My kitten doesn't like "posh" expensive wet cat food!

mixedstripes

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
26
Purraise
5
Hi Everybody.

I was recently recently about how most commercial cat foods are poor quality and have limited meat content.

So, I decided to try higher quality food e.g. Applaws Kitten food which has a higher meat content (which I got from Zooplus in Germany).  I tried a couple of other brands too from Pets at Home e.g. Wainwrights.

But my kitten doesn't seem to like it and just eats maybe half and leaves the rest and won't eat it again!  He seems to prefer plain old Felix, Whiskas etc, though seems to suck the gravy most and leave small pellets at the end!

Any thoughts?  I don't really know what to do for the best.  Am I just stuck with a fussy cat/kitten?

Thank you in advance.

P.S.  He does however like the dry Applaws which I give him at bedtime  (and you can tell its such better quality than the usual supermarket stuff).
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
I take it you live outside the US since you mention ZooPlus in Germany. We do have European members here on TCS who can recommend decent quality food. What country are you in?

If you're in the UK,  here are threads on decent foods:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/65806/good-quality-canned-food-in-the-uk

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245287/foods-in-the-uk

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/210243/what-are-the-best-possible-wet-and-dry-foods-i-can-buy-in-the-u-k

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/266327/commercial-wet-kitten-food-uk

General Europe canned food thread:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/165643/cat-food-in-europe

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/185866/good-food-in-e-europe

Are you feeding dry food or canned food? Cats can be picky so you generally want to feed whatever decent quality affordable brand the cat will eat. It's better than going on a food strike and developing fatty liver disease as a result.  Some countries may not have a very good selection of cat food so you just have to read the labels and choose the best one available.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

mixedstripes

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
26
Purraise
5
Hi, Thank you so much for that!  I live in the UK.  Will look at those threads :)

Do you think I should just experiment with different quality cat foods.  Or go back to more supermarket brands?!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

mixedstripes

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
26
Purraise
5
p.s. I imported Applaws from Germany via their Zooplus website, as so limited here in the UK!
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
@Columbine lives in the UK and I know she has a list of good quality UK foods you can feed to your cat.

You can try different brands to see what your cat likes.
 

verna davies

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 23, 2016
Messages
23,619
Purraise
17,456
Location
Wales uk
Hi.
I have 3 cats and like you want to feed them the best. Ive tried grain free and a variety of other brands that they don't like, so did some research which showed that German made cat food is the best supermarket you can get, has 14% protein. I have settled on Felix wet and Applaws dry. I live on the UK and both are easy to buy on line. Zooplus is the cheapest but Pets at Home are really expensive.
This is only my opinion so do a little research and see what you come up with. Let us know
 

ReallySleepy

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
152
Purraise
184
Location
near Oslo, Norway
Hi, MixedStripes.

If your cat is picky - happens to all cats - it's hard to know what to do except try more brands.

I also order from zooplus. I cannot afford "posh" wet food, but there are cheaper brands that are perfectly OK as far as I can tell. Currently, my cat eats Bozita (Swedish), Animonda Carny (German) and Smilla (German). I definitely think you should not go back to more supermarket brands, given that what you can get from zooplus is better and not more expensive.

If you try any of the brands I mentioned, be aware that Bozita comes in two series: cans and tetrapaks. My cat is not happy with the tetrapak series. He tends to eat the gravy and leave the chunks behind, or simply walk away from this food. With the canned stuff we have the opposite problem. It is a very delicious pate, and he tends to eat too much of it - might be worth trying for anyone with a picky cat.

For dry food I give him Acana Wild Prairie. I really don't see why cats cannot have some dry food as long as they also get wet food. I believe decent brands like Acana are excellent food in all respects except for the missing moisture.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

mixedstripes

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
26
Purraise
5
Thanks all.  Thats been really helpful.
 

Columbine

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
12,921
Purraise
6,224
Location
The kitty playground
Hi mixedstripes mixedstripes :wavey: Welcome to TCS!

My old boy was a confirmed 'gravy licker' too. The food that really got him interested in higher quality foods was Thrive Complete. They brought out a kitten version recently. Its not available from Zooplus yet, but Amazon stock it, and I think Pets at Home does too. You can also get it from http://www.thrivepetfoods.com. The other brand that got him interested in high meat foods was Nature's Menu, and they do a kitten food too.

You've had some great suggestions here already. I will say that, unlike ReallySleepy ReallySleepy 's cats, mine definitely prefer the Bozita tetra packs to the cans. As you move into adult cat foods, its worth knowing that Bozita is the only brand I've come across that makes a high meat/low carb food in gravy - a definite hit with my guys :yummy: Smilla is another of my fussy boy's favourites, and he likes some Catz Finefoods flavours too (something for the future - they sadly don't do a kitten food as yet).

If it helps, these are the brands that I rotate (in no particular order):-
  • Thrive Complete
  • Bozita
  • Catz Finefoods/ Purrr by Catz Finefoods
  • Feringa
  • Animonda Carny
  • GranataPet
  • Smilla
  • Nature's Menu
  • Meowing Heads
  • HiLife Tempt Me in jelly only occasionally as these aren't favourites, but they do like them for a change
  • Purely Holistic
    (these last three I only buy occasionally as these aren't favourites, but they do like them for a change)

Incidentally, some supermarkets have some high meat foods these days - for example, Tesco carries the Hi Life range. Also, the Felix regular (as opposed to 'As Good As It Looks') kitten pouches in jelly are pretty good as mainstream cat foods go - the only ingredient that I question is 'various sugars', and as that's last on the list there won't be much in there ;)
 
Last edited:

skelekittycat

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
May 23, 2016
Messages
39
Purraise
10
Location
Scotland
I am literally exactly the same as you. My cats won't eat Whiskas wet, and I think it's because of the meat "chunks".

They absolutely love Felix As Good As It Looks though - though they won't eat the rabbit and the salmon flavours (little swines). I also give them Applaws Dry food. I buy it 7kg at a time from Zooplus and they adore it (plus one bag lasts me a few months!)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

mixedstripes

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
26
Purraise
5
Thanks for the recommendations Columbine and Skelekittycat.  I'll start with Thrive.

Its funny isn't it, the naughty gravy-lickers!

I think I'll just have to experiement a bit.

Didn't realise they were so fussy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

coolforcats

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Messages
8
Purraise
1
Thanks for the recommendations Columbine and Skelekittycat.  I'll start with Thrive.

Its funny isn't it, the naughty gravy-lickers!

I think I'll just have to experiement a bit.

Didn't realise they were so fussy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

coolforcats

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Messages
8
Purraise
1
You can buy Thrive from Waitrose. You don't have to buy a pack as the tins are sold separately
 

Summercats

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2017
Messages
408
Purraise
248
Hi,
I wanted to bump up this thread to get opinions.
I am currently in Europe and have a new cat who is about 2/3 years old according to the vet.
I am not having bowel issues but am trying to find the best food for him.
I have tried the Berkeley kitten packets as he is a bit small for his age and heard kitten food gives the most protein.
I have also tried, Royal Farm 1-7 years adult sterilized, and he likes that as well.
For dry I am giving him Sanabelle No Grain, which is German.
I have seen Bozita mentioned in this thread and it is available where I am and I will try it as well.
Any thoughts on those choices?
 

Columbine

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
12,921
Purraise
6,224
Location
The kitty playground
Hi, and welcome to TCS :wave3:

I'm not familiar with the wet brands you mention. I'm in the uk, and order a lot from Zooplus. These are the wet brands from them that I like (in no particular order):-

Grau
GranataPet
Catz Finefood (they also have a range called Purr that is limited ingredient/novel protein)
Bozita
Animonda Carny
Feringa
Terra Faelis
Thrive Complete
Animonda Von Feinsten
Leonardo

As far as dry food goes, I'm not all that keen on Sanabelle - too much grain for my liking. These are the Zooplus dry brands I like (in no particular order):-

Applaws
Feringa
GranataPet (standard Adult range)
Orijin
Purizon

This is just my opinion ;) I'm sure others will chime in too

As far as feeding kitten food goes, that's fine if your boy can handle it ok (it's often too rich for adult cats, causing tummy upsets), but if he's just small (as opposed to underweight) it isn't really necessary.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #17

mixedstripes

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
26
Purraise
5
Hi Summercats,

I was the original poster. I am still experimenting to be honest and my cat is about a year old now!

I also used and still use Zooplus, though you can get some of the brands they sell from local supermarkets and pet food shops.

I give my cat some raw chicken strips some days (fed by hand, otherwise he won't eat it!) and so I feel he gets proper meat and fat. However, he sometimes turns his nose up!!!

I do give him a very small bowl of dry food (the Americans call it Kibble I believe) most days - but dry food is not great for cats. I only give it to him so that he is used to it should I ever need to leave him overnight etc.

You can try the "meatier" canned food from Zooplus and you may have good luck. My cat unfortunately was not impressed with any of it except Almo Nature (which is fairly expensive). However, higher meat content may mean better value I'm not sure. I tried Applaws, Bozita etc etc and he wasn't impressed at all but other cat owners say their cats are very happy with these foods.

So, to re-cap. At the moment I feed my cat raw chicken, some "complete" high quality dry food, commercial food like Felix meat in jelly, and sometimes Almo Nature.

I hope that helps you. It is trial error. So its best only to buy one or two cans at a time for trial. I have also heard, being contrary creatures, a cat will like a food one year and not the next, so you can always go back if you like. Good luck!
 

Summercats

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 19, 2017
Messages
408
Purraise
248
Hi,
Thanks for the replies and welcome

I am in the East of Europe and have some of those brands not all.

The Sanabelle I have says grain free but I will check the ingredient list.

I am doing one or two cans/ packs to see, so far he eats everything, I gave him a little tuna in water today as I made tuna salad. He really liked that.
I got him from a shelter and the primary food I think was dry, so I am trying to give him mainly wet now to increase his protein for the next few weeks. He is small (I think he may be a she) but I don't think underweight, he seems quite healthy.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20

mixedstripes

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
26
Purraise
5
Its is trial and error I'm afraid, Summercats! Pretty cat :).

p.s. I have read too much fish is not a good idea for cats - as it has a very powerful taste that cats can develop a taste for - in the 'wild' cats are more likely to eat small rodents and birds etc which have blander flavours.
 
Top