Good wet food for kitties?

February 7, 2006 8:00 PM

Help me find good wet food for my cat.

The Zoey is currently being fed dry Nutro Maxcat chicken (she picks at this all day) and half a can of Fancy Feast grilled once a day. I'm trying to wean her off it since it contains byproduct, and I would like her to eat healthier. But there's so much premium wet food to choose from, I don't know where to start. She also prefers the texture and loose composition of the grilled, and while she'll eat the can-shaped pressed stuff, she makes her preference known. I think she also prefers the gravy in the non-pressed food, so she has something to lick. I am hoping you cat-owning MeFi-ites have found something that meets the above criteria, or something close. Thanks for your time.

posted by calistasm to pets & animals (15 comments total)

Merrick Canned Cat Food. It's holistic (whatever that means) and is made from human grade ingredients. Lots of gravy, there is even a Turducken flavour. My cats love it.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 8:07 PM on February 7, 2006

Have you tried Nutro's pouches? They have chunks, instead of the canned-shaped stuff.
posted by amarynth at 8:11 PM on February 7, 2006

Your last bag of Nutro dry cat probably had a coupon for a free pouch of their wet food, in fact (you have to buy a few to get the free one, natch). I haven't tried it yet but I'm thinking of picking some up next time I'm at the pet store.
posted by kindall at 8:12 PM on February 7, 2006

My cats like the Nutro pouches. They have small rectangular chunks and plenty of gravy. The only disadvantage is that the pouch doesn't reseal well, so your fridge may smell like cat food if you don't give her the whole thing at once (it's less than a can, though, so you might).
posted by amber_dale at 8:40 PM on February 7, 2006

My kitties also love the Nutro pouches. Between the gravy and the chunky texture, these sound like something your kitty will like.
posted by discokitty at 8:43 PM on February 7, 2006

our cats demand Petguard.
..no by-products, preservatives, added colors, sugar..etc. high in omega-3 and 6 (so says the label). the beef w/ wheatgerm is a big fav.
posted by The_Auditor at 8:50 PM on February 7, 2006

Our cats prefer the Science Diet wet food, but they only get it on holidays so they don't become addicted and then refuse the dry food.
posted by mabelcolby at 8:58 PM on February 7, 2006

My cat switches between Wellness and Innova. Sometimes I add a little warm water to the bowl to gravify it for him.
posted by tangerine at 9:31 PM on February 7, 2006

I switched my cats to Natural Balance from Iams about a year and a half ago. They've been very happy kitties (happier even) since the switch.

(This is the stuff made by Dick van Patton ala 8 is Enough)
posted by Bucket o' Heads at 10:34 PM on February 7, 2006

Wysong, Filidae, Innova, and Wellness are what our cats like. These are excellent foods.
posted by lobakgo at 11:12 PM on February 7, 2006

I always used to feed my cat a diet of fresh meat from a butcher. I'd buy offal such as lamb's hearts, kidney, liver etc. and mince it. It's quite inexpensive and I would supplement it with occasional leftovers from my own food.

I also would buy chicken necks and chicken wings, and give him one of those (raw, of course) once every day or two. He would have a great time chewing them, and his teeth were being complemented by the vet right up until his death at age 16.
posted by tomble at 12:29 AM on February 8, 2006

I'll second the recommendation for Wysong. I just switched my cats to it recently and it's been a big hit. Plus, no byproducts, at least in the Au Jus line I've been feeding them. The rabbit flavor is a particular hit around here.
posted by Stacey at 4:32 AM on February 8, 2006

Some good suggestions (Innova Evo is now available for cats, and it's a great food, also Felidae and Wellness). As an aside, you might want to change dry foods as well, since Nutro Max is the bottom of the Nutro line - I believe there is Nutro Ultra available for cats now, and it's the top of the Nutro line (and a very good food).
posted by biscotti at 5:29 AM on February 8, 2006

Science Diet makes a lot of wet foods and my cats love the stuff. It is of the pressed variety. But you can add water to it and stir it a bit to give it more of a gravy texture. The vet turned me onto this trick for an older cat who has trouble chewing. And he really digs it that way.
posted by wheat at 5:58 AM on February 8, 2006

Merrick is really good. Science Diet, in it's dry medical formulas, is still using Ethoxiquin. Poison! Many use rendering from plant's that actually process pet remains and the remains cleaned up from the floors of processing plants. This includes blood and feces and sawdust. Be careful and find out the real definition of the ingredients.
There are books on what is actually in some foods. My cat won't touch wet food but my dog likes a can mixed with her dry every now and then. I use VeRus dry (the canned was too solid and hard to mix in making her meal gummy and difficult for her to get out of her bowl.) The canned dog food is Merrick. I use Venison stew and the Buffalo one because the poultry varieties were causing to have flare-ups with ear infections. She is obviously sensitive to the poultry products. If you can contact "Crunchies" on the internet, do so. You may get them to send you some info on food additives. It opened my eyes. They are located in Crofton, Maryland.
posted by CatyDidn't at 2:01 PM on February 20, 2006