Sorry to hear that, juniebug.
Whenever I buy ground turkey at Costco, I sauté one package for the kitties. It is cheaper than equivalent amount of canned Tiki Cat chicken of Fussie Cat tuna!
My two cats love Friskies Indoor…their faves are Poulty Platter Pate and Chicken Dinner Pate. When I pop a can, they come running.
For awhile, my older cat (14) liked Friskies Cat Concoctions with Crabby Sauce, but then she began only licking the crabby sauce and leaving the rest. Since she’s older, she prefers a wetter food, so I mix her Chicken Dinner or Poulty Platter with some water to make it more saucy…(mixed very well so smooth.)
Neither of my cats have had any problems.
Mine love Little Friskies Surf’n’Turf.
They drink water very, very well so I’m not concerned about them needing wet food. They do love the broth packets by Fancy Feast.
what are the premier brands I could be buying for them?
For wet food they include Instinct, Nutro, Wellness and Healthy Gourmet.
Wet food: Tiki Cat and Fussie Cat. My cats are spoiled… 
Isn’t the Tiki Cat the shredded consistency? Think I tried it and my two wouldn’t touch the “shreds.” They will only do the pate consistency. No chunks, slices or shreds!
My cats love the shreds! I guess the texture of those feels like their childhood dumpster food, lol. Tiki makes pâté like fish dishes, but being real fish, those dishes stink!!!
High end cat foods aren’t always better. What cats really need are zero to low carbohydrates and high quality animal protein. Sometimes, the prescription stuff doesn’t meet even this basic standard. Check out Lisa Pierson’s cat info web site. She’s a vet who also specializes in cat nutrition, which most vets don’t. (For example, the dry diabetic cat foods prescribed by vets all contain too many carbs, which cats cannot digest.)
You’ll find that many of the supermarket brands are as good as the pricey stuff. My cats have been on a Fancy Feast Shredded Fare diet (fewer than 15% of calories from carbs in many flavors) for 3 or 4 years. My diabetic kitty’s blood sugar is now within normal limits, and he is no longer overweight. We did try Wellness, which is expensive and very good, but one of my cats wouldn’t touch it.
If you don’t want to wade through the chart on the website, just avoid any cat food that contains grains (including grains that are healthy for people, such as brown rice), sweet potatoes, and gravy, which usually contains wheat flour. Look for low ash content and don’t worry too much about the fat content. If you’re feeding your cat a low carb diet, the fat content won’t matter.
@Massmom, what is the Fancy Feast Shredded Fare diet?
My cats used to love the shredded and dices, but now my older cat will only lick the gravy off shreds/dices, so I’ve had to go to pate, and even then I have to moisten it a more so she can lick the heck out of it.
The biggest thing about cats’ diets is the fact that they are obligate carnivores, which means their nutritional needs are overwhelmingly animal protein based, and in no way did they evolve to consume grains, vegetables or fruit. Grains in particular are very detrimental to their health, Therefore, it’s a good idea to read ingredients lists to rule out the presence of things like wheat, soy, rye, etc. Corn also is extremely bad for cats. Pet food companies know most pet owners are totally ignorant of the dietary needs of cats and dogs, and so frequently use the term “complete and balanced” to appeal to the common assumption that the omnivorous diet so healthy for humans is good for their beloved pets as well. That’s also why pet food packaging often shows art work featuring green vegetables and fruit. Protein, especially high quality protein, is relatively expensive. So pet food companies have a vested interest in selling the idea that fruits and veggies are good for cats and dogs.
Diabetes in cats and dogs is commonly linked to too many carbohydrates in their diet, and unfortunately, most dry foods are packed with carbs. It’s also primarily responsible (along with overfeeding) for weight control issues and bladder infections. I would like to avoid having to administer insulin to my 2 yr. old ragdoll in his latter years if feeding him a more species appropriate diet can prevent it. I’m especially not wanting to have to deal with cat urine deposits in places outside of the litter box. Apparently, dry food diets are notorious for causing bladder infections in cats due to the lack of moisture in dry foods. Cats generally don’t crave water the way dogs do, and so will not drink enough water from the bowl to make up for the deficit created by a primarily dry food diet. Once pain upon urination occurs due to a bladder infection, cats will avoid the litter box and void other places because they associate painful urination with the litter box itself. I shutter just thinking of the smell of cat pee soaked carpets…
If when you bury your nose in your cat’s fur and inhale deeply, you smell a hoppy or yeasty smell, he’s probably getting too many carbs. A cat’s self grooming ritual is steeped in millions of years of evolution, and is meant to render their smell undetectable as they track prey animals. I regularly give my cat a good sniff, because the only kibble he gets is a few in the morning, chased down after H tosses them. If I start to detect the slightest telltale scent of yeast, I scold H and ask him to cut back on the dry food, even though the cat absolutely LOVES the kibble game.
@BunsenBurner - we used to have a dumpster kitty too (the Humane Society thought she’d been a stray for several years.) That cat ate everything, but she especially loved popcorn and insects.
Once, my girl scout troop went to a science museum and came back with butterfly cocoons in see-through cardboard-and-cellophane boxes. Several of the girls left their boxes in our study where the cat liked to sleep. I guess a few of the unfortunate butterflies emerged from their chrysalises at the same time and their movements must have attracted the cat - because we found her with butterfly wings in her mouth.
Butterfly murderer. She was an awesome cat, though – the smartest animal we ever had.
My gal will eat pretty much anything. She gets a mix of dry and wet. All of her canned fare consists of Friskies, Fancy Feast and yes, 9 Lives. She likes food with texture, so if I give her pate I have to chop it up. As someone said up-thread, I find that some of the Friskies varieties are similar to the higher end brands as regards protein content. Lately I have added canned sardines as treats.
It sounds like your kitty is eating well. Just watch out for salt and spices in canned fish intended for humans.
Cats do consume vegetables that have been partially predigested in the stomachs of their prey. They occasionally nibble on grass as well.
However, cat diets are meat-based, including (and often preferentially) the organ meats. But humans who buy cat food probably wouldn’t buy “liver delight” or “rat and mouse meat treat” for their cats.
Bunsen, I am concerned about salt for the cat, so I will give her sardines only occasionally and in small amounts. Also, it’s my habit to rinse or soak canned fish to diminish the salt content. I got the notion to give her sardines from one of those cat care websites. I know that at times recommendations from the internet are baseless. LOL. However, I do find Dr. Pierson’s cat info useful.
My cat has passed, but she was eating Purina One (dry) when I she joined my household. Somewhere I read something about moist food being better, so she started eating Fancy Feast. Then came the Chinese pet food debacle. I did more research and switched her to Wellness brand cat food. The difference was downright shocking. Within a week, her fur was softer – I really thought it had to be my imagination. But after several weeks, she became noticeably more energetic and playful. It made me start paying more attention to what I was eating!
My cats eat Hills science diet for old cats and/or for overweight cats. I have a Bengal, and she’s fairly thin. The vet said she’s fine for being "middle-aged - I was quite insulted
My other cat, a domestic shorthair, has been chubby since we got the bengal and he kept eating her kitten food.
Neither of them like much except salmon and dry food. We tried wet food, and they wouldn’t eat it. She might go for days without eating instead of caving.
He loves salmon, and she will eat a little of it. Actually, He also LOVES to share ice cream bars with my husband. It’s hilarious, but I’m sure it’s not good for either of them.
He seems to have a food allergy though. When he was young we fed him IAms, and it sounded like he was snarling often. Eventually we switched to Scince diet food, and he was quiet, for years. just recently, we started with only the food for older cats, instead of the fat cat food, and now he’s “snarly” again. We will likely switch back to a mixture, and go from there.
I used to feed out cats grocery store cat food (Purina or whatever). Somewhere along the line, one of them started throwing up a lot … and the dye in the food stained the carpet.
Now we feed them Hills Science Diet. The throwing up is less frequent, and it doesn’t stain. They are happy and healthy. It makes H and me a bit cranky, because the vet is a pain about it … if we don’t bring our cats in regularly, they won’t allow us to buy the food. You’d think it was “medicine.” Blah.
Mixed in a sardine or two in my gal’s regular wet food the other day and she promptly devoured it. The sardine brand didn’t contain any spices. I soaked the fish in water for about 15 minutes to decrease the salt content. She loved it.