Starting the switch - wish me luck

Well, we've finally made the decision to try and get Cotton to eat some wet food. For anyone who didn't know, Cotton loves his kibble...as in he won't actually eat canned food unless given absolutely no other choice and even then he barely touches it. Considering his health and the state of his teeth, it seems like a better idea to get him into canned food before his next dental appointment since the last one was nightmarish to try and get him to eat afterwards because he kept trying to go for Freya's kibble. Freya will contnue to get her kibble unless we happen to find a canned food that doesn't upset her stomach. My real focus in this experiment is Cotton. We figure we'll get him to eat one meal a day of kibble and one of canned - that way it won't be too drastic of a switch.

So, last night I went out and bought sveral cans of Blue Spa Select and Avoderm in a variety of flavors...I figure I'll try those two and see if we get a decent reaction, and if not I'll try another two.

Well, after two years of not touching canned food with a 10ft pole, Cotton inhaled half a can of Blue Turkey and Chicken, then wandered back and ate the rest about 10 minutes later. I swear he's trying to make me look like a liar for saying he won't eat canned.

So tonight we'll try another flavor and see how he does. DH is on litterbox duty this week so he's making sure we don't have any food issues from that end.

One quick question though. According to the can, cats should get one can per 5-6 lbs of body weight. Cotton's about 13 lbs, so does one can a day plus his kibble sound like enough? he's a very low energy cat so we've always had to keepp him on the lower end of his feeding range.

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions on my picky cat, I'd love for you to share. I've almost never had a cat who will eat canned, so this is new ground for me.

So apparently for all the times I've tried to get him to eat wet food I should have been trying Blue Spa Select. According to my husband, Cotton bounced around like a ninny this evening when he noticed the can being openned. So far no diarrhea, thank goodness. Hopefully he keeps on liking it.

I'm still not sure of the entire can for one meal. It seems like alot, but that being said, he does eat it, so...

Hi, good luck with your switch. I just did the same thing, so I can feel your pain. I recorded some of my observations on the "Tiny" weight loss thread (in my sig) so that may be of use to you.

As for amounts, well, I can just say that it depends. The standard figure seems to be 1/2 - 1 ounce per pound of body weight, so that would come to 6.5 - 13 ounces per day for your kitty. In my experience, feeding guides tend to overestimate the required amounts, at least for my cat. Maybe the higher number is appropriate for a really active outdoor cat, but probably not for most indoor cats. The particular food makes a difference too because some cans have a lot more calories than others. The best way to know for sure is to weigh him regularly. See if your vet will let you take him in and weigh him for free every month or so and adjust if he's gaining or losing too much.

That sounds like a succesful endeavor. My Passed Hoots would get more and more finicky as time went on. At the end all she would eat is "brand name". and did not even look at the other kittys dishes.

So tonight we tried a bit of the Avoderm with an unusual result. Cotton will eat it, but he's not thrilled by it. Freya, on the other hand, loves it. We ended up having him walk away from his half finished plate to eat her kibble, while she ate his canned.

Sigh. Well, I guess that answers the question of which he prefers. (figures since the avoderm is $0.40 cheaper) At least I know what type of food to buy if we need to get her to eat wet.

Originally Posted by Grogs

As for amounts, well, I can just say that it depends.

The standard figure seems to be 1/2 - 1 ounce per pound of body weight, so that would come to 6.5 - 13 ounces per day for your kitty. In my experience, feeding guides tend to overestimate the required amounts, at least for my cat. Maybe the higher number is appropriate for a really active outdoor cat, but probably not for most indoor cats. The particular food makes a difference too because some cans have a lot more calories than others.

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I've actually been following your thread about Tiny. You're doing a great job with her!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds the amounts a bit elusive.
The one can for diner seems to work well...he eats it all, but he's not begging for food all night. According to the can I think it's 190cal/per can, so guess that's not too much. I'll be swiching back to the Blue Spa tomorrow, since the wrong cat eats the Avoderm and he's not interested enough to stop her. I could seperate them, but if he's not thrilled with it, I'd rather give him something he likes than to go though that effort. Freya won't touch the Blue spa, so at least I won't have to police thier meals.

Well, everything's still going well. Cotton officially gets a can of Blue Spa for dinner. Interesting thing I noticed: since starting on a canned dinner, he's much more of a gentleman in the morning. He used to jump all over us until someone got up and fed him. Now he meows once at the alarm, then curls up and waits for us to get up before running down to his food. The calories are about the same, but I'm wondering if he gets more out of the canned...

Originally Posted by Ms. Freya

Well, everything's still going well. Cotton officially gets a can of Blue Spa or dinner. Interseting thing I noticed: since starting on a canned dinner, he's much more of a gentleman inthe morning. He used to jump ll over us until someone got up and fed him. Now he meows once at the alarm, then curls up and wats for us t get up before running down to his food. The calories are about the same, but I'm wondering if he gets more out of the canned...

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Some of my reading has indicated that a cat's hunger receptors respond to protein. When he eats a high protein meal, it shuts the hunger drive off. One of the contributing factors to feline obesity is the fact that the carbs in dry food don't turn off the hunger receptors, so the cat will eat a lot more than he would otherwise. This could be what you're seeing with Cotton.

Originally Posted by Grogs

Some of my reading has indicated that a cat's hunger receptors respond to protein. When he eats a high protein meal, it shuts the hunger drive off. One of the contributing factors to feline obesity is the fact that the carbs in dry food don't turn off the hunger receptors, so the cat will eat a lot more than he would otherwise. This could be what you're seeing with Cotton.

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That would make sense. It's just strange for him not to constantly be acting like he's starving. He also seems more alert overall.

I've also noticed a huge decrease in Cotton's water consumption, but from reading on here, it seems that's normal - cats on dry food drink alot more. So far I'm really happy with the Blue Spa and it doesn't upset his stomach at all...I do wish it was a little less expensive, but if it helps him out health-wise, that's a small price to pay. I may have to see what other stores in the area sell it and if any of them have a better price.