Variety is the spice of life. For domestic cats I believe this saying is very applicable concerning their food. My experience tells me that cats can get bored with one sort of food and if they have “gone off” one brand/type of food, withholding that for a while and reintroducing it pays dividends.
How concerned are cat guardians are about food variety? It is easy to stock a wide range. I am sure that individual cats have individual tastes and some might be content sticking to a fairly narrow range of foods. However, I don’t believe it is good enough to buy one bag of dry cat food and rely on that in perpetuity.
If I add in the odd human food treat I can probably say that my cat eats about 20 different types of cat food. It is apportioned: 85% high quality wet in pouches, 10% dry for grazing and 5% human food treats. The last one could be 10% some days.
Do you know your cat’s favorite cat food? If you do, how many sorts of cat food did you try before deciding? If you know his favorite cat food do you know when he last ate it?
I know I am asking slightly impertinent questions but it may help. When you do provide variety you have to keep tabs a little bit on what was served up when. J’ai un restaurant, chez moi.
Some cat food pages (searh results on PoC)
Wow, Suzy you’re into cat food as much as I am or more 😉 .
I agree this comment of yours. Unfortunately there is waste at mon restaurant parce que mon client is picky.
I think I make him picky in my effort to please by which I mean give him some fresh before he has finished the first lot.
If a cat is genuinely hungry he’ll eat the whole lot and sometimes my cat prefers old food that is about to be thrown away.
I tend to a bit stricter these days and not try too hard to please him but I do know what food he prefers and sort of ration it a bit so he does not normalise it.
We have to be careful about being overly keen to please as if we are parents of a baby.
Like you, R.
It’s all about the cats and trying to keep balance. Having an ill cat that may have special needs throws a huge wrench into the works. It’s a rework, rework all of the time.
Sometimes my brain feels dry from thinking and calculating, so I have to throw it a jigger of scotch now and then.
I admire you for keeping track of so many cats Dee, it must cost you a fortune in cat food too, we spend more on only our two boyz than we do on ourselves.
Many flavor varieties here but stick with only 2 brands.
Introducing a new brand always has consequences that involve cleanups.
I know pretty much all likes and dislikes here. Some prefer poultry, others prefer fish; no one will eat beef.
Walter and Jozef like a variety as you can see lol
The cupboard underneath that one is stocked with boxes to top up from.
Pink for smooth, purple for jelly and green for gravy.
Both cats like some foods, but they each have their own favourites too.
Walter has to have high protein low fat now and our lovely vet Sarah spent time checking all the labels and approving the food we buy because the special diet food is £1.55 a tin! Thankfully she’s not one of those vets who pushes sales for profit and said what we feed our cats is equally as good for them.
I totally agree here about variety spicing things up to keep our kitties lives interesting as I’m sure they get bored with things, as we do. I just hate to see waste though and as Tiger Lily always leaves a few morsels in her bowl I got curious when she first came to live with me as to what she would eat….she was so fussy at the beginning, only fish flavours and only Felix. Which is still her No1 fav brand, alas.
I am the most unfussy eater so when Tiger Lily came along I was eager to please her as I can’t understand why anyone, animal or human can pick at their food when they’re clearly hungry! So I’m on a quest to find the perfect quality food that she adores.
I have tried mixing up Felix with premium organic brands, also in her beloved fish flavour. I do try to put a tinny weeny bit of quality cat food in with the Felix. I managed a few weeks back to get her to eat almost a whole bowl of Lily’s Organic Kitchen Fish without mixing it. At the end of that week her coat changed from looking dusty and lacklustre to shiny and silky. Wow. But again, alas, the following day she wouldn’t touch the premium, expensive Lily’s Kitchen and now I have a whole stack of them in my pantry! I’ll try again as I’m so keen to give her quality now she’s 10 years or older.
I think these cheaper, (and with worrying ingredients) are great for convenience, it’s just that the quality is questionable sadly.
I assume that if anyone’s kitty is brought up on a certain brand then the kitty will probably prefer this in its life time to a better quality or home produced meals.
That’s how I discovered this fantastic website really. I was about to get a shelter dog but Tiger Lily needed a home instead and I’d been researching ‘raw feeding for dogs via a wonderful blog called ‘Rawmeatybones’, (if anyone’s interested to learn from their educational site, that it is also like this one, in being constructed from the knowledge of many other pet owners who want the absolute best for their furry friends. Giving all the tips via feedback to people’s questions).
I do think dogs are a whole lot easier to re-condition into eating raw meats…cats just aren’t able to take on such a challenge sadly, although some people seem to easily transfer their kitties onto the raw meat/fish diet. I just can’t see my fluffy Tiger Lily doing that unless it consists only of fresh prawns + their heads. (Which I discovered by accident as she did tuck in to a bowl of ‘just eaten’ fresh shelled prawns the summer after first getting her. But doesn’t like fresh fish at all….grrrrrr
Anyway I digress. I do think each kitty cat has such an individual character that their tastes go along with that so its all trial and error. I’m certain variety is key, so they don’t get bored or too fat! Also saving the favourite food for times when they’re ill or going to the cattery.
Mixing up the brands has definitely helped Tiger Lily to lose half a kilo, and as the vet had said she was almost 1 kilo over (unbelievably I couldn’t comment-she’s got so much long fur-and has had 2 or more homes before mine-and lays about all day inside).
Her favourite is the rabbit flavoured Felix, senior type or chunks in jelly. Is also crazy for the treats such as ‘Dreamies’.
I really love trying out different brands but Felix and the ghastly Whiskers (any flavour) are her faves. I do know exactly when I serve whatever it is. Luckliy for Tiger Lily I can remember roughly when she had it.
Zooplus stock so many quality products so one day I’m sure Tiger Lily will find her perfect brand.
I live in hope….