It's one of my cats' very favorites, too. They love FF minced - any flavor.

I'm curious to know about good food with that texture, also.

 

I think the closest I've seen to that, but is a bit soupier, is Merrick.

I'd probably go for the Pro Plan over the FF...The stuff in blue is the bad stuff and there's less of it in the Pro Plan. The by-products wouldn't even bother me so much except that it's unnamed meat. If it said 'poultry by-products" I wouldn't be too bothered.

FF Minced Beef:

MEAT BROTH, BEEF, LIVER, WHEAT GLUTEN, MEAT BY-PRODUCTS, FISH, CORN STARCH-MODIFIED, POULTRY, SOY FLOUR, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CARAMEL COLOR, SALT, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE TAURINE, IRON OXIDE, GUAR GUM, VITAMINS AND MINERALS.

ProPlan Chicken & Liver
Water sufficient for processing, chicken, liver, meat by-products, poultry giblets, natural and artificial flavors, guar gum, potassium chloride, tricalcium, phosphate, salt, taurine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, thiamine mononitrate(Vitamin B-1), ferrous sulfate, maganese sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride(Vitamin B-6), copper sulfate niacin, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement(Vitamin B-2), cobalt carbonate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, meandion sodium bisulfite complex(Source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, potassium iodine, biotin

 

I agree, Merrick's is similar to that, but it definitely has a more "stewed" look to it (you can see bits of meat and carrots) rather than "mushed up meat bits squished together to form perfect squares" ... Seriously, the squares of meat paste freak me out. How do they do that???

cough

Another more creative idea might be to buy canned chicken and mix it with more paste-like wet food to give the "chunky" texture that your cats seem to enjoy.

 

Butro, both MaxCat and Natural Choice, have a couple of 'chunks' varieties.

http://www.nutroproducts.com/mccan-adult-chicken-supreme.shtml
http://www.nutroproducts.com/mccan-adult-venison.shtml
http://www.nutroproducts.com/mccan-adult-duck.shtml
http://www.nutroproducts.com/mccan-kitten-turkey-giblets.shtml
http://www.nutroproducts.com/nutro-nccat-can-indoor-adult-chicken-giblets.shtml
http://www.nutroproducts.com/nutro-nccat-can-indoor-adult-turkey-liver.shtml
http://www.nutroproducts.com/nutro-nccat-can-adult-turkey-giblets.shtml

 

Innova has some flavors called "flex" that are not pate, they aren't exactly like that picture but they are chunks of meat.
http://www.innovapet.com/product_line.asp?id=1693
http://www.innovapet.com/product_line.asp?id=1694

 

Weruva doesn't have the processed chunks, but it basically has a texture of chicken or fish shreds in gravy. (Some of the fish flavors have a texture similar to canned tuna, the chicken flavors seem to have more gravy.) It almost looks good enough for ME to eat. The ingredients are good and there are are a number of grain-free flavors (many of the flavors have fish but not all of them do, if you're trying to avoid fish.) Downside: it's pricey.

Weruva also makes "Soulistic" for Petco. I've only tried a few cans of that but it seems to have the same texture.

Either would at least be worth a try for cats who hate pate.

 

Thanks, I'll have to try those! Of course me liking the ingrediants and him actually liking the food are two differant things :lol: I'll have to try get them though on Saturday.

I have tried giving him Weruva and he especially love the two I had gotten. I forget what they were, I wrote them down (I have a list of food I have tried, what of it he loved, liked, and didn't eat).

I don't like the ingrediants of the Fancy Feast (or really the ProPlan) either. But at least he'll eat it happily...need to try get him to eat more.

His appetite has actually increased all the sudden and he is acting like he feels much better. Four days ago I started giving him 500mg of taurine sprinkled on his food each day. I don't know if that has actually helped, but its supposed to help with with bun and creatinine levels. Either way, something worked :| At least he ate a 5.5 ounce can of Precise Turkey last night, a three ounce can of Fancy Feast this morning, and 5 ounces of Felidae (so far) tonight. His ideal wieght is 12-14 lbs and he is done to 11 lbs...so he gets to eat everything he will.

 

Do you want a happy cat? Then stick with the Fancy Feast. Sounds like Milo loves it.

This is just an opinion, but I suspect that "Prescription" pet food is just ploy by the vets and vendors to force you to spend money needlessly on visits to the vet for food your pet doesn't really need. It's a corrupt practice that states should clean up but don't because of the industry and professional lobbies. I'll go out on a limb and speculate that there is no independent research that supports the claim that K/D or "green" or organic or any of the other "health food" pet food improves overall pet health or lengthens his life. And this includes cats with CRF.

I had a cat with CRF. As you know, except for transplant, treatment is only supportive. Actually, I did get a transplant for my CRF cat. He died anyway, but part of the transplant deal is that you adopt the donor. As a donor, my cat has just one kidney. I figured that with one kidney my cat would benefit from a specialized diet, and of course my vet was happy to oblige. So for years I spent money on K/D dry, which Thunder quickly tired of. I feed him dry mornings and a half-can Fancy Feast wet evenings, with snacks at noon. A few years ago I changed the dry from K/D to Fancy Feast Gourmet dry. He loves it!

My one-kidney wonder is 13 years-old and looks and acts like a two-year old. (Except for being more of a couch potato these days. He still loves string and his tail but prefers swiping at them on his back rather doing somersaults.) His latest kidney profile was perfect, as was the rest of his blood work. Now this may be because he's a robust cat anyway. Still, my experience has led me to believe that besides medication and ringers, to prevent dehydration, the course of CRF can't be changed very much.

Unless you think something is downright toxic, don't worry about analyzing his food. The health of domestic cats is no better in the age of "consumer awareness" than when cat food was just cat food. Cats don't contemplate the shortness of life, only we do. Cats are either happy in the moment or not. And a cat who's fed what he likes is a happy cat. If he likes Fancy Feast, then stick with it.