RANT!

bluebo · Nov 21, 2012

Ok I have fed Bo the best of the best. The most expensive. Dry. Wet. Raw. HE IS SO FUSSY.
He is now down to ONE wet food that he likes- Merrick- (three flavours- turducken, thanksgiving dinner, and Grammys pot pie).
Raw-- I have offered him PMR, boneless and bone in. Not yet pre-made
Kibble-- Healthwise, Royal Canin Medi Cal Gastro, Evo, Innova, Wellness Core
Wet-- almost every brand available to me-- Friskies, Whiskas, Fancy Feast, Evo, Merrick BG, Weruva duck, etc (I can't even remember them all). I have fed different flavours and texture types.
He refuses to eat all of them!!
I feel so angry and frustrated. I have switched them up. I have mixed them (example- I mixed half Wellness grain free and half Merrick Turducken) and nothing. He WON'T EAT ANYTHING.
I'm not wasting anymore money/time on feeding him. He either eats or he doesn't./rant
Anyone else have this experience?

gooned · Nov 22, 2012

I have one that I can't break off Meow Mix Pate Toppers. I was happy she was so crazy about a food but did not realize that all of the Meow Mix wet foods have fish as the main ingredient. Right now, I have five cans of other non-fish foods in the fridge. She licks some of them and walks away. My concern now is whether she is eating enough. I'm probably going to break down and go get some Toppers today to make sure.

It is frustrating but as long as they are eating enough of anything...

Good luck to both of us

hersheys mom · Nov 22, 2012

You are not alone. There are many picky eaters out there. My current Tortie will eat anything you give her, and my feral Burmese would eat only Wellness. My current Burmese ran up a fortune in vet bills because she had diarrhea for 4 months after being trapped, and we couldn't get rid of it. Turned out the great folk on this site did what my vet couldn't - got rid of the diarrhea. They suggested I start her on good food, like Weruva and Petite Cuisine, dump the kibble, and begin slowly introducing raw. Less than 24 hours after switching her food (which she inhaled), she had her first regular bowel movement in 4 months. Before switching her food, it was a "I'm NOT eating that" battle constantly. This is costly, takes up your time going to the pet stores, and makes you angry at your cat. He isn't eating, so my guess is there is something wrong with him healthwise or what you are offering him is totally unappealing to him. I think you need to get your cat excited about eating again. Cats are very stubborn. They can go several days without eating, and it can become a battle of wills. You need to get him excited about eating again, and unfortunately, you won't do it with Friskies, Whiskas or Fancy Feast. Twinkies on a plate. Junk food. Wellness is a decent food, perhaps it's the flavor he doesn't like. My suggestion, and I am a newbie to this new feeding style but it does work, is to try and locate a pet "health" store. My feral Burmese started the "I'm NOT eating that" thing about 2 weeks ago. For a former dumpster diver, she's pretty nervie. So I went to the health food store (it was my first visit), and they gave me some cans of Petite Cuisine. Shredded Chicken, Chicken and Pumkin, Weruva, and raw food. Yummy stuff. The food looked so good I was tempted to taste it. And all you can see is the meat and broth. Pure food, no cereal, grain or junk. I too was leary, but not only did she devour the first can, she started crying for more. I've never seen a cat so excited about eating. Now if I walk into her room without a bowl in my hand she starts crying. Give it one more shot, please. The ladies (and gents) on this forum are very knowledgable, and they can help you. Try their suggestions. They just saved me another $250 vet bill (I was supposed to take another stool sample in for testing but now she seems to be going normally) and have taught me how to properly feed my cats. Hershey Rose has not refused a single can of food since I switched to the "good stuff". And she didn't even hesitate eating raw. We are both happy now. As soon as the rest of the old canned food is gone, Minja, the Tortie, will also be transitioned to raw.

bluebo · Nov 22, 2012

Hersheys Mom said:
You are not alone. There are many picky eaters out there. My current Tortie will eat anything you give her, and my feral Burmese would eat only Wellness. My current Burmese ran up a fortune in vet bills because she had diarrhea for 4 months after being trapped, and we couldn't get rid of it. Turned out the great folk on this site did what my vet couldn't - got rid of the diarrhea. They suggested I start her on good food, like Weruva and Petite Cuisine, dump the kibble, and begin slowly introducing raw. Less than 24 hours after switching her food (which she inhaled), she had her first regular bowel movement in 4 months. Before switching her food, it was a "I'm NOT eating that" battle constantly. This is costly, takes up your time going to the pet stores, and makes you angry at your cat. He isn't eating, so my guess is there is something wrong with him healthwise or what you are offering him is totally unappealing to him. I think you need to get your cat excited about eating again. Cats are very stubborn. They can go several days without eating, and it can become a battle of wills. You need to get him excited about eating again, and unfortunately, you won't do it with Friskies, Whiskas or Fancy Feast. Twinkies on a plate. Junk food. Wellness is a decent food, perhaps it's the flavor he doesn't like. My suggestion, and I am a newbie to this new feeding style but it does work, is to try and locate a pet "health" store. My feral Burmese started the "I'm NOT eating that" thing about 2 weeks ago. For a former dumpster diver, she's pretty nervie. So I went to the health food store (it was my first visit), and they gave me some cans of Petite Cuisine. Shredded Chicken, Chicken and Pumkin, Weruva, and raw food. Yummy stuff. The food looked so good I was tempted to taste it. And all you can see is the meat and broth. Pure food, no cereal, grain or junk. I too was leary, but not only did she devour the first can, she started crying for more. I've never seen a cat so excited about eating. Now if I walk into her room without a bowl in my hand she starts crying. Give it one more shot, please. The ladies (and gents) on this forum are very knowledgable, and they can help you. Try their suggestions. They just saved me another $250 vet bill (I was supposed to take another stool sample in for testing but now she seems to be going normally) and have taught me how to properly feed my cats. Hershey Rose has not refused a single can of food since I switched to the "good stuff". And she didn't even hesitate eating raw. We are both happy now. As soon as the rest of the old canned food is gone, Minja, the Tortie, will also be transitioned to raw.

I've tried all canned foods that are available to me (MANY different brands). He eats the brands of food that he enjoys very well. He is almost 8 pounds and eats a 5.5 oz can per day, if it is Merrick then he LOVES eating it. He gets very excited about meal time as long as it is Merrick.
My concern is- what if there is a recall (and I know Merrick has had quite a few recalls in the past)?
I am trying to give him a rotation of brands but the only brand he will eat is Merrick which concerns me. If there was a recall I would have no choice but to put him back on kibble and I DON'T want to do that.
I have tried (as I said in my original thread) different flavours and textures from all different brands (excluding fish as he gets sick when he eats fish anyway).
He will either A. Eat it for a short time and then turn his nose up or B. flat out refuse it.
I am at my wits end.
This is getting expensive and very, VERY frustrating.
Last night I actually felt upset enough to cry... I'm trying so hard for this cat.

gooned · Nov 22, 2012

Count your blessing that he is consistent with his love of Merrick - a decent quality food. My problem child finally ate today after I went and got some Friskies. Now I have 5 opened cans in the fridge that I have to feed the other two cats. I'll have to start on square one again with getting her to eat the better quality food. I am relieved that she is still eating which is always a major concern of old cats.

Now for our problem... Here is a link to an article about transitioning cats from dry food to wet food. She has some suggestions that may work in our case. I'm going to try slowly mixing in the quality food with the Friskies. I may also try some freeze-dried toppers. The article says patience is key and the process may take months.

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Tips for Transitioning PDF 1-14-11.pdf

Good luck

bluebo · Nov 22, 2012

gooned said:
Count your blessing that he is consistent with his love of Merrick - a decent quality food. My problem child finally ate today after I went and got some Friskies. Now I have 5 opened cans in the fridge that I have to feed the other two cats. I'll have to start on square one again with getting her to eat the better quality food. I am relieved that she is still eating which is always a major concern of old cats.

Now for our problem... Here is a link to an article about transitioning cats from dry food to wet food. She has some suggestions that may work in our case. I'm going to try slowly mixing in the quality food with the Friskies. I may also try some freeze-dried toppers. The article says patience is key and the process may take months.

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Tips for Transitioning PDF 1-14-11.pdf

Good luck

My cat doesn't eat dry... or do you mean you are attempting to transition from kibble to canned?

pichachoo · Nov 22, 2012

So glad I'm not the only one with fussy kitties. Mine does not eat wet food unless its tuna, and not cat food tuna as well, I have to buy it and flake it for them. They also only eat Royal Canin which I switched over to after all 7 got sick from Hills. The new kitty eats any brand of wet food and loves her Royal Canin kitten kibble. But they can be very fussy.

gooned · Nov 23, 2012

bluebo said:
My cat doesn't eat dry... or do you mean you are attempting to transition from kibble to canned?

No. I'm trying to get her off fish-based wet food. The link discusses methods to get them off dry food and onto wet food. However, many of the tips can be used to transition them to a new food, either wet or dry.

bluebo · Nov 23, 2012

gooned said:
No. I'm trying to get her off fish-based wet food. The link discusses methods to get them off dry food and onto wet food. However, many of the tips can be used to transition them to a new food, either wet or dry.

Isn't it fun having an anal kitty? Not.
Well, he finally ate a half and half mix of Wellness GF and Merrick. So I suppose I will always have to mix Merrick with foods that he isn't fond of... I want him to get nutrition from multiple brands/protein sources!

mewlittle · Nov 23, 2012

bluebo said:
Ok I have fed Bo the best of the best. The most expensive. Dry. Wet. Raw. HE IS SO FUSSY.
He is now down to ONE wet food that he likes- Merrick- (three flavours- turducken, thanksgiving dinner, and Grammys pot pie).
Raw-- I have offered him PMR, boneless and bone in. Not yet pre-made
Kibble-- Healthwise, Royal Canin Medi Cal Gastro, Evo, Innova, Wellness Core
Wet-- almost every brand available to me-- Friskies, Whiskas, Fancy Feast, Evo, Merrick BG, Weruva duck, etc (I can't even remember them all). I have fed different flavours and texture types.
He refuses to eat all of them!!
I feel so angry and frustrated. I have switched them up. I have mixed them (example- I mixed half Wellness grain free and half Merrick Turducken) and nothing. He WON'T EAT ANYTHING.
I'm not wasting anymore money/time on feeding him. He either eats or he doesn't./rant
Anyone else have this experience?

yes mu cat mikaela UGH i have to syringe feed her and cats shouldn't go more then 3 days with out food and maybe he has a health problem?

bluebo · Nov 23, 2012

Mewlittle said:
yes mu cat mikaela UGH i have to syringe feed her and cats shouldn't go more then 3 days with out food and maybe he has a health problem?

Unfortunately, the only person that can tell you if your cat has a health issue is your vet. Cats are notorious for being stubborn if they don't like the food. The usually will hold out for something they like, if you allow them to hold out for too long, it could CAUSE health problems.

barbb · Nov 24, 2012

Yes my kitties are very particular about the food they eat as well. Mine like Natural Balance along with some of the fancy feast brands as a garnish :-). What I have found is that they will consider other cat foods that have the same or similar texture, or in the case of fish, that are similar to human foods. But they are pretty much not interested an anything with a pate texture, a soupy texture, or a consumme texture.

I had an older cat (we adopted her at age 12) with irritable bowel disease many years ago and the only food she could eat was Waltham senior wet food. I ordered it by the case from Petsmart. Then they stopped making it and I had no backup food. I tried to get her to eat other things but she didn't want any other food, and whatever she was able to get down, gave her horrible diarrhea. It was really awful.

So I know what you mean, and just like you, I always try to keep my kitties interested in several different brands of food because of this experience. If I were you, I would aim for foods of similar texture. Merrick is so unique though! What about Soulistic?

mani · Nov 24, 2012

My boy has always eaten anything, and lots of it, although now he's turned one (a teenager) he's become a bit picky.

My 3 year old girl, on the other hand, is really picky, and is getting really thin, which is such a worry. And if I do put down a food she has decided she's wild about, she gulps it down and throws it all back up again.

Good thing we love them so much

RANT!

bluebo

TCS Member

Thread starter

gooned

TCS Member

hersheys mom

TCS Member

bluebo

TCS Member

Thread starter

gooned

TCS Member

bluebo

TCS Member

Thread starter

pichachoo

TCS Member

gooned

TCS Member

bluebo

TCS Member

Thread starter

mewlittle

TCS Member

bluebo

TCS Member

Thread starter

barbb

TCS Member

mani

Moderator and fervent feline fan

Latest Posts

Connect with us