Why do (most at least) cats like canned cat food better than real meat (e.g. canned tuna, chicken)?

Commercially produced wet pet food is made to taste and smell "gamey" from the predominant addition of organ meat, these organ meats are simmered to make a broth that is added along with the meat. This gives the food a fresh kill flavor that is not in a can of tuna or chicken meat produced for human consumption. You might notice that a lot of cat (and dog) food has liver flavor by itself and mixed with other flavors , beef and liver, chicken and liver liver and bacon etc.This boosts the palatable flavor of pet food .

Our four legged friends have a taste for organ meats bread into their instinctive tastes.

In addition to what goes into the cat food to make it palatable to cats (they do taste tests and refine the formula), we humans cook meat to the point where it actually has a comparatively dry texture that cats may not appreciate. We also tend to season the food and this may not be to a cat's liking. It also sometimes depends upon what a cat eats as a kitten in the first few months of life.

Anything they don't eat early on may not be perceived as food later on. That's why some experts recommend exposing kittens to as many different types of food as possible so that they are more accepting of alternatives later in life. This can be especially helpful if a cat ever needs to go on a special diet due to illness or circumstances.

You can, however, encourage your cat to eat, say, cooked chicken by making it moist with some meat juice that your cat likes (tuna juice, salmon juice, bacon drippings, beef juice, etc. ). Keep in mind, though, that many human foods are either lacking in the right nutritional balance (canned salmon has way too much sodium), and may have high concentrations of toxins (mercury in tuna). None of the foods you can put together would be able to sustain a cat properly for an extended period of time without also feeding nutritional supplements.

So, feed sparingly.

Please bear in mind that cats MUST eat primarily cat food, because "human food" doesn't have the right balance of nutrition to keep them healthy. The main issue, as I understand it, is taurine -- without a sufficient taurine intake, cats can lose their vision, so extra taurine is added to commercial cat foods. This is why people who have both cats and dogs have to be careful not to let the cats eat dog food -- if they do, they won't eat enough cat food to get the taurine they need.

The same is true for cats who are fed human food. Also, meats produced for humans often contain spices and additives that are unhealthy or even toxic for cats. I would suggest that you avoid giving your cats anything but cat food (preferably canned), except when they're sick.

When a cat is ill and loses interest in food, it's vital to get him back to eating as quickly as possible -- it only takes a couple of days without eating to cause serious illness in cats. In such a case, you can give the cat some baby food chicken -- the very earliest "type 1" chicken, with nothing in it but chicken and water, and perhaps a little cornstarch. Slightly warmed, this will entice almost any cat to eat, and he'll soon accept cat food again.

If that doesn't work, the last resort is KMR, Kitten Milk Replacer. It's a high-nutrient milk substitute meant for newborn kittens, and you can find it in both liquid and powder form at pet stores. Warm it just a bit and let your cat lap it from your fingertips if he won't drink from the bowl.As he begins to accept the KMR, you can blend in a little baby food chicken or paté-style canned food to make a "milkshake" that should get your kitty back on track.

Excuse the long post -- I wasn't sure why you were asking, so I tried to cover all the bases! :-) .

My cats eat tuna....don't like wet cat food very much.

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