Cat Soup?

[RainbowFlutterby]

Is it possible to get proper nutritionally balanced "cat soup" from anywhere? I am sick to the back teeth of RainbowCat licking all the fricking gravy off his food and leaving a plate of unappetising dry meat flakes. And I can't cope with the "biscuits death stare" any more.

I feel like the world's shittest mum. AND

[givemushypeasachance]

My pair are gravy/jelly/sauce lickers as well - they're usually allowed out after breakfast so lick off the tasty bit and then go out, if they pop back in later they sometimes eat the leftover chunks. Actually while they've been on moving house indoor lockdown this past week they've been much better at eating it properly - probably because it's there and they're there and they don't have a more fun frolicking outside alternative!

Anyway I don't know about a cat gravy/soup to buy, though I've seen dog gravy, but on the raw food facebook group some people make up a ground mixture that's effectively a soupy sauce - it's got tinned pilchards and egg and such in. Many people report their cats love it and they use it as a sauce on new foods or things their cats are more reluctant to eat e.g. the first time they try them on a whole chick.

[cozietoesie]

There's a liquid cat food called Liquivite available in the UK but it's fairly specialist and megabucks so would depend on your funds. That's the only one I know. (No guarantee he wouldn't turn his nose up at that as well.)

I've more or less resigned myself to living with a jelly licker - although since I adjusted the timing of his meds a little, Seniorboy has been a lot better at finishing off at least his supper including the bits.

(He's also resistant to kibble/dried treats although he likes 3 Vet's Kitchen treats during the night. They have to be Vet's Kitchen so far. )

How old is your lad?

[cozietoesie]

PS - I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the notion of a cat living on liquids except when poorly - I have no reasonable backing for that thought because commercial wet cat food has so much water anyway but I like to think of at least some solids passing through the gut and keeping it in good order. (Seniorboy's palate seems to be influenced heavily by whether he's had a good recent poo.) One of the vets who post might comment there.

[Micah]

How much do you feed at a time?

I had a jelly licker. I found if I fed small bits he'd eat it all.

So one sachet is broken into 3 or 4 feeds. Plus free access to biscuits.

[RainbowFlutterby]

He's ancient - nearly 17.

He's always had biscuits available all day (proper ones - Hills Science Diet, none of that Go-Cat shit ) and then a pouch of food in the evening.

He's really gone off biscuits at the moment though, so he's been having 4 pouches a day (with gravy, Mr Fussy Bugger doesn't 'do' jelly).

I suppose I was thinking more of being able to give him a bowl of liquid stuff as a treat, but only if I can find a proper cat one.

I'll end up sending the contents of a pouch through the blender at this rate!

[googoodolly]

My cats lick the sauce and jelly off everything too! It's frustrating but I find if I just leave the bowl there, they'll eat the rest eventually because it's either that or nothing. I do give them treats occasionally (chicken, ham, tinned tuna or salmon) and they polish that off with no need for sauce, so I think they're just hoping that if they keep "refusing", they'll get that everyday!

[Micah]

Science plan do a pate style tin. It's prescription and high in calories so good for elderly or sick cats.

You can mix it with water to get a soupy consistency. Usually for syringe feeding but you could try it and see....

[givemushypeasachance]

I got some of this "cat pudding" as a sample from ZooPlus once, and my boys loved it. But it's a sweet treat so not for everyday I'm guessing! You can also get lacto-free cat milk which he might like, and there are some pastes designed as treats or supplements like malt paste which is supposed to help with hairballs...

[givemushypeasachance]

There are these "snacks " too...

[cozietoesie]

Those actually look quite good, give - I might try some. Seniorboy's diet is really a disaster area (when he came to me at 14 I thought he didn't have long to go so indulged him - thinking it would only be for a short time) but he's maintaining his weight, to his vet's surprise, and keeping on going. If he likes something, he generally gets it, as long as it's not potentially harmful to him and it allows him to take his meds. Thanks for the links.

[RainbowFlutterby]

Thank you very much everyone - I'm going to give those ones from Zooplus a go. Of course what will happen is RainbowCat will absolutely adore them, so I'll bulk buy to save on postage... at which point he will decide that he doesn't like them any more.

But he's old, still fluffy, still cute, still cuddly, and gets away with absolutely anything.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Biscuit death stare. Love it.

[Archfarchnad]

"but on the raw food facebook group some people make up a ground mixture that's effectively a soupy sauce - it's got tinned pilchards and egg and such in. Many people report their cats love it and they use it as a sauce on new foods or things their cats are more reluctant to eat e.g. the first time they try them on a whole chick."

Another thing a lot of raw feeders do is make a soup from a powder containing supplements like taurine. The powder lasts for ages so it's great value for money. I always serve Archcat's raw food swimming in a load of soup, not just because he loves it, but also because I'm worried about him getting dehydrated so it increases his liquid intake. This is the powder we use.

[Qwebec]

Some thing I do is I give my cad tuna and then add water. I do it because it's extra hydration for her but she always drinks it all befor eating the chucks of tuna. I just have to be careful that pieces of tuna stick out of the water or she looks at it bewildered and does not seem to know what to do. I can add water a second time when the water has gone down. Would that work with your cat?