# Cat won't eat anything but the cheap stuff



## spaceballsrules (Nov 27, 2009)

I am looking to find the best cheap canned food I can, as my Sunny will only eat that. 
I have fed her raw and all sorts of the good canned foods, such as Innova, EVO, California Naturals, and Wellness. She just turns her nose up at it. As soon as I put some 9 Lives or Friskies in front of her, she eats happily. 
Is there anything out there that I can try before just giving in and feeding her what I know is garbage? Is there any cheap canned foods that aren't as bad for her?
Thanks for any help


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## KittyMonster (Nov 8, 2009)

Your cat doesn't know or care what the prices of her food is: she likes cheap food because it's _garbage_, not because it's _cheap_. :lol: Finding a cheap food that isn't garbage won't accomplish much I think, though of course there's tons of foods out there that you can try at every price range and quality. 

Have you tried easing the cat onto the good wet food by gradually increasing the ratio from bad:good ?


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Well, the first thing to know is that pretty much any canned food is better than an all dry diet. So even if it's the junk food, you're still improving her diet. Look for something that lists a named meat (e.g.) in the first couple ingredients rather than by-products and/or corn gluten meal. Have you tried Iams...that's a step above most of the real junk foods. FF is better than Purina or Friskies too. If you have a Trader Joes nearby, their store brand food is pretty decent.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Two of my cats are the same way. They can't tolerate raw and won't eat premium quality canned. They only want the cheap canned "junk" foods. I can occasionally slip some of the good stuff in by mixing it with the junk, but that doesn't always work. That's the only suggestion I can offer, though. Do the mixing thing and see if you can upgrade your cat's diet even a little by slipping in some of the good stuff.

Laurie


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

My cats also did not want to eat the Innova/EVO and would hold out for the canned Friskies.
UNTIL ... I began to mix some Friskies with the EVO and now they happily consume their *good stuff* because they think they're eating their *junk food/Friskies*. :wink


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## spaceballsrules (Nov 27, 2009)

Thanks for the great suggestions 

Sunny originally loved the premium canned and gobbled it up. She still eats the EVO 95% Beef, but that's the last one. She even turned away the Duck!! 
I will definitely try mixing the good in the with the not-so-good and see if that works. :wink:


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## Marvins Maid (Nov 27, 2009)

doodlebug said:


> Well, the first thing to know is that pretty much any canned food is better than an all dry diet. So even if it's the junk food, you're still improving her diet. Look for something that lists a named meat (e.g.) in the first couple ingredients rather than by-products and/or corn gluten meal. Have you tried Iams...that's a step above most of the real junk foods. FF is better than Purina or Friskies too. If you have a Trader Joes nearby, their store brand food is pretty decent.


I think this must just be a U.S thing as in the UK dry food is far superior to most wet food and is also much better at keeping their teeth clean and healthy.
Having said that it used to be the case that dry food was not recommended due to potential for urinary problems, luckily there have been great advances in recent times.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Marvins Maid said:


> doodlebug said:
> 
> 
> > Well, the first thing to know is that pretty much any canned food is better than an all dry diet. So even if it's the junk food, you're still improving her diet. Look for something that lists a named meat (e.g.) in the first couple ingredients rather than by-products and/or corn gluten meal. Have you tried Iams...that's a step above most of the real junk foods. FF is better than Purina or Friskies too. If you have a Trader Joes nearby, their store brand food is pretty decent.
> ...


No, it's not just a US thing. Not sure where you're getting your info from, but dry food is not superior to wet in any way except for feeding convenience. Dry is dry and it's still missing a the majority of water a cat needs to be completely hydrated, water that the cat won't drink on it's own. I don't know what advances you could be referring to. And in general it doesn't clean teeth (there are a couple prescription foods designed for this and they apparently do help a bit). A cat's teeth are pointed and shatter the kibble on impact, it doesn't get anywhere near the gum line to scrape tartar. Besides, most cats swallow the kibble whole and never chew it. Check it out the next time you cat herks it up. 

I suggest that you read the sticky at the top of the page on why cats need wet food as well as these sites:

www.catnutrition.org
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library


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## Marvins Maid (Nov 27, 2009)

Thank you for you suggestion, but i have already done my research.

My cat has a choice of wet and dry and he will go for the dry everytime, none of my previous cats have done this, concerned that he was only eating dry i consulted my own 2 vets, the vets i work with and my colleagues (i work for a large dog and cat rescue charity) every single one of them said that i should not be concerned at all that he only ate dry food as long as he got plenty of fresh water (which he does)

For what its worth Marvin crunches his dry food and if it were round kibble i would agree that it would just shatter, but its not, so it doesnt.

I do not claim to be an expert, but i know plenty of people with the proper qualifications and experience that i can consult when i am in doubt.

My cat ishappy and healthy and thats my main concern.


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## Marvins Maid (Nov 27, 2009)

Having said the above if were able to i would feed raw to both my dogs and Marvin. Unfortunately my situation does not permit this at the moment.


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