Pet Food & Insanity

[rickymouse]

We can't get any decent cat food where I live.   All of our cats over the generations have been feral.   We had all of them neutered/spayed.  There have been 13 of them over the past 30 years.   Now we are down to one, who is an amazing 14 years old.   His name is Tiger, or Tie-tie.  

The best of what we can get is Fancy Feast little cans.   They don't have an expiration date on them, but cans older than two months, Tiger looks at me like I'm trying to poison him and runs away.   I was stubborn for a while.   Tiger wouldn't eat any of it, even though they were freshly opened cans of a pate which he'd eaten before.   

So, I set to trapping feral chickens, and Tiger will eat them.   So do we.  Other than hens that are preparing to set a nest, none of them have a lick of fat on them.  

I am convinced that at least this particular brand degrades quickly.   Also Tiger has never eaten the fake meat that is in the "grilled" cans.   He will lick the gravy but not eat the frankenmeat.   

So, now we're in a place where we will do whatever it takes to carry Tiger through his last years.   He used to eat a little dry food, but won't touch that anymore either.   When there aren't enough feral chickens, I feed him whatever local fish I can find.   Tiger won't eat tulapia or Swai.   Neither will my neighbor's cat.   They don't consider it food.

I've read a few times on here about Feral chickens.  I looked it up and found that they are chickens that have gone wild.  Around here they don't exist, if the fox and coyotes don't get them in the summer, they will freeze in the winter if there is not a room without even a lightbulb heating the coop.  I suppose they can exist down south where there is not two feet of snow and below zero weather in the winter.  Partridge seem to survive here, same with wild turkeys, and prairy chickens...which are actually grouse can survive if they were not extinct here in our area now...but Chickens will freeze in the winter here.

It just seems strange to me to hear about feral chickens because we do not have them around here.  Chickens have to go in the coop for the night in the winter and to protect them from preditors.  Eagles and Hawks are a problem during the day too, but the do not fly at night usually.

[argentus]

I've read a few times on here about Feral chickens.  I looked it up and found that they are chickens that have gone wild. 

It just seems strange to me to hear about feral chickens because we do not have them around here.  Chickens have to go in the coop for the night in the winter and to protect them from preditors.  Eagles and Hawks are a problem during the day too, but the do not fly at night usually.

We're in the Caribbean.   No predators for the feral chickens other than people.   I wouldn't want to eat chickens from any other place than our turf.   We know what they eat: weed tops, bugs and whatever cat food they can steal.   Good wholesome fare.   They are legion where I live.  I dislike the noisy bastards, because I grew up having to tend chickens in the coop, and the adjacent grounds.   I believe them to be mean-spirited animals, although I do know people who consider them to be pets, and for them, they are loving creatures.   I guess any creature has the ability to love and be loved.

[rickymouse]

We're in the Caribbean.   No predators for the feral chickens other than people.   I wouldn't want to eat chickens from any other place than our turf.   We know what they eat: weed tops, bugs and whatever cat food they can steal.   Good wholesome fare.   They are legion where I live.  I dislike the noisy bastards, because I grew up having to tend chickens in the coop, and the adjacent grounds.   I believe them to be mean-spirited animals, although I do know people who consider them to be pets, and for them, they are loving creatures.   I guess any creature has the ability to love and be loved.

They are only mean spirited because people steal their eggs and they know we like to eat them.  They can sense our thoughts, but that would be discussed in another thread on here.  People who have them as pets don't look at them like BBQ chicken.  They can understand what we are saying and thinking, just because we cannot comprehend it does not mean it is not true.  

[Kurokage]

  I believe them to be mean-spirited animals, although I do know people who consider them to be pets, and for them, they are loving creatures.   I guess any creature has the ability to love and be loved.

I think that sentence covers pretty much all life forms on this planet.  



I've also noticed pet food prices steadily rising, I don't have cats but dogs, and a noisy old fussy parrot.

[jaded]

Had no idea cat food was going to engage folks in this way and it's been educational and relieving to know I'm not the only one seeing issues with quality! 

What jumped this off along with the "waste issue" was ground beef. One night I'd slapped a bit onto a dish and just said "try this then!". Absolute frustration,  I thought they'd garbage it down. Instead they looked at me like I was trying to poison them.

Personally I'd found ground beef tasted like garbage but had attributed to 2020's extravaganza having killed my taste buds. Eventually found out the food supply had switched from American beef to Mexican imports almost exclusively. The cat's wouldn't touch it so put it out for the Possum's & Raccoons. It sat on the plate outside for 3 days completely untouched. Not a Y'ote, not a bird, not one critter went for it. (it was fresh from tthe store on day one not funky)

Long story short went right to ground buffalo which is available here. Cat's were "meh" but ate some, just didn't clean their plate. 

While the feral's backround is a mystery he loses his mind for garlic baloney or anything really with garlic. I KNOW!!!! Bad for him. Being on a very limited budget just doing what I can to give him a decent quality of life indoors. It took 6 yrs to litter train him and was a complete PITA.
(Furnature tossed, area rugs tossed ect...)

However he loves the expensive "slide" litter so YAY!!! He's even gone to 1/2 the time fighting his "flight" response  if I attempt to pet him. It's shocking to watch him check himself. 

The sad part is once you begin to brush him he actually enjoys it until he remembers to look at me and had to fight his "flight"response again. This is why any "baby-steps" he makes are such cause for celebration. Held some Elk out for him to sniff & for he first time in 7 years he stood on his hind feet to inspect it. All nose, no fear. Tragically EPIC!!!

Will be using some of the suggestions Y'all have graciously posted. 

The other cat has his own drama. 
He decided his "job" is washing everything in the giant ceramic water bowl. The same little "floof-pylon" who's beyond stingy with his biscuits has no problem standing there like someone in a third world country doing washing at a river happily making biscuits in cold water as he washes stolen wool socks, feral kitty's favorite toys, swiped bits of paper with GUSTO!
(facepalm)

I just watch all this. Am apparently just around to pay the bills.

[ArMaP]

Our cats eat mostly dry food, recommended by the lady that runs an association that takes care of street cats and that took care of them for a couple of weeks (mostly to contact the city veterinary so they could chip the cats and take care of sterilising them, as they were street cats everything was paid by the city council).

Here is the composition:

Ingredients: Turkey (15%) corn protein whole corn dehydrated poultry proteins dehydrated pork proteins whole wheat (8%) whole barley (8%) dehydrated peas (4%) wheat protein hydrolyzed animal proteins (poultry, pork, fish) pea fiber minerals lard wheat bran beet pulp (1.2%) fish oil chicory inulin (0.6%) pork plasma proteins (natural source of immunoglobulins) (0.4%).

Analytical components: Vitamin A 27000 IU vitamin D3 1200 IU vitamin E 500 mg vitamin C 70 mg taurine 1200 mg iron(II) sulfate monohydrate 260 mg (Fe: 86 mg) potassium iodide 1.9 mg (I: 1.4 mg) copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate 33 mg (Cu: 8.8 mg) manganese sulfate monohydrate 123 mg (Mn: 40 mg) zinc sulfate monohydrate 406 mg (Zn: 148 mg) sodium selenite 0.2 mg (Se: 0.1 mg). Zootechnical additives: Ammonium chloride 5 g. With antioxidants.

Nutritional additives: Crude protein 37% crude fat 11% crude fiber 4.1% crude ash 7% omega 3 0.45% omega 6 2.2% Metabolizable energy 3740kcal/kg.

[argentus]

Our cats eat mostly dry food, recommended by the lady that runs an association that takes care of street cats and that took care of them for a couple of weeks (mostly to contact the city veterinary so they could chip the cats and take care of sterilising them, as they were street cats everything was paid by the city council).

Here is the composition:

That appears to be very well-rounded wholesome kittah chow that perhaps even people could survive on, although we make our own taurine.   I think about almost all things in that manner.   I taste all the dry food of our cats.  Just once.   You never know what might benefit you by your stocking up on it.    We freeze all dry cat food for at least 24-hours to kill the onboard weevil eggs.   You see, flour and food weevils don't "find" your food.  Nope.  They hatch from it.   It's a by-product of processing the flour and such.  I have proven this myself to my satisfaction with a controlled experiment, and I encourage you to do the same.  We have been eating weevil eggs all our lives, most of us.  When it freezes, the eggs expand and break, killing them. 

After being frozen for at least a day, all your flour, dried pasta, corn meal, dry mixes, rice, bisquick, whatever that is sealed in a ziplock will never develop food pests.   If you don't freeze it first, eventually inside the ziplock you will find a micro zoo.

[Wild Bill]

Years ago I got my pet food from scraps from a hotel and restaurant,  they would separate all the meat scraps into a platstic bowl for me , and boy did that dog eat well , when I moved home I got friendly with the lady who did the price reductions at night in the supermarket,  I still get loads of bread for the birds this way from my local supermarket,  

My old dog loves vegetables mixed in with his food and bowls of cereal but will not eat cheap dog food especially beef varietys and hates tap water , he would rather drink from a puddle !

[quintessentone]

Sorry I skipped all replies.

My cats have always been fine on certain types of cat food 'out there' but I supplement by babies with grass and people food. One cat I owned liked catching popcorn when I flicked it in the air.

[IceHappy]

we started with a black male kitten that my Ladies sister got us involved with, now named merlin.  what we wanted was an orange kat.....  next two weeks we found a tortoise  shell female kitten now named mango.  After a few months both kats became man and wife.  six beautiful kittens born.....  we kept two a brother and sister....  brother is The Duke orange of course and Cali is a Calico female....  we have been chosen to be adopted by two homeless kats... One 7 years old when he was two the renters across the street moved without him.....  Tiger Stripes is in his second year.  he is now chipped and fixed.....  kat food is getting ridiculous in price.  They mainly get raw chicken breast but they are losing flavor with it.  We are finding canned fish like tuna from Costco is price friendly in comparison to kat food.  They all love it......