Your favorite brands of "novel protein" canned cat food

artiemom

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Well, Shock of all Shocks!!!!!

I am concerned with Artie not gaining weight and looking thin. He sees the specialist in a couple of weeks. I mean he gained a few ounces since his last visit, but is still so skinny looking. 

He is eating the Pride Rabbit; 2 1/2 cans a day. He is a big boy and should weigh 11.3+.. He was down to 10.5...

I weighed him this morning and he is 10.7 1/2 lbs...He had gone down to 10.3 at his last appointment, when he was having either diarrhea or constipation. So I am happy for the weight gain-he just looks so skinny.

I found a can of Wild Calling Rabbit Burrow. On a hunch, I opened it up and gave it to him. Boy, does it stink! But did he gobble up 1/3 of the can!! That was after having 1/2 a can of the Pride rabbit a few hours earlier! 

I looked at the ingredients before I fed him, It listed liver, so I was concerned.

I just got off the phone with Wild Calling in Colorado. The liver they are using are Rabbit livers. So it is 96% rabbit.   

The only type of protein that has a different liver is the Duck. Duck livers are scarce (all those pate lovers out there~ it is added to inferior good liver pate to make it less expensive.

The Wild Calling Duck has turkey liver added to it. 

Now, if he eats the rest of the can, I will be out to PetLife tomorrow and pick up a few more, to have as a variety..possibly switching over completely; but I will wait on that for a bit. I have too much Pride Rabbit here. Just got a delivery yesterday. I will put my repeat order on hold for now...

It is good to know that Wild Calling is pure novel protein. I hope others can take advantage of the information I got.. 

Fingers crossed. 
 

LTS3

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Good boy, Artie
Maybe super stinky food appeals to him. I wonder if you could crush up some stinky freeze dried raw and use that as a topper on other foods. Or warm up the food a little so it gives off a smell.
 
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crazy4strays

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I have one cat who is picky. Does it work to put tuna juice on the food that you want them to eat?
 

artiemom

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@LTS3 I called PetLife in Stoneham. They do not have ant of the Wild Calling Rabbit in stock. I think they found some in New Hampshire, or are ordering a case. I only want about 5 cans to try out before buy a case. They will get the for me. The 5 I want will be in next week. Now if Artie will eat it.
I a going to check out one other store near me-- not confident in this one. I will call "Stinkies" in Medford tomorrow. Yes, the real name.

Artie sees the vet on the 14th. I really hope he gains weight. He is wasting away. Very alert, playful, cuddly, sleeping with me again.
I hate this IBD
Brookline is a bit far for me. For doctors appointments ok but as often as I pick up food for Artie -- too far.
Depending on how this next appointment goes, I may take you up on you offer of a vet suggestion.
 

bonepicker

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HI!  Thanks for the suggestions. I have not visited those places. Artie has seemed to settle for Pride rabbit. I know it has pork in it, but he refuses other novel proteins. I ams trying away from poultry because we have a very strong idea that he is allergic to chicken. Each time I gave him chicken, he vomited immediately. 
He does not care for lamb (several brands) , buffalo (a couple of brands), venison (a couple of bands), plain rabbit (except for the Pride mix). He will eat the NV Pork, but it is impossible to find around my area. I called many stores. He will not eat any other brand of pork...I am really stuck with the Pride rabbit.
At least he eats that. 

When he gets fussy with his food, I open up a can of Solid Gold fish, and give him 1/2 a can of that. It seems to do the trick

Artie is even fussy with the NV limited ingredient Rabbit dry food. I give that to him occasionally as a treat. 

As long as I have something for now, I will stick with it. Both myself and the Vet are not all that happy with it being a mixture, but he is eating it. That I am happy with. He is so fussy with food. Years ago I even tried Kiwi..The stuff from Australia...he turned his nose up at it. 

I order his food by the cases, from Chewy. It is easier for me, and I get a slight discount because it is an automatic delivery. I order just enough for the month..with a bit to spare. I am not going overboard any more...I had too much food which he was no longer able to eat. I stocked up on sales at various stores. I had to donate it to the shelter. 
I still have a few I saved, but I am planning on donating those also....

The only time I go to the petstore now is to look at the kitties and to buy litter. I may even order that thru Chewy.
my cat likes pride rabbit also! Have you tried tiki cat gourmet carnivore line, my cat loves it, very juicy, good for hydration. Sold at chewy.com
 
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artiemom

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Hi Bonepicker!

Artie has to stay on one protein. Rabbit is it for now. I do not think Weruva comes in rabbit.

We need a food swap party!

He had a half a can of Pride this morning; 1/4 x 2.  Later I  re-heated the Wild Calling Rabbit. He ate a bit of it. But left some. He may be full, so the rest of the can is waiting for him for later. It will not spoil. It is cold in here. temp is 52 degrees and very windy. 

I checked out another pet store, which is near me for the Wild Calling; no luck. 

If Artie eats this, then I will be all set with an alternative for the Pride, for when he wants a change, or in rotation. 

I would rather get him to eat the one protein in WC, but it is very expensive. Money is an issue, but I want Artie to be well. If he can put some weight on, I will be very happy. 
 
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crazy4strays

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I introduced Merrick duck pate to my picky cat and he likes it. So that gives me a mid priced novel protein choice for him. I bought the Merrick cans for $1.40 each, so that's not too bad. I think that I'll try to rotate between chicken, turkey, and duck for my cats.
 

lisahe

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So this is new. Later Gator Wild Calling???
Wow, that's one of the most novel canned proteins I've heard of! (I think it still comes after brushtail but still.) Our cats didn't like Wild Calling much but then again they only tried the run-of-the-mill flavors, not something exotic like this!
 

lisamarie12

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Spring Naturals duck is one you may want to add to this list. I've never used it (spinach, cranberries), however, they are grain free and claiming to now be gum free as well (agar, agar). Available via Chewy.
 

lemondrop

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So this is new. Later Gator Wild Calling???
Wow! I've never seen this and it's not on their website. I wonder if they have other "secret" flavors! My cats LOVE their cans, especially the rabbit ones.
 

ruaryx

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Wow! I've never seen this and it's not on their website. I wonder if they have other "secret" flavors! My cats LOVE their cans, especially the rabbit ones.
Maybe they're not mass producing it yet? Alligator meat is probably hard to source. I've only seen it on Instagram and only because I follow some pet stores. Lol
 
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crazy4strays

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Wow! Alligator meat! Talk about novel protein!

By the way, if I want to try rabbit, which is better, Halo or Nature's Variety Instinct?
 

ftmba

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Wow! Alligator meat! Talk about novel protein!

By the way, if I want to try rabbit, which is better, Halo or Nature's Variety Instinct?
They're both great brands, and similar in quality. If you're getting NV rabbit just make sure to check the expiration date. They used to source rabbit from China but at some point switched to only sourcing rabbit only from the US.

Also, with both halo and NV, make sure to check the ingredient list, many are not single source protein (ie, NV rabbit is rabbit and pork, halo quail is quail and chicken I believe). NV limited ingredient is also excellent, and only single source protein.

Additionally, I would second Ziwipeak, but like Missmimz said it's fairly expensive.
 
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crazy4strays

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I tried the Halo rabbit and garden greens and both my cats gave me thumbs up on it. So I'll be ordering a case or two from Chewy.com.
 
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