Soft "dry" food?

natalie_ca

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Chynna is soooo picky!

She likes wet food, but since she had her dental in April and had most of her teeth extracted, she's become extremely picky about texture.

She has always been a "chewer" and such a dainty eater. Where many cats gulp their food down, she would take a bite, chew, swallow and then take another bite. But since her dental she tends to mostly lick the food instead of taking a bite and chewing. I think it's because she doesn't want to get food on her chin/face. Yet when I puree the food to near liquid she usually turns her nose up at it unless I catch her while she's sleeping and place the plate under her nose. Then she will lick a bit, but I end up having to spoon feed it to her by the tablespoon. I do that several times per day in order to get her to eat.

However, even then she sometimes turns her nose up at the near liquified food and insists on regular soft food. When I give it she just licks at it. If I add more water and mash it up, she will lick at it again, but she never empties the plate, so she's not getting enough food that way.

If I give her the sliced or diced food with gravy, she licks the gravy and leaves the chunks.

As a result I end up throwing out way too much food. Right now I have 4 different cans of food open in the fridge, and because Abby won't eat soft, and Chynna being so picky and choosy, it will end up in the trash


Occasionally I hear her at Abby's bowl eating the dry food. But since she doesn't have many teeth left, and she's always been a "chewer", I don't know if she's getting adequate hard food that way or if she's just crunching it and it's falling out of her mouth. I've tried to watch but when she sees me she stops thinking she will be getting something else.

Is there a pouched food that is chunked like dry food, but still soft without gravy? There used to be ages ago because I used to feed it to a cat I had back in the 1980's. But I can't remember who made it. Looking at Safeway all I see is pouches that have minced or chunks in gravy, and I know she won't eat the actual food.

I don't mind spoon feeding her as needed, but I will be returning to work within the next 3 months and I won't have the time to spend all day getting her to eat so I need to find something that she will eat with consistency.
 

cloud_shade

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I think you're thinking of Tender Vittles, which was made by Purina but has been discontinued. I'm not sure whether they've come out with a similar product since then (plus the ingredients were pretty horrible--lots of preservatives, among other things). Have you tried foods like Merricks, which tend to be chunkier? For that matter, have you tried bits of chicken breast? If she likes that, you may be able to make her food yourself--it would be cheaper than buying cans and throwing them away.
Also, lack of teeth doesn't necessarily mean she can't eat dry food. Odo has a few teeth left, but he eats everything--it doesn't slow him down in the least.
 
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natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by cloud_shade

I think you're thinking of Tender Vittles, which was made by Purina but has been discontinued. I'm not sure whether they've come out with a similar product since then (plus the ingredients were pretty horrible--lots of preservatives, among other things). Have you tried foods like Merricks, which tend to be chunkier? For that matter, have you tried bits of chicken breast? If she likes that, you may be able to make her food yourself--it would be cheaper than buying cans and throwing them away.
Also, lack of teeth doesn't necessarily mean she can't eat dry food. Odo has a few teeth left, but he eats everything--it doesn't slow him down in the least.
Yes, it was Tender Vittles! Sorry to hear that it was discontinued though


Safeway doesn't sell "Merricks".

I have tried cooked chicken breast but she won't eat it no matter how small or large the pieces are, because she can't seem to chew it to her desired texture. I bought her a steak a couple months ago and cooked a piece for her. I tried small pieces, itsy bitsy pieces, minced, pureed and liquified. She ate a bit of the pureed when I gave it to her by spoon, but only a couple tablespoons. I ended up throwing most of it out. She has always been a chewer and now because of lack of teeth, it takes her longer to chew her food to her satisfaction. I think she gets tired chewing so she ends up licking at it instead.

I've tried moistening the dry food with water or tuna juice, but she won't eat it. So that's why I thought soft pouched food without gravy would be an option for her.
 

cloud_shade

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According to at least a few websites, Tender Vittles may still be available in Canada--it was apparently only discontinued in the U.S. I'd suggest looking for it. You could certainly try other pouched foods, but I think most of them have gravy. You may also want to try dampening the kibble a bit or mixing it with some of the canned food you already have. As long as you treat moist kibble like you would moist food (i.e. don't leave it out for very long), it should be okay.
 
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natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

Royal Canin senior foods claims to have softer kibble, easier to chew. Would this be something that might help?


http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...50347&keepsr=0

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2750360
That second link looks good. It's low in phosphorus which Chynna needs too. I don't think we have Pet Smart up here, and I know Safeway doesn't carry that, but I'll call around to a couple of pet stores and see if anyone has it or can get it in. It's worth a try. Abby could also benefit from it seeing that she's 10 and over weight and she just doesn't like wet food.
 
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natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by cloud_shade

According to at least a few websites, Tender Vittles may still be available in Canada--it was apparently only discontinued in the U.S. I'd suggest looking for it. You could certainly try other pouched foods, but I think most of them have gravy. You may also want to try dampening the kibble a bit or mixing it with some of the canned food you already have. As long as you treat moist kibble like you would moist food (i.e. don't leave it out for very long), it should be okay.
I have only looked at Safeway and I didn't see "Tender Vittles" and I don't really shop anywhere else. But I'll check the pet stores too.

So far as moistening the hard food that Abby eats, that doesn't work. Chynna won't even go near it. She stands a foot or so away from the dish, stretches her neck and looks at the bowl, while the hair on her back stands up.
It's like she's scared to even go near the bowl!
I've also tried mixing wet with dry and all she does is lick at it and doesn't eat the food itself.

I really think she would benefit from a soft "hard" food because it would be easier for her to chew. The thing would be getting her to start eating it.

I have some errands to run. I'll make some calls when I get home.
 

sharky

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the RC should be relatively easy to find... just a FYI most premium "seniors " are softer kibbles
 

malynn

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Eukanuba Kitten has really small kibble and you can crush the little pellets with your fingers. I gave that to a really tiny rescue I have when she was small. Royal Canin Babycat is small too. I know its kitten food but its easy for them to eat. Mine used to steal the Eukanuba from the kitten all the time.
 
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