Cat food help please (UK)?

Question

I need advice on the "tastiest" cat food available. My cat is on steriods for a mouth tumor and I need to administer his medication through his food. I think he can taste it because hes not finishing it off (I've been giving him Whiskas pouches). He would eat it in tuna but this is ongoing medication and I know its not healthy for them to eat tuna all the time. Does anyone know of catfood that he wouldn't leave any on his plate? Any help would be much appreciated x

I'm sorry...I forgot to say that he can't eat dried food either!

Answer 1

There's several methods you can try and all have worked for me in the past 20+ years of owning cats (I've had 6 so far - three of them are age 2 or younger).

(1) If it is a pill, grind the pill into a powder and mix this into any food that he will eat that is moist. Since you mentioned "taste" I think what you may want to look for is not so much "taste" but something that really smells good. Cats have a poor sense of taste as you and I think of it because they don't have the same taste buds that we do. However, they DO use their sense of smell and this is really the magnet for them eating and enjoying food. The stinkier the better. And the best of this is made by Hill's brand, I believe it's called Prescription Diet. This is given by vets specifically for cats that are not eating. My WilyBeth was given this 24 hours before she passed away from feline CRF because she was getting dehydrated and not eating. When she smelled the Prescription Diet food she gobbled it down so fast! This is really the best thing!

(2) Again going back to the crushed formula, try using salmon or tuna juice! My current cats (Cupid, Vixen and Miracle) all have feline herpes (which looks and acts like a cold - sneezing, red runny eyes, etc.) and I have to give them L-Lysine, an amino acid supplement, to keep their symptoms from coming on. I even take it myself for my cold sores, which are the human form of a herpes virus.

Anyhow - when one of them doesn't want to eat their moist food in a timely manner (which is where we mix the L-Lysine into) then we'll open a can of either tuna or salmon and pour out some of the juice onto a saucer and stir in the L-Lysine powder. The juice is so smelly that any medicine is masked inside it and this way they get their meds AND a treat that is not too unhealthy like feeding them straight tuna or salmon.

(3) As a last resort, they do make small gadgets for babies that won't swallow pills that you can literally 'shoot' the pill into the back of their throat and then you massage the underside of their chin and neck facilitate swallowing. It's not that easy - but if the vet says do not break up the pill or if the pill cannot easily be crushed up then this is a possible way to do it.

Always consult the vet first regarding the medication and its viability of being crushed. If done right there should be no issue, but check anyhow. Good luck!

Answer 2

Two possibilities; I'm not sure either is available in the UK, but they might be.

One is Fancy Feast, a Friskies product available at grocery stores. Few cats can resist FF, and it's become known as the ultimate weapon against feline anorexia. It's not the greatest food out there, but some flavors aren't bad as grocery store foods go. Most importantly, most cats will eat it when they won't eat anything else.

Another possibility is Hills a/d. It's a prescription diet you can only get at a vet clinic or hospital. a/d is extremely nutritionally-dense, so eating some is like eating three times as much regular food. It has a flavor that most cats love, and if it's heated up ligthly in a microwave they usually find it irresistable. Note: if you heat it, just warm it a little and stir it with your finger to avoid hot spots. This is important because it doesn't tend to heat evenly. Warming it up will really bring out the aroma.

By the way, when kitty is able to eay dry food, don't give him any! Take this opportunity to keep it out of his diet for good! Here's why: http://www.catinfo.org
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Answer 3

My cat is a picky eater also. she likes her tuna too but I didn't want to give her just that. I have tried her with every kind of cat food available and the one she seems to like best is Felix 'fish selection' in jelly. Those are the little pieces of meat. She is not very impressed with 'super meat' range as its all mushy and seems to be harder for her to manage to eat.

Answer 4

Is the cat over a year old? If so, try felix adult pouches or one of the small fancy foil top tubs. Hope this helps.
P.S. Too much Tuna will give cats the runs.

Answer 5

My cats seem to be quite fussy - They seem to really like the whiskers that come in the little sachet things - not too keen on some of the canned stuff. They love prawns, ham, chicken and other human foods though. I think our cats our are spoilt..

Answer 6

Try Purina's Gormet Range, they are all mini fillets in tasty flavours, but they are not in jelly or gravy, just chunks of meat ion juice, i find this a lot easier to hide medication in as they eat it whole instead of licking off the jelly and gravy.

Answer 7

my cats will eat all their food and leave the pill in the bowl (with said pill buried in the middle). try making a wee parcel out of the pill wrapped in cold meat. otherwise, pin the beast, force the mouth open with your fingers (shudder), place pill in mouth, hold the muzzle closed with your hand while strokking it's throat to encourage swallowing. this will cost you blood, but your small pain is better than your cat's misery or possible death.
p.s. cat-haters want hostile persecution!

Answer 8

Put the medication into a piece of cheese. If it's liquid, add a small piece of bread to the cheese and the bread will absorb the medicine.

If you have chicken in the house, hide it in that.

Always give the medication when he is hungry if that's possible as he won't be so fussy then!

Good luck.

Answer 9

heres the best tip that i know...before giving him his normal food get a dairy lee triangle and pop it on there,,,cats love the taste and the medication goes down a treat ready for the main meal!
All the best
x

Answer 10

Well my 4 cats all love Whiskers Oh So Fishy range. They eat it all and leave the plates spotless. Don;t give them the beef from the oh so meaty range though because that will upset your cat's stomach.

Hope your cat gets better soon.