Cat Food Ingredients

Anyone know what the unique spice or herb is that is put into Cat Food to differieniate it from Dog Food. Examining the list of ingredients on the outside of cans of Cat Food never mentions any specific herb or spice (like cat nip) which increases the feline appeal.

Our Cat(s) refuse to eat anything that has been cooked. They'll drink the blood from packages of meat that we've bought for ourselves; and sometimes, the trimmings of raw meat; but once it's cooked . . . . no way. They'll eat game that they have taken down themselves; but not any carrion that they find.

Dogs will certainly eat Cat Food; but Cats look askance at Dog Food.

So what is the secret ingredient that the manufacturers add to make Cat Food appealing to Cats ?

It must be a Trade Sceret.

 

I have no idea but for whatever reason cat food is priced higher than dog food. I have on rare occasion fed our cats dry dog food and they have ate it ..... maybe under protest

 

All cats are different. Our cats don’t agree on the same food even when it’s cat food. I don’t think that there is an attraction specific to dogs or cats. It’s pet food basically. Possible that nutrient levels are different due to the varying sizes of dogs and cats.

 

Herbs and spices? I didn't really know that cat or dog food was flavored beyond what the ingredients impart at least in higher end foods. I'm sure there is some flavorings put into cheaper cat foods to make the grains and other fillers taste more like meat.

When our cat showed up my wife cooked up some chicken then some salmon to feed the skinny stray. She turned her nose up to it. Then I put out some koi fish food pellets and she wolfed them down. But now that she's been our cat for 5+ years she just turns her nose up to the koi food and wants nothing but her premium foot or a mouse, vole or bird.

 

Our Cat(s) are Barn Cats . . . . they earn their keep by keeping the rodent population under control. When they hunt, they eat whole Rats and Mice along with any unfortunate Jack Rabbits and SnowShoe Hare. They eat Squirrels and Chipmunks . . . . why even the hind legs off Frogs and Toads.

And to keep them healthy, we vaccinate for Rabies, Feline Leukemia and Distemper . . . . and we worm them every 6 weeks or so because with that varied diet, worms (Hook, Whip and Tape) are always present.

They have to be healthy, because the temperatures in our Barn often drop to below -40°F, and we can't afford for them to take sick mid-winter and temporarily come in the house . . . . because that sequence of events doesn't work in reverse. It would be near impossible (and cruel) to send someone back out into the cold after they've experienced warmth.

So my issue today is here in September, some elderly Cats aren't hunting as often as they used to, and they're losing weight. We'd like to put some meat (flesh) on them before winter, and were hoping to flavor up a lot of meat products and bi-products so as to entice them to eat what we prepare.

That has seldom worked so I was hoping someone here knew what the manufacturers know about flavoring their products (which are all bi-products that we don't want to talk about) so as to encourage domesticated cats to eat them with vigor . . . . to the delight of their human Owners !

Maybe I'll just start experimenting with a small increment of Cat Nip.

 

Cats can have thyroid and diabetes issues as a cause of losing weight. Some of the shelters may be able to direct you to low cost testing.

 

LOL, this thread takes me WAY back as my mom had many cats. Her favorite was similar to what you describe. She would go out and catch dinner before she would eat THAT other cat food. Boy, was she stubborn. Then mom discovered she (the cat) loved raw liver. Back in those days the door to door meat man would give us beef liver for free as no one wanted to buy it. So once a week we would get a whole beef liver and cut it up and freeze most of it.

We kept trying different foods, but never found one this old mouse lover would eat. Maybe that is why I love my dogs so much, they eat anything, including slow fingers.

Bud

 

I would agree with Bugman, the older cats need to be health checked by the vet for geriatric issues, as it sounds like you may be having those starting to show up in the elder cats.

Otherwise, the main difference in cat and dog food is the composition of the ingredients. Such as dogs don't need as much Taurine as cats and dogs actually don't need as much protein as cats either.

And for the record, not all cat or dog foods are "all by products", some of the quality brands actually use human grade meats as their main ingredients.

Good luck and do keep us posted.

 

Just for the record, the particular cat that we're concerned about this Fall has seen the Vet frequently over his life, most recently early this Summer when we detected a weight loss, and were thinking that he may be experiencing dental issues which could make eating uncomfortable. But he checks out as normal for a 15 year old neutered male, no rotting teeth, normal pulse and blood pressure, no evidence of cancer, no specific arthritic conditions . . . . just getting old (for a Cat) and starting to go deaf and slowly losing his sight.

It is true that more comprehensive blood testing could reveal some underlying disease; but the cures for those possibilities really don;t make any economic sense when dealing with a 15 year old critter . . . . who appears to be getting on in life and "feeling no pain". There is no cure for Old Age, Over the past 30 years, most of our Cats have had their lives shortened by road hazards, or by being taken off by Fisher Cats who are frequent visitors on our Farm . . . . where the "hunter" can suddenly become the "hunted".

We had hoped to do what we could to increase his interest in eating so that he goes into this coming Winter with more of a body mass for heat retention. He did at least provide evidence of his taking down some other small creature earlier this week in the form of that green organ (gallbladder?) left by our rear door. So at least he's still faster than some of his prey.

Not to be cruel, it's just that we have to consider euthanizing before Winter if we don't find him stronger, heavier, and more active before the cold weather arrives; and our Vet agrees. That's the life of a Barn Cat. It's too late to convert him into a house Cat; he's accustomed to having his freedom . . . . and we need to have just one population of Cats, and that's outside on patrol. That's their station in life.

This is still late Summer in Vermont. I'll report back if things change . . . . or I discover the "secret" attraction cat food ingredient.

 

Pop a half pound of beef liver in the Cuisinart and watch him eat. Nicely ground up will get past any teeth problems and being a meat eater it should be something he likes.

"There is no cure for Old Age" ouch, that hurts.

Bud

 

I try my best to ignore it - but it's not working!

 

Don't you guys realize we're in the "GOLDEN YEARS"?

 

Ya, all the 'gold' we've accumulated over the years has to be paid out to doctors and for someone to do things we can no longer do

 

Yes, that part really bugs me sometimes like re-roofing my garage. Oh well.

 

Vermont,

You do have a bit of time yet, but if he's losing sight and hearing, it may be time to do the humane thing before hard winter sets in...he's lived a long life and if you are either unable or unwilling to spend the funds to see him through the winter safely...hard choice to make but at that point it's either euthanasia or let Mother Nature take her course(which can be very cruel).

Were it my choice, I would bring him in for his remaining life since he has obviously kept his keep over the years...but that is me...and I understand where you're coming from in both concept and reality.

Do keep us posted.

 

This is probably one of the hardest choices most people have to make. My last time was when our 18 y/o indoor only cat jumped on the bed just seeking affection and then released his bowls and bladder as he was being petted. He'd been staring at walls and just yowling for a while, but this was when we knew it was time.

If he is still active and hunting I'd let him be. I'm assuming he has shelter? Do you feed them?

 

For a Cat who's had total freedom all of his life, being confined to our little house would be a miserable drawn out death in itself. He would be climbing the walls !

He can't even stand being confined for an hour following our de-worming sessions (when we monitor to make sure no de-wormer is being expelled) so I don't believe that would be a workable solution.

Meanwhile, I'm going to explore what we can do with introducing a few herbs known to be of interest to "some" cats, such as:

• Lemongrass;
• Valerian Root;
• Silvervine (matatabi);
• Cat Thyme; and
• Honeysuckle (Tatarica).

We can sprinkle some of each (one at a time) on some of the bought food that he'll consider touching. We make unlimited dry food available each morning, and then moist canned food late afternoon. If he's found game, he won't touch any of these.

Of course, only one at a time, Seems odd to be trying to use vegetarian herbs to dress up raw meat for a virtual carnivore !

By the way, he doesn't like any thing that's been frozen either (as little human processing as possible) . . . . he likes stuff that's still close to body temperature, especially if it still has a pulse. We trained him that way. He's a Barn Cat.

 

Of course it is definitely your cat and you know him...

I understand he's a Barn Cat, we had lots of them on our farm/ranch. But you did say he was going deaf and blind, that was the reason I would bring him in, but again, that is a personal choice.