Matt's refusing all wet food but cheap brands.......and can eat corn now????

One of the first things I did with Matt's food, after I got him was take him off Science diet...we'd had him a month and he was still having soft stools. Vet checked him clean, and so I figured it was dietary. Researh told me that many cats can't tolerate corn, so I put him on a corn-free kibble. we ran out the day before paycheque, and borrowed some Kirkland dry food from a neighbour...and again the runs. A month later, the vet says, put him on Dental food(Science diet) and within 24 hours he's got the runs again so by now I'm CERTAIN it's ingredients in the dry food doing it...and sure it's corn gluten(that's the common ingredient in all 3 foods)

Fast forward 10 months.

Matt's been on Wellness wet and other canned brands since June, and doing very well with a little Kibble to help fill him up(almost grain free..it has oats) My kids have been swiping his food to feed to the outdoor cats and I'm running low-so I grabbed a bag of Friskies dry. 

Well obviously, Matt wanted some too, when they fed the outdoor cats, so I let him try some and he's had no adverse reaction after 2weeks of frequent exposure to corn-based foods! now I'm NOT complaining...just confused.....and wondering if this means he can go on a dental food now like the vet wanted in the first place?

Could his digestive system have simply been ravashed from living on the streets outside an ice rink and now healed after months of good diet??

If he has healed from a healthy diet I think the last thing you should do is go back to a corn based diet. Stick with what got him healthy and he did well on. Even if you aren't noticing any side affects, corn still is not a healthy ingredient for cat food. It can lead to obesity and diabetes. Stick with the healthier foods.

I don't know... but why would you want him on lower quality food when he will take high quality wet? I wish my cat would do that...,

Yea, I see no reason to put him back on an unhealthy diet. Not to mention I don't believe in the dental kibble whatsoever. If Matt has teeth problems, they can easily be resolved with gizzards and teeth brushing. :nod:

The dental food is my vet's reccomendation. I have kept him on wellness, but he's refusing it the last week....opting to go hungry until I give him canned friskies. so right now I'm doing 3 days on wellness and one friskies, to keep his diet more where I want it than him. But I'm throwing out about half of what I give him and it's frustrating me. Wellness is a smooth pate, as opposed to the more grainy texture of the friskies....if it's a texture issue, maybe someone could suggest a brand for me?

I do brush his teeth, almost daily(It's a two person job and I can't always get a helper to hold him)with CET toothpaste

I'm not sure what Friskies texture is like exactly, but Merrick canned foods have more texture than Wellness. Mine love all of them. Especially Cowboy cookout.

I don't have a problem with Friskies paté canned food. If that's what he wants, why not? But Friskies dry is pretty crummy. . .yeah, for outdoor ferals it's OK, better than eating out of a dumpster, but I have a serious problem with purple kibbles. . .:tongue2:.

It's good that his tummy isn't so sensitive now! Nothing worse than a kitty getting violently ill from one bite of the wrong food!

Matts mom said:

But I'm throwing out about half of what I give him and it's frustrating me.

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Why are you throwing out so much food? The rest can be put in the fridge for later. :nod:

Minka said:

Why are you throwing out so much food? The rest can be put in the fridge for later.

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because it's already been in the fridge, then when I pull it out, I have to mix warm water in to get it warm enough for him to eat so if he doesn't eat it, it's ruined. Plus, I leave it down for about an hour for him to eat(or not) before picking it up....because he's picky about temperature, and if it's not warm enough, he'll refuse it to start but come back a few minutes later.

If you're brushing his teeth, I don't see why he'd need the dental food. That's usually recommended for cats whose people can't brush their teeth.

As for the food, have you tried any "enticement" toppers, like freeze dried treats? It helps change the smell of the food and may encourage him to dig in...

Matts mom said:

because it's already been in the fridge, then when I pull it out, I have to mix warm water in to get it warm enough for him to eat so if he doesn't eat it, it's ruined. Plus, I leave it down for about an hour for him to eat(or not) before picking it up....because he's picky about temperature, and if it's not warm enough, he'll refuse it to start but come back a few minutes later.

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If I had a cat who had trouble eating much, I would go teaspoon by teaspoon, instead of just leaving a big pile, so there wouldn't be so much waste. :nod:

If he's doing well I don't see any reason to change his diet. Mine are on a mostly wet diet, about 90% wet to 10% dry. I would much rather mine be on a wet diet even if it was cheaper brands of food. I'm not familiar with the Friskies brand. Mine get Nutro Max Cat - 3.5oz cans which is chunks and gravy type texture and the Nutro Natural Choice 3.5oz cans which are mostly pate' textures. I also mix up their wet diet diet with a lot of other brands to give them texture and flavor variety.

One of the less expensive brands I try now and then is Fancy Feast. The cats like it sometimes and I usually buy the classics. Never tried Friskies but if it was the only wet they would eat, that is what I would give them. I favor a wet diet over an all kibble diet for my cats.

For kibble the only kibble my cats will eat is the Nutro Max Cat Indoor Chicken flavor. Period. Believe me, I have tried ALL the others including Nutro Natural Choice (which they will not touch).

You don't want loose stools anymore so I would most likely go with the proven winner here. If a change needs to be made, maybe do it gradually to see how he fares with the different wet foods and see if you can find a win-win situation.

Any time I've looked at the ingredients of Science Diet (or any other food the vet sells) it looks like total crap.  I don't think it's healthy at all, plus you're getting ripped off if you're paying out the nose for what is essentially garbage.  A good "dental food" is chunks of raw meat.  Chewing the meat is very good for the teeth.  Maybe you could even stop brushing his teeth every day.  

If you're throwing out food, I would keep the can in the fridge and just spoon out a little bit into his dish.  Then you can add warm water or whatever.  

As for refusing food, I have no advice in that regard.  I have cats that eat everything, so my inclination is to just give them the food you want to feed them and don't give them anything else.  

socksy said:

As for refusing food, I have no advice in that regard.  I have cats that eat everything, so my inclination is to just give them the food you want to feed them and don't give them anything else.  

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Yup, this is how Grim is too.
When I first got him and he was on kibble, he was picky about wet, so I did a slow transition with more and more wet, but as it got down to me counting out how many kibbles he got I said THIS IS RIDICULOUS (xD) and stopped giving dry all together. Then he started getting picky on wet, and I was making lists of what he liked and didn't like, and again I thought 'this is ridiculous' and I just.. stopped giving in. What I put down is what's for dinner and nothing else and well.. he's not picky about anything anymore.

Minka said:

Yup, this is how Grim is too.
When I first got him and he was on kibble, he was picky about wet, so I did a slow transition with more and more wet, but as it got down to me counting out how many kibbles he got I said THIS IS RIDICULOUS (xD) and stopped giving dry all together. Then he started getting picky on wet, and I was making lists of what he liked and didn't like, and again I thought 'this is ridiculous' and I just.. stopped giving in. What I put down is what's for dinner and nothing else and well.. he's not picky about anything anymore.

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So basically wait him out on the wellness, since that's what I like to feed him. Feed him the friskies wet only when I run out and buy food  at the corner store, not when he asks for it, and he should go back to his usual non-picky self. He'll eat any kibble I buy him, because it's kibble....and he's only allowed it in the early morning now when hubby feeds him to stop him from waking me up so as far as he's concerned kibble is treats lol. He's down to a 15ml medicine cup per day now with his main food now being canned and leftover bird or fish meat saved from when I bake dinner

Matts mom said:

Feed him the friskies wet only when I run out and buy food  at the corner store, not when he asks for it, and he should go back to his usual non-picky self.

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In theory, yes.

I think a lot of people fuss too much over what their pet eats (or doesn't). Some days I don't eat very much, some days I eat more. . .I would hate for someone to get all freaky on me for not eating what they think I should eat. In dogs, especially, I think this stress can actually CAUSE picky eating behaviors. Cats aren't as tuned to our emotions as dogs are but I think it still has an effect.

Of course, we do need to monitor our pets' eating habits, obviously a cat not eating has serious consequences. But not too much hovering . I don't fuss over who eats what when (except to make sure everyone IS eating) at my house, and nobody has starved yet :tongue2:.

I'm not fussing about what he isn't eating so much as wondering if his new-found tolerance for corn would allow me to follow vet reccommendations and put him on dental food....his appetite isn't suffering at all, he's only picky with higher-quality foods.I wondered about royal canin's dental kibble as his dry portion since he can tolerate corn...Then the vet can stop trying to put him on science diet(which I know he can't eat but they keep pushing)

What canned Friskies are you feeding him? I feed my cats Pate' style only, and there is no corn in it. The only grain I usually see on the ingredients list is rice, and it's not a main ingredient.

I stay away from the "chunks of meat in gravy type" cat food b/c it's just processed wheat gluten.

My cat's won't eat anyrhing but Friskies. I've tried expensive stuff to no avail. They want what they want.

bigperm20 said:

What canned Friskies are you feeding him? I feed my cats Pate' style only, and there is no corn in it. The only grain I usually see on the ingredients list is rice, and it's not a main ingredient.
I stay away from the "chunks of meat in gravy type" cat food b/c it's just processed wheat gluten.
My cat's won't eat anyrhing but Friskies. I've tried expensive stuff to no avail. They want what they want.

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That's what I feed him too, in between the wellness. the corner store sells it for 69cents a can, which isn't too bad when I can't get to the pet store and he LOVES it I know I can get it cheaper at other stores, if I buy cases Walmart works out to about 50/can but I try not to keep too much in the house at a time, or I don't bother buying his wellness and he puts on weight with Friskies exclusively.