Getting Daryl off Fancy Feast - need suggestions

[daryl the cat]

Daryl is a Fancy Feast addict.  I've tried to switch him to a better quality wet food, but he is so picky.  So far I've tried Wellness and Natural Balance which I mixed gradually into his food.  No luck.  He picked out the FF and left the other stuff on the plate.  Both had a mushy, pasty consistency and I wonder if that's what he doesn't like.  I've thought about going raw, but it is so expensive.  Any suggestions on a good quality wet food that has tasty chunks in it?

 

[LTS3]

There's nothing wrong at all with feeding Fancy Feast. If that's what your cat only wants to eat then just keep feeding it, IMO

That said, you could try Nature's Variety Instinct. The Pride line has texture to the food. Weruva and Soulistic are two others with textures.

Have you tried adding toppers to make the food transition easier? Here's a thread with suggestions: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transit...-to-a-new-type-of-food-canned-raw-or-homemade Crushed up freeze dried treats and FortiFlora are popular. There are additional suggestions here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/293890/i-give-up-broke-buying-all-this-food/30

 

[lisahe]

I'll copy this list of foods I from a thread from last week. I added notes about what kind of foods they are: pate, shreds...

Edwina and Ireland recommend:

-Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen foods with chicken: Double Dip, Fowl Ball, Chicken Frick A Zee (shreds)

-Nutro Natural Choice's minced chicken, sliced turkey, chunky chicken (lumps, lumps, pate with chunks)

-TIki's "luau" chicken foods and any of the non-fish Gourmet Carnivore (shreds and larger pieces)

-Pouches of chicken shreds with pumpkin from Soulistic or Weruva Cats in the Kitchen, as a treat (shreds)

-Hound & Gatos lamb (they're on-again-off-again with that one!) (pates)

These are all low-carb grain-free foods with no carrageenan or potato.

As for raw food, I've found the prices for commercial raw are comparable with premium canned foods on a meal-by-meal basis. We feed a lot of Primal with a medium-sized portion of Rad Cat every day. I do recognize that I seem to have lucky pricing with some of the commercial foods!

Good luck, Daryl!

 

[daryl the cat]

Thank you both!  I will look into these suggestions.  And I'm still considering the raw! 

 

[padfootandmoony]

The only other thing I can currently get my girl to eat is Sheba which is at least a little better. Maybe a stepping stone?

 

[LTS3]

There's a trial sized package of Primal Pet frozen raw that you could try first. Primal Pet is sold at independent pet stores. I'm not sure if Nature's Variety Instinct still offers a trial sized bag of frozen raw.The 1.25 lb of the frozen Raw Bites is probably  best if you want to give it a try. I've seen other sample size packages of other brands of frozen raw food at the independent pet store. Independent pet stores often have samples of freeze dried raw, too. Some cats need to start with freeze dried raw before they accept frozen or homemade raw.

 

[lisahe]

Oddly, our cats were the opposite, at least with Primal: they preferred a mix of freeze-dried and frozen in the beginning but now much prefer freeze-dried, particularly with some crumbled Stella & Chewy's on top. They loved Rad Cat from the start, though! They never ate Nature's Variety Instinct frozen raw food with much enthusiasm.

 

[Kat0121]

 
There's a trial sized package of Primal Pet frozen raw that you could try first. Primal Pet is sold at independent pet stores. I'm not sure if Nature's Variety Instinct still offers a trial sized bag of frozen raw.The 1.25 lb of the frozen Raw Bites is probably  best if you want to give it a try. I've seen other sample size packages of other brands of frozen raw food at the independent pet store. Independent pet stores often have samples of freeze dried raw, too. Some cats need to start with freeze dried raw before they accept frozen or homemade raw.

I'd call Primal. Maybe they will send you a coupon or something. I was trying to find some locally before buying from Petfooddirect and the stores on Primal's site that were listed as carrying it were all out of business or didn't sell it so I called them. The man I spoke to was really nice and took the wrong information down. He asked me if I was able to find any so I said that I ended up ordering from PFD and I hoped they'd eat it since Lilith and Sophie are so finicky. He told me that if they didn't eat it to call him back and he'd help me get them transitioned and if it didn't work and they refused to eat it, he'd take it back. They do eat it if I mash it up and use a topper but they like the Rad Cat better. I doubt I'll buy more Primal once what I have is gone. There's a local pet shop in town that orders the Rad Cat for me. 

 

[ishtar163]

Nature's Recipe has some grain free broths that are pretty good. They have a lot of whole chunks in them that a lot of cats like more than pates. For some reason none of my pets or fosters would ever eat the freeze dried raw food...I threw away almost an entire bag of Stella and Chewy's because I couldn't convince anyone to eat it. [emoji]128533[/emoji]

 

[Kat0121]

Nature's Recipe has some grain free broths that are pretty good. They have a lot of whole chunks in them that a lot of cats like more than pates. For some reason none of my pets or fosters would ever eat the freeze dried raw food...I threw away almost an entire bag of Stella and Chewy's because I couldn't convince anyone to eat it. [emoji]128533[/emoji]

Mine are all over the place with the freeze dried. Lilith loves it. She loves the Stella and Chewy's and she really loves the Pure Bites chicken breast treats. Sophie likes them Ok but only as a topper. Henry loves the Pure Bites but isn't wild about the Stella and Chewy's. He and Lily will gobble up the Pure Bites all day. Sophie is meh about them as treats. 

 

[felineempathy]

I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with feeding Fancy Feast.  Specifically Fancy Feast Classics.  I do it once in a while for budget reasons as a cheaper option in my rotation.

Here's my rotation for reference if you find anything good:

Nutro Natural Choice (Minced Chicken, Sliced Turkey, Minced Turkey & Tuna, and Chicken & Shrimp)

Honest Kitchen Prowl Chicken (This food is dehydrated raw that you add water to) - if you're interested in raw then you might be interested in this - try the sample packets first!

Nature's Variety Prairie (Duck & Chicken Stew)

Wellness

Nature's Variety Instinct (various recipes, mostly duck - expensive so I only feed it sometimes)

Fancy Feast Classics

IAMS (Purrfect Delights Cluckin' Good Chicken Dinner Chunks in Gravy)

 

[daryl the cat]

Thanks for all the good suggestions!   I do feed Daryl the FF Classics and I agree that I don't think it's bad food.  My vet is okay with it.  He will only eat the seafood and chicken though.  I have a bunch of beef and turkey that I will be donating to his old shelter.   I just wanted to give some of the others a try. 

 

[padfootandmoony]

Definitely call the stores you bought from and see if you can return. I mean, the shelter is a good place for them too but I know that they will sometimes take back food if the animal won't eat it. I know my Petco and Kroger do even without a receipt. Of course it would have to be unopened for the canned but if you have dry they will take that back if it's open. 

 

[miss holly]

Daryl is a Fancy Feast addict.  I've tried to switch him to a better quality wet food, but he is so picky.  So far I've tried Wellness and Natural Balance which I mixed gradually into his food.  No luck.  He picked out the FF and left the other stuff on the plate.  Both had a mushy, pasty consistency and I wonder if that's what he doesn't like.  I've thought about going raw, but it is so expensive.  Any suggestions on a good quality wet food that has tasty chunks in it?

I have the same issue with my cat Lily. She will only eat fancy feast chicken primivera, I think it has to do with the gravy because she sucks out every iota of moisture and eats about a quarter of the can. I am a slave to my darling cat and if 3/4 of the can is still there I will throw it out and start over! It's the only wet food she'll touch so I will be watching for your answers because I know it's not good for her. Why can't someone make healthy food that tastes good!

 

[bonepicker]

I have the same issue with my cat Lily. She will only eat fancy feast chicken primivera, I think it has to do with the gravy because she sucks out every iota of moisture and eats about a quarter of the can. I am a slave to my darling cat and if 3/4 of the can is still there I will throw it out and start over! It's the only wet food she'll touch so I will be watching for your answers because I know it's not good for her. Why can't someone make healthy food that tastes good![emoji]128576[/emoji]

put it all in a little hand blender and you won't have waste

 

[miss holly]

An excellent idea, thank you.

 

[lisahe]

put it all in a little hand blender and you won't have waste

And who knows, maybe if other foods are blended, Lily would like those too, @miss holly? Our previous cat, who was also a huge Fancy Feast Primavera fan, loved several foods--among them Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen Fowl Ball, which is turkey and chicken shreds, and Merrick's Cowboy Cookout, which is processed beef chunks--after I'd pureed it in the mini-processor. Honestly, it was something of a miracle! Good luck.

 

[miss holly]

Thank you for your ideas. Waste is a very real thing when it comes to catfood!

 

[bonepicker]

I am lucky, I have a fussy girl but an eat anything boy! I would request free samples from companies then if she liked them I got a case from Chewy.com if not I gave the sample to him. Nothing was ever wasted. I got a rotation of 12 choices going on timed feedings for them. If she got bored I would sprinkle crumbled Purebites freeze dried chicken on top. All the best foods are not sold near me so I have no problem getting free samples.

 

[padfootandmoony]

You can just email them and most of them will send you a sample OR a coupon. I know I and Love and You sent me the type of food I requested (surf n chick kibble) and a coupon for a free 5lb dry bag and a coupon for buy 2 get one free of the canned which is great for my girl. She isn't a huge fan of the dry but it was worth a shot and she has something she will eat for mix ins. Anyways, it's always worth shooting an email!