Vita-Gravy?

[Savage4883]

Has anyone heard of Vita-Gravy? I've never heard of it, but I happened upon it tonight. Its a supplemental gravy to put on cat food. Apparently it acts as a nutritional supplement and treat. I figured, what the heck, maybe it will get them to eat their new kibble! So I bought a bottle and tried it out - it works very well if you are like me and half to refrigerate half-eaten cans of wet food. My wet food tends to dry out a bit after being in the refrigerator, but the gravy supplement moistened it right up - and the cats seem to like it.

I think this is the website for Vita Gravy: http://healthpronutrition.com/vita-gravy.html

[nakedrats]

My cats are all former strays and will eat dirt off the floor, but I was curious what the benefits of the vitagravy are.  I'd seen it in the pet stores, and was curious.  Is it comparable to Feli-vite/Nutrical type supplement?  Is it a weight gain aid or just vitamins and trace minerals type thing?  I get cats in that are half starved and borderline malnourished and this could be pretty helpful if it'll help them gain weight quickly.

[Heather]

I get cats in that are half starved and borderline malnourished and this could be pretty helpful if it'll help them gain weight quickly.

Feeding a high quality grain free canned food is the best weight gain aid. The vita-gravy is pretty much meat broth with some vitamins mixed in. To make a cheaper version, just boil some chicken/beef/turkey in some water and strain off the juice for a sodium free broth. It's healthier that way (as the feline vita-gravy contains rice flour) and you can feed the cooked meat too, though raw meats are always better because they contain essential enzymes that are destroyed during cooking.

[Savage4883]

My cats are all former strays and will eat dirt off the floor, but I was curious what the benefits of the vitagravy are.  I'd seen it in the pet stores, and was curious.  Is it comparable to Feli-vite/Nutrical type supplement?  Is it a weight gain aid or just vitamins and trace minerals type thing?  I get cats in that are half starved and borderline malnourished and this could be pretty helpful if it'll help them gain weight quickly.

I agree with Heather, a grain-free diet is better. I use the gravy to make meals more tasty & to add vitamins to their meals but i wouldn't use it to add weight. I have kitten formula that I supplement with regular high-protein food when I wanted my very skinny kitten to gain weight.

[nakedrats]

The foster kitties get nutro kitten right now, which is at least low-grain.  Our perma-cat is on a vet diet.  I was thinking of raw, and my feral kitty will eat the raw, but she drags it off to hidden corners of the house to eat it...gross.  The kitchen is the only place with linoleum and enough space that she'd enter the room with me, and it has no door. 

[Heather]

The foster kitties get nutro kitten right now, which is at least low-grain.  Our perma-cat is on a vet diet.  I was thinking of raw, and my feral kitty will eat the raw, but she drags it off to hidden corners of the house to eat it...gross.  The kitchen is the only place with linoleum and enough space that she'd enter the room with me, and it has no door. 

Most raw feeders crate their cats when feeding to prevent them from draggin it around. My kitty was on Royal Canin Control and I just put him on EVO because it's better for his urinary issues. I'm not sure what food yours is on but a customer told me she called RC to ask about the foods (why they used the ingredients they did, what thir purpose was, etc etc) and they guy got so frustrated at her researching the food that he said "Do you want your cat to be on meds his whole life or crap food (meaning RC.. they know it's a bad food)?!" She came to us and put her kitty on EVO and he's not had a problem since (he had the same urinary issues as my boy). Anyway.. I'm just not a fan of vet diets. They do more harm than good and I've never seen a truly healthy dog/cat on them.

[nakedrats]

Oh boy, I've really hijacked this post now...

Thanks for the crate suggestion.  I'll have to try that for my handleable fosters in the future.  Right now I have a mostly feral cat that doesn't let me touch her.  Getting her into a room to feed her is a chore and that's when I can close all the doors and herd her down the hallway... Scaredy cat.

My cat has serious GI issues, as in he's missing a lot of his.  He had a colonectomy and got 3/4 of his large intestine removed this past july. He almost urinary-blocked in October. Right this second he's on a low phosphorus/low magnesium temporarily to help him get rid of his bladder crystals.  We're looking into high fiber diets to help manage his really really really really really watery poo.  He basically has diarrhea every day.  The colon is supposed to help draw water out of his stool before it leaves his body and he has almost nothing left.  We're trying everything we can think of to firm up his poo.  I think I need to make him his own thread.