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- #21
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I Give Up!
- Thread starter bluebo
- Start Date
That IS super news!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
GO BO!!!!!!!!!! :bigthumb: This is a HUGE accomplishment !!! 
And I love Carolina's suggestion about freezing the canned foods in ice trays. IT REALLY WORKS!!!!!!!!! It is always fresh that way and less waste. I also would suggest trying the Fortiflora. I buy it on Amazon. I still have to use it for Perla
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #23
It is a huge accomplishment! I am just so happy
And I love Carolina's suggestion about freezing the canned foods in ice trays. IT REALLY WORKS!!!!!!!!! It is always fresh that way and less waste. I also would suggest trying the Fortiflora. I buy it on Amazon. I still have to use it for Perla
ill start with one small can per day- kibble in the morning and the can in the evening. Then I'll start trying to get him to do 100% wet.... wish me luck!
Yay! Maybe he'll get there afterall
YOU GO, BO!!!!!!!UPDATE: Bo ate an entire can of Fancy Feast (about 3oz)! This is amazing! Just thought I would let you know. Very excited!
So Bluebo, here we are....
Can you give me a rundown of what have you tried? Please don't just say "everything" that doesn't help :lol3:
Is he eating on a schedule?
What times does he eat?
How much wet, how much dry in each feeding?
How long does the feeding last?
Is food available for grazing?
What types/flavors of food have you tried, what does he like, what doesn't he like?
What dry is he eating now?
How much does he weight?
what treats does he like - I mean LOVE - would scratch your eyeballs for? :lol3:
Is he food driven?
What is your budget for canned food?
Please let me know what you have tried and worked, what you have tried and has not worked
Can you give me a rundown of what have you tried? Please don't just say "everything" that doesn't help :lol3:
Is he eating on a schedule?
What times does he eat?
How much wet, how much dry in each feeding?
How long does the feeding last?
Is food available for grazing?
What types/flavors of food have you tried, what does he like, what doesn't he like?
What dry is he eating now?
How much does he weight?
what treats does he like - I mean LOVE - would scratch your eyeballs for? :lol3:
Is he food driven?
What is your budget for canned food?
Please let me know what you have tried and worked, what you have tried and has not worked
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #27
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #28
This may sound like an odd question, but do you feed the wet in a bowl or on a plate? I had to switch Abby from the wet food she loved to one she hated, because of her allergies. I eventually got her to accept to, only if I fed it to her on a paper plate. I mentioned it to my vet one time and she said that cats do prefer to eat off of flat surfaces.
So Bluebo, here we are....
Can you give me a rundown of what have you tried? Please don't just say "everything" that doesn't help
Is he eating on a schedule?
I give him a half a cup of Healthwise (a chicken/rice formula) kibble at about 9am and let him graze until 4pm when I take it up (I put it up and cover it so that he can't smell it) then at about 7-8pm I give (or attempt to give) a 3oz can of Fancy Feast. Ok - here is the first red flag - and your first home work..... To make this transition successful, the very first thing you will have to do, is to put him on a schedule feeding. He will not eat 100% wet if he has dry to graze on throughout the day. Which is why he eats some at night when he is hungry. We need to work with his hunger - NOT starving himI would never ever do that..... And we can do that very gently and slowly - he will not even notice.... I promise you, ok? But he has to be on a schedule.
What times does he eat?
He eats his dry intermittently from 9am-4pm and then his wet at 8pm. Your goal will be 3 feedings - in the am, pm, and before bed. Do you work full time? What times can you feed him?
How much wet, how much dry in each feeding?
Dry is a half cup (he never eats it all) and his wet is 3 oz. This is too much food too.... He might not be hungry enough for an 8lb kitty.... 1/2 cup a day is plenty for him.... the 3oz of wet is extra.... he isn't hungry for the wet :nod:
How long does the feeding last?
He eats his dry several times during the day for about 2 minutes at a time. His wet he'll either completely ignore and try to cover up (like poop) or he'll eat the whole thing.
Is food available for grazing?
Yes from 9am-4pm no mas - has to stop
What types/flavors of food have you tried, what does he like, what doesn't he like?
do you mean dry or wet? for wet
What dry is he eating now?
Healthwise Chicken and Rice since we are going to be transitioning him to a schedule feeding, it would be good to transition him to a high protein/high calorie food - EVO is excellent for that. Reason is, even if he eats a little bit during his scheduled meals, he will be covered with his nutritional needs. Homeworks #2 - Transition him to EVO
How much does he weight?
He weighs almost 8 pounds and he is at a healthy weight Excellent!
what treats does he like - I mean LOVE - would scratch your eyeballs for?
Temptations Good - keep these handy as you might need to crumble some over the wet food to make him eat a full meal :nod:
Is he food driven?
No. Unless its sandwich meats :S You can use this too on the top of the wet food..... Have you tried Halo treats? Does he like it?
What is your budget for canned food?
If he liked a certain food I would make it work. It's more about accessibility to certain brands (I don't shop online, I'm too oldschool lol)
Please let me know what you have tried and worked, what you have tried and has not worked :when
thats a loaded question- we can't do fish (not great for him which works out) because he will just throw up. He mostly prefers chicken items but will do turkey. Mainly any poultry and sometimes beef. He is even fussy with dry! He ate Royal Canin Gastro for a long time (I was dumb and thought it was good for his constipation when it exacerbated it) and he loved it and Healthwise. These are the only two he won't reject.... I've tried almost every wet under the sun but he always ends up rejecting it! He did take Wellness for a while... Fancy Feast is the longest standing food that he will tolerate....
He'll like chunks, pâté, and sliced alternately (meaning hell like it for a little bit and then reject it soon after). Ok, great, so then a variety, but no fish, which is good, anyways! :bigthumb:
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #31
This is a good point and something I never thought of. I feed him out of a bowl. The bowl is stainless steel and does kind of smell weird when I wash it (I wash it after every meal). It gets a type of metallic scent when ever there is moisture in it... could this be the possible cause I wonder!?
While that might help.... Kibbles are coated with fat and animal digest. They are way more enticing to a cat than canned diet. It is like offering a hot dog vs a salad to a child, when both are available side by side. The child will alway go to the hot dog, no matter in what type of plate you serve it.
To make this transition successful Bluebo, you have to remove the kibble from his diet - he can't have the kibbles to graze on all day long, satisfying all his nutritional and caloric needs for the day, a full belly and have the choice to eat wet.
He can..... but he will also make your transition very long and hard...... if not impossible.....
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #33
Carolina- what kind of scheduled feeding would you recommend? I am home 90% of the time (as I am a stay at home mom) and aside from doing chores and going to appointments etc - I can create a schedule pretty easily.
How do I start removing his kibble WITHOUT starving him?
How much dry would you recommend me putting down for him?
He likes mainly poultry type foods (although I haven't tried duck or venison on him yet). He has always preferred Fancy Feast over any other kind but did enjoy Wellness Chicken (enjoy for him anyway).
I can buy a bag of Evo (we live quite a ways from a store that sells it but will be going into town next Friday, unfortunately the earliest I can grab some).
I've tried quite a few brands but I'm not sure about Halo... he's rejected pretty much everything besides Temptations-- even those freeze dried chicken treats!
How do I start removing his kibble WITHOUT starving him?
How much dry would you recommend me putting down for him?
He likes mainly poultry type foods (although I haven't tried duck or venison on him yet). He has always preferred Fancy Feast over any other kind but did enjoy Wellness Chicken (enjoy for him anyway).
I can buy a bag of Evo (we live quite a ways from a store that sells it but will be going into town next Friday, unfortunately the earliest I can grab some).
I've tried quite a few brands but I'm not sure about Halo... he's rejected pretty much everything besides Temptations-- even those freeze dried chicken treats!
I would recommend 3 times a day - however it works with your schedule and with his antics :nod:
Here is how I feed mine, since I work full time, and so do my sitters:
a bit before 9am - before work
around 6pm - after work,
and before bed, around 11:30 pm
You don't need to feed that late in the night.... Just try to space them out as evenly as you can.... So he doesn't have two meals too close together, and doesn't go too long in between the last meal and breakfast. You do want him to be humgry too, so you want quite a few hours in between meals.
You don't need much EVO at all for him, which makes it the nicest food for a transition
EVO is so calorie dense, that even if he eats a little bit on these 3 meals, he will be covered. Lucky for example, was 12lbs when I was transitioning her - all she needed was 3/8 of a cup for the entire day - 1/8 cup per meal! FAR less than any other food :nod:
Halo is quite different from the other freeze dry treats..... While my cats HATE the others, they will go bananas for HALO. (or Whole Life Chicken, essentially the same thing).
Another GREAT tool to have with you, if you haven't tried, is the probiotic Fortiflora - it's main ingredient is animal digest
awful, but highly addictive and the majority of kitties go gaga over it!So, if you haven't tried, I suggest buying a box - Amazon.com has the best price - at the vet it's too much $$$$
And yes, I will teach you a GREAT trick to transition him to a schedule he will not even notice - the same I used to transition Lucky
Totally tricked her, and she was a free-fed kibble girl all her life - she did just fine in no time :nod:- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #35
Ok so do I just start with switching the kibble over to Evo? Leave my routine as is and just switch the dry as the first step??I would recommend 3 times a day - however it works with your schedule and with his antics :nod:
Here is how I feed mine, since I work full time, and so do my sitters:
a bit before 9am - before work
around 6pm - after work,
and before bed, around 11:30 pm
You don't need to feed that late in the night.... Just try to space them out as evenly as you can.... So he doesn't have two meals too close together, and doesn't go too long in between the last meal and breakfast. You do want him to be humgry too, so you want quite a few hours in between meals.
You don't need much EVO at all for him, which makes it the nicest food for a transition
EVO is so calorie dense, that even if he eats a little bit on these 3 meals, he will be covered. Lucky for example, was 12lbs when I was transitioning her - all she needed was 3/8 of a cup for the entire day - 1/8 cup per meal! FAR less than any other food :nod:
Halo is quite different from the other freeze dry treats..... While my cats HATE the others, they will go bananas for HALO. (or Whole Life Chicken, essentially the same thing).
Another GREAT tool to have with you, if you haven't tried, is the probiotic Fortiflora - it's main ingredient is animal digest
So, if you haven't tried, I suggest buying a box - Amazon.com has the best price - at the vet it's too much $$$$
And yes, I will teach you a GREAT trick to transition him to a schedule he will not even notice - the same I used to transition Lucky
Ok Bluebo, here is what I di with Lucky - the very forst thing I did, was to slowly transition her to EVO.
As I said, Lucky was 100% free fed kibbles..... To make matters worst, it was the tastiest, worst to bring her out from - Purina
It's a complicated story that I am not going into - long story short, it was what she would eat after she got out of a blockage (blocked with heairballs and severe constipation) and the vet wanted her on a high fiber hairball formula. She went off food, had to be force-fed for days, and in the end, this is what she "chose" to eat - made he like madness..... but I though it was normal :doh3:
Anyways - I was petrified of starving her - she did NOT eat any wet, and ran from raw like a vampire would run from a cross - the girl HATED anything that was not her beloved yummy kibbles.
and she would eat a few bites at a time.
So - here is what I did:
I established my meal times: 9am, 6pm, and 11:30pm those were the "scheduled meal times for everyone - the "Carnies" - Bugsy and Hope, at the time being transitioned to wet, then raw, were going to have their meals, and Lucky was going to have her kibbles.
It is very important to have a ROUTINE. Down to the same plate, platemat, place you feed..... I can not tell you enough how much cats are geared towards a routine - they live by it.
I picked a place to feed each one of them - a plate, a platemat, and a spot.
At feeding time, I would sit down with Lucky, and give her my full attention - for 20-30 minutes. Feed her fresh, out of the bag kibbles. 1/8 of a cup.
In a second plate, I would put some kibbles down - this kibbles you will not be refreshed until the next day, so they will not be special in any way..... But they will be there in case she was hungry :nod:
Every meal time, you feed him 1/8cup of out of the bag kibbles, and give him your full attention - if you can feed him in a quiet, locked room, all the better - that will make that time special, and give something for him to look forward to :nod:
When meal time is over, pull out the plate with the fresh kibbles you fed and discard them. Write down how much he ate. Put down the other plate of kibbles - you can measure the amount of food in this plate, so you will start noticing when he eats less and less from this plate.
With time, you will notice that like Lucky, he will only want to eat with you, at meal times - he will move into a schedule on his own..... You will notice that he will be eating more and more at meal times, and less and less from the "grazing plate".
At mid point, you will be ready to pull the plate at night time - you will know when you are comfortable enough to do this.
You will also know when you are comfortable enough to pull the grazing plate all together.
These meal times can be wet.... even if you put a little bit in the plate with the kibbles..... It helps too. Adding a bit of wet, even if a TSP with the kibbles, at each meal. But your very first priority is to move him into a schedule. :nod:
Let me know if you have questions!!
As I said, Lucky was 100% free fed kibbles..... To make matters worst, it was the tastiest, worst to bring her out from - Purina
It's a complicated story that I am not going into - long story short, it was what she would eat after she got out of a blockage (blocked with heairballs and severe constipation) and the vet wanted her on a high fiber hairball formula. She went off food, had to be force-fed for days, and in the end, this is what she "chose" to eat - made he
like madness..... but I though it was normal :doh3:Anyways - I was petrified of starving her - she did NOT eat any wet, and ran from raw like a vampire would run from a cross - the girl HATED anything that was not her beloved yummy kibbles.
and she would eat a few bites at a time.
So - here is what I did:
I established my meal times: 9am, 6pm, and 11:30pm those were the "scheduled meal times for everyone - the "Carnies" - Bugsy and Hope, at the time being transitioned to wet, then raw, were going to have their meals, and Lucky was going to have her kibbles.
It is very important to have a ROUTINE. Down to the same plate, platemat, place you feed..... I can not tell you enough how much cats are geared towards a routine - they live by it.
I picked a place to feed each one of them - a plate, a platemat, and a spot.
At feeding time, I would sit down with Lucky, and give her my full attention - for 20-30 minutes. Feed her fresh, out of the bag kibbles. 1/8 of a cup.
In a second plate, I would put some kibbles down - this kibbles you will not be refreshed until the next day, so they will not be special in any way..... But they will be there in case she was hungry :nod:
Every meal time, you feed him 1/8cup of out of the bag kibbles, and give him your full attention - if you can feed him in a quiet, locked room, all the better - that will make that time special, and give something for him to look forward to :nod:
When meal time is over, pull out the plate with the fresh kibbles you fed and discard them. Write down how much he ate. Put down the other plate of kibbles - you can measure the amount of food in this plate, so you will start noticing when he eats less and less from this plate.
With time, you will notice that like Lucky, he will only want to eat with you, at meal times - he will move into a schedule on his own..... You will notice that he will be eating more and more at meal times, and less and less from the "grazing plate".
At mid point, you will be ready to pull the plate at night time - you will know when you are comfortable enough to do this.
You will also know when you are comfortable enough to pull the grazing plate all together.
These meal times can be wet.... even if you put a little bit in the plate with the kibbles..... It helps too. Adding a bit of wet, even if a TSP with the kibbles, at each meal. But your very first priority is to move him into a schedule. :nod:
Let me know if you have questions!!
See my post above- you can do both at the same time :nod:
Just make sure that you swtich slowly - EVO is very rich.....
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- #38
Ok I will try the routine thing! I think that is where I was lacking! I am a very busy mom and that may be what's going wrong.... I'll also try feeding him on a flat surface. Like a saucer instead of his stainless steel bowl. Thanks for all of the advice, I'll keep you updated!
Yeah.... follow those steps..... Transitioning him to EVO will help with the nutritional needs when it comes to eat on a schedule and wet meals....
Put him on a schedule.
Follow the tricks I described to put him on a schedule.....
You will get there - I promise you, you can do this :bigthumb:
Put him on a schedule.
Follow the tricks I described to put him on a schedule.....
You will get there - I promise you, you can do this :bigthumb:
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #40
Update: so today I have started Bo on a 9am, 5pm, 10pm schedule. I will give him wet at 9, a little bit of kibble (haven't figured out how much) and I will leave it for 20 minutes at 5, and then a can of wet at 10pm. He actually DID eat another can of wet overnight (I put it down at about 10 and by morning it was gone).
Maybe this isn't a lost cause.... I'm just scared he will start turning his nose up to everything again :s wish me luck!
Maybe this isn't a lost cause.... I'm just scared he will start turning his nose up to everything again :s wish me luck!
