Thoughts on Fancy Feast?

Purrreto

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I was just wondering what the general consensus on Fancy Feast is. It’s the favorite of my two senior cats. I’ve tried more expensive and nutritious wet foods often to their chagrin, but I can always get them to eat FF. I was under the impression that any wet food is better than the most premium dry food. I would love any input/advice! Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!
 

FeebysOwner

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I don't think FF is all that bad - better than many others out there, IMO. Feeby loved FF for years but is less inclined to eat it now because the pates (all she will eat) are much grittier than they used to be. Not sure why, but it happened around the time that canned cat foods were harder to come by a couple of years back. Most dry foods contain a lot more carbs than most wet foods, and of course, the moisture content in canned foods are always a 'plus'. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
 

neely

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During the pandemic we switched our guy to 2 different FF pates and he liked them but then little by little he refused to eat them so we switched wet foods again. Cats can be very fussy or at least my guy is a picky eater. :wink: A very Happy Thanksgiving to you!
 

lisahe

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FF classic pates are very decent, low carb foods that don't have carrageenan or fillers like peas or potato. Turkey and giblets is probably the best since it doesn't have any fish. The biggest downside is that the phosphorous tends to be high (this seems to be why our vet cringes when she hears "Fancy Feast"), which isn't good for older cats, but adding a little extra water to canned foods is a good idea anyway since wet food can apparently help stave off kidney disease.
 

maggie101

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So far fancy feast classics is the only pate she has not thrown up. She is 10 yrs old so I would like to get her off it because of phosphorus. I think she can eat weruva fowl ball though it will trial and error to figure out how much to serve her since it's more dense
 

FrazzledMumbly

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My thoughts are that Max will eat Fancy Feast classic pate if I rotate it through now and then to keep his favorite foods from getting boring. I'm pretty alright with the ingredients and like the price... BUT. I avoid the beef flavor because it gave him the runs within of hour of finishing (his poos went solid again after his next meal, icky but not the end of the world). He seems to have a slight preference for the very similar Tiny Tiger brand.
 

OopsyDaisy

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Fancy Feast chicken feast is all that I can get Lulu and Ash to eat. I've tried many. They can't stand pate of any kind. I'm actually trying to decrease their kibble slowly and switch to mostly wet. If I purchase a FF variety pack, I have to give all the other cans to the shelter. That's been happening lately because the chicken feast seems to be getting harder to find.
 

DreamerRose

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I have fed Fancy Feast to my two for eight years. They tired of the pate, which is the best for them, rather quickly, so I give them the Grilled and an occasional Gravy Lovers. I also feed them Fancy Feast Petites for the first meal of the day - the smaller size seems to be good for their tummies. I used Sheba for years instead, but Mingo finally got tired of it and wouldn't eat it. I'm no nutritional expert, but Fancy Feast seems to be good for them. Their blood tests are always fine.
 

lisahe

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My thoughts are that Max will eat Fancy Feast classic pate if I rotate it through now and then to keep his favorite foods from getting boring. I'm pretty alright with the ingredients and like the price... BUT. I avoid the beef flavor because it gave him the runs within of hour of finishing (his poos went solid again after his next meal, icky but not the end of the world). He seems to have a slight preference for the very similar Tiny Tiger brand.
Yes, Tiny Tiger is very popular with our cats, they love the turkey and giblets, the only pate flavor without fish!
 

Robyn5678

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My cats loved fancy feast but the past few batches, they have been vomitting more. They inhale their friskies. I tried all sorts of expensive wet food and they didn’t want to eat it.
 

OopsyDaisy

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I was thinking about the shelters and the fact that they feed the rescues whatever is donated. No wonder most of the animals that we adopt have diarrhea when we first bring them home. I suppose there is no other choice though in the short term, poor babies.
 
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Purrreto

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Thanks for all of the wonderful responses! I noticed that others are concerned about the phosphorus in FF as well. This is something I’ve been concerned with for some time as Skippy (my 15 year old male cat) is not only a senior, but has had issues with with blockages as well as crystals in the past. However, since he is old, I’m just happy he is eating at all. Is there any way I can lessen the effects of the high phosphorus contained in FF? If not, should I attempt switch him off of it? Thanks

Also, a photo of Skippy. :)
 

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maggie101

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Phosphorous binders I've heard about from FeebysOwner FeebysOwner but never used. Or mixing low phosphorus like weruva and higher phosphorus. Not sure. She will know more
 

FeebysOwner

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I would not use a phosphorus binder without first checking his phosphorus level. Calcium and magnesium can also impact urinary tract issues in cats, but if you have blood work done (Chemistry Panel) those levels will be checked as well. While these minerals can attribute to struvite crystal development, a cat needs to have a certain level of each for proper nutrition/system function.

Getting your cat to drink more water (you can also try to add some to his food for extra moisture) is probably the best way to keep the kidneys flushed and help reduce the chances for crystals to form. The extra water will also help to maintain a proper urine PH, which can also aid in crystal development.

Keep testing foods with lower mineral levels to see if you can at least have some meals that are not FF. But the bottom line is if all they will eat is FF, then so be it.
 

lisahe

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Thanks for all of the wonderful responses! I noticed that others are concerned about the phosphorus in FF as well. This is something I’ve been concerned with for some time as Skippy (my 15 year old male cat) is not only a senior, but has had issues with with blockages as well as crystals in the past. However, since he is old, I’m just happy he is eating at all. Is there any way I can lessen the effects of the high phosphorus contained in FF? If not, should I attempt switch him off of it? Thanks

Also, a photo of Skippy. :)
Has Skippy had blood tests recently? If his kidney-related numbers are normal, you may be okay continuing to feed him the Fancy Feast, particularly if he's drinking plenty of water. But if his kidney numbers are slightly elevated, you could try, as maggie101 maggie101 suggested, offering him some foods that are fairly low in phosphorus. That's probably a good idea anyway. (I'm sure that's what lots of vets would recommend since FF does have that reputation for high phosphorus.) Weruva works well for lots of kidney cats -- our kidney cat loved Weruva and she'd been a huge FF fan for years. If Skippy's kidney numbers are quite elevated, that's a conversation for the vet, though they're not always very knowledgeable about dietary recommendations. (We went through that with our kidney cat: her kidney numbers were moderately elevated and the vet wanted to feed her a prescription diet but I lowered her phosphorus intake instead, which improved her kidney indicators, much to the vet's surprise. Brooksie died shortly after that, though not of kidney disease.)

FeebysOwner FeebysOwner 's post popped up just as I was about to post.
 

fleshflowers

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I have 7 cats right now including a diabetic and they all love it and are doing great on it. Their fur is very soft and they are healthy. I am only feeding the classic pates and a couple of the chunky (they are low carb). They do have quite a bit of phosphorus so wouldn't be good for a kitty with kidney issues.
 

ladytimedramon

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Delilah is fine with Fancy Feast. I can find a decent amount of flavors without fish/fish oil that don't seem to bother her.

I wish they had a rabbit variety that I could get for Fancy (she's on a limited diet).
 

maggie101

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I would not use a phosphorus binder without first checking his phosphorus level. Calcium and magnesium can also impact urinary tract issues in cats, but if you have blood work done (Chemistry Panel) those levels will be checked as well. While these minerals can attribute to struvite crystal development, a cat needs to have a certain level of each for proper nutrition/system function.

Getting your cat to drink more water (you can also try to add some to his food for extra moisture) is probably the best way to keep the kidneys flushed and help reduce the chances for crystals to form. The extra water will also help to maintain a proper urine PH, which can also aid in crystal development.

Keep testing foods with lower mineral levels to see if you can at least have some meals that are not FF. But the bottom line is if all they will eat is FF, then so be it.
Thanks for explaining this more!
 
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