Are there any basic fruit or vegetable baby food flavors that we shouldn't feed our cat?

[cheeser]

Well, besides the ones that might contain extra ingredients, such as salt, sugar or other sweeteners, flour, rice, etc.

We usually mix Buddy's more unpleasant tasting meds and supplements with ham baby food, which is the only meat flavor he can tolerate because of his food allergies and sensitivities. Unfortunately, he's having a rather wicked herpes flare up at the moment, so we're currently feeding him ham baby food mixed with EZComplete to tempt his appetite when he won't eat anything else.

So because we don't want Buddy to associate the ham baby food with something bad, and make it more difficut to get him to eat than it already is, we'd like to try a non-meat baby food to try disguise the taste of his icky tasting meds and supplements that we administer via a syringe. Also, because there's a possibility that we may need to switch him to Moducare at some point (which can't be given with anything that contains cholesterol), I guess now is a good a time as any to figure out which non-meat baby food is going to be our go-to for these sorts of things.

Is there anything obvious we should avoid, besides the usual things that you should never feed a cat, e.g. grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, etc.? And what about those baby foods that contain citric acid? IIRC, I've seen it listed as an ingredient on some cat foods, but I'm a bit paranoid, and want to make sure.

 

[Elphaba09]

Pretty much any stage 1 or stage 2 baby food should be fine for your cat. They have limited ingredients. Citric acid can cause irritation to cats, but it is only an issue when it is in large doses. You can check the baby food if you really want to avoid it. I cannot think of anything particular in baby food that you should avoid, especially if you stick with stages 1 and 2.

 

[Willowy]

Squash is probably the best one. Not a lot of sugar like the fruits, no legume protein, etc. Not that the small amount that his meds go into will make a lot of difference, but squash seems like a safe bet.

Some of my cats really like bananas, so if the sugar isn't a problem that one would probably hide the taste of his meds pretty well.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I second squash as a good one. 'm not even sure what comes in stage 1 or 2 baby food since I never had any biological children, but I know that put green beans, peas and potatoes in Halo cat food, so those must be safe.

 

[cheeser]

Pretty much any stage 1 or stage 2 baby food should be fine for your cat. They have limited ingredients. Citric acid can cause irritation to cats, but it is only an issue when it is in large doses. You can check the baby food if you really want to avoid it. I cannot think of anything particular in baby food that you should avoid, especially if you stick with stages 1 and 2.

Ah, okay. Thanks much!

We usually give Buddy his meds and supplements with his meals, unless the vet specifically tells us if anything needs to be given on an empty stomach. So hopefully that will help to negate any possible irritation from the citric acid, especially since we only use a small spoonful anyway.

 

[cheeser]

Squash is probably the best one. Not a lot of sugar like the fruits, no legume protein, etc. Not that the small amount that his meds go into will make a lot of difference, but squash seems like a safe bet.

Some of my cats really like bananas, so if the sugar isn't a problem that one would probably hide the taste of his meds pretty well.

Great! Thanks.

I'm okay with baby foods that contain natural sugars. It the added sweeteners that I'd prefer to avoid.

I bought a couple of jars of fruit baby foods last night, and tried the bananas first. They seemed to mask the flavors of the meds and supplements better than I dared hope. But I'll give the squash and some other things a try, to see what works best.

 

[cheeser]

I second squash as a good one. 'm not even sure what comes in stage 1 or 2 baby food since I never had any biological children, but I know that put green beans, peas and potatoes in Halo cat food, so those must be safe.

It's been a while since we've had a little one, so I'm sure the options are quite a bit different than I remember.

But we'll definitely give squash a try. We recently tried some pumpkin baby food to see if that might help re: Buddy's occasional constipation, and he didn't like that at all! Guess he wouldn't be too impressed with the pumpkin craze this time of year.