Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: lilycat on June 14, 2007, 20:36:57 PM
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I've been looking into the feeding of my pusscats since the start of the wet/dry debate and have decided to try feeding them soley on tinned food for a while to see how they get on.
So, can anyone suggest a good tinned food?
At present their wet food is either Whiskas, Felix or [dare I say it?] Asda's own :shy:.
I've looked at the sites that Susanne kindly :thanks: suggested and I feel that wet is the way to go. I wouldn't have the confidence to make their food for them but do you think it would be a good idea to add a bit of raw, minced meat or will that mess up the nutritional balance?
Any suggestions on tinned foods gratefully recieved but please remember that I have to eat too! :rofl:
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Adding a bit of raw won't mess up the nutritional balance provided it doesn't make up more than 10% of the diet. I feed mine raw chicken and beef sometimes and they love it.
As to canned food - there are a lot about with different textures, meat contents and prices so you may need to experiment a bit to find something that suits your cats and your purse! Supermarkets sell the usual whiskas, felix etc plus some gourmet foods containing more meat and with a price tag to match. As long as it says it's a complete food it will contain all the nutrients a cat needs and will be ok, although I personally like to minimise grains in the food I feed (and fortunately my cats are fine on a high meat diet - no upset stomachs or anything).
The foods I like to feed are
natures menu - tescos and most pet shops. PAH do offers on bulk packs regularly which makes it reasonable price wise
hi life - pouches are complementary so need to be fed alongside something that is complete - dry or wet - but I think all the tins are complete? The tins of hi life fish foods are good value
Applaws/almo nature - similar foods - contain human grade, organic meat and available from smaller pet shops - pricey and complementary (almo nature say complete but when I emailed to question this given the ingredients they were a bit vague and went on about feeding it alongside a complete food so I class it as complementary)
bozita - available from zooplus at 66p per 380g carton so good price. high meat content. chunks in jelly.
animonda carny - available from zooplus at about 40p for a small can (200g) and about 65p for a 400g can so good price. Mine both love it.
You have to buy in packs of 6 from zooplus, but P&P is free for orders over £29 so it's worth buying in bulk if you can.
I also buy cosma and a few other varieties from zooplus.
Feline Fayre - sold at asda. chicken in jelly and chicken/ham in jelly (think they do fish ones too). 99p for 3 small tins so not a bad price and it's complete
Supermarkets sell a lot of "gourmet" food now which has a bit more meat in it than the likes of whiskas and felix but they tend to be very expensive. Worth reading labels and checking for special offers though. Sometimes you can pick up bargains.
If your budget won't stretch to those foods or your cats dont like them don't feel bad about feeding them felix etc. Like I said earlier, it is nutritionally balanced so isn't really bad to feed. And the water content is still beneficial. If it was the only thing they'd eat I'd happily feed them felix. Jaffa likes his felix senior so I let him have a pouch of that a few times a week.
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i feed tesco own brand of wet (sachets) for jasper and felix tins for monkey both excellent value for money
iceland are doing 12 tins of felix for £3 at the min
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I've taken the plunge and ordered 3 varieties of Animonda Carny from Zooplus - any idea of how long delivery takes?
In the meantime I may go to Iceland - 12 tins for £3..bloomin good value!
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Trouble starts when what you think is a good food isn't your cat's idea of a good food... :doh: I think when push comes to shove, a good cat food is what your cats will actually eat.
My two like their middle of the road Felix pouches and trays (in jelly, of course). I'd suggest feeding them what they're happy with and supplementing with some fresh meat and fish.
I've found to my expense (and my neighbour's cat's waistline) that the premium stuff gets the turned up nose and shaken back leg reaction as often as the cheap stuff... :evillaugh:
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I agree one hundred percent with Witty
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I'll see how they get on with it...at the very worst, my local cat hospice will get some extra cat food :Luv: :Luv:
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There is a cat hospice? :'(
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Yep, they look after cats that are very ill and/or can't be rehomed for medical reasons. The majority of the cats are terminal though not always "end of life", they do a marvellous job but aren't particularly well known or publicised. Unsung heroes really.
If I didn't have my lot I'd certainly get in touch and enquire about adopting one - they don't seem to adopt the cats out though, which I find odd. I suppose they don't want the cats to go through the [potential] trauma of being bounced back when people realise the work involved in looking after a very poorly pusscat.
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Whats the name of this place please and do they have a website? What area is it in?
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Anyone interested in their work can find their website at: http://www.paws.eu.com
Sorry I can't do the direct link thingy :shy:
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Trouble starts when what you think is a good food isn't your cat's idea of a good food... :doh: I think when push comes to shove, a good cat food is what your cats will actually eat.
Ah, but not all cats are fussy. Some of us have cats who will eat anything and scoff the good stuff as happily as the less good stuff ;D And how do you know they won't eat the good stuff if you dont' try it? ;)
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i certainly think it is worth trying the 'premium' brands, just dont get too worked up if they wont eat them. You can also get better quality dry foods at good prices - HiLifes online supplier sell 2kg bags (Which aren't produced, so unique to them), and last year their prices were £6.99, it was one of the cheapest I could find. Burns is the same price, but I am a bit fussy with Burns. And if you live near a shop called The Range, they sell JWB for £7.99, which is £2 cheaper than the RRP. I know you weren't asking about dry food, but just wanted to point out there are ways of getting good dry cheaper too.
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Anyone interested in their work can find their website at: http://www.paws.eu.com
Sorry I can't do the direct link thingy :shy:
Thanks for that - I had never heard of a cat hospice but it sounds like the couple are dedicated. It looks like the site hasn't been updated since 2002 - it says Marigold has been with them since 1975. I would be nice but unlikely they have a 32 year old ;D
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And how do you know they won't eat the good stuff if you dont' try it? ;)
Because I get sample pouches or tins at shows, either put in the pens as promotional freebies or the trade stands sell them at a good price. ;)
Mine love the premium dried food (take your pick from the brands) but the premium wet stuff tends to get a firm paws down most of the time. So when it comes to wet food, I'll feed them what they're happy with rather than ending up feeding the neighbour's cat...
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I've taken the plunge and ordered 3 varieties of Animonda Carny from Zooplus - any idea of how long delivery takes?
Not long, 2-3 days normally, thats what i like about them. Did you get your new customer £3 off? 5% off orders over £75 too :wow: if you ever forget to use a coupon just email them and they take it off the bill ;D ;D
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i once bought monkey the sheba stuff as a treat.... and he turned his nose up at it, i think it was too posh for him :rofl:
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Two to three days isn't so bad; yep, I got my £3 off thanks.
I hope they like it, I ordered 3 different flavours just in case. Does anyone have any idea why mine seem less hungry since I took away their dry food? I expected them to be having a go at me about it. Humphrey certainly knows the value of pester power but I haven't had a squeek out of him.
I've got the recipe for making making cat food and if the ingredients aren't too expensive I may give it a go. I had a lovely Boxer dog once [called Scrumpy] and she was always a fussy eater until someone reccommended giving her green tripe :sick: which looked and smelled revolting but she couldn't get it down fast enough. Hoovered it up. So although home made cat food may not look particularly appetising, they might think it's heute cuisine ;D
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The best way to start off on raw for you as much as the cats is to just cube some chicken or beef, no bones or offal so you get used to touching it. Increase the size as the cats get used to using their jaws and then offer something with bones eg. chicken wings ;D
Bozita cartons are a good choice as its chunks in jelly compared to the more common pate type foods.
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I'd have to start as I mean to go on and mince the meat or poultry, 3 of mine only have their canines left I'm afraid ;) Also, the bone would have to be in the form of human grade bonemeal.
Dave can successfully gum pieces of cooked chicken but I think even he'd struggle with raw :)
I was looking around the Zooplus website and I may try them on the Bozita if they don't like the Animondo - if they're just having wet food, I'd like to get them something they really enjoy so I don't mind experimenting with different brands and flavours.
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Gillian posted a great pic of her 19 year old gumming a chicken wing! ;D
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Where the's a will there's a way :rofl: :rofl:
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I recommend Whiskas Supermeat, especially the chicken flavour. I have two oldies (18 and 21) who are doing fine (touch wood) on this; they've been eating it for YEARS.
I occasionally give them Asda's Tiger sachets - once in a blue moon.
They have a FEW munchies (Go Cat) sprinkled on top of the Whiskas, but these are strictly limited.
Experiment with the better varieties, not the cheapest; you do get what you pay for.
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Thanks HK, oddly enough mine have never taken to the Supermeat but they do like the Jelly, they don't even like the Sheba Terrines :P .
Went shopping this morning and got them some Whiskas to tide them over until my order with Zooplus arrives and I also got some Feline Fayre varieties just to see if they like them - 4 sachets for £1 at asda.
My lovelies do actually seem to prefer just wet food :hungey: which I'm quite surprised about - I thought they'd moan more. You know what they're like...
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Am glad they are enjoying their wet - it is obviously filling them up more than the dry food was. I would give them a go with chunks of raw - Ginger had no teeth, but loved raw meat, I just had to cut it up into small chunks for him.
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They're now driving me :Crazy:. The order of Animonda Carny arrived - Humphrey and Dave [they do enjoy their food] enjoyed the Beef but on-one else liked it. Imogen was obviously hungry but wouldn't even try any so I gave in and let her have some Sheba just so she ate something; I don't mind giving it to her but it's only a complementary food.
I may have to go back onto the 50/50 wet and dry - I'd definately persevere if it was just the other 4 but Imogen's always been a bad eater and I can't just give her complementary food; I may get some dry but I'll make sure it's a very good quality [low sodium] one.
I know I sound like an old mother hen but I want to do what's best for her...you know what it's like, I'm sure.
On the plus side...she's got used to having to have the Fortekor every day, she doesn't like it but she suffers it :P
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Which Sheba is it as I give willow the foil trays and they are a complete food.
BTW - PAH still have the offer on for Denes - 12 x 200 gram cans for £5.00 - I think its a good one.
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Lily - if she wont eat completely wet, then dont feel bad about doing 50/50, we have to do what they will eat at the end of the day?
Mark - what did you think of the ingredients in Denes?
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Mark - what did you think of the ingredients in Denes?
To be honest Desley, I can't remember the meat % - I just remember someone saying it was one of the better ones - apparently its "holistic"
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don't laugh - anyone know if the organic chicken and beef foil wet food from M&S is any good? The packaging doesn't contain any nutritional info. I may email them to ask for a detailed breakdown :)
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Sorry to hear the animonda hasn't gone down too well! Maybe they will prefer the other flavours! If you've got loads of it left they won't eat and don't want to donate it to a local rescue let me know and I'll buy some of it off you as mine love it!
Desley's right - dont stress about them not eating it. Just try them with various wet foods and if they are happiest on half and half then so be it.
All the denes I've looked at is 4% meat.
Not sure about M&S but they do a pouch of something in bacon flavour jelly that Jaffa likes ;D I don't think I've seen anything in there with more than 4% meat though. Surprised there's no nutritional information on the packaging.
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I saw a new box of food in Morrisons the other day........Felix Fine Dining (a gold coloured box). The girls absolutely love it - more like proper pieces of meat than normal felix. Its on special at the moment £1.50 off offer price of £3.30(ish) for 12 pouches not something I'll be buying if its not on offer tho. :evillaugh:
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I saw 3 new kinds of Sheba pouches in Asda yesterday with fancy names like "finesse" etc. The packaging is gold & posh looking. I checked the box and sure enough, there it was - 4% meat :tired:
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actually - now you mention it was Sheba............. :shy: Not huge meat content as you say but they love it :)
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The Sheba Imogen likes are the ones in the little round tins, the tuna and the chicken are her favourites but even then she'll only eat about half a tin.
The Animonda flavours I tried them on were Beef, Rabbit and Shrimp. I popped into Derby today and picked up some complete Sheba - I made sure not to get the terrine this time.
I've come to the conclusion that my cats and I have a Lou & Andy kind of relationship when it comes to food..."But yesterday, when you tried that food, you said you loved it. That's why I bought 12 tins"
"Yeah I know...don't like it"
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Might be worth a try but since Clapton has had CRF, he has become really fussy with his food but funnily enough will eat Tesco own in Jelly, its only £1.98 for 12 as a bonus - I think it has a higher meat content than whiskas, felix etc. They sell mixed boxes or you can buy the tuna or chicken in singles to try out 1st - worth risking 19p on :evillaugh:
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I'm so short sighted these days, there is some info on the M&S organic chook nosh but it's in very small print. It's a 100g foil container. Says kitty must nosh 4 of them a day (nice for profits I suppose?).
Meat and Animal derivatives (the last bit isn't worth thinking about, but they all do it) min 45% with chicken 26% if the eyes are seeing right, veggies min 4% and minerals. All supposedly organic. There's 10% protein which seems rather low if it is meat! They might reply so will ask them to find out. It's made in France so an import. Don't know if it contains any cereals, but that may be what they mean by 'vegetables'?
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Thanks for the tip Mark, I'll give that a try - I think I'll try the 19p option first just in case it gets a :P
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Made in France? The protein could be in the form of Dobbin :sick:
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The tesco one is made in France too
The sainsburys one is made in Ireland but mine won't eat it. Luckily I have unfussy hedgehogs to feed ;D
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I love hedgehogs!!!
I had an orphan [hedgehog] living in my shed for 5 months once - he couldn't half grumble!
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Luckily I have unfussy hedgehogs to feed ;D
In northern NSW in hot weather the wet cat food goes off before you get home so I used to leave mine out on the bird feeder (for magpies and other carnivorous birds) but discovered there was a huge monitor lizard (about 7 feet long) climbing the pole and scoffing the lot!!
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I'd have shut the door and pretended I couldn't see it :scared:.
Monitor Lizard? What Monitor Lizard?
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Mark, I think the normal Tesco pouches are similar ingredients to Whiskas etc.
Swamp - they dont all contain derivatives, a lot of the ones with higher meat contents don't. They do all say around 4 pouches though, which is the equivalent of 1 tin a day, not sure I would feed that much to a healthy adult, but as you say, good for profits!!
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Hi Lilycat - make sure you are sitting down when you see the pix:
http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=images&imgsz=all&imgc=&vf=all&va=monitor+lizard&fr=ybr_bt&ei=UTF-8
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Blackcat, I can say with some degree of certainty that I would never leave the house again. Ever.
I have nothing against wildlife...I enjoy it in fact...I'd just prefer if it wasn't able to eat me :scared: :scared: :scared:
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Yes, there is more than one reason for keeping your cat indoors in Oz!!
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OH MY GOD :Nooooo:!!!
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.......... and then there's the dingos, the seven foot long snakes, the spiders - I often wonder why you brits are so keen to move there really ................
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The best of it is....after I qualify I'm very seriously considering moving to NZ!!! They don't have things that could kill me in New Zealand as well do they?
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only the earthquakes and the giant mosquitoes (but they are really only on the West Coast. I spent 3 years there and had a ball. They don't even have snakes, like Ireland!!
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The best of it is....after I qualify I'm very seriously considering moving to NZ!!! They don't have things that could kill me in New Zealand as well do they?
killer sheep. And being run over by extra large rugby players.
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And being run over by extra large rugby players.
I wouldnt mind moving to NZ!! :Luv:
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QP - You and I think alike ;)
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Mmmm...extra large rugby players.....
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Applaws s good but not cheap to feed. Hi Life and Hills are very good and much cheaper.
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Well tomorrow I'm taking a trip up to a petfood wherehouse kind of place so hopefully I may be able to afford some Hills or Hi-Life. I think that's what it is anyway...it's called Kennelgate.
My vet sells Hills but it seems really expensive, the middleman mark up I expect.
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You can buy Hills online from Zooplus at cheaper rates than you can from vets or Pets at Home.
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Just been to collect my zooplus delivery (and what a saga that was! But I won't go into that now except to say that I wish zooplus would package their parcels better) and Jaffa and Mosi are currenly tucking into some cosma lamb in jelly with gusto! ;D
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My last delivery from them was really badly packed, nearly every tin and carton had a dent in it and one box was on the verge of the bottom falling out >:(
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I usually have to take several carrier bags to the car and unload the box in the car as there's no way it will stay in one piece getting it from car to flat :( I don't think I've had anything from them that wasn't inadequately packed. When I bought a cat tree from them DHL had to put loads of tape over the box as it wasnt' strong enough.
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perhaps we should, each of us, individually complain to their customer services people. Using our own words, own examples and suggesting that we may consider taking our business elsewhere ................? not that we'd do it of course, if their prices are that good. but how much effort does it take for goodness sake??
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I have complained in the past. And someone on another forum said that it's frequently raised on the german zooplus forums. It's annoying when you buy cans of food so the parcel is very heavy. The packaging really needs to be stronger, esp if you're not in when it's delivered so it has to be returned to a depot and then collected from there. The parcels can't cope with all that handling. When I went to collect my parcel today the women ripped the tape on the top just trying to lift it off the floor as there was nothing else to get hold of. But it's hard to complain in case they get rid of free delivery! I'd hate to have to pay for delivery, esp if it was based on weight!
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I'd hate to have to pay for delivery, esp if it was based on weight!
Good point. But I was thinking more of a mass of complaints arriving within 24 hours. But as you say, if they improve the packaging, we would probably have to pay for it.
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I don't see why they can't use stronger boxes and/or tape them up a bit more so that they don't collapse. By the time I got my box into the car today one corner had completely torn so that tins were falling out and the top was nearly open where the tape had split. I'm sure they could do better. Think I might fire of an email to them about it. It would probably have been ok if I'd been in when they delivered, but I never am and the carrying it all over the place doesn't help.
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I havn't had a problem before. It made me laugh because 2 sacks of litter were in a box with plastic air pocket things on top to 'protect' it and the easily damaged tins had nowt :innocent:
I will comment next time on my order along with please except debit cards.