My Cat Won't Touch Anything Else: Importing Gourmet Mon Petit From the UK

Some cats are easygoing about food. Mine is not. When we moved from the UK, the one thing I underestimated packing for was the cat food situation — she'd been raised on Gourmet Mon Petit, and no amount of trying premium American brands convinced her to switch.

It turns out that's not unusual. Gourmet is a well-known European wet cat food range, but Purina's US lineup runs on entirely different brands (Fancy Feast, Friskies) — Mon Petit was simply never launched there. So it's not that it's hidden on some obscure shelf. It doesn't exist in American stores at all.

What actually won her over

The small 50g pouches seem to matter more than I expected — each one is a single fresh serving rather than a big tin that sits open in the fridge, and the beef, chicken and lamb variety pack means she's not eating the exact same thing every day. Fussy cats notice that kind of thing.

If your cat is the same way

Don't assume a similar-sounding US brand will do the trick — I tried a few premium alternatives first and got the cold-shoulder treatment each time. Importing the actual product turned out to be less hassle than months of a cat refusing to eat properly.

As always, transition foods gradually and check with your vet on anything diet-related.

Where I order it from

I get the Gourmet Mon Petit Meaty Variety, 6 x 50g pack from Great British Imports, shipped from the UK across the United States.