What do they put in cheap catfood that makes it so tasty for cats?

[applegrove]

Last edited Tue Dec 11, 2012, 12:15 AM - Edit history (1)

My cat refuses to eat the expensive, healthy, dry food I put out for her now that she knows the cheap stuff is available. Is there msg in it?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. It's probably something like the corresponding rule of dieting for humans:

If it Tastes Good, Spit It Out.

Human food that's good for you is stuff like kale and lima beans, not fudge and ice cream. Maybe healthful cat food is as blah as that. And, because it's good for them, it probably tastes like mulch or wallpaper paste.

My cats go berserk for cat treats called Whisker Lickins, the crunchy tuna flavored kind. I mean, they completely lose control. All I have to do is rattle the little foil packet and they come running from anywhere in the house, even if they were asleep upstairs. And they devour the stuff like hungry leopards on an antelope. So the other day I bought some expensive, good quality organic cat treats. And they turned up their little noses at them and demanded their Whisker Lickins, the kitty junk food.

[applegrove]

2. I don't give cat treats to my cat because I once gave to much to my Monster and

he had a urinary tract issue that required surgery. But yeah. Twilight will gobble up the crap.

[OrwellwasRight]

8. Speaking of kitty junk food . . .

I once got fooled into buying "Free Range Chicken" Flavored treats.

Do free range chickens taste different? And if they do, do cats know? And if they do, and cats know, do cheap-o cat food companies authentically reproduce such "flavors" in their free range chicken-flavored treats????

I now read the packages more closely. I felt really ripped off after at first feeling proud that I was supporting sustainable agricultural practices AND making my kitty happy.

[Art_from_Ark]

3. My cat is the opposite

After being exposed to name brand stuff, she now regurgitates the dollar store stuff.

[Xipe Totec]

4. Cats? nt

[applegrove]

5. Ah you!

[graywarrior]

6. My cat changes his mind about his food on an hourly basis.

The canned stuff he had in the morning is disgusting to him at dinner. Drives me insane!

[Lokey]

7. My picky eater wouldn't eat any dry food until

I bought the purple bag of Fancy Feast. It's a little pricier, but not the most expensive and probably not the healthiest.

He was on a special diet for a while because he has a sensitive stomach and he loved the high dollar stuff that the vet gave us(that was a canned food)
I thought the poor kitty was dying one morning as he sat as a loaf cat in the chair and made this hideous loud moaning sound and his eyes were dilated-turns out it was just a bad belly ache due to too many salmon treats.

He too is a Whisker Lickins fan, only the moist treats though.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

9. wrong thread, sorry.

[mykpart]

10. Probably sugar and salt.

Just like people food.

[kurtzapril4]

11. It's extra smelly!

Cats depend on their noses a lot...so much so, if they have a cold and can't smell their food, they won't eat, and often have to be force fed. The cheap stuff "smells" more than the more expensive stuff that has higher quality ingredients. But also, the cheap stuff has high ash and magnesium that can cause bladder crystals.

[Festivito]

12. Maybe the expensive stuff sits on the store shelf longer.

I won't buy the super cheap stuff, Dad's is it? I just don't feel right about it. But, I won't buy the super expensive end either. Does IAMs make cat food? Not for me anyway. 10-15 $ for 16 pounds is about right.

If they don't eat it, they can hunt.

They get a can once a week when company comes. Company is asked to feed them. They are very attentive to any company. They ask for a can every day. Though, they're getting used to the idea that it takes a week.

[jmowreader]

13. Oh, and that burying act they do when they don't like a food?

They're born knowing how to do that.

Literally.

I haven't mentioned my orange cat TB in a while (it means Titty Boy...so named because he started nursing without bothering to get born all the way. Little fucker was latched onto a nipple while his back legs were still in his mother up to the knees.) At the prescribed interval to start solid food, I bought some ultra expensive canned kitten food and put it in front of him. He took one sniff, buried it and ate half his mother's meal. This was a week before he ever saw a litter boc.

[TrogL]

14. Mine love the Walmart no-name brand in wet packets

It's about a buck less than the Whiskas equivalent and they like it better.

[riderinthestorm]

15. Cats retain preferences for the taste and texture of the food they ate as kittens

So if your cat started out with Kibbles and Bits, or Meow Mix or something else on the cheap end, they will always prefer it.

I've even had cats that won't eat tuna or any other "canned" cat food. My vet says they have no early memory of eating it so they will snub it.

I've had really good luck with Purina Cat Chow. Since all of my cats have been dumped here at the farm, or wandered in, I never know about their early years. All of them eat the Purina so there's something palatable in it for all and nutritionally its as good as most of the expensive brands.

[datasuspect]

16. asbestos

[yawnmaster]

17. My cat goes crazy for a freeze dried chicken doggie treat...

the only ingredient is chicken.
thumbsized chunks that the cat is crazy about.

doesn't have much taste, in my opinion, but cat is nuts about it.

[Sunlei]

18. you really don't want to know (heres a link for you)

http://www.lcanimal.org/index.php/investigations/investigations-in-the-field/rendering

my cats (and dogs) really enjoy a raw chicken wing twice a week. Their teeth stay much cleaner. I buy the bulk packs of wings, freeze them all and pass them out frozen. I've never had an issue with them- raw bone is softer, though your experience may differ.

[LynneSin]

19. Why does chocolate taste so yummy and broccoli taste like someone pissed on it

[NV Whino]

20. Corn

[fleur-de-lisa]

21. Probably MSG . . .

that's what the fast food restaurants add to make people addicted, fat and sick.