I've got a finicky eater with wet food

poppy0109

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Since there's so many choices of wet foods, I decided to buy Poppy a variety of kitten wet foods and see what he would eat. I'm not sure that was the best idea because he's choosing the "junk" wet food over the healthier kinds.

He turned his nose up on and did the digging/burying around the dish to Evo, Wellness, Chicken Soup, Science Diet, Iams and Nutro Max.

He ate Fancy Feast Kitten Tender Turkey Feast & Tender Ocean Whitefish Feast, Friskies Prime Fillets Chicken w/gravy and a few of the patees I forgot to write down. He also ate Nutro Natural Choice Chicken & Lamb Formula and Beef & Chicken.

I don't know what to do.
Is "junk" wet food better than only feeding him dry food? I want him to eat the healthier brands but he won't.
 

proudmamiof4

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I have 3 picky wet eaters! they will eat any dry and any treat but only a few wets ( and some of them only a few times before they decide they don't like that) I would say a junk wet would be better than an all dry diet.Good luck!
 

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yes junk wet is far better than all dry ... I nearly say junk wet is better than the best dry ... moisture wise YES but ingredient wise no... read the labels some "junk" wets have less "junk"
 

lovemykitty3

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I would just keep feeding him the ones you can get him to eat. My 10month old kitten is the same way. I've tried everything from super premium foods to grocery store brands and he refuses anything except Pro Plan kitten chicken & liver entree or a Fancy Feast white meat chicken tuscany. I've thrown out more cans of expensive food than I can count.
 

carolina

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IMO, junk wet is only good when you feed a quality dry food. Think of the wet food as a way to assure he gets the proper water intake. Besides the water, he needs good nutrients to have a healthy life... So, if you feed junk wet food, make sure it is not all he gets.
If you decide to go on a dry only diet, consider a water fountain - it has made a huge difference in how much water my kitties drink. Mine eat all dry, quality dry, but are VERY good drinkers.
 
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poppy0109

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Originally Posted by carolinalima

IMO, junk wet is only good when you feed a quality dry food. Think of the wet food as a way to assure he gets the proper water intake. Besides the water, he needs good nutrients to have a healthy life... So, if you feed junk wet food, make sure it is not all he gets.
If you decide to go on a dry only diet, consider a water fountain - it has made a huge difference in how much water my kitties drink. Mine eat all dry, quality dry, but are VERY good drinkers.
I've been slowly switching him over to Evo dry...and I plan on giving him a little bit of wet food in the morning and in the evening. I was hoping he'd go for the healthy variety...but if junk is all he'll eat I'll make sure it's the healthiest junk.


Though...I was just reading the one thread on what everyone feeds their cats and I seem to have about 9 more healthy wet foods I can try out on him. I found one local pet store that sells them all! I can't wait to go there!
 

happilyretired

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I have the same problem with my boy. We have a local pet store that carries all the "high end" brands, and I've tried them all with him. Some he won't touch; others he ate reluctantly and then refused; but supermarket wet food he loves.

I'm disappointed because I wanted to feed him a better quality wet food (he eats a high end dry, but he only nibbles on the dry--his diet is mainly wet), but I remind myself that my former cat was almost 20 when she went to the Bridge, and all she ate was Fancy Feast, and was never ill until the end.
 

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Originally Posted by Poppy0109

I've been slowly switching him over to Evo dry...and I plan on giving him a little bit of wet food in the morning and in the evening. I was hoping he'd go for the healthy variety...but if junk is all he'll eat I'll make sure it's the healthiest junk.
Be careful with the Evo dry - it's better than the other dry foods out there because it is grain free, but it's also extremely calorie dense, so he may get his daily allotment of calories before he actually feels full (not so much a problem for a growing kitten but not so good for an adult cat.)

If he really likes the junk wet, maybe try mixing it with the good stuff and slowly transition over? I've also found that meat baby food (make sure it doesn't contain spices) is incredibly appealing to cats - a little smear of it is usually enough to get a cat eating something they previously turned their nose up at. I've heard that a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or oregano can do wonders, though I haven't tried these myself.

It can be a challenge to convince a cat to eat a food that they're indifferent too, but with patience, persistence and some trickery they usually come around, and the health benefits of feeding a good food are worth the effort.
 

kara_leigh

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How have you been offering him the wet food? I had to fix wet food many different ways before I found a way that Nora would eat it. I tried just plopping it into a bowl (the same kind she eats her dry food from), mashing it up in the bowl, and mashing it up on a flat plate. None of that worked. Then I tried adding some water to the food on the flat plate and mixing it up until it turned into this sort of "soupy" runny mixture, and she actually gobbled it up. She preferred to lick it up rather than grab it with her teeth and chew it. Until I tried that I couldn't get her to eat more than a couple bites of wet food. Now she eats it on a regular basis, even begs for it, without skipping a beat.
 

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You'll have to just keep experimenting until you find something your kitties will eat. Every cat is different.

Two of my cats are very picky eaters when it comes to wet food, but at least they have the same preferences so I don't have to cater to two different diets. I can't tell you how many dozens of cans of cat food I gave to the local food bank before I found something they would eat.
that they don't get tired of it.

With my kitties it's more the flavor and texture they want, not so much the brand. They will eat beef, but want only the kind that has actual pieces of beef in it for them to chew. They'll sometimes take the kind that's pressed into cubes, but they let me know it's not really satisfactory. They will eat turkey if there's nothing better on offer, again only the meat-textured pieces. They turn their noses up at chicken and won't touch fish unless it's combined with beef.

I'd like to try venison or duck, but don't have any place close by that sells those. I can't bring myself to pay shipping for just a few cans to try it out.
 
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poppy0109

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Originally Posted by Anlina

Be careful with the Evo dry - it's better than the other dry foods out there because it is grain free, but it's also extremely calorie dense, so he may get his daily allotment of calories before he actually feels full (not so much a problem for a growing kitten but not so good for an adult cat.)

If he really likes the junk wet, maybe try mixing it with the good stuff and slowly transition over? I've also found that meat baby food (make sure it doesn't contain spices) is incredibly appealing to cats - a little smear of it is usually enough to get a cat eating something they previously turned their nose up at. I've heard that a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or oregano can do wonders, though I haven't tried these myself.

It can be a challenge to convince a cat to eat a food that they're indifferent too, but with patience, persistence and some trickery they usually come around, and the health benefits of feeding a good food are worth the effort.
Thank you for the suggestions. I'll remember about the Evo when he gets older and maybe switch it to something still healthy but not as high in calories. I was thinking about mixing the foods. The baby food sounds like a good idea too.

I'm not going to give up but I was hoping it would be easier...like he'd just gooble up one of the healthy ones with no problem.
 
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poppy0109

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Originally Posted by kara_leigh

How have you been offering him the wet food? I had to fix wet food many different ways before I found a way that Nora would eat it. I tried just plopping it into a bowl (the same kind she eats her dry food from), mashing it up in the bowl, and mashing it up on a flat plate. None of that worked. Then I tried adding some water to the food on the flat plate and mixing it up until it turned into this sort of "soupy" runny mixture, and she actually gobbled it up. She preferred to lick it up rather than grab it with her teeth and chew it. Until I tried that I couldn't get her to eat more than a couple bites of wet food. Now she eats it on a regular basis, even begs for it, without skipping a beat.
I've just been plopping it into a small shallow stainless steel bowl...smaller than the one his dry food is in. I did try mixing one with water but it didn't work. He chews up the junk wet food just fine. I'll keep experimenting.
 

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Have you tried warming the wet food? That can increase the appeal.
 
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poppy0109

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Anlina, I tried warming it, he turned his nose up at it.

Last night I tried giving him some Meow Mix Wholesome Goodness and he stuck his nose up at that too. BUT then I mixed it with some Friskies Prime Filets and he ate all of it. AHHA! I fooled him.


Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.
 
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