I'll give you commiseration!

I know you are stuck because cats do need to eat, especially older ones. But that is an awful expense to feed a cat. Can you at least transition her to the small canned FF? Maybe mix the two for a week or so? Maybe she's too smart for that! Have you checked the bargain places like Walmart, Target, Smart & Final, chewy.com?

Can you remember what she was eating before she started with the Purely FF?

We finally got our cat off the regular canned FF. She REQUIRES chunks and gravy or sauce, and Nutro-Maxcat has chunky gravy foods she will eat. It's still expensive if she eats 2 cans a day. It can be cheaper if she gets 1 can a day and kibble out for snacking.

Cats!!

Thanks for the commiseration = )

She has simply gone off the pate style foods. I tried 1 of the tiny cans on her & she ate some & then abandoned the rest for good - & forget about it if it's been refrigerated. Petsmart had the best price I've found after checking all those places. & I got some coupons too, but they were only good for .75 off 4 & only 2 coupons allowed = (

Also thanks for that, sephia - I don't feel quite as bad now, but... after doing the math, you're paying approx. $6.66 per cat per week - less than half that Purely FF cost...

Here's the princess in her winter coat:

Carol, we used to be in that boat. One lived to be 22, the other 19 so you can only imagine!

We have now have a dog that I have to admit, I've spoiled rotten. One day I had her at the Vets and mentioned she'd refused that morning's kibble and lately she'd gotten quite picky about what she wanted. The Vet told me, as long as she's healthy and refusing food because she's spoiled, put out what you buy and let it go, trust me, she will eat it when she's hungry. Knowing deep down he was right, I did just that and guess what?. She missed one meal but by the next meal she caved and ate the food as if nothing had happened. We now have two newer cats and we do the same thing for them without any issues. I wish I would have known this Vet back when because I have no doubt the savings would have been in the 1000's.

I know you love your kitty, but put out what you can afford or want them to eat, it's hard to sit back and wait but they do come around. To quote our very wise Vet, "Mother Nature won't let them starve themselves".

I can commiserate too. When they get to this venerable age, we do everything possible just to get them to eat. My sister-in-law had two elderly cats that when they got to that stage, she tried every variety of food available and found the same thing. The cats would eat a few bites, so she would buy more of the same only to have them not touch it again!! She even bought shrimp from the grocery store and cut it up for them. It was great the first time they ate it but then untouchable the next. She just continued this crazy way of feeding until the cats crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.

I do find with my picky dog that she will go all day without eating anything and then sometimes right before we go to bed, she will eat something. I have stopped worrying about her. I know that is a tough thing to do with an elderly cat.

By the way, she is just gorgeous!!! What a beauty! She does deserve the best!! :)

Oh my, isn't she beautiful! Of course, she knows she must have Fancy Feast! Have you ever seen any of the Henri le chat noir videos? If you love cats, they are wonderful, especially the older ones!

Henri

This one and the Noel one are my favorites.
Henri paw de deux

Costco has lower price FF

Funny video! Thanks for the chuckles = )

Couldn't find the catfood on the Costco site. I'm not a member & the closest one is in another town.

To clarify, kitty was not eating for days & I did leave the food out, thinking if she got hungry enough she'd surrender. I got tired of dumping out full dish after full dish - this went on for several weeks before I resorted to trying some different foods.

She only weighs about 6 pounds & is very skinny under all the fur. She was starving when we took her in & I often wonder if her stomach isn't messed up somehow. Up until recently, she was only eating 1 type of food (Petguard ) & wouldn't touch anything else.After going off that food, she seemed happy w/ Trader Joe's for some months, then began rejecting that as well and coming in the kitchen & begging, begging, begging, begging for scraps of chicken, etc. when I was cooking.

She is also fully declawed, both front & back, so I feel sorry for her & try to be extra nice & gentle w/her. We've had her for over 8 years now & except for all the fur everywhere, is the sweetest kitty I've ever had. I didn't even want another cat when she showed up in our yard. & I was going to give to a shelter, but she grew on me = J

Here's what she looked like when I brought her in - after several baths to get of all the fleas:

Jaw dropping here at the cost! Being on a small pension.... My gang get offered food and it gets eaten by one or the others. But then they are in grand health. I know they could get very picky but they do not get a chance. They all love raw chicken thankfully

Aww, if she has lived for 8 years eating without complaint, I would say she is entering her elderly stage of just being really picky and there is not much you can do about that except keep trying different foods. Even if you find one she likes, I wouldn't buy a case of it as she will probably change her mind before too long. Good luck. She is a very beautiful kitty!!

I think you might have some valid concerns. Our elderly cat's ate fine until they started having GI problems. Not saying that's the case here but it can't hurt to have her checked out to be sure.

She's beautiful.. Looks just like our 22 year old did only he had tads of light orange on his face and tail (firepoint siamese).. She's very lucky you found her, I hope it is just a picky thing and nothing more.

Just a thought, when ours started having problems, we spent 1,000's between the two trying to get them correctly diagnosed.. In the end it was a cat specialist who had the expertise and right equipment to do the proper testing (sonograms). If you have a Vet that specializes in feline medicine, you may be able to save yourself a bundle.. Some are referral only, the one we saw was, but you can get that from your regular vet.

She is just gorgeous!! Have you had a blood test done to check for kidney issues or anything else awry? Our old guy started getting picky when his kidneys were declining.

As for food cost savings, Mr. Chewy (which we have ordered from for years and years now) offers 20% off coupons for first time orders, plus free shipping for $49 and over. So you could really stock up and save a bundle.

Petra, in case the OP wants to look it up, I'll add that I think you are referring to chewy.com......right? Or maybe there IS a "Mr. Chewy!"

It's Chewy.com, I just got my newest box(es) today.. Saw fancy feast at Sams Club 36 cans for 19.98 / box, so about .55 cents per can. Chewy.com has 30 cans for 15.19 / box, .51 cents per can but shipping is 4.00 or you have to spend 49.00 for free shipping.

Maybe you can mix it with some semi-soft kibble?

Socks, yes, it's chewy.com. Thanks!

Give her whatever she wants. When she is gone, you will feel guilty for not mincing her filet Mignon personally. This won't last forever. Love her today,

Bless you for taking such care of your old sweetie.

When somebody gets that old & picky, I think it's time to go into old-fashioned momma mode & make friends with the kitchen range!

You can buy chicken quarters for $5.90 for 10 pounds, cook them on the stovetop, let them cool, de-bone, divide into meal-size portions, & freeze the portions individually.

I often add some rice near the end of the cooking time, & sometimes add green beans before freezing, & I include some broth in each package.

You can save the extra broth to add to canned food.

This also works with other meats, & if you have a hunter in your family or neighborhood, let me just tell you...cats like venison better than they like catnip!

Plus, I think venison is better for them & kinder to the animal that's killed;

venison has almost no fat & no added hormones, & it comes from an animal that lived wild until its final moment-

a far kinder life than that endured by factory-farmed chickens & cattle.

I hope you get to enjoy your old lady for a long time!

Note that Kitty isn't eating the regular cans of FF. It's the Purely FF she likes, which is more expensive. No cheap stuff for this girl! (See photo in first post.)

Oh Lordy!. Ha!. I didn't see that, sorry! I was wondering why there was such a big gap in the pricing, now I know. Kitty obviously has good taste!

I didn't notice that at first either, lukki, and couldn't imagine why carolb couldn't find better pricing. Had to rewrite my whole post to reflect what the cat was actually liking.

Thanks for all the comments & suggestions, everybody! I have thought about buying some inexpensive chicken or turkey & cooking it just for her. I already give her scraps from our chicken, duck or turkey dinners - poultry seems to be her preferred meat - even when it's what I think is too highly seasoned for a cat. She begs for it!

I'm also thinking of trying some dry food as a supplement - just to help fill her tiny belly, but I need to find some smaller packaging &/or samples to avoid waste.

Oh & I did look @ Chewy.com's prices early on & they're about on par w/ everywhere else. I'm a bigtime comparison shopper. Petsmart seems to have the best deal right now.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention re. her being skinny, check the calorie count of the food she is eating. One of our kitties was losing weight and his blood work came back perfect, plus the physical exam was normal. The vet suggested increasing his calorie intake by 25%.

Since he is picky off and on as well and does not often clean his plate, I checked the calorie content of his preferred food. Turns out it only has 60 calories per tub! He weighs almost 10 pounds, so just to maintain, he needs about 200 calories per day. He was eating about 2 tubs per day, so he was only taking in 120 calories. No wonder he was losing weight.

I found and ordered higher calorie food and just use the tubs as a topper, plus started feeding him 4 times a day, separately from the other cats. He has already gained back 4 ounces. I also put dry food down so they can graze between feedings, but he does not care for it too much.

As I understand it, if you cook for kitty and that's all she eats, there maybe some critical components missing from her diet. Not sure but I think taurine might be one.