IAMS vs Whiskas?

On Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:46:48 -0600, jmc wrote:

On 6/10/11 11:53 AM, Rene wrote:

I agree on the premise that all animals should consume what they've
evolved to process... Variety is pretty important though. Keeping in
mind the digestive system of most animals is bewilderingly adaptable
and equally complex. For example, people with darker skin require a
different intake of the D vitamins than fairer skinned persons. I
can't help but imagine cats are no different in their own unique
dietary needs.

I agree with variety. I rotate among several brands (Wellness, Evo,
and B.G) and flavors. I don't want our gang to get fixated on one
flavor. If the manufacturer were to ever change their formula, they
might not eat it anymore. I've heard too many stories of "my cat only
would eat X brand, X flavor." What if they discontinue that flavor,
then what will they eat?

I had this exact thing happen, years ago. For the first 7 years of
Meep's life, she would only eat Iams Ocean Fish dry. I'm pretty sure
they changed the formulation, because between one bag and the next, she
stopped eating it.

Fortunately, after that she because gradually less fussy about foods.
She's still fussy, but there's a greater variety of food I can feed her.
Now, if I feed her the same food more than three days in succession,
she starts to refuse it. Which is a real pain since it'd be a lot
easier if I could by her cat food by the case, instead of going to
different stores and buying a few cans of this, a few cans of that. Oh,
well, at least she's healthy and I don't have to take two weeks to
switch foods on her.

jmc

My first two cats would eat almost anything. I used to laugh at people
who wrote in that their cat(s) would only eat X or Y. Oh, I would
think, you just don't know how to get them to eat other foods. I paid
for that obnoxious attitude when Espy arrived.

He would rather starve than eat X. Or Y. He would eat Z for a bit,
then when I got a whole case he would decide that he was done with it.
Nipsy, Marlo, and Scooter are much less picky but will turn their nose
up at one or another food.

But Espy remains the problem. He never eats a real lot and I try to
get him to gain weight (he maxes out at 9 lbs and usually is around
8.8). He prefers food with liquid to really solid stuff so I end up
shaking various cans in the store trying to find some that are liquid
enough for him. He's quite charming though so it's worth the trouble.

On 6/13/11 9:29 AM, dgk wrote:
But Espy remains the problem. He never eats a real lot and I try to
get him to gain weight (he maxes out at 9 lbs and usually is around
8.8). He prefers food with liquid to really solid stuff so I end up
shaking various cans in the store trying to find some that are liquid
enough for him. He's quite charming though so it's worth the trouble.

Why don't you just add a little warm water to the food? I do that to
help ensure that Meep gets plenty of fluids, it makes a nice gravy even
in foods that don't have a lot of fluid themselves.

jmc

On Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:55:50 -0600, jmc wrote:

On 6/13/11 9:29 AM, dgk wrote:
But Espy remains the problem. He never eats a real lot and I try to
get him to gain weight (he maxes out at 9 lbs and usually is around
8.8). He prefers food with liquid to really solid stuff so I end up
shaking various cans in the store trying to find some that are liquid
enough for him. He's quite charming though so it's worth the trouble.

Why don't you just add a little warm water to the food? I do that to
help ensure that Meep gets plenty of fluids, it makes a nice gravy even
in foods that don't have a lot of fluid themselves.

jmc


I've added water but it doesn't seem to fool him. It's a good idea so
I'll try again. I used cold water so I'll try with warm.

jmc wrote:

Why don't you just add a little warm
water to the food?

I always add some warm water to the canned food (Wellness) to soften it
and provide extra water.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

dgk wrote:
On Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:55:50 -0600, jmc wrote:

On 6/13/11 9:29 AM, dgk wrote:
But Espy remains the problem. He never eats a real lot and I try to
get him to gain weight (he maxes out at 9 lbs and usually is around
8.8). He prefers food with liquid to really solid stuff so I end up
shaking various cans in the store trying to find some that are
liquid enough for him. He's quite charming though so it's worth the
trouble.

Why don't you just add a little warm water to the food? I do that to
help ensure that Meep gets plenty of fluids, it makes a nice gravy
even in foods that don't have a lot of fluid themselves.

jmc


I've added water but it doesn't seem to fool him. It's a good idea so
I'll try again. I used cold water so I'll try with warm.

My wife buys low salt canned chicken broth, which she adds to some of the
cat foods to moisten them up and make them more appealing to the cats. It
seems to work OK, and is relatively harmless.

On Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:27:33 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

dgk wrote:
On Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:55:50 -0600, jmc wrote:

On 6/13/11 9:29 AM, dgk wrote:
But Espy remains the problem. He never eats a real lot and I try to
get him to gain weight (he maxes out at 9 lbs and usually is around
8.8). He prefers food with liquid to really solid stuff so I end up
shaking various cans in the store trying to find some that are
liquid enough for him. He's quite charming though so it's worth the
trouble.

Why don't you just add a little warm water to the food? I do that to
help ensure that Meep gets plenty of fluids, it makes a nice gravy
even in foods that don't have a lot of fluid themselves.

jmc


I've added water but it doesn't seem to fool him. It's a good idea so
I'll try again. I used cold water so I'll try with warm.

My wife buys low salt canned chicken broth, which she adds to some of the
cat foods to moisten them up and make them more appealing to the cats. It
seems to work OK, and is relatively harmless.

That seems pretty clever. How long can a can last once opened since
the cans are pretty big and the usage likely small.

dgk wrote:
On Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:27:33 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

dgk wrote:
On Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:55:50 -0600, jmc wrote:

On 6/13/11 9:29 AM, dgk wrote:
But Espy remains the problem. He never eats a real lot and I try
to get him to gain weight (he maxes out at 9 lbs and usually is
around
8.8). He prefers food with liquid to really solid stuff so I end
up shaking various cans in the store trying to find some that are
liquid enough for him. He's quite charming though so it's worth
the trouble.

Why don't you just add a little warm water to the food? I do that
to help ensure that Meep gets plenty of fluids, it makes a nice
gravy even in foods that don't have a lot of fluid themselves.

jmc


I've added water but it doesn't seem to fool him. It's a good idea
so I'll try again. I used cold water so I'll try with warm.

My wife buys low salt canned chicken broth, which she adds to some
of the cat foods to moisten them up and make them more appealing to
the cats. It seems to work OK, and is relatively harmless.

That seems pretty clever. How long can a can last once opened since
the cans are pretty big and the usage likely small.

A week or so if refridgerated. But my wife uses it for making gravy for us
also, so it isn't a problem. We usually use it all up in a couple of days or
less. It is pretty cheap, too. Especially if you find it in the dollar
store, or "Big Lots"..