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Original poster

To think Felix, Whiskas and other cat "food" manufacturers are taking the mick

104 replies

TuppenceForYou · 23/05/2017 19:19

Most commercial cat food has actually about 4% meat. This is for nearly 100% carnivores. They put soya protein shit in instead, plus carbohydrates (to make our cats fat).

Its really a scandal. And one I've only noticed because I've got a lovely little kitten I want to feed well.

Apparently this commercial cat "food" makes them hungry all the time (no real meat) so they overeat (diabetes) and it also makes their pooh pong when it doesn't need to, it makes them less energetic and their coats not so shiny!

Does anyone else wonder what planet we are on when our 100% carnivore pets are fed 4% meat by these bstd manufacturers? Its not even cheap!

OP posts:
Weedsnseeds1 · 23/05/2017 20:24

You are misunderstanding the labelling. Pet food legally has to be labelled differently to food for human consumption. If you want to call the product "chicken", "beef" etc. it has to contain a minimum of 4% of the named protein. The 4% is not the total meat content. A product could be 80% meat it will still say 4% chicken because the remaining 76% can be any species. If the product is made in the UK it is likely that most of the meat content will be chicken because that is the meat that the human population consume the most of, therefore there is more spare chicken around than any other protein, but it doesn't have to be.
The meat used is category 3 animal by products i.e. fit for, but not intended for human consumption. It's not a mix of entrails and excrement as some people believe, it's the bits of animals we are too fussy to eat e.g. chicken wings and legs, because people only want breast, lamb shoulder because people want chops and legs. There will be some offal such as hearts, liver and lungs, because it is good for cats and perfectly edible.
The manufacturer adds vitamins, minerals and amino acids, including Taurine for cats.
Where you see ash on the label, this is not literally ash as an ingredient, it is a measure of the amount of minerals in the product ( the bit that cannot be incinerated e.g. calcium).
Cheap cat food may not have 80% meat, but it has a lot more than 4%.

Catsize · 23/05/2017 20:25

I suppose a cat would struggle to catch a tuna. 🐋

LivingInMidnight · 23/05/2017 20:30

Katy it's good but mine won't eat it Confused. Maybe just buy a couple and see how you get on. Resist bulk buys, that was my greatest mistake.

Rainbow I seriously had to just let it go and let her have whatever complete food she would eat. Google really isn't your friend when it comes to cat food. Be prepared (at any moment) for their favourite food to be treated like the most revolting thing they've ever seen. Even though they ate it in the morning.

I really would recommend thrive tins for adult cats, but it is expensive. They make kitten food but it's harder to come by so is even more expensive.

Mistoffelees · 23/05/2017 20:31

Weeds the problem is they don't say how much is meat of any sort so it's harder to make an informed choice. Regardless, their taurine and ash levels are too low anyway.

NellieFiveBellies · 23/05/2017 20:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LivingInMidnight · 23/05/2017 20:34

Trust weeds' advice. Her cat is amazing.

LivingInMidnight · 23/05/2017 20:36

Nellie they could also do bee and dandelion! And possibly pencils.

katymac · 23/05/2017 20:41

He like Lily's & Tesco - won't touch whiskas or felix

I am starting to wean him back onto dry now his tummy is better (I have 3 bags of the stuff) & he keeps waking up at 2am to throw up so I think the wet is too rich for him

Tippytappytoes · 23/05/2017 20:45

I recently found out that modern cat (and dog too - even us raw feeders) diets put their pancreas under pressure because we aren't feeding them the unprocessed guts and pancreas of prey animals. It's why so many cats throw up food regularly and pancreatitis is becoming so common. I now give my dog a digestive enzyme powder with his food.

NellieFiveBellies · 23/05/2017 20:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

maddiemookins16mum · 23/05/2017 20:48

My vet told me to raw feed (Fluffball Mookins was having none of it). He also said that feeding Whiskas etc is basically like feeding your 3 year old a Happy Meal for breakfast, lunch and tea every day.
He also said that buy the best food quality food I could afford (after she refused the raw chopped up chicken wings and diced liver).
Commercial cat food also ruins their teeth.

melj1213 · 23/05/2017 20:50

The trouble is though cats eat what they like, so if what they like is felix or whiskas -that's what they get!

Exactly this! I have two cats - one 2year old and one 9 month old - both of them are fussy eaters and will not eat anything other than Whiskas Chicken flavour dry kibble and Whiskas wet food (any type of meat) but ONLY in gravy, never in jelly.

Occasionally I will give them a bit of tuna or cooked meat if there are scraps left over when I'm making dinner or a bit of fish if we have a chippy tea but sometimes they'll eat the lot and beg for more and other times they'll sniff it and walk away, just depends how they're feeling that day.

I have tried to give them various other brands of both dry food, wet food and they will refuse to eat anything else - they won't even try it and would choose to not eat for days if the only option was anything other than what they like.

As much as I love my cats and want them to have the best diet, I'm not wasting money buying stuff they won't even entertain when I can get the food they like and will lick the bowl clean of from the very supermarket I work in.

Weedsnseeds1 · 23/05/2017 20:55

Thanks livinginmidnight , he's a fussy so and so who will only eat one brand of dry cat food though, so knowledge of wet cat food labels isn't much use to me!

RainbowJack · 23/05/2017 21:02

That's true. I've lost count the number of food pouches I've dumped in the rescue donation boxes at the supermarket because he refused to eat them.

Still, he's a healthy weight and has had no health problems so he's thriving in spite of my stupidity Grin

requestingsunshine · 23/05/2017 21:26

What's raw feeding? I never heard of this. Is it literally just raw bought meat?

FatCatFaces · 23/05/2017 21:30

I've lost count the number of food pouches I've dumped in the rescue donation boxes at the supermarket because he refused to eat them.

Yep. I've wasted a fortune trying and retrying various foods. I might just whack them back on Royal Canin dry food. I had no problems on that and they were glossy cats then. Mine won't eat Lily's Kitchen. I tried all the flavours.

Mr Fat Cat has a fetish for spinach and rocket. If there are leaves in the house, he knows. His dream food flavour would be rocket, smoked salmon with a sprinkle of Dreamies, all wrapped up in some bowel wrecking thread Blush Nervous cat isn't that interested in food, noses or thread. Despite her neuroses I think she was better weaned.

caroldecker · 23/05/2017 21:46

From Whiskas (at bottom of page:

84% moisture - as expected from wet food
8% protein - so 50% of the non water content
4.7% fat - so 25% of the non-water content
2% fibre
1.3% unnamed - assume sugars.

Raw chicken has around 66% water and 20% protein, so just over 50%

So 80% chicken catfood has less protein than Whiskas.

Mistoffelees · 23/05/2017 21:47

Mistoffelees cat has had various tummy and liver problems so that's why he's on wet food, otherwise he'd just be on dry. He also has a penchant for plastic and has come home with a sore voice, rather worried he's eaten something he shouldn't, which is now lodged in his throat Confused

Kokusai · 23/05/2017 21:51

I was buying good quality high meat complete wet food. Will the kitten eat it any more? Will he fuck.

Currently loving Whiskas.

fuzzywuzzy · 23/05/2017 21:53

Living we give them applaws wet twice a day and we have applaws dry food down at all times for them to eat as and when they're hungry. And bowls of water at all times as well.

Blodplod · 23/05/2017 21:58

I feed my dog raw food and proper meat and veg.. really gets on my nerves when people say I'm feeding her 'human food'. No, it's meat and veg. And meat from a butchers, not some plastic wrapped shite from the super market.. dog food purports to be meat and veg right? occasionally I have to resort to a sachet (ceasar) from the supermarket and even when I serve it I say 'yummy! McDonald's'.. sorry, but my research found that most 'dog food' is just crap scraped up from the abbatoir floor.. we don't eat shit. And don't expect our dog too either. In another entirely different vein I noticed significant behavioural changes when I changed my horse's food. Good food is nutritional which makes a significant difference to behaviour as well general health IMHO.,

MassDebate · 23/05/2017 21:58

My kitty is fed on Natures Menu (96% meat pouches as can't get her to touch raw food) as she's allergic to soya and gluten. It was a nightmare finding something suitable for her given so many brands add all sorts of shit to bulk their foods out. She's been far healthier since we discovered it following trial and error with loads of others.

Blodplod · 23/05/2017 22:01

They love whiskas because of the high sugar content BTW.. to the posters who feed their cats/dogs this. It's literally junk food for pets, which is why they prefer it over 'real' food.. they're just as addicted to the sugar as us!

TheNoodlesIncident · 23/05/2017 22:08

I've lost count the number of food pouches I've dumped in the rescue donation boxes at the supermarket because he refused to eat them.

THIS ^
It's no consolation to anyone but I am so relieved to read this thread - I thought I was the only one with the fussiest eater ever! We are not strangers to fussy eaters in this house but by gum the cat is the worst ever! It's by far the most stressful part of cat ownership...

We buy a chicken regularly, cook it nice and slow, chop up the meat, add taurine (bought online) and make a sort of chicken-cake which we slice up into portions and freeze. Otherwise madam has a tin of Greenwoods or Encore for breakfast and about 26g of dry, mainly Hill's Science Oral Health, just because she will eat it.

The vet said the ideal food for cats was mouse

dementedpixie · 23/05/2017 22:12

Cats don't taste sweet foods so it won't be sugar they are attracted to