I have 2 ferile cats I adopted, one is a black and white slinky style he is nearly 3, his playmate is a tiger striped brown lady with adorable eyes who is nearly 2.  Problem is I have always fed them Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys ( because that is all they would eat, (no inexpensive food for them) they also have fresh dry food on the side and fresh water daily.  In the last few weeks they have decided they will only eat certain flavours of the Elegant Medleys, should I buy just chicken and tuna and cook that for them instead since they have become so finicky they only eat 2 cans between them a day and some of the dry, plus I give them treats before and after I come home from work.  Neither of them are over weight.  They have their shots and have been fixed.  Should I be worried and take them to our vet?

Some cats will become finicky, but I can’t recommend feeding a cooked diet of tuna or chicken.  How much food (canned and dry) are the kitties eating daily?

What other brands have you tried?

The Elegant Medleys are high in carbohydrates.  I recommend diets with less than seven percent carbohydrates.  An excellent website to peruse is Janet and Binky’s List : http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html

Michele Gaspar, DVM, DABVP (Feline)

Our vet has advised we feed our kitties Science Diet, and they love it.  (Do they put catnip in that?!) I’m wondering if there’s really anything to all the new varieties they’ve recently come out with.  I’ve seen at least hairball control, sensitive stomach, and indoor cat, in addition to the kitten, adult and senior cat formulas. 

And, as a separate question, has anyone figured out how to feed “grazers” of different ages?  The old cats eat the kitten food, the kitten eats the senior food… I might consider getting the sensitive stomach variety for the older cats, but would it potentially be bad for the almost-not-a-kitten?  He seems to have the constitution of an alligator.

I don’t recommend Science Diet.  I think it was one of the best on market 20 years ago, but the brand has been eclipsed.

If you are feeding a food that has the AAFCO label on it and has been shown to support all life stages, it would be appropriate for all cats in the home.  “All life stages” includes kittens, pregnant and lactating queens and maintenance.

Hairballs are not normal in cats and cats with “sensitive stomachs” have underlying intestinal issues.  Most of these foods are unacceptably high in carbohydrates.

Michele Gaspar, DVM, DABVP (Feline)