kitten rejects dry food

.rae.

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my kitten, 5 months old, is a finicky eater. she hardly touches her dry food, so i tried to switch to wet food. but she only eats a small amount of it. with this eating attitude, no wonder her weight is only 1.6 kg. she is too skinny, i think.
is there any way to get her to eat her dry food? i've tried to switch brands, but it didn't work. another thing, wet food is much more expensive than the dry one. i can't afford it for a long time.
 

shanynne

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What kind of dry food are you giving her? Is it specifically for kittens? Also yes canned is more expensive than dry, but it is so much better for you kitten. Check out this information and then you can decide:

Check out this link:

http://www.catinfo.org/

http://http://www.littlebigcat.com/?...needcannedfood

Also have you had her checked by a vet? There could be something else going on.
 

sakura

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Wet food is a lot healthier than dry food. Cats are not naturally huge water drinkers, most of their water comes from their food in the wild. When they eat only dry food, they are constantly dehydrated and it can lead to health issues in the future. I know wet is more expensive, but try to feed a little bit of wet everyday in addition to the dry food. You can buy larger cans and save the leftovers, it's cheaper to do it that way. Any wet food is better than no wet food at all.

Do you know what dry food the kitty was eating before you got her? I would find out and feed that to her and then slowly transition to her to your dry food by adding a little more of the new food and a little less of the old every day.

There are a few things you can do to stimulate her appetite....sprinkle some cheese on top of the food. (catnip works too but she may be too young to react to catnip).

How long have you had the kitten?

It's probably not the best quality but most kittens seem to love Iams Kitten. Nutro Max Kitten is another one that seems to go over really well and the ingredients are better than Iams.

When my cat Matilda first came home, she wouldn't touch our dry food. I had to go buy a bag of the stuff the shelter was feeding her and slowly switch it on her. (This was before I knew that you were supposed to slowly switch dry foods).
 

missymotus

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If you are concerned she's underweight really the best thing is to have her vet checked to see what they think. 1.6kg is about the weight of a 12-14 week old kitten, so unless she's very tiny it does sound like she's underweight.
 

blaise

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Welcome to the forum!

As has been suggested, her weight may not be too little after all...with the obvious conflict between what you feel is "correct" and what others (with, it seems, lots of cat experience") believe what may be "correct, I'd also suggest you check with your Vet....I'm willing to bet that, for a simple weight check, you might not even be charged! But, if she hasn't yet been to the Vet, this might give you another reason to go.

What you're hearing about wet food is absolutely accurate....I'll go further, dry food really isn't fit for a cat! What's worse is what most dry foods are made from....wheat, corn and other grainy ingredients. Cats, by nature, need meat, and...those who don't get it end up with many of the nasty illnesses and conditions that you can read about on this forum.

If you want to learn what a cat needs to eat (and, only if you want to invest a little time into that) check out what this cat Veterinarian and nutritionist has to say.

Originally Posted by .rae.

...i've tried to switch brands, but it didn't work. another thing, wet food is much more expensive than the dry one. i can't afford it for a long time.
One thing about "switching" foods...it cannot safely be done "instantly"...when we say "switch/change", we understand that to mean slowly transition to the new food, adding increasing amounts of the new to the old over a period of a week to ten days. Otherwise, you risk the chsance of gastro problems (and more Vet bills!).

Now, about the cost part of all this...the thing is this: you can pay a little more now for wet food - OR - you can end up paying a huge lot more in Vet bills, treating the illnesses/conditions that your "cheaper" dry food has brought on....your choice.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by Sakura

There are a few things you can do to stimulate her appetite....sprinkle some cheese on top of the food. (catnip works too but she may be too young to react to catnip).
also, try mixing a small amount of powdered brewer's yeast w/the wet - mine really like that!
 

sharky

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I would FIRST go or at least call and talk with the vet ... IMHO she does seem about the wt she should but
....

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...ighlight=foods
check this link out ...

I personally have tried nearly all kinds of diets and so far wet/ dry combo is the ones the cats like most and I can easily afford YMMV ... as for DRY food Causing issues at this stage there are studies going both ways and NOT ONE has been been done by a unbiased party ... IF you want facts MOST cats eat dry food and the average age of a cat IN MY LIFE has gone from 9 to 13/14 yrs ... so figure it out
... also old age diseases are showing up IN OLDER NOT younger animals for the most part ...
 
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