Why do pet food companies not sell separately little containers of whatever gravy they use in their “meals”? Meaning JUST the gravy. My cat frequently won’t finish a can of food, but I feel like I can’t serve the leftovers because he’s either already licked all the gravy away or it evaporates over a few hours. And then what’s left is yucky and unappetizing to him.
I would love to be able to buy separate gravy so I can make leftover food “new” again. Sigh.
Anyone else?
I hear ya. It’s a viscious circle.
If you’re not averse to cooking, you can make gravy really easily with some canned broth and some Argo corn starch that will work right in. It’s very easy, you just have to be at the stove and stir once you add the cornstarch…instructions are right on the argo container. I think that might work well for you.
Thanks. My boy is older, and while he’s in excellent weight and doing very well now, he does have renal failure and so I’m really vigilant about both KEEPING the weight on and getting as much liquid into him as possible. And opening 37 cans a day AND having to clean leftovers out of his bowls and just discard it gets old. A pain in the arse not to mention money down the drain.
And I recycle the stupid cans so there’s that.
Fancy Feast makes f*cking BREAKFAST for cats now (what’s next, kitty mimosas?), but I still can’t buy separate gravy! Gah!
[QUOTE=BuddyRoo;6713754]
If you’re not averse to cooking, you can make gravy really easily with some canned broth and some Argo corn starch that will work right in. It’s very easy, you just have to be at the stove and stir once you add the cornstarch…instructions are right on the argo container. I think that might work well for you.[/QUOTE]
But God FORBID that I serve “foreign” gravy that doesn’t exactly match what was in the food to begin with. 
Thanks BuddyRoo, I’ll give that a try (and I quite frequently address the cat in question as “BuddyRoo”–he has multiple nicknames). 
Well, keep in mind, you can even add fish sauce to chicken broth and get a reasonably fishy smell. You can find it in the Asian Food part of your grocery.
Might be worth a shot anyway. Good luck!
And BuddyRoo is a lovely nickname. Was my horse’s. Now mine. I like it. 
I buy the cans with the gravy (they don’t like to eat the chunks/slices) and mix it with the “pates” after I add some water to stretch it. My older Siamese laps up the “gravy pate” like it was just the gravy.
oh, you mean matching gravy…
I have actually seen ‘gravy’ in a catalog many years ago.
[QUOTE=Alagirl;6713902]
oh, you mean matching gravy…
I have actually seen ‘gravy’ in a catalog many years ago.[/QUOTE]
Mismatched gravy! Perish the thought! :lol:
Actually, it might not matter, as long as it was some flavored liquid tasting like meat or poultry or fish.
Thanks, all, for the suggestions so far!
But they do!
http://www.clearconsciencepet.com/supergravy/
http://www.petco.com/product/107029/Vita-Gravy-Skin-And-Coat-Dog-Food-Topping.aspx
There are more out there, too. There’s a whole shelf of this stuff at my local pet place.
You could try this bottled “dogfood sauce” from Iams.
Ohh…ohhh (Mr. Kottah!!) There’s a Vita Gravy thing for cats. You could try that, too. Although don’t let your cat see the “Vita” part, or he won’t eat it.
StG
Gah!! Going through that just today.
Stupid cat is barely eating and sits staring at her water bowl but won’t drink.
I tried human tunafish added more water, to make a soup and she won’t touch it.
For my other cat, I’d take FancyFeast grilled cans, let out a tiny bit of food and squeeze the “juice” out of the rest of the can. She’d lick that up.
This cat is having none of it, and I don’t want to go the subcutaneous drip with her. She is still a semi feral cat after all these years.
Oh, and they don’t like human chicken or beef broths, I think the preservatives turn her off.
[QUOTE=Simkie;6713942]
But they do!
http://www.clearconsciencepet.com/supergravy/.[/QUOTE]
That jingle made me LOL.
I’m hungry
Can’t wait
I’m hungry
Lick the plate
I’m hungry
Tastes great
I love fooooood . . .
I might have trouble getting that one out of my head.
Continued thanks to all for the links and suggestions. The supermarket cat food companies “get” that cats like gravy–there are several varieties of “extra gravy” wet cat foods out there. Now if we could get them to take that last step . . .
[QUOTE=BuddyRoo;6713788]
Well, keep in mind, you can even add fish sauce to chicken broth and get a reasonably fishy smell. You can find it in the Asian Food part of your grocery.
Might be worth a shot anyway. Good luck!
And BuddyRoo is a lovely nickname. Was my horse’s. Now mine. I like it. ;)[/QUOTE]
DON’T use Asian Fish sauce - stick with cornstarch-thickened broths. The sodium content of Asian Fish Sauce (even the really good brands) is through the roof for humans, never mind an elderly cat with renal problems. And frankly, Asian Fish Sauce isn’t fishy at all.
These days you can buy chicken stock, beef stock, veal stock, fish stock, yadayadayada at nearly every major grocery store. Come in cartons & have a fridge life once opened of around 2 weeks. What I do is if it’s coming down to the wire & I haven’t used a carton up, I simple freeze it in ice cube trays.
[QUOTE=StGermain;6713958]
You could try this bottled “dogfood sauce” from Iams.
Ohh…ohhh (Mr. Kottah!!) There’s a Vita Gravy thing for cats. You could try that, too. Although don’t let your cat see the “Vita” part, or he won’t eat it.
StG[/QUOTE]
Vita Gravy is a good suggestion. It’s not that expensive and my cats do seem to enjoy the taste of it. I’ve fed both the salmon and the chicken varieties.
Just remember to refrigerate it, or it will get rancid. But it lasts a couple of weeks in the fridge.
[QUOTE=StGermain;6713958]
You could try this bottled “dogfood sauce” from Iams.
Ohh…ohhh (Mr. Kottah!!) There’s a Vita Gravy thing for cats. You could try that, too. Although don’t let your cat see the “Vita” part, or he won’t eat it.
StG[/QUOTE]
“Don’t give any product manufactured for dogs to cats - particularly elderly cats.”
While I’ve always known that, my own vet reiterated the above to me just the other day when I mentioned that one of our elderly cats has recently been making a beeline for the dog’s dinner as soon as I put the bowl down.
“Don’t give any product manufactured for dogs to cats - particularly elderly cats.”
why not? if it’s a quality dog product, it’s perfectly fine for a cat to eat; of course, most of the “gravies” you folks are talking about are things you shouldn’t really feed to either dogs or cats. Read the labels.
Neither species should really eat any plant-based products, including starches used to thicken gravies, so most “gravies” should be considered to be absolutely unhealthy additions to the diet of any cat.
A meat broth is what you should be using- buy low-sodium broth, or just boil up some leftover meaty bones from your meals to make a flavored broth (remove the bones, obviously, before serving). Or save the juice from your canned tuna, or buy clam broth.
[QUOTE=wendy;6714736]
why not? if it’s a quality dog product, it’s perfectly fine for a cat to eat; [/QUOTE]
Hey - I’m just quoting what my vet told me. And after doing some Googling, while it isn’t “dangerous” for cats to steal bites of dog food from time to time, it’s definitely NOT good for them as a steady part of their diet due to quite different nutritional requirements, as well as apparently a large difference in the way dogs & cats process/diges their food.
Why would you take a chance feeding a dog product to an elderly cat with renal problems?
[QUOTE=wendy;6714736]
why not? if it’s a quality dog product, it’s perfectly fine for a cat to eat[/QUOTE]
I guess we could argue about how detrimental it is to feed dog food to a cat, but the consensus seems to be that it’s a bad idea because dogs and cats DO have separate nutritional needs:
http://vetmed.illinois.edu/petcolumns/petcols_article_page.php?OLDPETCOLID=189
http://www.royalcanin.us/library/dog-health-feeding-dog-food-to-cats-and-cat-food-to-dogs.aspx
http://www.petmeds.org/petmeds-spotlight/can-cats-and-dogs-share-the-same-food/
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
