My cat, Margot, is seven years old and has been making my life difficult at mealtimes for approximately six of those years. She was fine as a kitten — ate whatever I put in front of her without complaint. Then, around the age of one, she developed opinions. Strong ones. About food, specifically.
Over the following years I tried probably fifteen different cat foods. Some she ate for a week and then refused. Some she sniffed and walked away from immediately. One she ate enthusiastically for three days and then apparently decided she’d made a terrible mistake and never touched again. Finding a food she would eat consistently, that was also actually good for her, had become one of the more frustrating ongoing projects of my life.
AATU Salmon & Herring is the food that ended the search.
The Problem With Fussy Cats
The frustrating thing about a fussy cat is that you can’t reason with them. You can’t explain that the food is nutritionally complete and good for them. You can’t point out that they ate it perfectly happily last Tuesday. You can only try things and observe the results, which in Margot’s case were usually a sniff, a look of profound disappointment, and a retreat to the sofa.
I’d also become increasingly concerned about the quality of what she was eating. Many of the foods she’d accepted contained grains, fillers, and artificial ingredients that I wasn’t comfortable with long-term. I wanted something with a high meat content, no grains, and no artificial additives — the kind of food that actually reflects what cats evolved to eat. The challenge was finding something that met those criteria and that Margot would actually eat.
Why I Chose AATU
The AATU Salmon & Herring Dry Cat Food came up when I was specifically searching for high-protein, grain-free dry cat food with a high meat percentage. The 85/15 formulation — 85% fish and fish derivatives, 15% everything else — was significantly higher than most of the alternatives I’d been looking at, which typically had meat contents of 40-60%. For a cat, which is an obligate carnivore, a higher meat content is closer to what their digestive system is designed for.
The salmon and herring combination was also appealing. Margot had previously shown more interest in fish-based foods than meat-based ones, which gave me some reason to hope. And the complete absence of artificial ingredients, grains, and fillers meant I could feel good about feeding it to her regardless of whether she liked it.
The Introduction — Cautious Optimism
I introduced AATU gradually, mixing it with her existing food over about a week as recommended for any food transition. Margot’s response to the new food mixed in was more positive than I’d expected — she ate around the existing food to get to the AATU, which is not something she’d done with any previous new food. That was a promising sign.
By the end of the transition week she was on 100% AATU and eating it consistently. Not just tolerating it — actually eating it with what I can only describe as enthusiasm, which is not a word I’d previously associated with Margot at mealtimes. She was finishing her bowl, which she hadn’t done reliably with any food in years.
The Changes I’ve Noticed
Margot has been on AATU for four months now. The changes I’ve noticed go beyond the fact that she’s eating consistently, though that alone would have been enough to make me a loyal customer.
Her coat is noticeably better. It’s shinier and softer than it was before, and she’s shedding less — the latter being something I’ve noticed primarily because my sofa is slightly less covered in cat hair than it used to be. The high omega content from the salmon and herring is the likely explanation for this, and it’s a visible improvement that I hadn’t expected as a side effect of changing her food.
She’s also more active. She’s seven, which is middle-aged for a cat, and she’d been getting progressively more sedentary over the past couple of years. Since switching to AATU she’s been more playful and more engaged — not dramatically so, but noticeably. Whether that’s the food or coincidence I can’t say with certainty, but the timing is suggestive.
The 3kg Bag — Practical Considerations
The 3kg bag lasts Margot about six weeks, which is a reasonable supply for a single cat. The bag reseals well, which matters for keeping dry food fresh over that period. I store it in a cool cupboard and the food has stayed fresh and appetising — Margot’s continued enthusiasm for it suggests the quality hasn’t degraded between the first bowl and the last.
The price point is higher than supermarket cat food, which I’d expected given the quality of the ingredients. But compared to the cost of buying fifteen different foods that Margot rejected, and the cost of vet visits to investigate why she wasn’t eating well, it’s genuinely good value.
Where to Find It
The AATU Salmon & Herring Dry Cat Food 3kg is available in the Non-Prescription Cat Food and Cat Food collections, within the broader Cat Supplies and Pet Supplies ranges.
If you have a fussy cat and you’ve been through the same cycle of trying food after food and watching it get rejected, I’d genuinely recommend trying AATU. I can’t promise your cat will respond the way Margot did — cats are individuals and Margot’s opinions are her own — but the quality of the ingredients is genuinely excellent and it’s worth trying before you give up on dry food entirely.
— Fiona Drummond, owner of Margot the formerly fussy cat, who has now been eating the same food for four months and shows no signs of changing her mind
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