# why doesn't cat like real chicken?



## wanarat (Oct 7, 2009)

My cat recently had diarrhea and was pooing over the carpet. I was informed that a good food to give her to settle her stomach was boiled chicken in broth so I boiled up a whole chicken in water, boiled down the water to create a broth. I let it cool and cut up the chicken, poured over some broth and gave it to my cat. She barely gave it a sniff and just wouldn't eat it.

I then went to the petshop and bought a few cans of almonature chicken and pumpkin for 89 pence for a 70g can. This stuff has ingredients which are basically the same as what I gave her: chicken and broth - it has 5 percent pumpkin and 1 percent rice but thats the only difference. The consistency of it is not that different to mine, it looks like real chicken.

My cat loved this stuff and couldn't wolf it down fast enough last night. Which is great, but I don't understand what it has that mine didn't. It would be much cheaper for me to make my own than buy small cans of this. Is there a technique to making my chicken in broth as appealing as the store bought variety.

I do realise that this food is complimentary only and I will go back to regular food soon. Actually my cat already seems to be recovered.


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## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

My cat won't eat proper chicken either. I cut up some roast chicken once for her, thought I was giving her a treat as all my other cats loved it, but she wouldn't touch it.

Glad your puss has recovered. How is she with fish? Boiled fish is just as good if they have a runny problem.


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## wanarat (Oct 7, 2009)

I have given her real fish in the past too and she won't eat it. It is frustrating. She only seems to want actual designated cat food from a can or box. It seems like the cat food makers are doing something to the food to make it more appealing. If I knew what that was perhaps I could replicate it. I had thought that it was that she liked the consistency, but really the consistency of the almonature chicken was pretty close to what I served up so I don't really understand. Perhaps it is in the smell. The almonature did seem a bit more pungent perhaps.


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## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

wanarat said:


> I have given her real fish in the past too and she won't eat it. It is frustrating. She only seems to want actual designated cat food from a can or box. It seems like the cat food makers are doing something to the food to make it more appealing. If I knew what that was perhaps I could replicate it. I had thought that it was that she liked the consistency, but really the consistency of the almonature chicken was pretty close to what I served up so I don't really understand. Perhaps it is in the smell. The almonature did seem a bit more pungent perhaps.


Many years ago there was a rumour that Whiskas put something addictive into their cat food so that the cat would not eat anything else. I don't know how much truth there is in that, but my old ginger tom would only ever eat Choosy salmon flavour and then they went and changed it to chunks and I had a terrible problem trying to find something he would eat.

Cats are the most incredibly fussy creatures.


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

I don't know almonature but I'll bet the difference is in the broth which can mean just about anything.


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## wanarat (Oct 7, 2009)

They certainly are aren't they. They can't be trusted to know what is good for them. People who get their cat from a kitten have a real advantage in that they can get them to eat good things from the very beginning. Unfortunately I got my cat at age four and she is quite set in her ways already regarding what she eats.


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## wanarat (Oct 7, 2009)

Satori said:


> I don't know almonature but I'll bet the difference is in the broth which can mean just about anything.


Yes, I suspect you are right. As I opened the can I actually spilled a little of the broth on the kitchen floor and my cat immediately started licking it up. I just used the concentrated water from the boiling process. I wonder what it is? It just says 'broth'. Like you say, that could mean anything.


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## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

wanarat said:


> They certainly are aren't they. They can't be trusted to know what is good for them. People who get their cat from a kitten have a real advantage in that they can get them to eat good things from the very beginning. Unfortunately I got my cat at age four and she is quite set in her ways already regarding what she eats.


Don't you believe it! I had my ginger tom from a kitten but he was incredibly fussy from the word go, though he wouldn't turn down fresh chicken or fish. In fact, when the changed the Choosy he ended up having tins of tuna or salmon because there weren't nothing else he would eat.

This cat was two when I got her and I was told she wouldn't eat wet food. Err, yes she will. It just has to be fish flavoured, that's all!


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2013)

Skip the boiling part completely and just give her the raw chicken. There's no nutrition for her in cooked chicken, and I don't know if the "boiled chicken/rice/broth" suggestions are actually based on anything other than these foods are plain to the human palate and wouldn't disrupt OUR digestive systems.


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