So, What Does My Furkid Eat?

With the CMCO (Conditional Movement Control Order) still in place until 9 June, dine-in services at restaurants are now allowed (with SOPs strictly adhered to), so some are welcoming back dine-in guests while others are sticking to deliveries, pick-ups and takeaways for now.

I will probably wait a while for my health fears to dissipate and my confidence to return before dining out.  So, with no new food or eateries to write about, how about I write about what my furkid eats instead for a change.  P/S: This is quite a lengthy post (for cat lovers only, I suppose) but I assure you that this will be my one and only post dedicated to the food my cat eats! ;)


Cookie started eating wet cat food when he was a kitten but one day (when he was about a year plus), he just rejected it and wanted only dry food.  Late last year, he had an episode with his teeth and had problems chewing on dry food.  That was when I transitioned into giving him wet food and I tried many brands...Whiskas, SmartHeart, Sheba, Felix, Fancy Feast and a few other brands that I can't remember the names (all he rejected)...before finally settling on Friskies.


Not any Friskies....but Tuna Delight meant for kittens (he thinks he's still young at heart)!  I tried him on Tuna Delight for adult cats and a few other different flavours...all he rejected (they smelled all the same to me)!  Ya, ya, when you google, the advice is that you shouldn't give adult cats kitten food and vice versa but at around RM1.50 a food pouch (I buy in bulk from Shopee at RM1.35/pkt), I don't really think (or believe) there's a real difference in its content in terms of nutritional value.


There are probably two schools of thought on what's the best food for a cat...dry or wet?  Some prefer dry as it's easier to manage (it can be laid out all day long for the cat to graze) while others prefer wet saying that cats don't get enough water if they eat dry food which will affect their kidneys in the long run.  While those on a diet of wet food says they shed a lot more fur, so there'd be more hairball incidents.  I suppose a combo would be the best option then.  But, ultimately, it's the cat who decides what he or she wants to eat.


Even after he transitioned into wet food, I still leave small amounts of dry food out for Cookie to graze all day (he used to eat Whiskas but not anymore).  I buy my cat's food from either a dedicated online pet store or Shopee and one of the suppliers gave me a sample pack of dry food.  They obviously have their ulterior motives in sending us these free gifts.  They do it all the time in the hope of hooking our cats to liking those food.  So, I got a free sample of Naturelle Grain Free Dry Food by Cindy Recipe (salmon) to try.


And since Cookie liked it, this is what I've been getting him...Cindy's Recipe Dry Food (chicken flavour) since he said no to Whiskas.  It says super premium cat food on the packaging (but I don't think it's that premium lah)...but it's grain free....and it's made in France.  It can retail for anything between RM28 - RM37 for a 1.5kg pack (more than double the price of Whiskas at RM13 for 1.1kg).


Then, one day, he turned his nose on Friskies' Kitten Tuna Delight too.  I was at my wits' end.  I turned to a pet shop in my neighbourhood for advice.  They introduced the brand Monge to me (and even the choice flavour) which they say many cats love.


I have to admit it smelled really great, like tuna meant for human consumption.  True enough, Cookie loved it!  But it costs RM4 for an 80g can (even more expensive than our human tuna) which means a monthly bill of at least RM240 (assuming he eats a very modest two cans a day) for just one kind of food! :O


That's when I came up with the idea of mixing Monge with Friskies starting with more Monge (the pic above is 1/2 Friskies + 1/2 Monge) and slowly reducing the amount to a 1/4 can of Monge (more if he's being 'difficult') to one packet of Friskies.  So, one can of Monge can hopefully be stretched to 3 - 4 feedings.


Even within the Monge brand, my furkid can still be very fussy coz and when I bought other flavours, he wasn't so keen...he only wanted the orange can which is yellowfin tuna & salmon (my cat has atas tastes)....not Atlantic tuna, not chicken, not anything (no more trying to give him variety).  The pet shop worker told me that my cat probably only likes white tuna as red tuna tastes more fishy according to her (maybe she tried...haha, well, I wouldn't know since I've never tried)! ;D


So, now I stick to ordering only Monge Yellowfin Tuna with Salmon by the cartons (one carton = 24 cans) at a price range of RM3.50 - RM4 a can from Shopee vendors or my regular online pet store.


There was once an offer from my regular online pet store offering a special price if I ordered mixed cans (RM44 for 12 cans = RM3.67 a can).  So I put an order in for just one can of Yellowfin Tuna with Chicken and his usual flavour for the rest of the cans (and they approved it as mixed).  But when I fed him this one can, my cat ate it grudgingly slow and didn't finish his serving (which isn't like him not to finish his food).  Omg, still got yellowfin tuna mah but with chicken...that also he can taste the difference?  Smelled exactly the same to me.  Terror-nya...my cat is one of those who'd rather starve than eat something he doesn't like.  So I had to mix in a few spoonfuls of his usual flavour and only then he walloped everything...jilat until clean! ;D


If you thought our food supply shortage was difficult to deal with during the initial days of the MCO, I didn't think that my cat's food supply shortage would be worse.  I can change the brands of the food I eat (or just eat something different) but I can't change the brands of food my fussy pot eats as he's so picky.  I couldn't find any Friskies on the shelves of supermarkets nor any suppliers with stock on Shopee.  Fortunately, I had ordered some in mid-March just before the MCO started.  But after doing a stocktake of my Friskies, I knew my stockpile would run dangerously low if I don't restock, so I had no choice but to try another brand and my regular pet shop (luckily by then they were allowed to open two days a week) recommended Cindy's Recipe.  They come in two types, one is called Delicious (RM1.50 - RM2 for an 80g can) while the other is Original (RM2.50 - RM3).  Obviously I had to get the more expensive (and better quality) of the two seeing my cat is so hard to please.


Thank goodness Cookie took to Cindy's though he wasn't as ecstatic as when he's having Monge.  I made sure I stuck to tuna white meat or a combination of that with another flavour (as you just have to buy whatever stocks were available during the MCO).  So, Cookie's food consisted of a combo of Cindy's, Friskies & Monge, all mixed up into one serving, to stretch my stock of cheap Friskies until I'm able to replenish supplies.  Phew...I finally managed to find a supplier on Shopee with stock of Friskies and immediately ordered 6 boxes x 12 packets each and waited a week for the stock to arrive (that was in late April).  Note to self: If there's any future lockdowns, stock up on cat food first above all else.


Hopefully, I can make him eat less Monge in the long run by supplementing it with Cindy's Original.  But, if you open a can of Cindy's and compare that to Monge, it's quite obvious which one smells better (the texture feels a little drier than Monge when I put my spoon through it)...and obviously tastes better to my cat.  I guess you can say that my cat has a very sharp tongue (like mother, like son cat?) >_<


In my quest to find cheaper alternative wet food, I also re-tried giving him Whiskas, a brand that's easily available from supermarkets (like Friskies).  Cindy's and Monge are only available from online (or physical) pet stores.  Cookie finally took to one particular flavour of Whiskas, Chicken in Tuna Gravy.  He gobbled that up initially but later only licked up the gravy and left the solids behind.  By then, I had already bought 4 packets of Buy 5 Free 1 promo (which is equal to 24 packets)...haiz!


So, how?  I've to try to finish up my stock of Whiskas, slowly but surely, by adding one tablespoon of it to his mix of Friskies + Monge serving (any unfinished food I put in the fridge).  I mash up the solids cukup-cukup so that he won't know the difference...our cats think they're smart but we're smarter! ;D


I may not know how to encourage good behaviour but I know how to reward good behaviour, so treats are my secret weapon when he's trying to be 'difficult'.  So, besides being fed a diet of dry (Cindy's) and wet (Friskies + Monge or Cindy's) food as his main meals, he's also wants treats (aka snacks) just like us...and he has two currently (used to have three but will probably be three in the very near future).


The first is this Japanese brand of Ciao Inaba Soft Bits Tuna & Chicken Fillet that retails at RM4 a pack for a mere 25g! O_o  He loves the ones with the ginger-coloured cat 'model' (aka the orange and green packing).


That's what it looks like inside...and you get about 20+ pieces for RM4 which is mighty expensive as he can gobble up the whole packet in no time.  If you were to ask me what it smells like, I'd probably say you can call it the cat version of luncheon meat...hah..hah!  I can see why Cookie absolutely adores it...who doesn't like luncheon meat, right? ^_~


The second treat is this Vitakraft Souprise (a product of Germany) which is a deluxe liquid snack that costs around RM11 for 4 x 20g.  That's more than RM2.50 a stick...really expensive for something that he can lick up in seconds.  The content is like its name, liquid in nature like a soup and a surprise that it tastes so good.  I didn't taste (of course) but the smell can even make me want to eat it (it smells that good).  I think it's meant for kittens...but that doesn't mean adult cats can't have it + you know my cat likes kitten food!


Cookie has a third treat which he used to eat (I bought him many flavours).  It isn't really a treat but more of a dental treat known as Feline Greenies.  It costs about RM15 - RM18 for a 71g pack and it's supposed to help him maintain good dental health.  It obviously didn't and since the episode with his teeth problem, he has stopped eating this as the texture is just too hard for him now.


The final treat is this kibble-like treat called Temptations which retails at around RM7 a pack of 85g.  I got this sample pack when I purchased Cookie's food.  Online pet stores are very clever to give sample packs away to 'hook' your cat into liking the snack and, at the same time, 'hook' the mommy into buying them (in fact, the other two snacks arrived in similar fashion).  With a description of soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside and a name like Temptation, how not to get tempted, you tell me?  Cookie polished it off in a jiffy...and now I think I may have to add on this third treat. >_<


And in between all that, Cookie is also fed some human food.  His absolute favourite is poached chicken breast (made by mommy).  I once tried to feed him the balance chicken meat from my boiled soup, he said, "You think I'm stupid meh...that one you boil until no more flavour."  He also likes the chicken (roasted or poached) I get from the chicken rice stalls.


But he won't eat KFC...that one he dislikes the dry meat and the fried batter.  If you think he doesn't eat fried chicken at all...think again!  He would eat good fried chicken (like the one above I buy from a stall in my neighbourhood) coz this one the meat is really juicy, not dry like KFC (mommy also likes, so we share-share lah)....lol! :D


So, are you surprised to find out what my pampered cat eats?


Now I can understand why it's expensive to keep a pet as a cat's food bill can easily cost RM200 a month (besides grooming and vet visits).  Luckily, I have only one cat...and can only afford to upkeep one!  Whenever I see a stray kitten, I want to pick up the the kitty and take him/her home but the thought of a hefty food bill will quickly make me abandon the idea.


Perhaps, I give my cat too many options but what to do...he's very fussy about his food among other things.  Why, even his butt needs to rest on a brand of cat litter called Fussie Cat! ;D  Well, if my cat turns his nose up again at his regular food, I suppose there's one more brand I could try in future...and that brand describes him best and is none other than Fussie Cat (premium grain-free cat food, priced slightly lower than Monge).  Is your cat also a fusspot like my Cookie? ;)


Cookie (trying to look all innocent): Who, me?