Food problems - Again/still

I posted a thread a few weeks ago on how to switch to a better food for my kits and what would help them with their weight. It was suggested to add some canned food and then after a while switch to a better dry food. Well, I've added the canned food as suggested which has been going over well. Problem is my biggest kitty - Snickers - won't touch any of it. I can get 4 out of the 5 to eat up, but she has no interest. She doesn't like any of them - no flavors, no brands, nothing. She's a very picky eater. She doesn't like any kitty treats. She doesn't like chicken, beef, tuna or any "people" food I give them once in a while as a treat. Nothing! And she's the one that needs to lose the most.
Any suggestions??

tried meow mix canned>>?? that or solid gold usually gets them to eat a little

That's always the case isn't it? The cat who needs it the most refuses the treatment. Can you make small amounts of dry food available to her throughout the day? It is very important that she eats something--overweight cats are at a greater risk of hepatic lipidosis when they don't eat. Perhaps you can build some exercise into the process by making her walk up stairs to get to the food or jump on a counter. My boyfriend's mother has five cats (including my boyfriend's) and five of them are overweight. She has to break them up to feed them. The two largest are fed together, while the skinny ones are fed in another room.

Since your biggest won't eat the canned, then I recommend feeding a good quality dry. Split the amount into at least two feedings and don't leave the food out indefinitely. Meal feeding will probably help you get your kitty's weight under control.

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

That's always the case isn't it? The cat who needs it the most refuses the treatment. Can you make small amounts of dry food available to her throughout the day? It is very important that she eats something--overweight cats are at a greater risk of hepatic lipidosis when they don't eat. Perhaps you can build some exercise into the process by making her walk up stairs to get to the food or jump on a counter. My boyfriend's mother has five cats (including my boyfriend's) and five of them are overweight. She has to break them up to feed them. The two largest are fed together, while the skinny ones are fed in another room.

Since your biggest won't eat the canned, then I recommend feeding a good quality dry. Split the amount into at least two feedings and don't leave the food out indefinitely. Meal feeding will probably help you get your kitty's weight under control.

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She still has access to dry food. I didn't take it away from them. It's down during the day. The suggestion originally was to feed some canned food which is better for them and it will fill some of the desire to "free feed" all day and help them cut back. Which it seems to have done. Problem is Nikki (Snickers) won't touch it. She's actually not a very big eater at all. I hardly see her eating so I'm not sure why she is overweight. Is there such a thing as underactive thyroids in younger cats? I know it's common to see overactive ones in elderly cats.
As far as exercise we are a strong fan of that as well. Usually we participate in laser exercises. They all love the stupid laser. Even Nikki, although she moves a little slower than the others. There's no way Nikki could get up on my counter to eat though. When you suggested that it made me laugh so hard. She's so big she can barely get on to the bed. Poor baby.

Maybe I'll do as you (and others suggested), continue with the canned food and over time switch their "Free feed" dry food to something of a better quality. Maybe after that one of two things will happen - the better dry food will help her weight, or she won't like it cause it's healthy for her and she'll come around to the canned food.
Stubborn kitty's! We all know who rules the roost don't we?

My overweight kitty Grizzly-it seems I never see her eat either-however I also know that she has some issues with her teeth that will be fixed very soon-could that be the probelm with yours-how are the teeth??

Originally Posted by GailC

My overweight kitty Grizzly-it seems I never see her eat either-however I also know that she has some issues with her teeth that will be fixed very soon-could that be the probelm with yours-how are the teeth??

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As of her last vet visit - no. She's only 2 years old, so I hope not.
How can I tell if she's having a problem with her teeth? I mean they don't look bad, she doesn't have bad breath or anything, and I've seen nothing that would catch my attention like bleeding or anything.

Hmm. Well, if you want the other cats to free feed on dry, then you could put the dry food on the counter and give Nikki meals of dry food twice per day. I think that she needs to get away from the free-feeding situation if she's going to lose weight. Hypothyroidism is extremely rare in cats, but diabetes is becoming more common. My boyfriend's cat is overweight and has become a picky eater as well. He still hasn't lost much weight though.

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

Hmm. Well, if you want the other cats to free feed on dry, then you could put the dry food on the counter and give Nikki meals of dry food twice per day. I think that she needs to get away from the free-feeding situation if she's going to lose weight. Hypothyroidism is extremely rare in cats, but diabetes is becoming more common. My boyfriend's cat is overweight and has become a picky eater as well. He still hasn't lost much weight though.

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Not a bad idea. Not too keen on having them on my counters though. That's the one spot I've been able to keep them off of, but maybe I can find a spot she can't get to. Poor Snickers.

Anything high up, whether a counter, a table, a bookshelf, or a dresser, should work. I feed my skinny cat on top of my dresser since bottom-heavy Odo can't jump that high.