Cats Hate New FF varieties

what happened? my cats hate most of their old favorites. i opened up a new-label can of salmon & shrimp in gravy, cleo's old fave, and the smell about knocked me over. very fishy smell. she refused to eat it and i don't blame her. all my kitties are only eating the stuff with the old labels on it.

does anyone know where that thread is in which rebecca asked for people to update the gluten free list for FF? i'm wondering whether anyone specific is in contact with Purina to get updated info on their food to find out what they changed. if not, i'll do it but last time it took me 2-3 months to get as-fed values from them i could trust and they never made it into janet & binky's food charts. if someone else is getting info acceptable to janet that's updated for purina's recent changes i'd appreciate knowing.

 

I know, it has become hit and miss with Thomas as well!
Dana

 

I agree, Angel's favorite, Tender Beef Feast, now smells like chemicals. I did a close comparison of the ingredients on the label between old and new cans, and I found that the old cans listed "natural and artificial flavors" while the new cans say "artificial and natural flavors" - might explain the gross smell. The same thing is true for the Gourmet Chicken Feast (of course both of these names have been changed), plus that one now has "added color" that wasn't there before. The other change I noticed is that they switched from tricalcium phosphate to dicalcium phosphate.

I don't know about the other flavors, but I assume it's similar. Why can't they just leave these things alone? (I know the answer to that of course - it must be cheaper to make now.) Now whenever I'm at a store that carries it, I try to buy every old can of Tender Beef that they have, but they're pretty much all gone now.

 

When I try a new food or new formula I always taste it myself before giving it to the cats. If I find it offensive I am betting they will too. Sadly, if I OK it they are still independently choosing, and on a meal by meal basis.

 

There is a link in my signature to a cat food ingredient table (which have gluten, soy, etc.). Purina's website is updated with the new labels. They did not add gluten to any flavors which did not have it before.

 

Hi,
Here is a 1-800-933-0991 toll free # to call then, but be prepared for long wait -- it's on FF can. I compared ingredients on both cans - original and new label, and I didn't see much difference. Hours for this toll free # are M-F, 7 am to 7 pm, CT I would call but may need to take kitty to Vet.

I called that # for question about new FF Appetizers. Do you know if these are okay for our sugar cats? It's alll protein.

 

The appetizers are okay, but they are for supplemental feeding only (treats). They do not have the added vitamins and minerals to make them a complete diet.

 

Thanks Karen. They do look very rich and almost good enough for us to eat!

 

Stevie and Spunky too.... Little Stevie (did I really type little to discribe him???) Anyway... he's so secure here finally that he has started to become quite the picky eater.... Spunky is eating well, but his Hyper T is plaiying nasty with him and we're trying to find his 'right dose' again. He simply could not survive for weeks without me.... (well his home anyway... he survived without me when I was in the hospital)...

I wish they'd leave well enough alone too. But perhaps these new receipies are cheaper for them to manufacture.

 

I have noticed that Tida doesn't really like the new ones either. Since she was diagnosed, I have been feeding her the Turkey and Giblets Feast and the Gournmet Chicken Feast. Now she doesn't ever seem to want to finish them. (only when a new can is opened, and then she only eats about half whats in the bowl). I thought it was just that she didn't have much of an appetite lately.

I remember someone talking about the chicken treats that some people sprinkled on top the food. Were they called "Bonito Flakes" or something like that? Can someone tell me where to buy them or where to order them from online? Are these the freeze dried treats?

 

lee, yep, many cats love the dried bonito flakes. cheapest place to get them would probably be an asian market, if you have a cheap one close by. you just sprinkle them on food or in their bowls as a treat

 

How often do you give flakes as a treat? Like, whenever you test? Or is that too much fish for them? I tend to brush Chloe (she loooves it), when I try to test her. Maybe the treats would be a nice change?

Thank ya.

 

i don't know. you may want to post a new thread on community asking about that.
my guess would be to sprinkle the flakes on food they're rejecting or just give a little bit as 1 snack each day.
there've been stories on the board, tho, of a cat knocking the bag down and gobbling up all the flakes in one sitting.

 

I've been writing to Purina about the new Classics, but they will not give me the "as fed" values, so far. They did confirm that no gluten was added to the "no gluten" varieties, but they ignored the rest of my question. I've asked again about 3 times. I get that automated reply that says they'll get back to me in 72 hours or something like that, but nothing comes. I'm ticked off at them. I've still got some of the old ones, but I'm starting to feed some of the classics. Once I put them down, I don't recall which bowls are which flavors, but I'm going to start noticing to see if they are leaving the new ones. I've noticed some bowls have a lot of food left in them, lately.

 

i went thru that last year with purina when i got updated values.
evidently if you want "as fed" values they have to go to each of the product groups there to determine them. so it takes a lot of time to get that coordinated/organized. i think it took me about 2 months to get all the info. if you're only dealing with a marketing person or intake person you might want to ask them to transfer your question to a nutritionist there so you can explain what you want and have him/her follow up with the relevant product groups.
now, of course, they go and change stuff again, but i haven't gotten up the energy to ask yet again.

 

I called Purina yesterday and asked for the "as fed" values on all the new labels and
they said it would take 10-14 days to get that information to me. We'll see.

 

yeah, be sure to look at it carefully because as i recall it took me multiple calls and printouts from them before i finally convinced them to give me the real as-fed values. if you look at janet's food chart headers you'll see the specific info we need for each variety.