"Meaty" grain-free wet food

[tx_kat]

I didn't want to hijack another thread about wet food, so ...

I want to transition our cats from dry to wet (and maybe eventually to raw).  I have fed them various Friskies varieties since we've had them, and they seem to like the "filets", "bits" and "shreds".  They won't touch "pate".  Basically, they like meat with gravy.  I know it's been said that any wet is better is than any dry, however, I would like to go grain-free.  I tried the chicken flavor of Before Grains, but it was a pate and my cats wouldn't even try it.

In your experience, is there a brand of wet food that is grain-free yet "meaty"?  (and under $2 / 5.5 oz can)

 

[violetxx]

Oh my gosh, don't even worry about creating another wet food thread. I myself love cat food questions as do many other cat owners here. Its our pleasure to help you in any way we can.

Some chunky brands that are grain-free and my cats love are:

- Blue Wilderness Wild Delights

- Wellness Sliced or Minced Varieties

- Blue Bistro

- Wellness or Natural Balance Pouches

- Nature Variety Prairie (not 100% grain-free - has 2 grains I think)

- Tiki Cat (all have fish in them so I wouldn't feed it as often)

Also if possible I would rotate between brands. Currently I rotate between 5-6 brands (including 4 of the brands already mentioned). We do this in order to help prevent picky eaters, digestive sensitivities and since each food contains different amounts of vitamins and minerals it helps to prevent nutrient deficiencies.

Hope this helps! 

-V

 

[ldg]

I don't know how much they cost per can, but I know Amazon sells various Weruva cans by the case with free shipping. :nod:

But Weruva is an EXCELLENT food, and is all slices of meat in gravy.
Earthborn Holistic is another one.

 

[tx_kat]

Thanks for the input.  I bought some cans of the Merrick 5-Star Entrees and Before Grains without realizing they would be pates.  I've tried three different flavors, and so far my cats haven't really touched them (not even the fish flavor I tried).  I think I'll take them back (love Petco's return policy) and see which of the ones y'all listed they might have there.

And does it sound weird for me to say that the Weruva looks good enough to eat???  There's a store a few minutes from us that sells it, so I might swing by and see what varieties they have to try them out on our cats.

 

[cannegardner]

I just kept getting the small cans until I found about 10-15 varieties mine liked. He doesn't care much for the pate ones either, but I mix those with the meatier brands and he eats them. Blue Buffalo Wild Duck is very meaty, so are the Instinct lamb, rabbit, and venison. My guy loves the rabbit. He also likes taste of the wild canyon blend because it has chunks.

 

[ldg]

LOL, Weruva's whole thing is that it's all human-grade food. You CAN eat it! :lol3:

 

[tjcarst]

I feed Wellness Grain Free Chicken Minced to my picky eater who does not like mushy pate.  There is also cubed and sliced:  http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/product-details.aspx?pet=cat&pid=105
 

 

[tx_kat]

LOL, Weruva's whole thing is that it's all human-grade food. You CAN eat it!

So that's why they devoured it tonight.  They like "human" food (chicken, salmon, etc.).

I went to two stores (Petco and a local pet store) and got a variety of brands and flavors.  I bought small cans so I could divide it among the three cats and if they don't like it, I won't be wasting a lot of food.  Brands I'll be trying over the next couple of weeks are:

• Blue Buffalo Wilderness
• Nature's Variety Instinct
• Tiki Cat (the ones with chicken)
• Wellness Sliced and Cubed
• Weruva

I plan to keep track of and document their responses to each brand / flavor so I know which ones to buy again. 

 

[deborah julian]

Hi, I have been trying to transition my cats to grain free canned food too. Two of my cats love canned food--no problem. But my 3rd cat Billy is very stubborn and prefers dry. I read somewhere that cats tend to prefer what they had as kittens. Right now he is eating 1/2 canned and 1/2 grain free dry. If I try to feed him just canned food he refuses to eat and it becomes a battle of wills--and this sweet little boy can be very stubborn.  Our youngest cat Sammy sees Billy getting dry and of course wants some too. I've fed Billy in a separate room with the door closed but that just makes Sammy more convinced that Billy is getting something better. I'm starting to think that 1/2 canned, 1/2 grain free dry is the best we can do.  

 

[ldg]

Hi, I have been trying to transition my cats to grain free canned food too. Two of my cats love canned food--no problem. But my 3rd cat Billy is very stubborn and prefers dry. I read somewhere that cats tend to prefer what they had as kittens. Right now he is eating 1/2 canned and 1/2 grain free dry. If I try to feed him just canned food he refuses to eat and it becomes a battle of wills--and this sweet little boy can be very stubborn.  Our youngest cat Sammy sees Billy getting dry and of course wants some too. I've fed Billy in a separate room with the door closed but that just makes Sammy more convinced that Billy is getting something better. I'm starting to think that 1/2 canned, 1/2 grain free dry is the best we can do.  

Have you tried feeding him the wet food with some kibble crushed on top of it to get him to eat as much wet food as you want him to? Over time, you may be able to phase out the kibble.

When I finally tossed the bag of kibble, I kept freeze dried meat treats. When they asked for kibble, I'd give them some of those, and then just gradually reduced the amount of treats they were getting.

 

[deborah julian]

I have tried putting kibble and even his favorite treats on top of canned food. Both times he sniffed the food and walked away after giving me a look that clearly said "You have got to be kidding!". I did not give him anything else and left the food out, hoping he would eat it but he wouldn't touch it. I've also tried putting a little tuna water (from canned tuna) on top of canned food. That didn't work either. He seems to like Natural Balance canned food--especially the seafood flavors-but up to a point. We feed our cats 4 small meals a day and I can usually get him to eat the canned for 2 of the meals but if I try to push it to 3 meals he refuses to eat. I don't want him or me to be constantly stressed out over food so for now I have settled for 2 canned meals & 2 dry. At least he is eating. 

 

[sillysiberians]

I guess every cat's different, but feeding 4 times a day seems like a lot of food. Maybe try cutting down the feeding times and they'll be hungrier/less picky?

My cats get dry food in the morning and wet food at dinner.

 

[ldg]

Actually, cats are designed to eat many small meals a day. (In the wild, it's not like that catch more than one mouse at a time! :lol3: ). 4 meals a day is in no way, shape or form too many meals or too much food. Of course, that all depends on how much food is fed at each meal. But all you really have to do is figure out how much food you're going to feed kitty daily, and divide it by as many meals as you want to feed.

 

[olivesmom]

Nature's Variety Homestyle is chunky. It looks like sliced pieces with a good amount of gravy. I have only tried the Duck & Chicken Flavor, but my cat wouldn't really eat that one. 

She too dislikes pate, non-pate kinds she likes are Friskies, Tiki Cat and Weruva.

And just for reference, brands I found to be Pate:

Blue Buffalo Wilderness

Wellness CORE (someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this one)