Trying to break the gourmet-catfood habit

[spinbaby]

It's our fault. We've let our six cats get the idea that humans open cans of Fancy Feast on demand. But the price went up seven cents a can overnight, so we're trying to break the habit and get them used to eating canned food from larger cans at two scheduled meals a day with nothing but dry food and water in between.

You never heard such whining.

[teach1st]

1. No cold turkey

Over the past year I've got my cats down to only two fancy feasts dinners each week. They won't let me forget my cruelty, either.

[1monster]

2. That stuff is bad for them in the long run anyway. Get them dry food that

is low in magnesium and is formulated with long-term kidney health in mind. A vet once told me that older dogs die of heart failure and older cats develop kidney failure and die of complications from that.

[pansypoo53219]

3. oh you poor things

since one cat can't have wet food(urinary tract infections). NONE of them get wet. HA! no begging anymore. it rocks. except for people food.

[Bertha Venation]

4. I'd like to get our cats off canned food altogether.

They were wasting a lot. We used to split two six-ounce cans between the four of them who eat canned food, but they left a lot. Now we split one can, and they eat it all.

But I've read a lot about how bad canned food is for them. We have one cat who's obese, and I don't rightly know how to treat his obesity. We keep dry food available all the time, and it would be cruel to separate him from that. :shrug:

An idea for you: We feed a wide variety of Friskies canned, and try not to give them too much fish. They like Friskies a lot. Perhaps your brood will accept a change. Good luck! :D

[Don_G]

5. My Cat Likes Dry Purina Cat Chow

With maybe a quarter-can of Fancy Feast a day as a little snack.

I wish she would ease up on the Kitty Litter though.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

6. the best canned catfood is wellnes

its human grade ingredient...thats what i feed my ones...i open a large can in the morning and microwave it later

[Lorien]

9. Yep, Wellness and Spot's Stew for my guys

Royal Canin for their dry food. Most "premium" foods (Science diet, Iams, etc.) use corn or rice as a first ingredient, and "meat by products" or non-human grade meat (downer animals, meat mixed with waste), and harmful dyes.Many vets are now saying that these ingredients may be contributing to many common illnesses like hyperthyroidism, kidney failure, diabetes, etc. Could human exist on "human kibble" day in and day out without adverse effects? Probably not, so that's why it's important to vary your pet's food and look for foods with high quality, human grade ingredients. A border collie in England recently made it to 27 years of age on a mostly vegatarian, raw food diet! (cats require meat, but some veggies are helpful).

For more on Spot's Stew: www.halopets.com

[nuxvomica]

7. Here's a tip that worked with my cat

He was on dry Science Diet since kittenhood and started losing weight a few years ago. A vet check revealed nothing except that maybe he was bored with his food. So I tried different wet (including FF) and dry foods to get him to eat but the only one he liked was a mass-market brand that had different colors and shapes. He ate that for a while as I researched some alternative to the high-additive crap. I found Fromm's to be the best nutritionally and I tried to get him interested but he preferred the brightly colored stuff. So I got some high quality powdered catnip and sprinkled it on the Fromm's. He ate it with gusto and has eaten it since. I only had to use the catnip on that first time.

[Catshrink]

8. I stopped it very early...

When my Ryno was very young I fed her canned food. One day I opened a can and she turned up her nose at it. So I tried something else. She didn't like that either. I started to open a third can and stopped myself asking "What the heck am I doing?" I gave her a little of each of the can's I'd opened and left. When I came home, she'd eaten it and that was the last wet food she got for a while. Now they have it as a little treat on birthdays, holidays, etc.

My sister had a cat named Steve, one of the great cats who lived over 20 years. Near the end, she would open as many as 5 cans trying to figure out what Steve was in the mood for. I decided I wasn't going to do that. They get dry food, an occassional treat, and wet food as mentioned above.

Except that when I lived with my Mom, she spoiled Ryno rotten and gave her a little milk in the morning. Ugh. It's my one concession to feline whining -- she gets a tiny bit in the morning. My Mom said Ryno is an angel.

[President Jesus]

10. i suggest hi-grade dry food

like iams, or eukanuba.

It's better for them than soft food, plus cats really seem to like the taste of the expensive dry food. After a month of that, they'll forget all about soft.

Feed them every moring, and only half a cup each. Make them 'beg' for more in the evening, and give them an additional 1/4 cup. This way they really start to yearn for the food you are giving them, and they are grateful for it. This is by no means cruel...you are hardly starving them by doing this.

Also, DO NOT feed them table scraps during this transition period.

Good luck!

[TreasonousBastard]

11. When I had two cats...

I made a weekly batch of Kitty Stew:

cornflakes
rice
chicken livers, hearts, and gizzards
miscellaneous meats lying around-- lamb is a great one, and recommended in some vet school diets
peas
miscellaneous other things lying around
daily additions of leftovers

Did they ever love that stuff!

The current resident furball is the most finicky eater I've ever seen. And grumpy when he doesn't get what he wants.

(Whatever that is...)