Vet And Fancy Feast

[MajorTomCat]

We took the boys to the vet today for their checkup and rabies vaccination. Bowie is perfect weight, Lemmy is fat. But we knew that and he’s been dieting and has lost a pound over the past couple months so we’re getting him where he needs to be. Two pounds down and he’ll be fine. But, Bowie is our sensitive tummy kitty, but he does well on Fancy Feast Classics so that’s what I feed him. I’d rather him eat Fancy Feast and not puke as opposed to Weruva, Merrick, or Wellness and puke a couple times a week. All that to say, the vet compared Fancy Feast to Taco Bell. Which hey maybe it isn’t high class like what he pukes up, but I’m good with him eating and being happy. I’ve spent many many hours scouring posts here before I tried the Fancy Feast, so I’d like to thank you guys for giving me the confidence in my food choices to not feel bad when the vet made a negative comment bout his food. And in her defense, I don’t think she was intentionally rude and she didn’t try to push Hill’s on us and listened to our concerns about Revolution and Bowie’s tummy, so I’m not upset with her at all; just grateful to you guys for the wealth of knowledge here.

 

[kittyluv387]

What the vet said may be true but everything is in context! If he only does well in ff classics then I think that's what you should feed him. But btw I'm thinking your kitty might be sensitive to carbs. The brands you mentioned are higher in carbs compared to ff feast. Although it depends on the line for wellness but the more commonly fed lines are heavier in carbs, I think.

 

[MajorTomCat]

Everything had potato starch or pea protein so that’s a very good possibility. Wellness we fed as an occasional treat meal, but it made his poop SO STINKY it wasn’t in the normal rotation.

 

[Tobermory]

Max would eat only FF Classics the last two or three years of his life, so the girls got FF, too. Max crossed the Bridge at age 20 so I think we did okay and I was thrilled he would eat it! I think FF is the go-to for many of us when nothing else seems to work.

 

[kittyluv387]

Did you check out Dr. Elsey's clean protein canned? I feed chicken and turkey and don't think they contain pea protein or potato starch.

 

[mizzely]

I had the same issues with my Jasmine the last few years of her life. I could feed her the best diets on the planet and she would throw up and had stinky poops from it. Tried her with Friskies and Fancy Feast... No more issues. I definitely am glad places like this exist where we can help our pets with the combined knowledge it provides!

 

[MajorTomCat]

Did you check out Dr. Elsey's clean protein canned? I feed chicken and turkey and don't think they contain pea protein or potato starch.

They love the Dr Elseys dry but turned up their noses at the wet. O top of a wonky tummy, Bowie is also very picky.

 

[kittyluv387]

Well its all about the slow transition with a lot of the cats. Mix in 10% of new food with 90% old and gradually increase new.

 

[lisahe]

Everything had potato starch or pea protein so that’s a very good possibility. Wellness we fed as an occasional treat meal, but it made his poop SO STINKY it wasn’t in the normal rotation.

Yes, in our experience, too, it's really important definitely stay away from carby stuff -- we have a cat who gets gassy and vomits if she eats foods with potato. We avoid potatoes, peas, grains, and anything else carby, though do occasionally feed a pouch of Weruva or Soulistic chicken with pumpkin that has tapioca as a thickener. (That said, I drain off most of the gravy -- the cats still love it.)

What the vet said may be true but everything is in context! If he only does well in ff classics then I think that's what you should feed him. But btw I'm thinking your kitty might be sensitive to carbs. The brands you mentioned are higher in carbs compared to ff feast. Although it depends on the line for wellness but the more commonly fed lines are heavier in carbs, I think.

I second all of this! And will add about Wellness that it might be helpful to check the charts on catinfo.org (here) to see which ones are carby. We feed our cats two Wellness Core foods: kitten (they're adults but they love it!) and turkey/duck. The others are significantly higher in carbs, though I do feed an occasional small can of beef/venison/lamb, which is higher, because they like it. (I'm not sure why that one comes out higher; I know that even Dr. Pierson, who compiles the lists, says the data can be a bit weird.)

Our cats get a weekly can or two of Fancy Feast and it's one of our pickier cat's very favorites. It's kind of funny that her two favorites are Fancy Feast (probably the cheapest food on the menu) and Rad Cat (the most expensive but, alas, now-defunct with just a little left in the freezer). I think with picky cats who have tricky stomachs (like your Bowie and our Ireland) it's especially important to pick your battles -- if Fancy Feast is detente, then so be it, the main thing is to keep cats like that eating happily so they don't get stressed out even more. Good luck!

 

[daftcat75]

I have tried many a food with my Krista and regard most of the expensive and boutique brands to be little more than pre-vomit. Now that Krista is pretty much exclusively raw, I emptied my cabinets of all the canned foods I’ve tried with her except Tiki Cat Aloha Friends (the only way to get pumpkin in her if she needs pumpkin), Rawz (she dislikes pates but can put down most of a 2 oz portion, that’s high praise!), and Fancy Feast. Because even through the worst of her pancreatic flare-up nausea and pain, FF was one she would eat and didn’t throw up. I always say it’s better to eat at McDonald’s than starve at Whole Foods. But I will also allow, “It’s better to eat Taco Bell than throw up Whole Foods.”

 

[lisahe]

But I will also allow, “It’s better to eat Taco Bell than throw up Whole Foods.”

Taco Bell is my favorite road trip food!

 

[EmersonandEvie]

I feed fancy feast to Dexter because he eats 3 to 4 cans a day (yay kitten stage!). It is economical, low carb, very high protein, and doesn't have any vegetable protein or flour/corn. He is doing extremely well on it. If your cat is thriving, I wouldn't change anything.

 

[sdkfjlasdf]

My cat wouldnt eat anything else either except FF classic pates. I try to avoid all the fish flavors. Shes doing great!

 

[mahniah]

Duke only likes Fancy Feast and I talked to my vet about it. She said that it's not as bad as it's reputation, and if that's all he'll eat, it's okay. I was relieved because I was throwing out so much food that he wouldn't eat, as I kept looking for a "better" food.

 

[Minxxy]

My cats love Fancy Feast Classic and do great on it.

 

[Erin80]

My two get one can of FF a day, before bed. They are both under a year and eat only wet....so we go through a lot of food, and feeding FF once a day helps keep costs a tad lower.