Variety in wet food?

[chickpea616]

We've only had our kittens about 2 weeks, and in that time, I've only used Fancy Feast pate for kittens. I'm reading a ton of older threads that say you should feed a variety of brands and textures to avoid "picky cat syndrome" later on. Can you literally just switch up food like that - one brand one day, another brand the next, change texture with each meal, etc?? (And yes, I'm going to buy single cans until I figure out which ones they like, then I'll order in bulk)

I was told that for my 'older' cats (ages 3 and 4), switching out their dry food (I know, they are on all dry but I'm gonna work on transitioning them to wet) has to go gradually, with mixing the old in with the new in steps - does that not apply to kitten wet food?

thanks!

 

[lisahe]

Yes, many cats can switch between very different foods from day to day or meal to meal. Our cats do. Some cats, however, have guts that don't like quick change, which is why many pet food companies suggest slower transitions to new foods, with the mixing you mentioned. I think some kittens are especially sensitive that way. (We adopted our cats when they were ten months old and very, very hungry and horribly underfed so just fed them a ton from the start... and they were fine with it. I do tend to just jump in on new foods, though and am lucky our cats can take that!)

As for the older cats, yes, I'd phase out the dry food gradually, particularly if they're fond of it: we took about a month to get our cats off dry food, gradually cutting back on amounts of dry and increasing canned, then just leaving out a small bowl of dry food at night, etc., etc., until the dry food was out of their diet. You'll probably be able to tell pretty early on how easy (or hard!) it will be to change their food.

Good luck!

 

[cheesycats]

The healthier your cats gut is the easier you should be able to switch their foods. My cats get different textures proteins and brands of canned everyday. A different brand of kibble every bag. Have no issues

 

[abyeb]

In general, I think that cats typically have more problems transitioning between dry foods than wet foods (just based on what I have read around TCS). “Rotating” wet foods is pretty popular for the reasons you mentioned, C chickpea616 , and having the ability to change up foods would be important in case of a recall, or another situation when you can’t purchase a different food for some reason. Do be observant, though. If you notice any vomiting or diarrhea, then it means that your cats might need a more gradual transition. These are all questions that you can ask your vet as well!

 

[DreamerRose]

Mingo throws up fish, or anything with fish in it, but other than that, both my kitties like a variety. I feed mainly Fancy Feast or Sheba, and I get the three varieties of FF - pate, grilled, and Gravy Lovers - and mix them up. Also will try FF Naturals. They both seem to like the variety. Pate is the most nutritious, but they get tired of it real quickly.

 

[SpecterOhPossum]

Tiki cat after dark is the best I can recommend, they have a variety pack with tons of flavors

IME if you're feeding high quality wet food (just meat, no veggies/grains/thickeners) transitioning isn't too much of an issue besides when introducing new meats, so I'd keep a rotation of several meats so you don't have to re-transition; if that makes sense

 

[blumarine916]

I buy a variety of wet food brands so they don’t get bored of the same flavors. But my dry food is mainly Royal Canin Indoor or Fit32. It is easier to change if the dry food is from the same brand. But for change of brand you have to do a gradual change; mixing 30/70, 50/50, 70/30 then full change.

Try getting sample packs to ensure your kitties approve.

 

[WillowMarie]

I've tried gradually switching over a couple days to new wet food, but my cats stopped wanting to eat. I had bought a bunch of new brands (used to only feed fancy feast, but hadn't found sales) and started giving them something new at each meal. At first my cats had wetter, smellier poop, but after a week or two the poop firmed up and no longer has a strong smell. They must have gotten used to getting the variety I've been giving and their bodies adjusted. May not work for everyone, but that was my experience.

 

[Uncled]

My cats were raised on Fancy Feast classic pate as they got older I started adding brands other than FF, mostly store brand, but always pate variety. They also enjoy Tiny Tiger from Chewy.com. Friskies classic pate is another favorite.

 

[Time 2 Recognize]

Mine has a rotation of a few brands/proteins and texture, partially because it took me trial and error to find brands lined up with what I read is best for them, that she also liked and also because my cat gets bored with the same food too many meals. So we do switch it up almost daily.

The brands I rotate between are similar ingredient wise. Protein and no veg or stuff like that. I try to avoid gums though it's hard -there's usually at least one in there.
I find that if its brands with similar ingredients and same protein it's never been an issue. Occasionally if I throw in something that she doesnt eat often like beef, she might have slightly looser stool for the next day. I keep a probiotic powder on hand now and I find mixing that in usually fixes digestive reaction to unfamiliar food. She is ocassional bummed with my selection since it's always guess work what she might want or if she wants something new, but will usually eat the bowl clean after a few gruntled merps.

 

[ailish]

I switch between brands, textures and proteins with each can. Ailish doesn't mind, and in fact, prefers variety. She starts getting picky if I feed her two of the same cans in a row. I did get some food back when I quickly switched her one meal of dry food after I felt that the original was making her throw up. I switched, she barfed her first meal of the new stuff, and then hasn't thrown up for two years now. If I were going to switch dry again I would mix it together first.

 

[bpenniman]

g


I use mostly blue buffalo, fancy feast, and sheba. I mostly serve them chicken, turkey, beef and occasionally some seafood. These are the brands my two older guys like best. So i rotate every meal, a different brand. Never had issues with diarrhea, heartburn, etc. I used to just use one brand and after a few days they wouldnt eat much or none at all and try getting into bags of tortilla chips because they're carbaholics. Try what brands your kitten likes best and then get a variety from two or three brands. I don't use oceanfish much. I don't think it's that good for cats, but turkey, duck, chicken, beef. And I rotate brand and flavor every meal.

 

[chickpea616]

View attachment 315608g


I use mostly blue buffalo, fancy feast, and sheba. I mostly serve them chicken, turkey, beef and occasionally some seafood. These are the brands my two older guys like best. So i rotate every meal, a different brand. Never had issues with diarrhea, heartburn, etc. I used to just use one brand and after a few days they wouldnt eat much or none at all and try getting into bags of tortilla chips because they're carbaholics. Try what brands your kitten likes best and then get a variety from two or three brands. I don't use oceanfish much. I don't think it's that good for cats, but turkey, duck, chicken, beef. And I rotate brand and flavor every meal.



View attachment 315608

Thanks! Just wanted to comment that your plastic bin of food looks very similar to mine, except the kitten ones, not cat (yet). I just started building my stash, so my levels are a lot lower than yours, LOL, but I also have Fancy Feast in mine, plus the Perfect Portion Iams (not Sheba yet because as far as I know they don't have kitten ones that I can find), and I also have some Healthy Gourment thrown in for variety! Oh, and mine hate the ocean whitefish flavor....