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What is your cat's favorite food?

7.3K views 36 replies 27 participants last post by  Tutubean  
#1 ·
Both of mine prefer Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea, hands down over anything else they've tried. I go to the store, buy about a week's worth at a time, 8 cans, 2 of each flavor. Sometimes I buy all Natural Balance in 4 different flavors because it's the least expensive quality canned food I can find locally. Sometimes I throw in some Wellness, Holistic Select, Blue Buffalo, or Taste of the Wild. They absolutely don't like Blue Buff or TOTW, the varieties that they've tried. The only one they gobble down in minutes is the NB Venison. All the rest they will nibble on, go away and come back, until it's eventually gone... except the Blue Buff and TOTW I had to throw out about half.

If I set down something Miley doesn't like the smell of, she will scratch the floor like she's covering up poop. LOL. I feel kind of bad, but I leave it and she'll pick at it eventually once she sees she's not getting anything else. They also get dry food in the evenings.

They were on 9 lives dry when they came to me and Friskies wet. They had no problem gobbling this up but I didn't like the quality so I switched them gradually. First dry food I tried was Earthborn Holistic grain free. They loved it for all of 3 days and then started turning up their little noses. I only bought the 2.5 lb bag so I kept putting it out and leaving it out until it was gone. They ate it eventually but it also attracted ants sitting out so long. So the next time I bought 4 Health from TSC. It's not the best but it's worlds better than 9 lives, and it was inexpensive, I bought it the week I had Ollie neutered, and I figured it was worth a try. They have been eating it just fine for 2 weeks. Next time I will probably try Taste of the Wild. I'm afraid it might get the same reaction as the Earthborn though. Although I think maybe they didn't like the tiny round BB shape of the Earthborn kibbles, more than anything. I saw Ollie acting like he had it stuck under his tongue a few times while he was eating.
 
#3 ·
My guys get a rotation of canned only food. About 3 different brands/flavors every month for 3 or 4 months (and then we start back at the beginning).

They don't really have a favorite brand/flavor but by the end of the month they kind of look in their bowl and look at me like "Again?" :p When the first of the new month food comes they dive into their bowls like they haven't eaten in a week.

I'd say their LEAST favorite would be the Evo brands 95% varieties. They seem to get burnt out on those faster than anything else, it seems like they struggle through eating it. Walking away and coming back to it again.

ETA: When I say "They" I mean MowMOw. Book would eat cardboard if I put water on it and stuck it in his bowl. He's a walking eating machine. :p
 
#5 ·
I have been buying just what I can get locally because I'm afraid of buying a case of anything and finding they won't eat it. Plus when you buy a case you have 24 cans of one thing. They would take forever to eat it. LOL. I really thought they would like Blue Buffalo but no. I have a couple of cans of Wellness Turkey we haven't tried yet, I looked at their usual foods and realized none of them are turkey so maybe they'll like it. I am really trying to read up on Raw because I think that's the best for them and I bet they wouldn't get tired of it... if I can get Miley to eat it. I KNOW Ollie would, he's all over me when I'm cooking dinner, especially when I get out the raw meat. Maybe I'll start giving them a bite when I'm preparing meat. On their own plate. I have enough trouble keeping them out of the way while I cook. Oliie really loves to smell onions and peppers when I'm cutting them up too. I tossed him a little piece of diced green pepper the other day and he smelled it like he was in love, licked it, and laid back his ears and squinted his eyes, like, hey, that was gross. LOL. I didn't really think he would eat it, just wanted to distract him. I know not to give them onions.
 
#6 ·
houdini does the covering up like poop thing too lol! just wait until your cat has been begging for something you're eating and then does that hahahaha.

he does it sometimes with blue buffalo but only about 30% of the time. i find that he'll do it to cold food--the other two couldn't care less if it's cold, room temperature, whatever. it's just FOOD.

i looked up natural balance on www.doggiefood.com and it is less expensive than most (some?) (well some of the BB gets pretty pricey because i want 100% grain-free) but i'm still waiting for my shipment of weruva. look at the pictures on that one--they look good. it's a little more than natural balance but if it's as good as it looks, i don't mind paying $4 a case more. i think doodlebug recommended tiki--same company--so that's next on my list. it's slightly more expensive, but more meat and less water.

i'm still experimenting with different foods. obviously they LOVE it if they can get some fancy feast but that's just all doctored up with crap to make it taste like mcdonald's for cats. i'm also fortunate that my cats don't appear to have any allergies. they're like me in that respect, i can eat almost anything and it doesn't bother me. ghost chiles, hot green chile, wasabi (mmmmm), no acid reflux, nada. thank god for small favors. and if i were gluten or soy sensitive, i'd be s.o.l.

i'll probably look at more online sites but so far dfc seems to have good prices. $49 and over you get free shipping (no matter the weight) and there are usually 10% off deals + free shipping for over $75. plus they have a drop-down where you can just browse brands but make sure you have a bottle of tylenol close. and you're closer to it, supposedly you'd get it in 1-2 days, mine isn't expected to be here before thursday but maybe it will be here today.
 
#7 ·
We must be twins. LOL. I can eat anything and everything and never have an issue. I work at a school and we have to deal with a lot of food allergies, and I'm always saying I don't know what I'd do if I was allergic to peanuts, milk, eggs, soy, we even have kids that are allergic to fruit.... nobody in my family is allergic to any foods, we're all chowhounds. LOL. I do have seasonal nasal allergies but who doesn't?

Oh, and I have given them Tiki, as far as I've seen they're all tuna and something... the cats LOVE it, but it's like a once a week treat, not an everyday thing. They will not waste a morsel of that, and if I have to give them medicine that's the thing to mix it with.
 
#8 ·
Oscar: Soulistic chicken and pumpkin or Weruva anything, and Tiki Cat chicken (recovered Friskies savory shreds addict)

Truman: Fancy Feast (though he's being weened from it). Generally he likes pattes and is favoring Wellness chicken right now, I guess. Picky little brat.

Alice: Anything. Merrick Turducken, probably.

Baron: Wellness Kitten (pink label)
 
#11 ·
Animal digest, the same thing they coat dry food with so cats will like it.

It's part of the "artificial flavors".

Basically the same thing as FortiFlora, something you might see others talk about when trying to get a cat to eat new foods.
 
#10 ·
I think what my cats like the most is chicken breast, then chicken liver, and wet canned that is unfortunately only sold in Europe (Sheba, Miamor, Animonda, etc.) so I don't often give it to them. They also love ham, but that's a once-in-a-while treat, as it's expensive and meat cuts are not healthy. Princess loves cow kidney too.
 
#13 ·
If I set down something Miley doesn't like the smell of, she will scratch the floor like she's covering up poop. LOL. I feel kind of bad, but I leave it and she'll pick at it eventually once she sees she's not getting anything else. They also get dry food in the evenings.
Missy has done this. It's really quite slow and deliberate. I've been told it's covering food to come back to later, but she doesn't do it if I put smething else down alongside
 
#27 ·
my first cat and now my youngest cat are the only two who do it, but trust me, they aren't coming back for it later! lmao i've heard that burying thing, but i don't buy it.

my other two honestly don't seem to ever turn food down.

i bought sheba a occasionally 15 years ago, i guess i didn't notice when they stopped selling it.

and we have a new favorite: weruva paw lickin' chicken. as a matter of fact, i'm being nagged for it *this very minute* (had to stop and feed) and the middle east feast with talapia is also a winner winner chicken dinner.

the chicken one reminds me of the appetizers made by fancy feast. they both do but the fish one smells better than their tuna one. i used to only buy the chicken one sometimes but they're REALLY expensive, considering you only get like a bite, or a serving for one cat, so i think the weruva comes out to being cheaper. i'm a big fan of it too :)
 
#14 ·
Somewhat in order of preference: Rabbit (favorite but really low in fat so she has to eat a lot of it to get satiated), turkey; quail; chicken breast but not thigh unfortunately (cb is TOO fat-free--she never gets satiated and she doesn't like the sliminess of thighs). Loves goat and venison but hard to find so she doesn't eat it a lot; pork; veal (only on super sale and reduced). Likes kidney and will even eat liver. In other words, pretty much any kind of RAW/frankenprey. I'd like to try ostrich. When I was feeding her canned food, the ONLY kind she would eat was Fancy Feast classic, seafood flavored. She was becoming increasingly picky which is one reason I transitioned her to raw.
 
#15 ·
whatever is in his bowl. or on my plate. he was picky when I first switched him to canned, he wanted his science diet kibble...but now he will seriously eat anything, with gusto!
 
#18 ·
My Meatball's favorite is Orijen dry food 6 fish fomular. Following that is Weruva BFF, and then the raw chicken leg meat. My Metoo likes tofu (yeah, the one that human eat) the best, then raw chicken, following by the Nutrience organic beef.

If hairball remedy (malt flavor) count as "food", then that's on top of both their list. My girls go crazy about that thing.
 
#20 ·
Apache (16 years old) loves raw hamburger, 70% lean only. She also loves mice, fresh mice, but she has lost all her teeth in the last two years because of her hyperthyroid disease and she can no longer chew them.

The other cats will accept regular cat treats, but not Apache!
 
#23 ·
Apache (16 years old) loves raw hamburger, 70% lean only. She also loves mice, fresh mice, but she has lost all her teeth in the last two years because of her hyperthyroid disease and she can no longer chew them.

The other cats will accept regular cat treats, but not Apache!
LauraFeatherCat: You can order *ground* (raw) mice from Hare Today Gone Tomorrow. Maybe that will work for Apache. New product. I feed Ritz raw, but for some reason am reluctant to feed her mice.
 
#24 ·
Hmm...well I know what Torri likes best. Game meats, the bigger the beast the better! Moose is a real hit with her, so is elk, or deer. Unfortunately it's hard for me to get that stuff so she doesn't get it very often. She also really likes beef heart, but pork heart is ok too.

Jitzu used to eat anything and everything (literally...) but since she's been sick she's gotten much pickier. She loves people food and goes nuts for banana bread specifically. Any bread products she loves, especially dough. She also really likes, and will beg for, cooked veggies like potatoes, broccoli, peas, and carrots. When it comes to kitty food she's been having trouble lately. But she likes turkey and pork, and can keep it down thank goodness. A tiny bit of Tuna is also a favorite.

Doran will eat anything I feed him, but he likes dark meats best. Chicken hearts are a favorite treat. He also loves Mrs. Vickies Salt and Vinegar chips (my favorite) and make the cutest little wrinkley face when he eats his chippies :)

Muffin likes pretty much any raw food. He isn't a fan of canned food, and refuses to eat kibble. He, also, loves chicken hearts, gizzards too. His favorite treat is cheese, little bits.

All four kitties like the occasional McNugget (they each get 1/4 of a nugget), bit of sausage or kovbasa (we say it 'ku-bah-saw'), or a bite of cooked meat. They all like fresh cooked bread, to varying degrees, but only get a little bit as a treat.
 
#25 ·
Mia has gone through so many different foods its unreal.:fust She always does well when she first starts to eat something then gets bored after a few weeks. I have always had her on dry only but started giving her some Friskies wet (only kind I can afford) the last couple weeks and she eats with a vigor. She was eating Evo dry too but wont anylonger so now she eating the Friskies wet and Purina One dry (the only dry it seems she will eat now). I know its not the best but at least she is eating and healthy(she got constipated really bad on the Evo).
 
#28 ·
Marge is besotted with Royal Canin Kitten Instinctive pouches and James Wellbeloved Turkey pouches, for meat nibbles nothing tickles her more than some warm fresh sliced turkey and veggie wise she is head over heals for mushy peas and whole baby carrots, so much so that if I have any of either on my plate I have to become a human hoover or have my said vegetables swiped swiftly from my plate before I could say mew.
 
#29 ·
Hanx has lots that he likes, and a few that he loves. He LOVES Weruva, especially Cats in the Kitchen. He also loves Primal freeze dried chicken and salmon and Natures Varity raw chicken. He really likes natures variety instinct canned anything & natural balance anything. Those are typically the 4 brands I rotate with, Primal, Natures Variety, Weruva and Natural Balance. NB is the affordable one.

He enjoys Merrick occasionally and sorta likes Before Grain, but not much. On rare occasions I'll give him kibble and he freakin' loves it- Natures Variety chicken.
 
#30 ·
I so envy the immense variety of excellent-quality wet food pouches and domes that the Europeans have!! Last year I was sent by work to Europe a few times and my huge trunk of a suitcase was packed full of this stuff, so I still have some. In my country they only sell Natural Balance for good quality wet canned (then there are all the mcdonald's kinds like Fancy Feast, Friskies, Felix, Technical, etc., which my cats like but not as much as the European stuff, and I feed these only rarely because they're so unhealthy).

Princess loves also kidney, liver and chicken breast. Prince and Lady won't touch kidney but love liver and chicken breast. Everything else I tried (duck, beef, other chicken parts) they only ate when they were strays or recently adopted, but they soon caught on that they could be picky, because there's always enough food they can skip a meal or a few meals if they don't LOVE what's for dinner. Fortunately, they all eat their Orijen, which is the default, always available in free-feeding form.

Even my strays downstairs skip dinner and go on hunger strike when there's no meat in it.