canned cat meal experiences?

[Grasswire2]

We are not doing so well with canned cat food.

Kit Kat came home with me from the shelter a very thin puddy tat. 21 inches from tip of tail to nose, she weighed only six pounds.
She has added weight since then, and is happy and healthy. She has dry food available at any time, and I feed her wet Fancy Feast twice daily. I have learned that she does not like any PATE' and the one time I fed her Friskies wet food she promptly barfed it up.
Here is what might be a problem. The wet cat foods that she likes have shreds or chunks and they have gravy.
She licks off the gravy, and leaves the solid shreds or chunks on the dish. Every time. Is she being improperly nourished because she's not eating the solid beef or chicken or fish, but just the gravy?

[2naSalit]

1. Perhaps try...

Making a gravy with the pate by adding a couple tablespoons of hot, from the kettle, to the food and stir it up and see if that is more palatable to her. Don't add too much but enough to break up the pate and maybe she'll eat more of the solid stuff.

[Grasswire2]

3. I have tried adding water to the pate. Nope.

I just used tap water, though.
I'll try hot water.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. My cat does that, too. The Medleys version has smaller pieces which he will eat, he likes the Chicken Florentine

I've been giving that and dry food as well, since that's what he was given when I first got him. But I'm planning to ask the vet if he has suggestions for something more nutritious. I tend to ask their vets what's the best food to give my dogs and cats.

[Grasswire2]

4. I have not tried the florentine.

Not sure about the Medleys. Will get some to try.

Thanks.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. My cat doesn't like the pate, either, or anything with big pieces. The Florentine has gravy, smaller pieces and just broth

I can only find the chicken, tuna and salmon in the store, but there's also turkey. He likes the chicken and turkey the best.

[2naSalit]

6. Ha!

Mikey will only eat pate. Otherwise he'll eat the gravy. I tried giving him that Harmony stuff, he ate it then went outside and deposited it on the sidewalk.

I made a deal with him about the food choices and we never had a problem after that. Probably go out and see him next week when it's a little warmer, I need some kittylove.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Well, you never really know. My brother gave him a box of those Delectables for Christmas, kind of like a stew

I was sure he wouldn't eat them and planned to give them to my friend with cats, but I tried them and now he expects them, though he leaves the big pieces. I'm not sure how good they are for him, need to ask the vet, but he prefers them to his food!

And this cat is very affectionate, in fact he demands attention. My friend has a daughter who rescues cats and the other two kitties are female, younger and smaller - and the littlest one was afraid of him, sequestered herself on a shelf in the bathroom. So she offered me this kitty who reminded me of my grandmother's cat when I was little, the first cat I loved, and he couldn't have worked out better.

[Freddie]

8. Does she prefer the dry food?

Both my cats do. Vet advised they should get some wet food - I have the opposite problem, Charlie weighs 21 lb - and limit the dry (do not free feed). They’ll eat half a can of Fancy Feast between them, and every last crumb of kibble. Maybe try some different kinds of dry food to see if she has a preference?

[Grasswire2]

11. one problem with that is that it's difficult to get small bags of dry food to try.

Six, eight, ten, twelve pounds, it seems that most bags of kibble are.

[vanlassie]

9. My two gradually stopped eating wet food

(Friskies or Fancy Feast). I let them go with free feeding dry kibble for a couple years but, last month I bought 7 different brands and put a spoonfull of each on a large platter. Neither cat did more than a cursory sniff and then walked away.

[EverHopeful]

10. Our Skippy never ate the wet food

He'd just lick the gravy. For years we'd only buy FF or Friskies with gravy or sauce and push the lid down to squeeze out the gravy or sauce for him and the other guys were happy to eat the bits or morsels or whatever was left.

Tried the gravy that was sold separately but he didn't like it. Thought maybe it was a dental issue but vet said it wasn't and he ate kibble and crunchy treats just fine.

Have recently ordered Friskies Lil' soups but they're sold as food complements, not as full nutrition. Perhaps they'd add the moisture needed if the dry food is covering nutritional needs. Skippy lived long and well with his gravy and dry food. Hoping the soups help for my current finicky eater who also preferes the gravy to the meat.

[3catwoman3]

12. Have you tried mixing a little bit of pate with the kibble? Just a smidge...

...for starters, and if it works, gradually increase the pate.

We are very lucky. Our 4 cats will eat anything. One of them even likes spinach, arugula, and cauliflower.