Worried:- My male cat will only eat dry?

kooky

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Hi all, (my first post)


My cat is 13 months old and since we have had him (at 4 months old) he has been fed wet food (natures menu kitten pouches,) which he adored.

About 3 weeks ago we decided to change him to wet adult food, he started eating it ok to begin with, but was sick after a few days and he stopped eating it. Since then, we have tried roughly 10 different types of brands of wet cat food (including the kitten pouches he was brought up on) and he won't touch any of them.


The ONLY thing he will eat now are cheapy dry cat biscuits. So, we took him to the vets yesterday and she said that he looked healthy and she give him antibiotics 'just incase' She told us that there was no need to worry and he is probably just a fussy cat and told us only to put down a tablespoon at a time. If he a still the same in a weeks time to take him back. (She didn't say what she would do.)

We've done that yesterday and today and he still won't eat the wet. The thing is, i don't want to feed him on dry biscuits as my moms cat is male and nearly died because of dry food, (crystals, uti, etc) He even had to have his genitals removed.

So, i just wondered if anyone could give me any advice on what to do? I'm really worried about him, as he's only eating less than an a handful of biscuits a day (i won't give him anymore, as too scared.) I don't understand it, he used to love his 'natures menu' pouches, that's all he was brought up on.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for reading.
 

kittylover77

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Kitties are so finicky, who knows why they do what they do.
With all the recalls going on, if he doesn't want something, maybe he can smell something in the food that shouldn't be there.

I would switch him over to a UTI certified dry food, since that is all he eats.

Nutro Max Roasted Chicken is a good one.
Good luck!
 

barbb

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It could be that he remembers being sick from the wet food and is avoiding it for that reason.

I would keep him on the dry food for awhile and reintroduce wet food way later, after he has had time to forget what happened.

You might want to try giving him cheap dry kitten food like Friskies since that is probably what he was fed before you adopted him. If he will eat something like that, you can slowly mix in the better stuff.
 

camille eonich

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All that my cats eat are dry food. One is 9, one is 10, one is 5 and I have no idea how old the outside cats are. They have no problems with UTIs, crystals or anything else. Keep plenty of fresh water down for them.


If you are really concerned about it I did just start adding Solid Gold Seameal to thier dry food twice a day. It has to be dissolved in a bit of warm water first so they are now getting a little extra fluid that way. They love the Sea Meal.
 

suni

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All tricks I know:
put some grated dry food over the wet
or some parmesan cheese
or tuna water

fixed feeding times, 2 (or 3) times a day, if he doesn´t eat, give the food away after 15 min., he gets the next meal not until the next feeding time.

or try some raw food...
 

ms.blackie

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I would give him dry if that he eats and not worry for moment about
wet.
After a month or so, try to re-introduce wet in very small amounts.
Even if it is fancy feast, or natural balance is good pate type
most cats like. Chicken gourmet in fancy feast mine cant resist.
and chicken liver in Natural balance. Buy small cans.
Try wellness also in small cans or new pouches. It takes a while
to find out what flavor your cat likes. Put small amounts down
several times a day, not the whole can down a one sitting, wont work.
If you have them on a regular feeding schedule, trying putting
down one spoonful of wet and put a few pieces of dry on it and
see what happens. My cat also liked at first not to eat in bowl,
so I would let her lick off a spoon. Or if you have tile put small
amount on floor. It takes cats a while to get used to the texture,
they like the crunch. Dont panic. Introduce slowly after he
is eating dry good. Also I am using this one too
Nutro Max Roasted Chicken is a good one, UTI mentioned, in a orange
bag, they seem to like the taste. try it.
 

buzbyjlc10

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For the longest time, Oliver would ONLY eat dry kibble... my vet wasn't thrilled about that, but you can't force a cat to eat something he doesnt want to (well, I mean you can, haha, but if it's not medically necessary, then why)... I just kept randomly trying different wet foods every once in awhile - I'd just pick something new when I went shopping... eventually, he accepted the Meow Mix market select cups... but not the "fish flavored" ones just the beef, turkey and chicken ones (even though those have fish juice listed in the ingrediants)... as long as you get your kitty on a decent dry food, I wouldn't worry too much and then just try a different wet food once in awhile to see if he accepts something... also try to monitor his drinking just to make sure he's taking in enough water
 

cloud_shade

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In addition to the suggestions above, please do give your cat more than a handful of the dry food--he won't likely develop crystals overnight but a few days with too few calories can result in him not eating at all or developing hepatic lipidosis.
 

mikex

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My boy cat wouldn't touch wet food until I got my second cat. When I started feeding her wet food, well of course he had to push her aside and have it for himself :-)
 

sharky

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Give whatever food the cat will eat... May I ask what country you are in?>??
 
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kooky

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Thankyou so so much for all of your replies, it means alot.


I'll do as suggested and carry on with biscuits (but more of them) and keep a look out for UTI ones. I'll then slowly introduce very small amounts of wet and see how it goes. I have plenty of fresh water down for him that i've seen him drinking, which i never saw him do when having the wet! lol.

Thanks for the other suggestions, i'll give them a go if this doesn't work.

I didn't realise that it is not such a big risk for a boy cat to have dry food. I thought it wasn't good for them (because of my moms boy cat.)

Anyway, thanks for being so kind to me on my first post. Much appreciated. I'll keep you all posted.
 

urbantigers

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There are some tips on getting cats to eat wet food here, in case there's anything you've not tried.

http://www.catinfo.org/#Transitionin...o_Canned_Food_

But I wouldn't worry too much for now. I agree that he may remember that the wet food made him sick and have been put off the texture. I'd let him eat the dry for a bit longer and then try again with some wet. Have you tried applaws or natures menu? They contain shredded chicken in a broth and are attractive to most cats. Or maybe some raw or cooked chicken or beef?

If he still won't eat any wet then I wouldn't worry too much but try to get a good quality dry food and make sure there is lots of water around to encourage him to drink (water fountains are popular with a lot of cats).
 
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