My Cat's a Beggar: How I Fell for Purina's Gourmet

My cat's a morning, noon, and night performer. He's got a script and everything - 'Come on, settle in, the show's about to start!' I swear, he's a professional.

First, he licks everything within reach, then, if I'm not generous with the dry food or ignore the wet stuff, he breaks out into a full-blown concert. It's like he's trying to win an Oscar or something.

Before long, the neighbors will be banging on the walls, 'Calm down, kitty, calm down!' It's impossible to resist, so I give in and grab the wet food. And with signs outside the window, 'Wet food! Wet food! Wet food!' I'm like, 'Okay, okay, I get it.'

Is that all there is? Please, pretty please with a treat on top?

Gourmet (or Gourmet) from Purina – a premium-class food that's got my cat hooked.

Purina's been around for over 85 years, and that's saying something. They've clearly got the cat food game down.

The line is developed in France, produced as wet consommé, and designed specifically for adult pets.

Photos.

Lost in thought – how to get my hands on some wet food!

Naturally, I give in.

Wet foods usually come in two forms: cans and pouches. And let me tell you, Purina's Gourmet is the real deal.

With salmon, chicken, turkey, beef, and duck – the options are endless, and it all looks like a home-cooked meal. I mean, it's like I'm cooking for my cat, not just feeding him.

You can't leave this food out for the whole day; it'll either spoil or dry out and lose its texture. I mean, it's like leaving a steak out on the counter – not a good idea.

The pouches look so real, it's like a homemade meal. I'm like, 'Wow, this is some good stuff.'

The ingredients are listed on the back of the pouch, and it's easy to believe you're a super pet owner. I mean, who needs a degree in nutrition when you've got Purina's Gourmet?

However, the composition includes preservatives and by-products. Not exactly what I'd call 'gourmet,' but I guess it's better than nothing.

Composition:

Meat and meat by-products (including chicken or turkey, duck, and other 4%), plant oil extract, fish and fish by-products, minerals, various sugars, vitamins, and colorants.

Additives per kg: Vitamin A: 800; Vitamin D3: 120; mg/kg: Iron: 9; Iodine: 0.2; Copper: 0.8; Manganese: 1.8; Zinc: 15. Moisture: 79%, Protein: 14.0%, Fat: 2.5%, Raw ash: 2.2%, Raw fiber: 0.5%.

I was a bit skeptical about the whole thing, but since we'd only just got our kitten, we decided to dive in and learn about the ins and outs of feeding her. We started by giving her a packet a day, splitting it into two meals - morning and evening - until we wondered, how often do we really need to give her wet food? Are we spoiling our little furball too much?

You can find feeding recommendations on the website:

For an adult cat of average weight (4 kg), you'll need to give up to 4 packets a day.

Of course, this is assuming you're only giving her this food. If you're mixing it with dry food, you'll need to give her a lot less.

Our kitten was growing, and we were figuring it out.

she's stuffed and dancingThe thing is:

Many cat owners give both dry and wet food. Most vets advise against it, saying that it's not good for their digestive system, as it requires different enzymes and a different pH level in the stomach, leading to an imbalance. The gut also reacts differently to dry and wet food, and it can't adapt quickly enough, which can eventually lead to health problems.

Some vets, on the other hand, don't see anything wrong with mixed feeding, as long as you're using products from the same manufacturer.

Apparently, cats don't even have a sense of taste, but they're super sensitive to smells.

That's what I think about Purina's Gourmet Dragon. When you open the packet, it smells so good that I'd almost eat it myself. It's clear that the manufacturer puts a lot of emphasis on the smell, rather than the taste and ingredients.

The manufacturer is a writer, marketing on a whole different level:

Gurme® Pearl - a refined treat with an excellent taste that your cat will enjoy every day. The delicate meat in a Gurme® Pearl sauce made from fried meat or fish pieces in a fragrant sauce is created for the most discerning cats.

I was worried about storing it, to be honest. How much and how often to give it, if we opened the packet in the morning, and the leftovers were still good in the evening.

Should we heat it up in the microwave? Kitten's a person, just fluffy, and cold food isn't for him).

After opening, I realized you can only keep the food for a day and it's better to transfer it to a glass container in the fridge.

You can add a bit of warm water just before serving, so the food isn't too cold.

***

We rarely give Purina Gourmet. We have a lot of preconceptions, and we love our cat dearly. And we're terrified of messing up his health with our own hands.

So, in our case, this isn't a staple in his diet, but a treat he gets in the morning and evening, every 3-4 days, sometimes even less often. We give it not just because we love him, but because if a human ate dry shashlik every day, lightly seasoned with oil, their stomach would be in trouble within two weeks. Wet food is essential, but not too often.

From our observations: after this food, our cat goes on a dry food strike. As soon as he gets a taste of Purina Gourmet, he'll demand it for the next two days, and then start begging for it again. It's a real problem, because how do you get him to eat dry food again?

We're 100% sure that the flavor enhancers are in there, no question.

Disadvantages:

1. Sometimes, after eating this food, our cat's breath smells bad. It's never happened with any other food.
2. His fur gets slightly greasy.
3. If we don't give him the food, he walks around looking sad.

Grustrnennyi, nobody gives him wet food4. Meat!... You might as well become a vegetarian soon, because the meat content is ridiculously low (less than 4-8%) and those chunks are actually organ meat.

5. No preservatives or dyes, but it's GREASY, which is a major minus, although vets claim all food additives are allowed in the EU.

The cost of one packet varies and can reach up to 60 rubles.

From our observations, the pros:

He's happy and carefree, plays just like before.His stool is regular, and he doesn't have any digestive issues, but that's because we give it so rarely.His fur doesn't dull.

Our cat once gathered his strength and said to himself, 'Not everyone eats gourmet, some don't even eat it! So, stop feeling sorry for yourself and eat dry food, don't beg for it!'\

We give Purina Gourmet extremely rarely, if we're giving wet food, it's either Hills or Festik, we trust this brand, but unfortunately, 1st Choice is rarely available in stores.

I'd definitely recommend Purina Gourme over Royal Canin, even though they're in the same premium class. The latter tends to let me down on the Moscow production line.

At the end of the day, it's up to each owner to decide how often to feed their cat and what brand to choose. Unfortunately, our chosen brand of cat food is pretty hard to come by.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check out our article on Royal Canin Kitten food for kittens from 4 months old - vet's advice

Get a custom collar with your pet's name engraved - perfect for those pesky escape artists

A stylish, adorable, and never intimidating collar for your furry friend - just what you'd expect