Picky Kittens

Hello all!

I am here to get some advise on some picky kittens of mine. We picked up the kittens and was told they were already on solid foods. Now, we started them off with Purina Kitten Chow, the female enjoyed it but the male didn't like it. We were worried after he was pretty much starving himself and got really skinny. So we switched to Iams for Kittens and he started eating but now the female doesn't like the food!

Now she is getting skinny and sleeping all the time, and annoying us when we are eating our food. What we did was mix the old food with the new food to try and get her used to it. Nothing she is as picky as he was.

Do you have any suggestions on what we can do. My mother is getting worried. And you can tell something is definitely is wrong because they used to fight all the time (brother & sister) but now all she does is sleep.

We are pretty sure that its just the food she doesn't like which is making her like this because she isn't getting the nutrition she should be since the boy was the same was as her and once we changed the food he improved 100%.

Thank You!

What food were they on when you got them?

Is it possible to put both kinds of food out? How old are the kittens?

Also, when I had trouble getting my kitten to eat I gave him 1/2 a can of wet 2-3 times a day and left the dry food out. Both my Teddy and Milo were crazy about Whiskas Purrfectly Fish packets. You can get it at the grocery store. The most important thing is to get those kittens eating! Eventually you can wean them back to dry.

Originally Posted by *Pepper*

What food were they on when you got them?

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We don't remember what it was I believe it was Iams.

Is it possible to put both kinds of food out? How old are the kittens?

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They are 10 weeks old. We have been trying to put both food out but she just seems even more pickier then before. Should we be leaning towards one type of food even if they both don't agree on it?

Also, when I had trouble getting my kitten to eat I gave him 1/2 a can of wet 2-3 times a day and left the dry food out. Both my Teddy and Milo were crazy about Whiskas Purrfectly Fish packets. You can get it at the grocery store. The most important thing is to get those kittens eating! Eventually you can wean them back to dry.

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We are going to try this next time she goes grocery shopping.

We have tuna fish so far can we give it to them? Should we mix it with the dry food or no?

I have heard tuna is not good for cats.

It is not good for kittens to go that long without eating and nutrition. I would stop on the way home from work today to pick up some wet food to see if they'll eat it. Mix the wet with the dry. If you still have both kinds of dry, why not put out both kinds in separate bowls? At least until you can figure out what they will eat they can eat whichever one they choose.

If one is getting really skinny and you don't have a solution for it just yet...you can try baby food. It seems like all cats like the meat baby food.

Is there any particular reason why you can't just feed them in separate rooms/areas? This is what roxsam alluded to. Then the female can have the Purina Kitten Chow, which she prefers, and the male can have the Iams, which he enjoys. Neither cat has to starve in protest and everyone is happy.

Originally Posted by RobertM

Is there any particular reason why you can't just feed them in separate rooms/areas? This is what roxsam alluded to. Then the female can have the Purina Kitten Chow, which she prefers, and the male can have the Iams, which he enjoys. Neither cat has to starve in protest and everyone is happy.

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or find a another food they both might like .. Iams is usually chicken and fish but the cat chow is just chicken

Update:
We got new food and soft food from petsmart. They both ate it, liked it. She wouldn't eat any more and seemed very very weak. She puked undigested food later that night. My mother took her to the vet where my brother-in-law works and we found out she had worms again. So she was dewormed and now staying at my brother in laws house over night so he can take care of her. So its good news that its nothing serious and she should be at good help within the next few days .