What have you tried?

Blue Buffalo (which they did eat but it has been recalled), Nutro, and just this week, Wellness canned. They take one look, perhaps a nibble, and walk away disgusted. I'm going to try Felidae this week, but these experiments are getting expensive. On the other hand, they absolutely snarf down a can of Fancy Feast and beg for more. I have to admit that I'm suspicious of Fancy Feast partly because they crave it so much!

I have one cat that LOVES it too. I have been switching her over to Merrick and she seems to like it. It is much more liquid than the other brands which seems to be one of the reasons she likes the fancy feast.

I agree with the fact that the premium cat food I've tried aren't as liquid as Fancy Feast. I tried adding a bit of warm water to the Wellness canned this morning--but it also was rejected. Where do you get Merrick? The trouble with experimenting with new food is that the cats always seem to love the first can--probably just because it is something new--then you think hurrah! and go out and buy a bunch and then they refuse to eat it again. AARGH. I guess my question really is: is Fancy Feast so terrible that I should plan on feeding no canned food at all (if they won't eat anything else) rather than return to using it? Various threads I've read on the internet suggest it should be avoided at all costs.

I know what you're going through...We have 4 inside cats and 3 ferals that we take care and everyone is so darn finicky..We've tried just about every brand out there within reason and of course the inside cats love the Fancy Feast...I've tried to get them on other wet and have the dry in their dishes, but I have 1, I think, would go hungry before he would eat the dry... So, I have it now that they get their Fancy Feast for their bedtime snack. Other than the expense, I didn't know it was bad for them...What's the story?

I suggest you try Meow Mix Select in the little containers. My kitty also likes a wetter food (shredded meat vs. pate'). He really likes MM.

From what I have read MM is not premium food but it has acceptable ingredients (no meat-by-products like FF). The only issue with it is that it is fish-heavy (even the beef variety has fish in it). So, if your cats have issues with fish or get UTI's easily, I would avoid it.

Target has the best price on it (about 44 cents a container). My only other gripe with it is it is not a complete 3 oz container (only 2.75 oz) -- and with the gravy, it doesn't seem like a lot of food in the container. But he eats it well and it is not total junk so I keep buying it.

PS: I did give my cat a can of Wellness once and he did eat it but it cost twice as much as the Meow Mix. I was also afraid if I bought a bunch he would stop eating it.

LOL at the scenario Marita - if you look on Merricks website you can find where they sell by you. I have been going through the same thing - you buy one can and they eat it up and then patooy the next time. Makes me crazy. Merrick is the only one I have consistently gotten her to eat. I am actually thinking of ordering some since they have free shipping - but you KNOW that will be when she decides she hates it again(or it gets recalled). This recall and her kidney failure have made food choices a harrowing experience.

I have heard that fancy feast is equal to McDonalds (junk food) in people food and that is why they like it so much. Not sure if that is true or not though. I want to get her on healthier food - that is why I was trying to switch her.

boo, I've heard that about Fancy Feast too. My Basil makes the funniest sounds as he snarfs it down--little piggy huffy sounds that he doesn't make any where else. They sound like nasal "yum yum yums"! Basil, an eight year old, was recently treated for hyperthrodism and had lost a lot of weight so I'm really concerned with building him up again. One of mine died last summer of kidney disease--but she was 20 years old. She ate Fancy Feast all her life. Well, I'll try Merrick and Felidae, and then probably have to return to Fancy Feast. At least some don't have wheat gluten in them, and the cats seem to like all the Fancy Feast equally as well.

well, if you are trying to get some weight on him you might try Sheba too. When Sadie was down to 5lbs 5ozs and not eating it was the only thing she would eat. It is not a food, I think because it doesnt have taurine and supplements in it, but if you are giving it as a snack or treat the ingredients are simple and it seemed to work for me.

Marita40, you didn't specify how you are giving them the new foods. Are you giving the new foods to the cats by gradually adding more and more of the new food to the Fancy Feast?

I took about a week to introduce my cat to Felidae, and added more and more Felidae and less of the previous food until she was eating only Felidae. (and what's nice about Felidae - and any of the human-grade, no-filler kind of foods - is that your pet needs *less* of it to be full, so the cost is comparable to the cheaper, lower-quality food...and it's better for your pet!)

Good luck!

I tried getting my kitties off of Fancy Feast with no luck either. I have a hyperthyroid kitty that was so mad he was barely eating so I had to relent and give them what they wanted. I have three kitties who split one can (with warm water added) each evening and am about to add a fourth kitty to the mix so they aren't getting much anyway and are they happy. They eat premium dry food so I am happy too.

Hello all--thanks for reviving this thread. I am still working on this dilemma. So far over the last few weeks I've tried Innova, Felidae, Solid Gold, and Fromms. Sally, the calico, eats pretty much anything. Her brother Basil is the problem. He continues to refuse to touch any wet food I've tried with two exceptions. He absolutely snarfs down the Solid Gold tuna and all of the Fromm selections--they make several types. So here's the dilemma--unfortunately he must have good taste because both of those of enormously expensive. The Solid Gold tuna runs about $1.36 per can, and the Fromms a whopping $1.70 per can! Now I am not poor but I'm not rich either and I don't know if I can justify this ongoing expense. I'm thinking at this point that I can feed a few cans of these expensive brands per week, with a Fancy Feast or two and a human tuna or chicken on alternate days. Digity, I have tried to mix the new foods with Fancy Feast, but Basil refuses to touch the mixed food, too. When I've switched to a new brand, I try it for about three days, hoping he'll get hungry enough and eat--but he refuses to eat the canned stuff for the full three days, existing only on the kibble. Is he spoiled, or what? Here is their picture.

I meant to add that I also tried Merricks with no success.

Marita, it seems like your boy Basil is one stubborn kitty!

I've read that you often have to use the "hunger sensation" to propel the cat to eat the new food. Of course, it's not to mean that you'll withhold food for longer than, say, 24 hours or so...but it looks like you'll need a whole lot more patience than you already are showing!

Would someone please explain to me why it is necessary to feed wet food? This is my first cat so I know very little about them. I started out feeding her wet food and the Vet, who treats only cats, told me to change over to dry food. It didn't occur to me to ask her why ~ just assumed that's what was needed.

gajopa, I've heard the same thing about feeding wet food...the arguments being that the pet will receive more water and that a wet food diet is closer to what the pet would eat "in the wild". (There is the assumption that you're going to feed your cat a crap cheapo diet that has corn-based fillers, so this argument would actually be true if you fed your pet this)

As it happens, if you are careful about reading labels, your pet will do just fine, methinks.

Some of the higher-protein "premium" foods I've come across are Pet Promise, Felidae, and Annimaet. Going a few steps beyond, there is Wysong and Flint River Ranch. You will, of course, prefer to do your own research, but thought I'd give you my humble opinion.

This caught my eye. The only food my semiferal indoor cat will reliably eat is FF. I've been successful in mixing in some dry Whiskas chicken & turkey crunchies but very little as she has dental problems, vet appt today. She is a VERY picky eater and very lean although she will eat 2 cans of FF a day. What is wrong with FF? I know it has meat byproducts in it but am having a hard time finding an all meat food w/o fish. She immediately rejects fish. I add a little water with the dry to make it easier to eat and this helps but will get left behind as soon as eats her fill, which she doesn't usually with FF. She LOVES ground turkey and american cheese but vet advised turkey only for treat and cheese gives her diarrhea so NEVER gets it except today to get her to swallow her tranquilizer pill before the vet visit. I'm at a loss to what to feed her if FF is out of the picture. I've tried other foods mixed in with the FF which may or may not be accepted and she can go more than 24 hours wo food and probably water also. Why do pet food manufacturers think all cats love fish. They don't, as my cat will go into a real snit when offered the fishy stuff. It's good that the pet store will accept returns.

gajopa, if you do a search for "cat food" on this site you'll find a couple of threads debating wet food/dry food. I guess I feed both wet and dry for variety's sake: they love the morning wet food so much I can't imagine not giving it to them. They also munch on the dry all day.