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#1
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Picky cat: Friskies or Whiskas?
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. |
#2
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Newbie wrote:
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? Friskie's. Whiskas is high in fat and carbs. 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. From what Phil P. posted last week, Fancy Feast is now more "premium" than it used to be. Don't worry about it too much. -L. |
#3
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"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. 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 ? 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. The reason for that is probably the triple sodium content and higher phosphorus content of Friskies which cats find very palatable. A similar flavor enhancer (digest) is used to coat (enrobe) dry food nuggets and pellets otherwise cats wouldn't touch the stuff. 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? 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. 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. 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. Phil |
#4
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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). 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! 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. : 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. 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. :-) 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. |
#5
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Newbie wrote:
My cat simply refuses to eat any of the nutritious premium foods I have bought after much research! Don't feel alone. Our two cats are the same. They will only eat the Friskies Fine Cuts - pouches... (they won't touch Whiskas). We have also tried all the more "healthy" brands too - to no avail. However, they are not too fussy about dry food, they will eat various brands. Both are healthy and happy, so if your cat like Friskies, let him/her eat it! Cheers Cathy |
#6
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Suddenly, without warning, Newbie exclaimed (03-Aug-05 7:34 AM):
My cat simply refuses to eat any of the nutritious premium foods I have bought after much research! What she likes are chunk/gravy cans from cheaper brands like Friskies and Whiskas! My cat's the same. My vet calls her a 'junk food junkie'. She won't touch Whiskas though. She likes 9 Lives and Felix, a grocery-store cat food here in the UK. I keep trying for the premiums, since she's prone to cystitis and some of the junk foods are truly bad for her. Fortunatly, she will eat premium dry, it's only the wet she doesn't like. And if it doesn't have jelly, forget it. Gravy's not food, according to Meep. jmc |
#7
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On Wed, 03 Aug 2005 06:34:44 GMT, A strange species called Newbie
wrote: 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. Try giving her the packets of Whiskas in Jelly. Especially the fish varieties. Our cat loves this stuff. We also buy the Purina One dry food. He likes this too and often eats it. He mainly eats the Whiskas soft food though 75% of the time. We only put a small amount of dried Purina food out for him at any time, because dried food goes stale "VERY" quickly, and cats hate stale food. We will put out a small handful of dried food out for him in his tray downstairs and his other tray upstairs. We replace this every 24 hours. If there is anything left it isn't much and we just throw what is left. Saves money to just put out a small amount of fresh dried food, and your cat wants to eat it if it isn't stale. John |
#8
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John wrote:
: Try giving her the packets of Whiskas in Jelly. Especially the fish : varieties. Our cat loves this stuff. She'll eat Friskies and Whiskas as they are, without any extra incentive. But I don't know how to encourage her to eat premium canned food that has paste- or loaf-like texture. I have quite a few of those cans. : We only put a small amount of dried Purina food out for him at any : time, because dried food goes stale "VERY" quickly, and cats hate : stale food. We will put out a small handful of dried food out for him : in his tray downstairs and his other tray upstairs. We replace this : every 24 hours. If there is anything left it isn't much and we just : throw what is left. Saves money to just put out a small amount of : fresh dried food, and your cat wants to eat it if it isn't stale. I didn't realize this. Wet food I can see drying up, but dry food looks and smells the same to me after many hours. A few times I put the uneaten dry portion back in the bag. Maybe this is why she doesn't like dry as much now. Or it maybe she thinks/knows that if she doesn't eat long enough I would eventually show up with a Friskies can. One Petsmart emlpoyee suggestes mixing little bit of dry with canned food (he said he does that). Some Nutro cans explicitly suggest that too, 75% dry 25% canned if I remember correctly. But we haven't bothered. We use very little dry and only rarely. |
#9
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"Newbie" wrote in message
... My cat also prefers Friskies to Science Diet dry food. The previous owner gave her Friskies. I switched her to Science Diet for kittens. She ate that for a while. When she was about 6 months old, I let her taste Friskies and she never went back to Science Diet. Once a day, I'll giver her a Nutro Natural Choice packet (Salmon or Tuna and Oceanfish). She loves the gravy, but doesn't eat the food (Nutro). After licking the gravy, she'll go eat some Friskies. |
#10
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In article , Newbie
wrote: 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 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. |
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