My oldest male cat, Boo (13), used to get Friskies wet and Purina One kibble up until he was 10 years old when I still lived with my parents (they made all the decisions).
When I moved out, I took Boo with me and switched him to grain free kibble and incorporated more wet food into his diet. It was a real struggle to get him to eat any premium canned foods after having Friskies for so long. He would look at me like, "What the heck is this, Mom? I want my Friskies." It took a lot of money and trial and error to get a rotation of premium foods that he would eat. He never really loved the premium foods, but it was what I gave him, so he ate it. He would always leave some in his bowl and it would take encouragement to get him to finish.
My other cat Caesar gets Fancy Feast and Purina Pro Plan pates because that's all he'll eat (he's a kibble addict). Boo wants Caesar's food SO bad to the point where Boo is not finishing his wet food and will hold out in hopes of snagging a bite of Caesar's food. Boo will eventually give up and go lay in his bed, but won't go back to finish his premium food! I'm getting concerned that Boo isn't getting enough calories. He seems to have lost some weight....mainly muscle mass. He's a big cat, he's just more boney now. He had a physical exam, bloodwork, and a dental in May 2013, and he was in excellent health then for a cat his age. Boo will be 14 in February. He still gets very rambunctious for a cat his age and runs all around the house.
Are the benefits of premium canned foods worth it for me to continue to feed to Boo (with encouragement)? Or should I just give in and give him the "junk" food he wants in the hopes that he'll put on some weight?
Thoughts?
P.S. There was a night when Caesar didn't want to finish all his wet food, so I decided to give it to Boo, and he licked the bowl so clean it looked like it went through the dishwasher.
When I moved out, I took Boo with me and switched him to grain free kibble and incorporated more wet food into his diet. It was a real struggle to get him to eat any premium canned foods after having Friskies for so long. He would look at me like, "What the heck is this, Mom? I want my Friskies." It took a lot of money and trial and error to get a rotation of premium foods that he would eat. He never really loved the premium foods, but it was what I gave him, so he ate it. He would always leave some in his bowl and it would take encouragement to get him to finish.
My other cat Caesar gets Fancy Feast and Purina Pro Plan pates because that's all he'll eat (he's a kibble addict). Boo wants Caesar's food SO bad to the point where Boo is not finishing his wet food and will hold out in hopes of snagging a bite of Caesar's food. Boo will eventually give up and go lay in his bed, but won't go back to finish his premium food! I'm getting concerned that Boo isn't getting enough calories. He seems to have lost some weight....mainly muscle mass. He's a big cat, he's just more boney now. He had a physical exam, bloodwork, and a dental in May 2013, and he was in excellent health then for a cat his age. Boo will be 14 in February. He still gets very rambunctious for a cat his age and runs all around the house.
Are the benefits of premium canned foods worth it for me to continue to feed to Boo (with encouragement)? Or should I just give in and give him the "junk" food he wants in the hopes that he'll put on some weight?
Thoughts?
P.S. There was a night when Caesar didn't want to finish all his wet food, so I decided to give it to Boo, and he licked the bowl so clean it looked like it went through the dishwasher.