Is it better to feed a lower-quality canned food a cat likes, or a high-quality food it doesn't like much?

Question

It seems like the amount of canned cat food my cat will eat is inversely proportional to the quality of the food I give him. He grew up on lower-quality foods, and he'll gobble them up and eat as much as he should (even if it's a brand that's new to him). But he won't eat very much of the higher quality foods (such as Wellness, EVO, etc).

It doesn't seem like he's eating enough when I give him the higher-quality stuff, according to his body weight and the feeding guidelines on the can. It seems like he'll only eat it when he gets hungry enough to tolerate the taste (kinda like how some kids will eat fruits & vegetables only if they're realllllly hungry).

So which is better for him? Plenty of lower-grade food, or a less-than-optimal amount of high-grade food?

Thanks!

Answer 1

This is a very good and tough question



I want my cats on the best canned for obvious reasons. That said, meals are a big part of the day for cats and i want them to enjoy what they eat.



Part 3 of this is that there are 'addicting things' in the lower cat foods

Dry foods use an animal fat coating and I also believe that carbs from some of the poor canned foods can be addicting even though a cat is a carnivore

If he is not eating enough then what i would do is experiment There are enough quality foods out there that can be gotten anywhere (petdirect.com) to see if other quality foods may do the trick, If not then I would probably give in and feed a lessor quality canned as long as the carb count is low enough and it doesn't have gluten or corn

You don't want a cat protest to go on too long where he is unhappy and not eating what he needs.

Now are you judging calories right? a cat needs about 20 calories per pound of cat so a 10 pound cat needs around 200 calories a day give and take. The problem with this is that cats have different metabolisms so some may get by with less and some more

Answer 2

The higher quality food has less fillers, so it's normal for the cat to eat a bit less of it. In other words, the cat has to eat less in order to get the energy and nutrients it needs.



Try mixing the good and bad foods together for a week, each day increasing the proportion of the high quality food.



EDIT: He's a big boy. I would feed the high quality. You can think about supplementing with dry, but that depends on your preferences and the cat's health. Any cat with kidney or urinary tract troubles should stay on canned, unless a vet says otherwise.



I honestly wouldn't worry too much. The worst thing that happens is the cat loses weight. Unless he has a very large build, it sounds like losing a little weight might even help him.



Once you're switched over, watch the cat's weight for a month or so. If he drops enough weight that he's underweight, then consider changing him back or adding in some low quality food. If he just drops some weight, but is still healthy weight, just keep him on the food.



My cats don't eat nearly as much as their weight suggests, but they're both healthy and happy.



Finally, you can try warming the food a bit in the microwave. Some cats don't like cold or even room temperature wet food.

Answer 3

Well, you want him to be healthy. That is a number one priority.If he doesn't like it he shouldn't have to eat it. Are the higher Quality foods healthier? If so then maybe you could start mixing them until he can go off on the healthier choice.



If the lower quality food is not very good for him then, give him less of that and more higher quality. Start with very little higher quality and more lower quality. And keep adding more higher quality and less lower quality.



Hope you and you're cat are healthy. Best of luck. Hope my suggestion helped. :o) Have a great day!!

Answer 4

I offer both dry and canned food. I would feed a high quality food. The cat will eat less because there is more nutrients in it. Try a variety called Merrick. My cat didn't like the brands like Wellness and Evo, but LOVES Merrick. I recommend not feeding the fish varieties as there is more smell in the litter pan. I feed TURDUCKIN, which is turkey, duck and chicken. There is also Granny's POT PIE which is chicken. This brand is very healthy and most cats love it. The secret is to simply keep trying brands until you find one your cat likes. This is what I did. Kelsie would refuse to eat some and throw up others. Merrick continues to be a BIG hit with her.

Answer 5

You really want him to stay on the high quality food. There are so many brands out there. Just keep trying new ones until you find the one he likes. Here are some premium brands out there to try:

Weruva, Tiki Cat, Wellness, Innova, California Natural, Best Feline Friend, Natural Balance, Wysong, Nature's variety Instinct, Avoderm, Pinnacle, Felidae, Merrick, Newman's Own, Solid Gold, Halo.

You can't tell me you tried all of these brands. So, keep trying.

Because a cat on a low quality diet will have medical issues in their future.

Answer 6

It doesn't look like a really bad food - it's bound to have carbs in being a dry food - but I don't feed much dry food to my cats. I feed them good quality wet food and my younger cat has a little dry food (Orijen, a grain free dry food). I'm in the UK but the brands I feed are natures menu, hi life, animonda carny, bozita, cosma, applaws, almo nature, natures harvest, eagle pack and a few others. Unfortunately we can't get some of the premium foods that are available in the US so I just buy the best I can find. I look for a high meat content, low grain content (preferably no grains) and no artificial additives. I've never rated Hills foods. I don't like the ingredients and think there is better out there for the price. I tried my cats on Hills dry food years ago and it gave them stinky poos. More recently, I tried one of my cat's on the Hills wet food and it gave him diarrhoea so that was the first and last time I fed that. I don't think it's really bad, but the reason most vets recommend it is because Hills is one of the few companies that do prescription foods so most vets have a lot of contact with Hills reps and get most of their 'training' in nutrition from them.

Answer 7

You can try mixing the low grade with the high grade. Half and half at first then less and less of the lower grade til it's just high grade. it might work if not feed him what he wants as long as he is health.

Answer 8

My cat did the exact same thing when I first got her and she still does. I suggest you give him the lower quality food if that's the only thing he eats.

Answer 9

I have always preferred to give my cats dry food.Nine lives,Friskies or Cat Chow