Feeding Variety Of Flavors

[Richard2121]

So I have finally found a few brands that my 4 cats will eat but I am now realizing that there is quite a large amount of chicken flavors. I am worried that just chicken will result in them getting bored even if there are different brands and textures. Also food allergies tend to be a higher risk when feeding only one protein source.

Right now I am having success with:

Tiny Tiger Chunks in Gravy (Turkey, beef, and chicken varieties), but not the pate type.
Blue Buffalo Freedom Indoor Flaked Chicken
Dave's Shredded Chicken
Fancy Feast Beef & Chicken combo flavor (no other flavors for some reason)
Simply Nourish Shredded Chicken

And those are the main ones but as you can see chicken is a common theme and I wanted to maybe rotate some other flavors. The problem is a lot of the above brands/textures do not come in a variety of flavors or the other flavors are fish. I am trying to prevent feeding too much fish and I usually like to avoid it altogether as a main ingredient. Also as a side note below are brands or flavors I have already tried with no success and resulted in my cats burying their food bowls:

Nulo (pretty much all flavors)
American Journey (Turkey & Chicken)
Friskies Pates (all flavors)
Daves Cat Food Pates (all flavors)
Redbarn Pates and Stews
Natural Balance (Limited Ingredient flavors and regular flavors)
Purina Pro Plan
Sheba Perfect Portions (all flavors and textures are a no)
Abound
4health
Wellness pates (the other textures are not cost efficient and out of my budget)

So I am at a complete loss....I feel like my options are limited and I am having an impossible time transitioning them to any other types or brands of foods. Am I doing something wrong? I don't feed them dry food and they get the occasional treat. They have access to fresh water (water fountains). Then there is the issue of budget. I cannot afford to feed them Tiki Cat, Weruva, Soulistic, Instinct, etc. but I try to have a case or two laying around of Tiki Cat or another high-end brand just to offer as a bedtime snack. Help me I am going crazy trying to sort all of this out!

 

[KarenKat]

I think you are doing fine. I also feed a rotation of wet food for Olive and I made sure that if there was an option I’d pick turkey or beef since there are so many chicken varieties.

Of course, Olive stopped liking the only beef flavor she would eat and she doesn’t like turkey at all lol. I give her some Rawz Rabbit, but most of her flavors are also chicken. I say don’t go crazy with it, and if you find a non chicken flavor that is eaten try and rotate it in. Our other cat Gohan will eat so few wet foods that we are giving him one brand with a couple of chicken flavors. I figure it’s better than kibble.

 

[mizzely]

Yeah seems like shredded flavors all have chicken and/or fish which is really limiting!

I think wet food in general is less likely to contribute to allergies.

 

[maggie101]

My cats eat chicken,turkey,duck,beef,and lamb
If they have health problems when they get older they might have allergies so it's good to have a variety of proteins. Occasionally fish
My cat josie I had to put down last year ate chicken and Turkey mostly until medical issues so she was on duck or rabbit. She was 17yrsold

 

[daftcat75]

The ideal cat food recipe is:

meat (not meal), moisture, organs (or byproducts=unnamed organs, not a dirty word), and supplements

Finding foods that adhere strictly to that formula will drive you mad. Do the best your cats will eat and occasionally try new foods with them.

You'll never find a dry food that adheres to the recipe above. The starches and grains that make dry food "dry" are also what's going to irritate your cat's guts and eventually set the stage for inflammation, increased permeability ("leaky gut"), and allergy, an immune response to food proteins leaked from an inflamed gut. That you aren't feeding dry puts you that much further ahead of the game and reduces your allergy risk.

As far as proteins, if chicken is unavoidable, sort your foods into high chicken and low chicken (where chicken appears in the ingredient list) and rotate a mix of both.

Use their litterbox output to judge the quality of the food for them. The better the food, the better the stools and the less offensive the odor. You may have to stick to one food for a week to see the influence of any given food.

 

[mizzely]

Another idea might be freeze dried. If they like chunks/shreds, you can just leave the pieces larger and add as much moisture as needed to get a consistency they like. Freeze dried has a lot of protein options so that could potentially be a way to take a break from chicken.

 

[mizzely]

Some other potential options?

https://www.chewy.com/precise-holistic-complete-flaked-beef/dp/36281

https://www.chewy.com/nutro-adult-sliced-turkey-entree-in/dp/114501

https://www.chewy.com/whole-earth-farms-grain-free-real/dp/150980

 

[maggie101]

So I have finally found a few brands that my 4 cats will eat but I am now realizing that there is quite a large amount of chicken flavors. I am worried that just chicken will result in them getting bored even if there are different brands and textures. Also food allergies tend to be a higher risk when feeding only one protein source.

Right now I am having success with:

Tiny Tiger Chunks in Gravy (Turkey, beef, and chicken varieties), but not the pate type.
Blue Buffalo Freedom Indoor Flaked Chicken
Dave's Shredded Chicken
Fancy Feast Beef & Chicken combo flavor (no other flavors for some reason)
Simply Nourish Shredded Chicken

And those are the main ones but as you can see chicken is a common theme and I wanted to maybe rotate some other flavors. The problem is a lot of the above brands/textures do not come in a variety of flavors or the other flavors are fish. I am trying to prevent feeding too much fish and I usually like to avoid it altogether as a main ingredient. Also as a side note below are brands or flavors I have already tried with no success and resulted in my cats burying their food bowls:

Nulo (pretty much all flavors)
American Journey (Turkey & Chicken)
Friskies Pates (all flavors)
Daves Cat Food Pates (all flavors)
Redbarn Pates and Stews
Natural Balance (Limited Ingredient flavors and regular flavors)
Purina Pro Plan
Sheba Perfect Portions (all flavors and textures are a no)
Abound
4health
Wellness pates (the other textures are not cost efficient and out of my budget)

So I am at a complete loss....I feel like my options are limited and I am having an impossible time transitioning them to any other types or brands of foods. Am I doing something wrong? I don't feed them dry food and they get the occasional treat. They have access to fresh water (water fountains). Then there is the issue of budget. I cannot afford to feed them Tiki Cat, Weruva, Soulistic, Instinct, etc. but I try to have a case or two laying around of Tiki Cat or another high-end brand just to offer as a bedtime snack. Help me I am going crazy trying to sort all of this out!

I mix in a can with shredded meat or pieces with her expensive pate. Makes it last longer

 

[Richard2121]

Another idea might be freeze dried. If they like chunks/shreds, you can just leave the pieces larger and add as much moisture as needed to get a consistency they like. Freeze dried has a lot of protein options so that could potentially be a way to take a break from chicken.

I do have a decent stash of Primal Freeze Dried Nuggets in the Turkey flavor and Chicken & Salmon. Every once in awhile I try to feed it and I can usually get 3 of my 4 cats on board with this and I have one who is stubborn. Maybe I will try to be more persistent this week. I try to transition them but I am sort of weak when it comes to this! My babies guilt trip me into going back to their old food before I can use hunger as a motivator.