not mean that any particular brand is necessarily bad, and
certainly not merely because it is inexpensive.

Friskies and Whiskas are two brands my cat likes (hence the title of
this thread). I am happy to learn from Phil that Friskies is good
quality, and now from your experience that Whiskas may be fine too.

BTW when you say 75% dry and 25% canned, do you mean 3 meals
dry followed by 1 meal canned, or some dry and some canned each meal
but served separately, or dry and canned mixed together each time?

Are both canned and dry from Whiskas? Do you give your cat any treats?

: I think those expensive high end pet foods are all marketing and no
: substance. I am 43 and I have had cats for pets as long as I can
: remember. My parents fed one of their cats Science Diet canned food
: exclusively. Its longevity was no better than our cats who are fed the
: bargain priced cat food. Of course, if you feel better by spending more
: money on premium cat food, more power to you.

My goal is to identify good nutrition that my cat will eat and then go
for the lowest prices: mostly; she can have an expensive treat now and
then. At stores near me, I can buy Friskies/Whiskas for 30-35 c, and
many premiums for 50-70 c.

"Newbie" wrote in message
...
My cat simply refuses to eat any of the nutritious premium foods I have
bought after much research! First I thought she simply doesn't like
paste and prefers chunks in gravy texture. However, that turned out to
be only half true. What she likes are chunk/gravy cans from cheaper
brands like Friskies and Whiskas! She ignores chunk/gravy food from
Science Diet: if that is the only option, she licks the gravy off but
leaves all meat behind.

Today I served her Friskies and SD side by side. To me they looked
similar: beef pieces in bad smelling brown gravy. She zeroed in on
Friskies, lapped it up, and didn't touch SD, even gravy.

This is quite perplexing to me. I have tried many tricks but I think
she has figured out that I can't see her go hungry and would eventually
break down and give her what she likes. So, between Friskies and
Whiskas which one will be better for her?

I must confess that I have avoided Fancy Feast, because their small
cans seem like rip offs to me, but she has turned down just about every
other premium food I have tried, canned or dry.

I don't blame him. I don't like (labeled as) healthy foods either. I had a
cat live 21 years on Friskies dry food only. She wasn't even interested in
any wet brands.

When my present cat gets finicky I put some flake fish food on top and he
will eat anything. The stuff must be like frosting to him and its pretty
nutritious too.

PipeDown wrote:

: I don't blame him. I don't like (labeled as) healthy foods either. I had a
: cat live 21 years on Friskies dry food only. She wasn't even interested in
: any wet brands.
:
: When my present cat gets finicky I put some flake fish food on top and he
: will eat anything. The stuff must be like frosting to him and its pretty
: nutritious too.

By "flake fish food" do you mean some kind of cat food, or a can of
tuna (meant for humans), or pieces of fish filet (sold for human
consumption) something else? Sorry, I am mostly vegetarian myself and
not too up to date on this side of life.

In article , Newbie
wrote:

Shawn Hirn wrote:

: This is only anecdotal evidence, but my cat is around 15 years old.
: Other than a minor thyroid problem, my cat is healthy on the food I
: provide for her. My cat visits the vet for a check up with full blood
: work roughly every six months, so I now of what I speak. My cat is fed
: roughly about 75% dry food and 25% canned. I buy whatever's cheapest,
: but I buy her Whiskas if the price is not much different than the
: cheapest food.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Please let me clarify one
general point: I know that if I ate by taste alone, I would not be very
healthy. I have been fearing the same may be true for my cat too. But
that does not mean that any particular brand is necessarily bad, and
certainly not merely because it is inexpensive.

Friskies and Whiskas are two brands my cat likes (hence the title of
this thread). I am happy to learn from Phil that Friskies is good
quality, and now from your experience that Whiskas may be fine too.

BTW when you say 75% dry and 25% canned, do you mean 3 meals
dry followed by 1 meal canned, or some dry and some canned each meal
but served separately, or dry and canned mixed together each time?

Are both canned and dry from Whiskas? Do you give your cat any treats?

My cat is fed a variety of different brands of dry and canned foods.
Whiskas dry and canned are the two brands my cat likes the most. My cat
definitely prefers canned more than the dry food though. She eats a lot
of different styles of canned food, but by far her favorite is the
sliced beef. If I put a can of sliced beef out for her, my cat will
typically polish it off in an hour or two, but the other kinds take her
much longer to finish.

Because I tend to be away from home a lot during the day, I also always
keep a steady supply of dry food available for my cat. I use one of
those cat food dispensers what drops dried food into its bowl as the
bowl gets emptied by my cat. Every other night or so, I give my cat one
can of food (frequently Whiskas, but not always). One or two weekend
mornings, I also feed my cat canned food. That's how I come up with the
25% number. Its not a hard and fast number.

I have tried feeding my cat, those treat nugget things, but for some
reason, she completely ignores them. If I hold a treat out to her in my
hand, all she'll do is sniff at it. If I put some treats in the bowl
with her canned food, she eats around them. Its strange because my cat
is otherwise, not a fussy eater. So, for me, spending money on those cat
treats is a total waste of my money.

My goal is to identify good nutrition that my cat will eat and then go
for the lowest prices: mostly; she can have an expensive treat now and
then. At stores near me, I can buy Friskies/Whiskas for 30-35 c, and
many premiums for 50-70 c.

Check with your vet too for advise. I rarely buy premium brands for my
cat. Most of the time, when I give my cat a new premium variety of food,
she gives it the cold shoulder. I only try the premium brands if they
are on sale and if I haven't given them to my cat before. I guess I am
lucky, because my cat will eat almost anything, yet it sure seems to
have a preference for the cheaper cat foods. I prefer not to spend money
on those premium brands because she typically will ignore them, so any
improved nutritional benefits they may offer is usually wasted on my cat.

"Newbie" wrote in message
...
PipeDown wrote:

: I don't blame him. I don't like (labeled as) healthy foods either. I
had a
: cat live 21 years on Friskies dry food only. She wasn't even interested
in
: any wet brands.
:
: When my present cat gets finicky I put some flake fish food on top and
he
: will eat anything. The stuff must be like frosting to him and its
pretty
: nutritious too.

By "flake fish food" do you mean some kind of cat food, or a can of
tuna (meant for humans), or pieces of fish filet (sold for human
consumption) something else? Sorry, I am mostly vegetarian myself and
not too up to date on this side of life.

I mean food for fish that comes in flake form (as opposed to floating
pellets). It is made out of dried fish products. I just put a pinch or two
on top of the cat's food, about the same amount I fed the fish.

I'm sure your cat would also like fresh fish or canned tuna but that is
definitely not less expensive. The most nutritious food I know of is raw
beef or poultry but as a vegetarian, you may not want to deal with that just
for kitty.

You can also supplement your cat's regular diet with vitamins (liquid or in
the form of treats) or if your cat is outdoors, he is likely supplementing
his own diet with bugs and an occasional mouse or bird.

Mostly I just stay away from foods with high non-nutritious filler content
(ash, bone meal etc) which is mainly used by the cheapest brands.

Also if you are looking to save $ on pet food, buy at the big pet chain
stores instead of the supermarket and you will save quite a bit. If the
regular brands were all that bad, people would stop buying them. For the
most part they are quite adequate for the pets. The premium brands, though
they do in fact contain more nutritious and pure ingredients may exceed the
dietary requirements of most pets. They are good products but overkill
IMHO. Though, particularly for indoor cats, you may also notice a
difference on the odor from the litter box, which may be worth the extra
expense right there.

Shawn Hirn wrote:

Thank you for sharing your experience again. I appreciate the details.

: My cat is fed a variety of different brands of dry and canned foods.
: Whiskas dry and canned are the two brands my cat likes the most...
: If I put a can of sliced beef out for her, my cat will typically polish it
: off in an hour or two, but the other kinds take her much longer to
: finish.

How long can you leave the dry and canned food before your cat decides
they are too stale to eat?

: I rarely buy premium brands for my cat. Most of the time, when I
: give my cat a new premium variety of food, she gives it the cold
: shoulder. I only try the premium brands if they are on sale and if
: I haven't given them to my cat before. I guess I am lucky, because
: my cat will eat almost anything, yet it sure seems to have a
: preference for the cheaper cat foods....

I too should feel lucky, my cat has shown a strong prference for
inexpensive canned food. I have tried just about everything available
in local stores, up to about $1/can, yet she is happiest with 30 cent
cans. In fact I am having a really hard time using up the premium cans
I accumulated on sales.

I was moved to try premiums because of the "byproducts" and
"carbohydrate" controversy. I guess you have decided/found that they
don't matter?