Yay!! Congrats to the girls (and to you).

 

How bad is FF?

Just how bad is Fancy Feast *Classic*? Ritz (female, around two years old) goes through phases where she'll eat one and only one food; it use to be AvoDerm, then Wellness or Solisitic; and most recently NutroMax Cat (fish based with tomato bisque!) She recently was on Flagyl (colitis/constipation/shrug of shoulder by vet) and Baytril (UTI) for about a month and her appetite changed. In an effort not to pill her (traumatic for both of us), I crushed Baytril in some Fancy Feast Classic (fish) and she ate it right up. She'll sometimes eat half a can of a higher quality food, but no more. (I recently went to PetCo and bought 18 differents cans of food. Not much luck so far; the ferals I feed get her rejects.)
I know a lot of the other kinds of FF are 'kitty crack', but FF Classic is relatively speaking low-carb. Ritz eats around 70% wet and 30% dry (Taste of the Wild).
I should mention that Ritz has been throwing up more than usual for the past two weeks. No pattern that I can discern. She's usually hungry after she throws up and wants to play.
Thanks.

 

Good move! Murphy's a fan of those Natural Balance treats, at least the chicken ones that I've given him. I can't make myself buy the rabbit or venison.

 

1.39/5oz of Wellness is actually very cheap. Here in Toronto Wellness is 3.08/13oz can, and I think 5oz can is about 2 CAD. Natural Varity Instinct's rabbit meal is 2.99/5oz, which my cats like a lot, but I cannot afford giving them that everyday :/

 

YAY! Congrats! Its not easy to convince 1 cat of anything let alone 4! You get cat mom of the year!

 

congrats! i'm sure it's been quite a journey =)

 

Awesome news Marie!

 

Just how bad is Fancy Feast *Classic*?

Some of the flavors are actually pretty good. I think some are even grain-free. I know the flaked tuna ranks up there with the best cat foods, but I'm keeping my girls off fish.

Like my vet says, sometimes the best wet food is the food they'll actually eat.

 

Thanks. I think the Classics are also grain-free. Ritz has always been very partial to fish-based food, unfortunately. Though when I give her some plain mackerel or tuna fish, she either turns her nose up at it or throws it up. Go figure....

 

I'll never trash FF. I know it's considered kitty crack, but it's better than dry food. My girls have been eating FF for the past three years, and they lived through it. :grin:

 

Oh good, you have now transitioned from "bad mom" to "good mom"!!!:catmilk

:wink

 

Congrats on your accomplishment!! Getting our kitties to eat what we want them to is sometimes akin to claiming Mount Everest. *eye roll* But the feeling of satisfaction when we succeed is worth every minute of it. :love2

AC

 

Congrats! I am still keeping Fancy Feast and Friskies in my rotation mainly for my calico, Mimi. For the longest time she was a dry food junkie. I think this happened when I was hospitalized earlier this year, and my step dad fed the cats dry food (grain free) while I was gone. My other cat, Caroline, has very sensitive gums and teeth despite having dental care and will rarely eat dry. Mimi has gotten sick both times I have tried to feed her some of the Merrick brands. Both cats are very picky about their canned food. They will eat Wellness and Dave's grain free canned food, but even then they reject them at times. I economize by alternating with FF and Friskies. Mimi had her vet visit, and eating wet food shows results. Mimi lost 1/2 a pound!

 

Congrats, Marie!

 

Thanks! It's been frustrating at times. First, they gobbled the Wellness up, then all FOUR refused to eat it. Had to toss it out, they out-waited me. I'm talking 12 hours. Next time, they ate most of it. Eventually. Now, I come home from work and it's all gone. Geesh! Kids.

Julie, buying FF at Target or Walmart is about $3 cheaper per case than grocery stores, sometimes more. Petco and Petsmart even have good prices, too, sometimes. And individual cans? We're talking $.49/can versus $.79 (or more). Huge difference. I saw it on sale at Target tonight and almost put it in my basket out of habit.

 

Congrats!!! to all kitties and Marie!!! What a great job What is the trick to switch all four??? Our 3 kitties started good with grain-free diet like Wellness and Evo, but lately they are getting sooooo picky and finicky that they might need to go to FF or Friskies.... Compared to you and your girls, we are going down the hill

 

I've been unemployed or underemployed these last three years since I was laid off in 2008, so it wasn't so much that I couldn't afford a little better food, it was that I couldn't afford to throw food OUT. So I hadn't really tried too hard to switch them. The twins ate Merrick the first year after they adopted me, that's all I fed them, and they loved it. The HUGE mistake I made, stupid me, was starting to let them finish the big girls' food when they didn't eat everything, which was FF. Then they outright refused to eat the Merrick anymore.

I got a decent job last month so I figured I'd try again. It wasn't easy, they resisted, and I had to out-wait them a few times. I would throw it out, and then give them fresh Merrick, not FF, much to their dismay. When I had an ant-invasion a couple weeks ago, I had to give them FF so they'd eat right away. I couldn't leave for work with food sitting out. I thought, oh, dear, this is going to be a big step backwards, but the next meal - when I got home - they were back to Merrick and it was fine.

My girls prefer chunky, so Merrick is a good choice for them. I am surprised they eat the Wellness Core.

 

go you

 

Congrats on your new job as well

 

Thanks!

Well, the Merrick should have arrived today, but it didn't. (I know, that's what I get for waiting until the last minute to reorder.) So my girls are getting FF and are in pig heaven!!! And I mean PIG PIG PIG. You'd think they'd never eaten before. My little Gigi isn't so excited, though. (good girl!)

Tomorrow night, back to gross healthy stuff. :grin:

 

I fondle the cans of FF every time I'm at the store and think about how much I could save if I slip it into my rotation weekly but I'm so afraid too He's bad enough when I've got 3 flavors/brands. He always turns his nose up at the least favorite and waits for the next meal hoping it will be better.

 

My girls seem to use the "tag team" method of hating food. One week, one girl won't eat a certain kind, the next week, it's someone else.

Brats.

 

When he was on EVO Beef and California Naturals Venison he started snubbing the Evo Beef.
I replaced EVO with By Nature Beef and he started snubbing the California Naturals.
I rotated in By Nature Turkey/Turkey Liver and he started snubbing the By Nature Beef AND the California Natural Venison.

I feel like I'm being held hostage by a cat's tastebuds.

 

I feel like I'm being held hostage by a cat's tastebuds.

ME TOO!!!!! Spencer is ridiculous - one day he gobbles up BG quail...the next day he totally snubs it and acts like it's not even food(ARGH!)...he drives me NUTS!! And forget introducing anything new to him - he won't eat ANYTHING new! And then he whines all day for food. Sigh. Lily's a little better - she'll eat anything - but her strategy is to eat two tiny bites of food she apparently is not in the mood for, and ignore the rest ALL day.

They both have amazing will power...

Anyway, sorry for sabotaging the original thread...congratulations, Marie! I applaud anyone who is able to get finicky cats to change their minds! It truly is a major accomplishment!!

And someone mentioned the Natural Balance treats - I saw the rabbit ones at the pet store yesterday and I just don't think I could ever do it...poor little bunnies...

 

And some of the snacks Lisa has talked about, Natural Balance Perfect Bites (on sale!).

Don't wanna hijack the thread, but I went out and bought a bag of the Natural Balance Perfect Bites the other day in Rabbit...the girls go nuts for these things! If I wouldn't have seen this thread, I would never have known about them, so thank you!

 

Well, the little bites are a BIG hit!!!

For dinner, I opened up a can of Cowboy Cookout, and ICK!!! It looked so gross, I was sure I'd be taking 23 cans back to the store. To my surprise, everyone but Gigi gobbled it right up. She eventually ate hers, too.

I'll give them Grammy's Pot Pie for their evening meal. Used to be their very favorite as kittens, I wonder if they'll like it again.

 

Cowboy Cookout is Apollo's absolute favorite, which is weird because he will not touch beef when it's raw. But I agree, it may be the grossest-looking of all the canned foods I feed them. I dread every single time I get to that can in my rotation. XD

Anyway, congrats! It's so nice to finally get stubborn kitties eating what you want them to. Mine thankfully are obsessed with all the good canned (never let them try anything else) and have never turned their noses up at it once I got them transitioned, but boy was it rough at first when I was trying to get them off kibble.
And they're insanely picky about their raw and randomly stop eating it so I feel like I am re-transitioning all the time. :roll: