Merrick Cowboy Cookout Meat, 5-1/2-Ounce, 24 Count

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I have a diabetic cat and this food is low glycemic and excellent for her. She absolutely loves it. Price was great and delivery was quick.

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I have recently started switching my four cats over to wet food, and for two of them, Cowboy Cookout is the solution. I like that the Merrick foods (including this one) are primarily meat-based (there is a little pearled barley in this, but it's pretty far down on the ingredients list), and my vet says she thinks this is a high-quality food, as well, so that's reassuring. It's also reasonably-priced compared to some of the other premium brands, and if I forget to order in time, I can always pick it up at a local store -it's available from several.

One of my two cats currently on this food eats about 2/3 of a 5.5 oz. can in one day, approximately 1/3 in the morning and 1/3 in the evening. This works out to slightly more than 100 calories a day (the cat weighs about 9.5 pounds). So far, she is maintaining her weight appropriately on Cowboy Cookout. The moisture content also seems to stop any urinary tract problems with her -and these have been an issue with this particular cat in the past. For what it's worth, this cat likes the food whether it's room temperature or cold, so I don't even have to warm up the contents of an open can after I take it out of the refrigerator -she eats it all, regardless.

The other of my cats currently on this food eats 1 5.5 oz. can a day, about 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening. This works out to 160 calories a day. He has a good energy level and his litterbox habits are fine, although he is losing weight. (Don't hold that against the food, though -the fact that he was losing weight after the switch prompted a visit to a veterinary specialist and the diagnosis of an underlying condition that was responsible for the weight loss.) While most of the food is pretty soft, there are some processed cubes about 1/4 inch on a side, and this second cat doesn't care for the chunks. His refusal to eat them led to a diagnosis of major tooth problems, though, so again, don't blame the food. My solution thus far has been to puree Cowboy Cookout in a blender with water, and this second cat laps up the resulting "soup" as if it was the best-tasting thing in the world.

Per one of the other reviews, many of my cans also came dented, but they weren't open or leaking and I fed the food to my cats anyway. That was awhile ago, and the cats are still with me. I think this is just one of those items that doesn't perform at 100% during the shipping process.

Update 8/7/13: The texture of this food has changed significantly (along with the package redesign). It now has many more of the processed chunks and isn't suitable for cats with bad teeth. However, I had to change the food of the cat with tooth problems for unrelated reasons (inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis; he needs to avoid all beef and grains). The other cat is now eating the new formulation and is just as enthusiastic about it as she ever was (which is to say it's gone almost as soon as it hits the bowl).

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As a veterinarian, I see many health problems in cats due to poor diets (diabetes, obesity, urinary tract disease, dental disease, GI problems). For a long time, people believed dry kibble was the best option for cats. It may be the easiest choice, but it's not the best choice.

Cats are natural carnivores and healthy cats need VERY high protein diets (45-50% of the calories in the food should come from protein and less than 15% should come from carbs). This helps acidify their urine and maintain lean body mass. Canned food is always higher in protein than dry food and has the added benefit of water to both fill up the cat's stomach when they eat (helping to prevent over-eating) and keep them hydrated. Cats that eat canned food often have better teeth as well (remember all those carbs in the dry kibble? It's like eating candy and not brushing afterwards!).

After looking around for quite a bit, I've chosen Merrick canned food as an affordable, high quality option for my two personal cats (both around 9 years of age and healthy). The Cowboy Cookout, Surf 'n Turf, and Grammy's Pot Pie are all great choices for high protein / low carb diets. My two kitties prefer the Cowboy Cookout and Surf 'n Turf. I tend to alternate between several varieties (cats that only eat one type of food are often very difficult to transition to prescription diets if at some point in their life they need a special kind of food) while avoiding the "novel" protein diets (exotic proteins such as rabbit, duck, etc. that should be reserved for cats that develop food allergies).

My only caveat has more to do with amazon.com than the food once I ordered the Merrick Cowboy Cookout original (a pate-type canned food) and received the Merrick Purrfect Bistro Cowboy Cookout (a chunky canned food). This wouldn't be a problem except that my female cat is very picky about texture and will NOT each chunks of food she wants a smooth pate. We solved this problem by mashing up the chunks with a fork prior to feeding it to her, and she's now happy. *sigh* After all, we exist only to serve her. ;)

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My two cats used to love this cat food. I ordered a new case and they won't touch it no matter how hungry they are. I tried three different cans with the same result. I suspect that they are adding more liver which is the second ingredient listed. My cats hate liver.

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I have an indoor cat and an outdoor (semi-wild) cat. My indoor cat used to love Cowboy Cookout one of the few kinds he liked. He won't touch the new recipe. The outdoor cat usually eats anything but not this. I'm now stuck with a case that neither cat will eat. Merrick really messed up on their reformulation.