# Ever tried Trader Joe's wet food?



## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I've been trying to get Murphy to eat wet food at least as a supplement to his dry. I've bought at least 6-7 different brands, all good stuff, and he just sniffs it and walks away. The one brand he'll eat (even though he did throw it up afterwards) was the Trader Joe's cat food. We tried it again last night, and he ate half a can and didn't throw it up! Yay, we have progress.

I figure Trader Joe's wet cat food must just be some other brand that they stick a Trader Joe's label on. Is there any way of knowing what brand it is? Trader Joe's isn't very convenient to get to, so I'm trying to avoid having to make special trips there just for his food.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Trader Joe's food is supposed to be pretty good, although I've never found the ingredients online. Can you post them? 

Any wet food is better than an all dry diet, so if that's the only wet food he'll eat, then go for it. If it's a 5.5 oz can, half is quite a bit for a cat that's not used to eating wet, that may be why he throws up. I'd back it up to 1/4, then another quarter a couple hours later and then gradually work up over the course of a week or two. 

No idea if Trader Joe's is just another brand with their name...but if he likes it, buy a couple cases so you don't have to go back too often. My cat food store is only about 4 miles away, but I can only get there on Sat because of their hours, so I buy enough for 6 weeks at a time. Just save the receipt in case he changes his mind.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Thanks, Lisa. I've been looking around for a list of ingredients on the Internet, and only found this video:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/ ... html?cat=2

I do know that a friend at work who is a pet sitter and former vet tech thought its ingredients were very good. And it's only 59 cents a can! Between being cheap, good, and the only one Murphy will eat, I think we have a winner.  

Thanks for the tip on the amount.  The time he threw up he had eaten almost a full big can, so that was apparently too much. Last night he ate half a can and kept it down, so I'm encouraged. (Famous last words, as I find a humongous pile of throw-up somewhere I haven't looked yet.)


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## Bethany (Jul 19, 2006)

I feed it at times in the mix with Wellness and Natural Balance. Gives the ladies a change and my wallet a bit of a break. 

I don't have a can handy but my impression of the ingredients is that it's maybe a little better than IAMs ingredients-wise. So it's not super-premium food, but it's not bad and you can't beat it for the price.

Now that I've moved to Iowa the nearest Trader Joe's is 3.5 hours away. I may give up feeding it eventually. My current modus operandi is to buy lots of it every time I happen to be in a town with a Trader Joe's for other reasons. (I figure that will happen at least every 6 months, so given that it's not the only thing I feed, I'm good. As long as they're not out the day I happen to be there...)


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Thanks, Bethany. I did just make it to a Trader Joe's at lunch, and here are the ingredients of the chicken, turkey, and rice dinner:

Chicken broth, chicken, turkey, ocean fish, animal liver, brewers rice, oat bran, fish protein concentrate, lecithin, salt, potassium chloride, guar gum, minerals (iron amino acid chelate, zinc, amino acid chelate, cobalt amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate, maganese amino acid chelate, sodium selenite, potassium iodide), vitamins (vitamin E, A, D3, B12 supplements, thiamine mononitrate, niacin, d-calcium pantorhenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, folic acid, biotin), choline chloride, carrageenan, calcium carbonate, taurine.

Anyone who wants to help interpret that, please do! 

Trader Joe's doesn't sell it in cases, unfortunately. Between having to get to a Trader Joe's and having to buy individual cans, it's not that convenient. Oh well, it's all he'll eat.


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## porcupine73 (Sep 26, 2008)

Have seen worse. Could probably do without the brewers rice & oat bran. Doesn't specify what kind of liver but maybe that doesn't matter much.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

TJ's isn't the best food but it certainly isn't bad. I don't think you can come close to beating it for the price. I used to have it in my rotation until they decided they ONLY want Wellness. :roll:


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Yeah, it's not bad, there's a whole lot worse out there. Brewers Rice (a by-product of rice processing) and oat bran aren't great, but they're the 6th and 7th ingredients, so there's not a whole lot of it in there. I'd prefer they name the source of the liver...animal could be anything (and I find it funny that they say 'animal' like there's any other kind of liver...like plants have a liver :lol, but I can live with it. 

So if he'll eat it, I would definitely give it to him without any reservations.


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