Cat Gravy

[Alias218]

I recently adopted two lovely cats, a 15 month old calico, Pumpkin, and one of her kittens, Patch, now 4 months.

Mum will eat anything you put in front of her more or less, however the little’un won’t touch wet food beyond the gravy/jelly and gets bored by eating dry food. I mix some gravy from Pumpkin’s food into Patch’s kibbles which adds interest for him, however it’s a pain and any meat that goes in there gets left behind.

Are there any suppliers of just gravy/jelly out there? I can’t use human gravy as it’s too salty, and probably isn’t fit for cats besides that. I’m having trouble getting Patch to gain weight (200g or so in 5 weeks) so anything that will get him eating more reliably would be very helpful!

[Alias218]

Thanks for the replies.

I’m after just the small sachets of gravy. It’s not to be a large part of his meal, just enough to drizzle over to make it more interesting and less dry - think ketchup but for cats. RammyMP - do you have a name for these sachets?

drmcw - I imagine he would like mackerel, he certainly goes apest over tuna, however I don’t like giving the cats too much fish, particularly tuna, because of mercury. I may give some tinned salmon a go however which seems to be OK.

Cooking a whole chicken and making a broth has crossed my mind but is probably a bit much for what I need. Being able to buy it ready made in sachets makes for more convenience and a longer shelf life.

Edited by Alias218 on Saturday 7th December 17:32

[Alias218]

We used to mix the dry with the wet 50/50, but he always left the meat which was a waste, hence why he’s on a dry food only diet. Ideally I want to mix his dry food with a little gravy, but I can’t find gravy in its own anywhere.

[Alias218]

I thought I saw it advertised there too recently, but upon looking it seems they may have discontinued it. They do a dog gravy, perhaps that’ll be ok? Cats are such fussy buggers.

ETA: thanks for looking, much appreciated.

[Alias218]

Mobile Chicane said:

Feed it decent food and revel in the reduced vet bills.

I am amazed at the number of people who are quite happy to drop fortunes on pet insurance, and then feed it the cheapest, sttiest food.

The chicken broth I've described freezes very well in washed out takeaway containers. It's a question of being organised.

Both cats are fed Whiskas, which last time I checked isn't 'the cheapest, sttiest food'.

Mothersruin said:

We had exactly the same issue - we use this now, half a tin each with a dash of warm water, stir up.

They go mental for it - won't touch anything else.

I reckon this'll solve your probs.

https://www.purina.co.uk/cat/gourmet/product-range...

We get it in Morrisons - £4 a box (12 tins) I think when it's on offer

Thanks for the tip. I will take a look.

[Alias218]

Just to update everyone, we tried the egg (thanks Mort7 for the suggestion) and he didn't care for it one bit. But what he did care for was the Purina Gourmet Gold Pate (thanks Mothersruin). He practically inhaled the stuff, and that was without watering it down.

Hopefully he won't get bored of it too quickly. Thanks everybody for your suggestions, and I'll be back asking the fine people of PH for more ideas if anything changes.

[Alias218]

drmcw said:

Our cat found it acceptable

That’s the best one can hope for from their cat!

I’ve only tried the one tin so far as I didn’t want to buy a job lot to find they hated it. I only mixed half a forkful at a time into the dry food and that was enough for Patch to scoff it all. I can imagine it being expensive if it was all they ate (59p/meal vs. 35p/meal for Whiskas).

[Alias218]

paintman said:

You'll find the Gourmet range in Sainsbury as well.
Their website currently shows the Melting Heart at £3.25 for 8 tins & the Pate at £4.00 for 12 tins.
Ours turn their noses up at a lot of stuff but never those.

The Melting Heart is next level cat narcotics - I can barely get it in their bowls before they’re wolfing it down!

While I give them a little tuna as a treat now and then I refrain from giving too much due to the mercury built up in tuna.

Both cats are happily eating away still, though Patch has taken to scratching the newly hung wallpaper