Fur/Ball is a local brand of cooked food, packed in sachets and can be stored at room temperature. Here’s their website: https://tryfurball.co/
They produce only cat food. To order Fur/Ball, use this link to get a discount: https://tryfurball.co?ad_id=axOyCXpUw3
The reason I opted to try this cooked food is primarily for Juno and Ginger whom the vet recommended to eat cooked food. Juno, because she’s so young and her immunity is not too strong (the coccidiosis scared the daylights out of me) and for Ginger, it’s because he is FIV+ and the vet explained that as they age, their immunity might not be able to fend off pathogens in the raw food. Both Ginger (13 years old) and Juno (3 months old) have been doing well on raw food, actually, until Juno contracted the coccidiosis.
It’s also for the Blondies who were brought up on raw food and gradually only wanted kibble. I figured perhaps they don’t digest raw food that well, so maybe cooked food would work as the protein is broken down when cooked? Akira is especially bent on kibble these days.
I chose the Mix & Match option, so that our cats get to try all the four flavours for protein rotation, but their bestsellers are the salmon and the chicken. I must also add that they are very approachable and friendly on whatsapp, which is really something I appreciate very much.
I tried the Chicken first:
As I cut open the sachet, Tabs came to the kitchen! So I offered her a bowl and then came Juno to try to steal her food! Juno had just eaten a bowl of the new kibble, and here she is, wanting more food. Well, if you are hungry, eat up, Juno. You are on a weight-gain programme.
Both Tabs and Juno loved it. Juno even wanted more and more, but since it’s her first time, I didn’t dare push it. I did not mix it with Juno’s regular food as her “regular food” is raw and she’s not supposed to eat raw now. And I don’t mix whole foods with kibble. Kibble is always given separately by itself. Tabs also doesn’t really have a regular food as she eats so many types of food. Being PCKD, senior and under palliative care, Tabs qualifies for the “as long as you eat” diet.
For Ginger and the Monsters, I used Fur/Ball as a topper with their regular food. Ginger had his cooked food topped with Fur/Ball while the Monsters had their raw food topped with it. Everyone ate heartily except for Smurfy who ate up only the raw food and left the Fur/Ball. Well, good enough that he did not walk away from the bowl! The others happily finished up Smurfy’s portion for him. Minnie asked for more Fur/Ball.
Next, the Blondies. I had zero expectations from them since they are hell-bent on eating kibble these days.
But I was most pleasantly surprised! Like with the Monsters, I also used Fur/Ball as a topper for their raw food.
Indra and Kai both ate it and both even had seconds!! This is also unbelievable!
Unfortunately, Samantha walked away from her bowl. Hmm…this was unexpected. But later on, I offered raw food neat and Samantha also walked away from it. So I guess maybe she’s not hungry.
Now the acid test was Akira. For her, I actually did not use it as a topper as I expect she would reject it. I just gave her a small bit in a bowl.
Sure, walk away, it’s okay.
You won’t believe this…she’s actually ate it!! And she asked for more too. That’s Fur/Ball neat.
Unbelievable!!
But to be fair, the Blondies are known to go crazy over something novel, maybe even eat it for a maximum of two days, then completely and totally reject it after that!! So I shall reserve my verdict until after a week.
I hope they will like Fur/Ball and I can use it as their staple food along with raw food, then kibble can be a snack. That would be my hope.
Will Samantha eat it, though? She’s normally not as fussy and impossible as her daughters.
Unfortunately, Riley walked away from it. But then again, Riley walks away from almost all wet food and I have to finger-feed her raw food twice a day, which she will eat. So I finger-fed her her raw food with a bit of Fur/Ball but I think she didn’t quite like it. Maybe it’s a new taste and texture for her.
It’s okay if Riley doesn’t like it, because Fur/Ball is primarily for Juno, Ginger and the Blondies. The rest are already comfortably on the raw diet with Tabs on her “as long as you eat” diet.
Juno seems so happy after eating Fur/Ball today, so I do have a good feeling about it, for her. Juno should not be on raw food until she is older, so I really, really need a quality cooked food for her.
My hope is that the Blondies will continue eating Fur/Ball too so that it can become their staple diet along with raw food since they are such fusspots and need a change of taste and texture so often.
I really want all our cats to have wet food as their staple food. Kibble can be a snack.
One can hope. When all else fails, there’s still hope!
All said, I accept that not all cats (or dogs, for that matter) will like or do well on a raw diet. Raw food may be purported to be the most biologically-appropriate food for dogs and cats since that is their ancestral food, but with aeons of evolution, perhaps some of them need cooked food nowadays.
Also, the downside of raw food is the possibility of foodborne diseases. Yes, like coccidiosis!