Single Novel Protein Grain Free Wet (not Raw) Food? Help!

[ty3535]

I am completely lost. I have tried absolutely every food possible for my IBD cat and he doesn't like any of them. He has had teeth removed and does best with pate and not stews or chunks.

Things he can't have: carrageenan, grains (at least not a large amount), lamb, chicken, any seafood

Things I've tried: Merrick limited ingredient turkey, merrick limited ingredient duck, hound and gatos pork, koha kangaroo, koha venison, wild calling turkey, Fromm lamb (before I knew he had an allergy), I and love and you rabbit, lotus pork pate and pork stew (he had difficulty eating the stew), various brands of duck.

Evangers has several options but I am very hesitant to try them as they have had a ton of FDA problems and several recalls. Addiction has other proteins but all of their food contains carrageenan which I wouldn't feed him even if it wasn't an allergen.

I am completely at a loss and my bank account is not happy. I can't feed raw for various reasons and he won't eat it anyway (I've tried 4 different proteins and I've done the introduction properly each time- he won't eat it) so I would really appreciate any wet canned food pate ideas. I'm really getting concerned that I won't ever find a suitable food. Thank you for any help!

 

[Vega's Dad]

What is he eating right now? I remember Wild calling has rabbit, duck, beef and alligator (?).

 

[lisahe]

Vega's Dad is right about Wild Calling: they have a lot of foods that should fit. They seem to be a love-it-or-hate-it brand but the food is very good if your cat likes it.

There's also Rawz, which our cats love. They make turkey, salmon, and beef. Here's their page on the turkey food.

 

[ty3535]

He's currently eating whatever I can get him too :-/ right now that's whole farms turkey. I have tried the wild calling turkey and the wild calling inland waters and he won't eat either. It does seem like an excellent food but he is just so so picky. I have considered the alligator but I can't find it anywhere near me by the can and a case is almost $50. He won't eat rabbit, I've tried several brands

 

[lisahe]

Our cats hate Wild Calling, too, they're definitely in the "hate-it" part of what I wrote. They looked at me like I'd mortally offended them when I put it in front of their little noses.

That reminds me that there's also Nature's Variety Instinct limited ingredient canned foods... our cats don't like those much, either, though they will eat it. That said, Nature's Variety works really well for a lot of cats. I don't remember what proteins they have in LID, though I do remember they make canned turkey, duck, venison, beef, and, pork, too, I think.

I'd skip the alligator, too, particularly at that price!

 

[ty3535]

There have been so many I forgot to add the Instinct to the list! He has tried the lamb (before the known allergy) and I believe the venison but every variety I try of that brand it is super dry and hard. He likes the moist soft pate. I picked up a few cans of Rawz turkey to fat but he doesn't seem to love it. I got a Koha kangaroo/turkey blend so I can try that later. It is so hard because nearly every food has chicken as an ingredient somewhere on the can.

 

[lisahe]

Yes, I think the Instinct foods are too dry and cakey for our cats, too.

And it's very, very hard to avoid chicken! Our cats love chicken and I'd like to get them eating a little less of it but it's very difficult. Making (cooked) food has helped a lot because it's so easy to find varied cuts of pork at reasonable prices but I know that's not something everybody wants to do!

 

[lisamarie12]

There have been so many I forgot to add the Instinct to the list! He has tried the lamb (before the known allergy) and I believe the venison but every variety I try of that brand it is super dry and hard. He likes the moist soft pate.

It's been about a year since I've used Instinct LID canned foods, however, I never found the pate foods to be "dry and hard', on the contrary - since Instinct canned food is carrageenan and gum free, it was more on the mushy side. The LID proteins include duck, rabbit and turkey.

Are you using any type of freeze dried toppers to entice kitty to eat the foods you want him to eat? A pinch of freeze dried liver might work, e.g., Vital Essentials makes freeze dried duck liver or you could look into freeze dried liver treats for dogs since there are more options. Orijen makes freeze dried meat and liver treats, you could try boar or duck. Whole Life has freeze dried turkey breast meat, as does Bravo, Pure Bites and Fresh is Best (turkey and duck).

 

[ty3535]

I actually did used to cook him pork, usually boneless chops, but the vet said it wasn't adequate for consistent feeding because of the lack of vitamins/minerals. I know with raw you can add your own, but I've just tried it so many times with no success that it's wasteful both in the food and money. Ugh. I was a picky eater as a kid I guess this is what I deserve :-/

 

[lisahe]

I actually did used to cook him pork, usually boneless chops, but the vet said it wasn't adequate for consistent feeding because of the lack of vitamins/minerals. I know with raw you can add your own, but I've just tried it so many times with no success that it's wasteful both in the food and money. Ugh. I was a picky eater as a kid I guess this is what I deserve :-/

Yes, you'd have to add supplements or a premix that contains all the nutrients. Our cats really like EZComplete, which is good for either cooked or raw boneless meat... but it does have chicken liver. But there are other premixes and some are good for cooked meat.

It's been about a year since I've used Instinct LID canned foods, however, I never found the pate foods to be "dry and hard', on the contrary - since Instinct canned food is carrageenan and gum free, it was more on the mushy side. The LID proteins include duck, rabbit and turkey.

Are you using any type of freeze dried toppers to entice kitty to eat the foods you want him to eat? A pinch of freeze dried liver might work, e.g., Vital Essentials makes freeze dried duck liver or you could look into freeze dried liver treats for dogs since there are more options. Orijen makes freeze dried meat and liver treats, you could try boar or duck. Whole Life has freeze dried turkey breast meat, as does Bravo, Pure Bites and Fresh is Best (turkey and duck).

I agree with ty3535 about the consistency of the Instinct foods... at least the ones I attempted to feed, which did vary considerably. I like that Instinct doesn't have carrageenan or gums but then again, neither does Rawz (it has fenugreek instead) but it's very soft and lappable, which I suspect is part of why our cats like it so much!

And yes about freeze-dried meat for enticement: we use Pure Bites turkey, duck liver, and chicken.

 

[ty3535]

I did just buy some freeze dried venison lung (yuck) that I'm going to try and crumble over his food but he has for some reason stopped eating venison which he loved a few days ago. I could dry the other freeze dried pure bites as long as they're crumbly or I can cut them easily because he has a hard time with the chunks because of his lack of teeth. He ate the Rawz turkey sort of. Maybe less than 1/4 can but now he won't even sniff at it. I'm getting concerned that I won't find something and I'll have to resort to giving him a protein or ingredient he shouldn't have.

 

[kittyluv387]

If LID is too cakey you can add some water to it and mash it up.

 

[ty3535]

That's a good idea, I'll try that. It just seems to be a little too tough for him to eat as opposed to other pates but mugs adding water will help. Thank you!

 

[lisahe]

I did just buy some freeze dried venison lung (yuck) that I'm going to try and crumble over his food but he has for some reason stopped eating venison which he loved a few days ago. I could dry the other freeze dried pure bites as long as they're crumbly or I can cut them easily because he has a hard time with the chunks because of his lack of teeth. He ate the Rawz turkey sort of. Maybe less than 1/4 can but now he won't even sniff at it. I'm getting concerned that I won't find something and I'll have to resort to giving him a protein or ingredient he shouldn't have.

Pure Bites duck liver is very easy to crumble into a fine dust. Turkey is harder to crumble by hand but could probably be crushed in a bag with a rolling pin (old-fashioned method) or in a mini food processor (contemporary method).

Is your cat picky about variety, too, ty3535? Might that help explain why he ate 25% of the Rawz but then refused more? That's one of the problems I have in feeding canned foods to our cats: they won't eat the same thing very often at all without significant complaint. Oddly, though, they'll gladly eat the same raw food twice a day (!) and they're pretty good about cooked homemade food as well. (I know you said that raw food didn't work for your cat -- what's his name, BTW? -- but just ask if you're looking for more recommendations. Sometimes cats--like ours--refuse a frozen version but slurp up freeze-dried.)

And yes, you could definitely try adding water to Instinct, as kittyluv387 suggested. That didn't work for our cats (it makes more of a slurry than a wetter pate, oh, cats can be so particular!) but maybe it will work for yours!

Also, have you tried Nutro Natural Choice, which seem popular with picky cats? They have a few turkey foods. And one with duck, too. Some of their foods do have carrageenan (not sure if you've nixed that or not) but not all.

 

[Freedom]

Natural Balance has some limited ingredient in cans. My Emma has IBD, and oh my it has been a struggle to find something she will eat, and that won't come gushing out the other end.

Venison worked; but after 2 meals, she and all my other cats decided they HATE venison.

I spent a lot of time exploring on chewy.com online to find different options.

 

[lisamarie12]

Natural Balance has some limited ingredient in cans.

Natural Balance canned foods, including LID, all contain carrageenan which the OP has stated she wants to avoid.

 

[Freedom]

Oh, sorry, I missed that.

 

[MeganLLB]

What about ziwipeak? And evangers only had that one recall with the beef and that was their first recall in 80 years. They had a 40 year history with that meat supplier with no problems until then and they have since terminated that relationship. I think they should be ok.

 

[ty3535]

Sorry about the delayed reply, for some reason I wasn't notified of the comments.

lisahe Unfortunately I haven't been able to get him to eat any kind of duck. As for the Nutro, this could totally be a coincidence but the 3 times, including the initial IBD diagnosis was when he was eating a type of Nutro.

Freedom I think Chewy has taken all of my life savings :-) although they are wonderful with refunds. They are probably the best company I've ever done business with.

MeganLLB I actually had started him on the ziwipeak lamb which he loves but it gave him runny poop. It could have been because I didn't transition him properly and it's currently the only flavor he will it so I'm going to stick with it for a few days. I know evangers only had the one recall and a store owner did tell me she trusted them but I read an article of a laundry list of FDA problems such as raw chicken being placed on top of supply containers and other sanitary problems. It's possible the media has overblown it but I'm still too hesitant to try it.

Has anyone heard of ezcomplete? It's a mix that you add to cooked meat to make it a balanced meal (Enzo likes pork chops) but I'm unsure of how it will alter the flavor. Also the storage seems like a problem.

I think I'm going to give him the lamb for a few days because I am more worried about weight loss and fatty liver than I am about digestive problems.

 

[MeganLLB]

If he likes pork chops chewy has some pork recipes if you search pork. Or now that a lot of companies pulled out of chewy because of the petsmart merge, try searching petflow or another simmilar site.