Alright cat owners and cat lovers, it’s time to admit that some of you feed your beloved pet ordinary Friskies, 9 Lives etc., instead of high end sustenance.
I’ve been a new and happy kitty parent for three months now and I have been a bit put off by the feeding advice proffered by some feline-loving veterans. In online forums I have read their criticisms and downright belittling of folks who don’t purchase the more “luxurious brands” of cat food. Well, to each his own I say. In my short time as a cat owner, my opinion is that, similar to people, every cat is different. From what I’ve researched, I likely will never give my gal Meow Mix or Purina Cat chow; the cat world equivalents of cheeseburgers and fried state fair dough. But of course there are people who buy that stuff and happily report that their pets are alive, sturdy and healthy well into old age.
I do care deeply for my gal and I try to give her the healthiest (and hopefully tastiest) dry and wet fare I can afford. But yes, her menu does include commercial food wherein Meat By-products (organs) is the lead ingredient. For the most part she gets flavors where meat is the first ingredient; and I tend to avoid flavors where corn and wheat are prominent ingredients.
OK, show of hands; who admits that they’ve fed them Friskies, 9 Lives and the like?
My current cats have to stick to Hill’s Perfect Weight chow because of the kitty (not pictured in the avatar) who has major weight issues. Not a fancy pants food by any means. They do get a gourmet treat of Tiki Cat Luau Chicken… it looks like boiled chicken. Because I cannot stand the smell of fish cat “dishes.”
I have 2 cats and my “go to” brand is Wellness which is a little more expensive - about $1.50 a can. I do give them the junky stuff once a week as a treat - they love the beef variety put out by Fancy Feast which honestly looks like “road kill.” The smell makes me sick to my stomach but they look forward to it. They also get a “real” treat once a week - a can of tuna fish.
My cats are only abut 10 years old but have been extremely healthy - not sure though that food really is the determining factor in that regard.
my cats eat little friskies…and aldi brand canned food as a treat. but then again they started out life as shelter kittens, so they have had to compromise. still, it’s a full ride scholarship for them, with comfy dorm beds (ours) and many learning opportunities (big yard with lots of wildlife)
Our cat ate Friskies for 20 years and, other than routine vaccination visits, had to go to vet’s office only twice in her lifetime (once was for cat acne). The only treat she ever liked was an occasional dollop of tuna.
What is wrong with the organ meats for a cat? Many cats like organ meats, and they provide nutrients that may not be as available in muscle meats of prey animals. In the wild, cats often preferentially eat the organ meats of their prey first.
Human tastes and nutritional needs are not the same as those of cats, but since humans buy the cat food, it is unlikely that an “organ meat delight” flavor of cat food will be a big seller to the general public (maybe only veterinarians and wildlife biologists would choose it).
All I know is, our old cat wouldn’t eat premium cat food, we tried her on Blue Buffalo, we tried her on IAMS and Eukenuba and such, she turned her nose at it. We were fortunate, she didn’t like fish, so she ate beef and turkey and chicken mostly. Also had to be ground, she wouldn’t eat it if it was in shreds and such…(and she lived to be 16)
My cat gets Costco diet & anti hairball food, she is in her teens and looking quite good.
My dog, who is pampered with the Costco salmon & sweet potato feed, yah, he spends his days trying to eat the cat food!
One of my cats has eaten Friskies her whole life and she’s twenty-one! The other one we adopted about a month ago and she eats the healthy, more expensive brands, but she has kidney and thyroid issues and you can feel all the bones in her body so we want to give her the best food so she has the best chance possible.
My cat is a Fancy Feast boy. I had one of those moments thinking I needed to be buying “higher quality” food and he threw it up. He’s not picky though, he will eat just about anything, he’s like a dog you can’t leave your plate unguarded around.
My 23 year old cat that I adopted two years ago eats turkey flavored Friskies. That is it. Doesn’t recognize kibble as a food product and scolds me if I try to give him any other flavor. Refuses all table scraps except baked chicken.
My cat eats dry kibble from Whole Foods in the morning (Spot’s Stew, chicken flavor) and Fancy Feast small can of wet food in the evening. She will only eat the “grilled” varieties. She is very healthy, knock wood, and the vet always exclaims about her great teeth. She is 13 years old now.
It has been a few years, but my cat loved the pate/ground versions and would only lick the sauce off the ones with the slices and/or chunks. She ate wet and dry. Friskies/9 Lives. I don’t recall looking at ingredients. Ever. Other than the type of food (chicken v beef v fish). She lived 17 years. Her other vices included cricket heads (leaving me the body).
We use a supermarket brand for older (chunkier) cats. She’ll eat any kind of dry food.
She LIVES for the tuna can, though. It’s one of the great joys of life to bring that much pleasure to any living being. I look forward to having tuna just so I can drain the juice into her bowl and watch her go into paroxysms of ecstasy. The problem is when I open any can that isn’t tuna. She can certainly smell the difference from ten feet away, but she screams until I actually put the open can at her nose level so that she can verify that it’s pineapple or tomato paste or whatever. Then she turns to me with disgust, like I’m the dumbest person alive. She KNOWS I have tuna up there, and I’m choosing to eat this slop?
My cat dislikes any canned food except her Fancy Feast grilled. The one exception is tuna. But it has to be brothy light tuna-she doesn’t like the fancy white albacore.
Per my vet’s advice that any wet food is fine, I fed my two Ragdolls, now age 16, Friskies and Fancy Feast for their entire lives. Last year one developed kidney disease (a function of age and genetics, not food), so now they both eat a low protein canned option made for this condition, but once a week they share a can of a fishy Fancy Feast, because they adore it and life is short, especially for a cat. I find it’s best to avoid marketing hype and holier-than-thou folks in many areas, not just pet food.
