Baby food and cats

[fragrancehound]

Are there any side effects of feeding a cat baby food long term?

Magic needs more wet food in her diet and unfortunately she does not like wet food at all. I have tried countless brands of wet cat food and nothing appealed to her. I even tried mixing in freeze dried tuna flakes but she picked them ouf of the food. The only thing she sort of liked was Solid Gold tuna wet cat food but it gave her the runs. As of now I am feeding her Innova light dry food in the mornings and a combo of Innvova light wet food mixed with baby food in the afternoons and evenings. She really likes the combo of the baby food mixed with the Innova wet food. She won't eat the Innova wet food without the baby food mixed in it. Should I be concerned about any long term effects of the baby food? The ingredient list for the baby food is chicken or turkey, water, and starch.

[columbine]

Are there any side effects of feeding a cat baby food long term?

Magic needs more wet food in her diet and unfortunately she does not like wet food at all. I have tried countless brands of wet cat food and nothing appealed to her. I even tried mixing in freeze dried tuna flakes but she picked them ouf of the food. The only thing she sort of liked was Solid Gold tuna wet cat food but it gave her the runs. As of now I am feeding her Innova light dry food in the mornings and a combo of Innvova light wet food mixed with baby food in the afternoons and evenings. She really likes the combo of the baby food mixed with the Innova wet food. She won't eat the Innova wet food without the baby food mixed in it. Should I be concerned about any long term effects of the baby food? The ingredient list for the baby food is chicken or turkey, water, and starch.

I would think the problem would be what's missing from the baby food - taurine, vitamin e, stuff that's more important for cats than for human babies. Check with your vet.

Have you tried mixing Kitty Kaviar bonito flakes in her Innova food? Ping me your addy via personal message - Smudge has decided he's not as crazy about said delicacy as he used to be, and I can send you a sample to see if it works, and a whole can if it does!

Love, Columbine (who'd eat the stuff herself if she were Japanese)

[Craftlady]

I asked that very question to our vet for Thumper (to get more calories).
He said that baby food should not be given to cats. It doesnt have the proper ingrediants, vitamins etc for aniamals.

Try the RX a/d by Hills. Thumper laps it up big time.

[critters]

Since you're mixing the baby food into cat food, I'd say the answer is "maybe." They can't do baby food 100% for just the reasons you've heard--taurine, etc, but as a treat or a mix-in it might be OK. I'd ask the vet (or even more than one, such as VetPet. LOL). As you've heard, a/d tends to be well-liked, and have you tried any of the multitudes of kitty meal replacers in a tube (Nutri-Cal, etc.)? My monsters find 9 Lives Tuna Select irresistible, even with meds mixed in!!

[fragrancehound]

I've tried mixing in the tuna flakes and that didn't work. She liked it at first but now she won't touch it. I've tried R/X Hills too. No luck there either. Right now I am not too worried just because she is eating her regular dry food which has all the nutrients she needs and some of her wet food (innova wet) too. She is due back at the vets again soon for another urinalysis so I will check with the vet too. In the meantime I don't know what other wet foods to try. I've tried so far:

Evo
Innova both lite and regular (I've had some luck with this brand)
California Naturals
Natural Balance
Blue Buffalo Select
Eagle Pack
Royal Canin
Science Diet
Canidae
Solid Gold
A/D Hills
Wellness

There area few more I have tried but I can't recall them now. Magic is so darn picky when it comes to wet food but when it comes to dry food it is not a problem at all. I've been adding some water to her dry food too so she is digesting more water.

[Jessika]

I could be wrong, but I've heard with picky eaters it isn't wise to switch their foods a lot because that's what causes them to be picky? IF that's the case, just stick her on one food, leave it out... a healthy cat will not allow itself to starve, so she WILL eat it. Until then I suggest still trying to find some healthy additive to add that she likes.

If you're mixing small amounts of baby food to her kibble, and she likes it, I don't see it as being a huge concern since she is still getting the necessary nutrients (taurine, etc) from the kibble.

[Catlady711]

I've tried mixing in the tuna flakes and that didn't work. She liked it at first but now she won't touch it. I've tried R/X Hills too. No luck there either. Right now I am not too worried just because she is eating her regular dry food which has all the nutrients she needs and some of her wet food (innova wet) too. She is due back at the vets again soon for another urinalysis so I will check with the vet too. In the meantime I don't know what other wet foods to try. I've tried so far:

Evo
Innova both lite and regular (I've had some luck with this brand)
California Naturals
Natural Balance
Blue Buffalo Select
Eagle Pack
Royal Canin
Science Diet
Canidae
Solid Gold
A/D Hills
Wellness

There area few more I have tried but I can't recall them now. Magic is so darn picky when it comes to wet food but when it comes to dry food it is not a problem at all. I've been adding some water to her dry food too so she is digesting more water.

I'm guessing from the gist of the post, that what's you're trying to accomplish is actually getting more water in your cat?

Have you tried a pet water fountain? I got one over the winter and my cats love it and do drink more water. It has a filter and keeps the water fresh and tasty.


Josh drinking


Jack drinking while Josh sits by to supervise.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Since she loves her dry food, have you tried mixing both wet and dry food together? I do this with my picky boy Sunny so he'll eat his dry food and it works. I also add a bit of water to help moisten everything. I hope that you'll find something wet that she'll like. Good luck.

[fragrancehound]

I have a pet water fountain too! Shadow loves it but Magic is afraid of it. Basically she needs more moisture in her diet and preferably a wet food that will not give her the runs. As of now she does really well on the Innova dry. She likes is and it doesn't give her an upset stomach or the runs. I am just having the most difficult time finding a wet food she will eat.

I should clarify that all these wet foods I have tried have been over a span of 1 year. I have not switched her food from week to week. I believe I have given enough time between trying each new food. She just doesn't like wet food much. My little Magic is an odd kitty sometimes but so darn adorable.

[Catty1]

HOW ABOUT - forget the wet food and just go with lactose free milk?

That can be Whiskas for cats, or even the human variety. This will give her more liquid.

I would think the kibble has enough nutrients, including Taurine (which the Whiskas milk also has).

Does she have an ordinary water bowl? Hopefully she uses that.

[jenluckenbach]

If she eats dry reliably AND she eats the canned cat food with the baby food mixed in, I would say it would not be harmful. The idea is that baby food alone would not give her the nutrients needed, but if it is just as a flavor booster, how could it hurt? (my vet always suggests mixing baby food with canned food to start kittens on or give to cats off their feed).

Also, I would try mixing wet and dry. If she eats it then you can actually add sme water to it and she would get EXTRA water.

Also, it sounds like you are trying all the high end foods (which of course, is good) excet I have found that the cats actually PREFER the junk food! Try Meow Mix Market Selects or other such foods. She might snarf them down.

[fragrancehound]

I have plenty of regular water bowls around the house that she uses. I think she is afraid of the humming noise that the pet fountain makes.

Like I said I am not too concerned as of yet about the baby food. She loves her dry food which has all the necessary nutrients a cat needs including taurine. I'm just thinking ahead. Right now she seems to like the baby food mixed in with the Innova wet food but I can't help but to wonder about long term affects. I guess I worry too much.

It dawned on me that I have never tried the Whiskas brand. I keep reading the ingredient label and it bothers me about some of the stuff they put in there....a lot of by-products. It would be my luck though that she would probably love it.

[Medusa]

I'll admit to not having ready every post on this thread so at the risk of repeating, I would say that long term, I wouldn't feed a cat baby food. But my old vet started Puddy on baby food and cooked elbow macaroni cuz her tummy was so sensitive. It was just to get her over the hump until she could eat regular cat food. Baby food is missing a lot of ingredients that furkids need, one of which is taurine but then, I'm sure you know that. As for the fountain, mine is as quiet as can be. Sometimes I have to check to make sure it's on so if your kitty is afraid of the vibrations, there are fountains out there that are quiet. Good luck.