Switching Wet Food

[Furballsmom]

as an fyi for you...
How Long Can You Safely Keep Cat Food Out For?

 

[lisahe]

I think like many hapless hoomans here, I ended up with half a dozen or so different wet, grain-free, etc., brands and flavors that my cat will deign to eat. I put on my restaurant server's apron and serve them up several times a day, rotating foods around at certain mealtimes.

In times of trouble, I resort to freeze-dried raw toppers or else a few tempting pieces of a dry food sprinkled near her wet food dish to get her to eat.

So, you could have several brands at hand and if the Tiki is not to be the main showstopper, serve other brands more suited for their growth spurts for at least part of the day.

Exactly! Cat Catering never sleeps: there are always new menus to create, new garnishes to create.

Seriously, though, a hearty yes to serving multiple brands with varying calories. There's nothing wrong with feeding Tiki to a kitten but it would, indeed, take a lot to keep them satiated with a low-calorie food all day. Foods like Nutro, Wellness Core, and Fancy Feast classics may be more economical in terms of calories per dollar. This is where the catinfo.org chart can come in handy.

I am able to feed them twice a day with the wet food, but I don’t have the ability to come home and feed them during the day. Is twice a day wet food enough, or do I need to look into a feeder of some sort?

There's nothing wrong with a feeder or leaving wet food out for your cats, though you'd need to watch Percy's weight carefully to make sure he's not gaining with a semi-free feeding of wet food and eating all Jasper's food. I obviously don't know your schedule but when I'm traveling my husband feeds our cats three or four meals a day (wake-up, off-to-work, home-from-work, and bedtime) and that keeps the cats happy. I'm sure Edwina eats more of Ireland's "off-to-work" meals than she should but that's not a big problem for a week!

Anyway, good luck -- I hope the cats like the Tiki.

 

[tuffsmom]

Fancy Feast Classic would be a good choice.

 

[AmyTheKittyMommy]

I hadn’t realized how low calorie the TikiCat food is! Goodness, I didn’t even consider that.
This is all a little complicated for me.
I still have more of the Wellness Pate left over, so I can give them the rest of that if just the Tiki is too little for them. I also have the entire rest of the bag of dry food to give them.
At what age would switching them to just wet food be okay? And if I were to find that they like the TikiCat, how often would it need to be given and would other higher calorie brands need to be put into the mix as well?

 

[Tobermory]

Tiki is a good food although lower in fat. You might check into Rawz canned. It’s high protein, low carb, and a bit more fat than some with no fillers, grains or questionable thickeners. Could be something to consider for your still-growing youngsters. I’m making their food now, but my kitties really liked Rawz.

 

[Furballsmom]

would other higher calorie brands need to be put into the mix as well?

I think yes, something like rawz as mentioned, or

Foods like Nutro, Wellness Core, and Fancy Feast classics may be more economical in terms of calories per dollar. This is where the catinfo.org chart can come in handy.

You can switch to all wet at any time.
Four or more times a day if you want to keep them on scheduled meals with or without a feeder, or just leave the food out - it's ok to do that for 6-8 hours with canned food.

 

[duckpond]

I hadn’t realized how low calorie the TikiCat food is! Goodness, I didn’t even consider that.
This is all a little complicated for me.
I still have more of the Wellness Pate left over, so I can give them the rest of that if just the Tiki is too little for them. I also have the entire rest of the bag of dry food to give them.
At what age would switching them to just wet food be okay? And if I were to find that they like the TikiCat, how often would it need to be given and would other higher calorie brands need to be put into the mix as well?

I feed a lot of low calorie, lower fat wet foods. and i supplement them with Dr. Elseys dry, chicken flavor. It has more fat, but not too much, high protein, and very low carb. less than 5% carbs. if i give my guys two cans of tiki or another low cal wet food that would average about 130 to 140 in the calories. you could make up the difference in what each cat needs calorie wise with another higher calorie can of wet, such as wellness, or fancy feast classics, or a dry food of your choice.

I feed Dr. elseys dry, and its high calorie so a little goes a long long way. its 545 calories per cup, so 1/4th to 1/3 cup of it would finish up the calorie requirements of my guys for the day.

However I free feed during the day, with Elseys so no one starves when i am at work. I put out a cup of Elseys each morning, and my 4 rarely finish the whole cup. no one seems to over eat with it, i think because it is so low carb. then when i get home i put down my 2nd wet meal for the day. I do pick up the elseys at night before bed. My guys are all at a good weight right now, and i dont want anyone to gain weight, so thats our diet plan Vet approved.

my son has 4 female cats, all in the 8 to 9 lb range. they are a bit older than yours, and dont eat as much. he feeds two wet meals per day, of the fancy feast classics. each cat gets one in the am and one in the pm. then he will sometimes split a can between them right before bed if they seem hungry. Simple and it works for them, and him. your guys might need 3 cans per day, or a bit more at their age.

 

[lisahe]

You can switch to all wet at any time.
Four or more times a day if you want to keep them on scheduled meals with or without a feeder, or just leave the food out - it's ok to do that for 6-8 hours with canned food.

Yes to all of that! And four or more feedings a day really isn't as difficult as it sounds... it might take some getting used to but it's pretty easy!

 

[AmyTheKittyMommy]

I’m trying to find Rawz, but apparently they don’t sell it online at all?
Are there any other good brands that are higher in fat and calories, but still free of grains and fillers, that I could buy from Chewy.com or Amazon?

 

[2BSH]

I hadn’t realized how low calorie the TikiCat food is! Goodness, I didn’t even consider that.
This is all a little complicated for me.
I still have more of the Wellness Pate left over, so I can give them the rest of that if just the Tiki is too little for them. I also have the entire rest of the bag of dry food to give them.
At what age would switching them to just wet food be okay? And if I were to find that they like the TikiCat, how often would it need to be given and would other higher calorie brands need to be put into the mix as well?

What I do is a rotation diet with variety of brands. For example I’ll give them merrick for breakfast,fussie cat (low calorie and fat like tiki) and natures variety or nutro for dinner. That way their nutrition isn’t dependent on just 1 kind of food. That way they get a wide variety of nutrient levels throughout the day and they don’t ever get bored or sick of 1 food bc of the variety.

 

[duckpond]

I’m trying to find Rawz, but apparently they don’t sell it online at all?
Are there any other good brands that are higher in fat and calories, but still free of grains and fillers, that I could buy from Chewy.com or Amazon?

the only place i have found online is the big bad woof. i do like to order from them as you can with most of their foods get a can of this and a can of that, without needing to order a whole case. The site is a bit difficult to navigate though, i just search canned cat food. but i have always had good service from them.

The Big Bad Woof | Pet Store & Delivery

 

[2BSH]

I’m trying to find Rawz, but apparently they don’t sell it online at all?
Are there any other good brands that are higher in fat and calories, but still free of grains and fillers, that I could buy from Chewy.com or Amazon?

A lot of cats like the nutro chunky loafs brand. High in protein, moderate in fat and very low carb. It’s pretty clean as far as ingredients go. Also pretty caloric at about 95 calories per 3 oz. you can always go out to petco or PetSmart and try a few cans. Mine love the chunky chicken loaf. They also make one for kittens that’s even higher in protein.

 

[Furballsmom]

In case this helps --although the Big Bad Woof is probably your best bet especially since as duckpond mentioned, they allow small quantity ordering, I found this on Rawz website;

Below is a list of authorized RAWZ retailers with brick and mortar locations that also offer the convenience of online ordering and shipping, as well as the peace of mind that you are purchasing a product that has been acquired, stored and delivered according to food safety guidelines.

The Cat Connection
Dallas, TX
www.thecatconnection.com

Bernal Beast
San Francisco, CA
www.bernalbeast.com

Hearty Pet
Hagerstown, MD
www.heartypet.com

Wet Nose
Geneva, IL
www.wetnose.com

Cherrybrook
Washington, NJ
www.cherrybrook.com

Luke's All Natural Pet Food
Coral Springs, FL
www.lukesallnatural.com

The Hungry Puppy
Farmingdale, NJ
www.njpetsupply.com
Natural K9 Supplies

Miami, FL
www.naturalk9supplies.com

CANADA
Natural Pet Foods
Carleton Place, Ontario
www.naturalpetfoods.ca

 

[AmyTheKittyMommy]

The kittens tried TikiCat tonight, the chicken flavor.
They both drank the broth and ate some of the meat, and I’m leaving it out to see if they’ll finish it up later. I can’t tell if they don’t like it, or if they’re full.
Jasper ate too fast and made himself sick, unfortunately, but I don’t think it had anything to do with the food itself.

 

[Furballsmom]

Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

 

[Tobermory]

I could never get mine to eat the chicken pieces in the canned like Tiki or Weruva. I had to put it in the blender and turn it into pâté for them. The things we do!

 

[2BSH]

Mine did not like tiki at all. You said they were previously eating pate. That texture is so different from tiki it might take a while for them to get used to it. Also I've learned that what you want them to eat is often not what they want. Cats!!!! Keep us updated.

 

[sailon]

The kittens are growing and have gotten so big! I’ve just been so busy lately that I haven’t been on the forum at all. They’re about 9 months old now.
I’m considering switching their wet food

The kittens are growing and have gotten so big! I’ve just been so busy lately that I haven’t been on the forum at all. They’re about 9 months old now.
I’m considering switching their wet food from Wellness Pate, as it seems to give them loose and smelly stools. I’m also thinking I’ll stop free feeding them kibble as well, as they’re old enough to be switched to just two meals of wet food each day.
I was wondering what grain free wet food brands you would recommend? I’m willing to try a few things to figure out what they’ll like, but I’m looking for something healthy and grain free for my boys.
Thanks!

Since you asked for specific brand names, I tried most of the major brand names of grain-free wet food and settled on Blue Freedom Grain Free. The ingredients looked good (if anyone can actually read that size print on the can) and Max liked it best. The "grain free" aspect of it did solve a problem Max was having, but it sells for a $1.69 per 5oz can at all 3 of my local pet stores.

I read somewhere about Tractor Supply having good food for a reasonable price. I found their own brand (4health) grain free with virtually the same ingredients in the same proportions for 69 cents per 5oz can. $1 less per can! And, Max can't tell the difference.

This isnt intended to be a recommendation, but just sharing my experience.

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from Wellness Pate, as it seems to give them loose and smelly stools. I’m also thinking I’ll stop free feeding them kibble as well, as they’re old enough to be switched to just two meals of wet food each day.
I was wondering what grain free wet food brands you would recommend? I’m willing to try a few things to figure out what they’ll like, but I’m looking for something healthy and grain free for my boys.
Thanks!

View attachment 232094

 

[AmyTheKittyMommy]

They seem to like the TikiCat. It is a little harder for them to eat, since they aren’t used to it, but they always go back and finish it off. So far they’ve tried the chicken and beef flavors.
They absolutely love the broth and seem to enjoy the meat, too, so I’m hopeful they’ll continue to enjoy it.

 

[lisahe]

They seem to like the TikiCat. It is a little harder for them to eat, since they aren’t used to it, but they always go back and finish it off. So far they’ve tried the chicken and beef flavors.
They absolutely love the broth and seem to enjoy the meat, too, so I’m hopeful they’ll continue to enjoy it.

That's good, I'm glad they like it! Our cats used to love Tiki -- they really slurped up the broth -- but the company changed the recipe. (Cats are such creatures of habit that recipe changes can make a huge difference to them!) I hope your cats continue to like it.