Marian

My cat Mickey is addicted to Fancy Feast. I have tried, in vain, to get him to eat what I believe to be healthier brands (Merrick's, Wellness, Evo, etc.) and have wasted a shameful amount of money doing so. At the end of the day, all he wants is FF. But it has to be one of the "Grilled" varieties (my late cat Murphy would only eat the "Sliced" ones ).

I recently took him to the vet for his annual check up and vaccinations and I made the vet do a CBC on him. He's 21 pounds and I'm concerned about diabetes and other weight-related health problems. I've tried to get him to lose weight by cutting back on his food, but it seems like he's just a big cat (he feels very solid when I pick him up, not flabby like Murphy was). The CBC came back normal and the vet says he is healthy.

So, should I continue this effort to get him off Fancy Feast, or just let him be? I really think he would starve to death before eating any of the foods I've tried to switch him to.

fjm

My understanding of cats and food is that they either insist on variety, or insist on eating just one food. It depends upon whether they were introduced to a range of foods early in life. If he has been eating FF for years, you may be facing a major battle to change him. I assume you have tried the obvious methods, like mixing a tiny teaspoonful of the new food with the old, and very, very gradually increasing the quantity? I now make sure my cats (and dogs) get a variety of foods from the start - there is nothing worse than finding yourself miles from your home stockpile, with an animal that only eats one food, and no where locally that sells it! Trouble is, my cats are now firmly in the variety camp - I have to cook several different recipes for them, and keep ringing the changes, as last week's favourite becomes this week's only-fit-to-be-buried-with-a-disdainful-look-yukky-stuff!

partial2poodles

Yes, its ghastly

Marian

fjm - Yes, I've tried mixing old and new--no luck, he somehow manages to pick the old pieces out and leaves the new. Then he comes and cries until I give him more FF.

If only I had known when he was a kitten what I know now about commercial cat foods. I grew up believing that cats always wanted variety and dogs didn't. And now I find myself with a finicky cat and dog who happily eats a variety of foods.

Karma'sACat

Do you always give him the Fancy Feast when he comes and whines at you? Honestly, there are very very few animals that will starve themselves rather than eat new food. Have you tried putting the food down and if he doesn't eat, taking it up then putting it down at the next meal?
What about pre-made raw? Nature's Variety and Primal are my cats' favorites. Wellness has a variety of cat food textures so do a couple other good brands if texture is his hang up.
Karma is exceptionally picky (note: never name a cat Karma ) but she goes wild for the premade raw.

partial2poodles

When I was learning about rendering plants and garbage pet foods, I KNEW I had to help my cat get on board with the healthier diet the dogs were bennefiting from. I did literally starve her and she would have rather died than eat health food including a wide variety of raw and dozens of pricey canned foods. She lost too much weight. I did it for about 3 months. All my shop cats adjusted but she is eating fancy feast with Kirkland kibble. She is around 19 yrs old. I figured I tortured her long enough and she wasn't budging.

Spencer

My mother has resigned to feeding our three family cats (which... sadly, stayed at home when my brother and I grew up and moved out) IAMS... the kind in the orange bag.

She has bought them Felinidae, Kitty EVO, and other good and even semi-good brands. They refuse to eat it. REFUSE... and these cats love food, mkay? So they eat IAMS. We know better... but we also know our picky cats. I guess at least they're eating... and at least it isn't Ol' Roy.

Harley_chik

Cats are stubborn creatures. While I think generally you should feed the best you can, sometimes you have to compromise. If that's what he will eat and it's not making him unhealthy, then IMO give it to him.

roxy25

If its wet food then is super bad for him ! All of the bad cat brands usually have fish and fish is not good for cats either. Basically cat food manufactures add fish because it was cheap to add fish heads and other parts we don' eat from a fish.The wild cat , cats descended from do not live near water nor do they eat fish. Most wild cats don't eat fish !

With my cats I just give them food and if they don't like it they will eat it sooner of later. I would get a brand of good dry food for weight management and mix it with fancy feast and each time ad less and less fancy feast. Start buying chicken , turkey , beef FF and no fish.

My teacher said this is what typically happens to cats on fish or bad brand cat foods they get addicted to it and wont eat other foods. Your cat will not starve him self because my cats never did so would not eat for days then they get super hungry and eat the food I offer. My cats don't even like people food or real fish since I only feed them chicken, turkey or beef flavors. The bad brands makes my cats throw up !

Marian

Good advice, Roxy. That's interesting about how it came to be that cat foods had fish in them. The pet food companies were successful in making people think that cats love to eat fish.

I'm no longer feeding Mickey the tuna FF, but the grilled "chicken". He will also eat the Meow Mix wet, but only the "turkey and giblets".

I had him on dry food a few years ago, but the vet said that that was probably what made him get so fat. I don't see any reason I couldn't try again, but this time with something of better quality.