Is it really going to be this difficult?

I'm transitioning my kitty to wet/grain free, and it's seriously the battle of a lifetime! I've stopped free feeding, but she won't touch any brand of grain-free dry.. I've had a little bit of luck with the Wellness Core dry, but only when mixed with her old Purina. She still picks out most of the Purina pieces and leaves most of the Wellness, but I'm just happy she's getting used to the smell in her dish, because before she wouldn't even touch the Purina if it smelled like Wellness. I leave a teeny tiny bit of the dry mix out as a snack (not free-feeding, just a tablespoon or so.. just in case I get home late or something happens so she has some access to food). She still hunger strikes on the wet, and I'm worried I'm starving her because she eats so little of it! She doesn't love the grain free wet foods (won't touch any higher quality brand except Friskies and FF) but she'll eat the versions that have grain alot easier than the grain free. She'll eat the gravy, chunky Friskies easier as opposed to the pates, and isn't a fan of the FF Classics, even though they're better for her than the other kinds. She'll only eat the grain free versions of these if I sprinkle some Purina kibble on top and, constantly redirect her to her dish after she snubs it the first 5 times. Eventually, while petting her for 10 minutes straight and proclaiming "good girl! oh good kitty! such a good kitty!" she'll eat a little of it. But obviously I don't have time to do this every morning/night. She'll pretty much only each a teaspoon of wet (with a teaspoon of kibble on top) for breakfast, and then a teaspoon of wet (with a teaspoon of kibble on it) for dinner, plus a few bites of kibble during the day. I really don't think that's enough food?!! This is such an awful process, she's insanely picky and won't eat fish or chicken or 'people food'... she won't touch other brands, and seems to know the difference between grain and grain free versions. I feel bad cause they must taste awful to her. She's not big on 'toppers' even though I've tried a ton, it doesn't make a difference, she just snubs it. And she's learned that if she just goes on a hunger strike on me, I eventually panic after 12 hours and give her Purina again. The longest she went was over 26 hours one time, because I'd accidently bought her 'Grreat Choice' instead of FF (the cans look similar) and it freaked me out! So she knows how to work me. I guess I'm just venting my frustration a little bit, it's pretty much the only place other people understand! lol. My friends think I'm nuts reading cat food labels and trying to put my cat on a health kick, when I eat take-out sushi and chinese multiple nights a week. Does it get easier over time? Or have some of you eventually just had to give up and feed what kitty will eat? I really don't think 2 (big) teaspoons of wet plus a little kibble is enough food at all  

Two teaspoons is not enough for her to eat a day. Try gradually increasing the amount of wet while still feeding her enough of the dry. It would be better for her to eat the non-grain free than nothing or too little.  You might also try some Sheba brand. Mine like the turkey dinner in the bits or pate.

That's what I thought.. I keep trying to up the amount but she seems to have a cut off of how much wet she'll eat in a sitting. Just to clarify so no one thinks I'm starving my kitty, I give her way more than a teaspoon, but she'll only eat a teaspoon sized portion of the meal each time, regardless of how much dry she's eaten that day or even if she's barely eaten at all. She's not taking well to 'timed meals' either. I may have to add another wet feeding during the day if I'm home, otherwise she'll have to have dry in between. I do give her the Purina aside from these small meals just to get her to eat a healthy amount, but at the same time, she knows she's getting it so she has no reason to eat what/when I want her to. On the bright side, we had some luck with Friskies Poultry Platter tonight, she ate it without me having to add the Purina topper or coax her into eating it! It was 11pm and she'd already been snacking this evening (I caved again and gave her Purina, because she'd barely eaten all day) so she didn't have too much, but I'm hoping her interest will carry over to tomorrow! She seemed alot more enthusiastic about it and ate it right away as opposed to every other brand I've tried. We'll see what happens with breakfast, fingers crossed I might've found one she likes. It's still only Friskies though. Geez, I always thought having a cat meant you fed it some kibble and it ate, then it got so complicated! lol. My other cats were never this picky.

It can be hard to transition kibble addicts. Your doing great though. I agree with catspaw about not worrying at this point about her foods being grain free. ANY wet food is better then the best dry. It's more important that she eats. Poultry Platter is fine (it's really not that bad). You can use THAT to transition her to better quality later, after she has completely accepted a wet diet. If all she likes is that Friskies, fine, give it to her. Glad to hear she IS making progress

I always recommend Poultry Platter for people that are having trouble with cats eating. It is the stinkiest, wettest, and best nutritionally of all the cheap foods. When I feed it to the ladies, I keep a paper towel handy in case I get some of it on me. EEEWWWWW.

Well, the progress was short lived. She'll eat the Poultry Platter, but won't eat more than a teaspoon before walking away, like all the other wet food brands. I'm at a loss. She pretty much just starves herself and calls my bluff. I've tried everything recommended on here as well as articles on other sites... She just blatantly prefers fish flavors and grain based wet (if its fishy or has grains, she'll eat a whole darn bowl!), so there must be a noticeable taste difference between grain/grain free... same with the dry food. I'm thinking I might have to just call off my whole grain-free quest, because it's just not working. She can tell if I mix and won't touch it. Plus, I'm starting a new job that will require bi-weekly travel, which means for 2 days a week kitty will be left alone (with plenty of food and water) but it would have to be dry... there's no one in my area who could come in to feed her so I would have to leave dry or put her in boarding every other week. I'm seriously considering NOT taking this job because of her, but it would be stupid to turn down a great career move because of my cat's feeding schedule. Ugh. I'm still gonna keep trying, but I feel like all my efforts are going down the drain

One of the best bits of advice I received here: Do not drive yourself crazy over this transition! Take it slowly. Let her do this at her own pace. There have been cats who have taken over a year to transition to canned. Just keep offering her a little of the better foods, making sure she's getting enough food even if it's not the best. Keep putting as much as she will tolerate of the new food next to the old food. Yes, there will be some waste which is frustrating because the better foods aren't cheap! Do not turn down a great job because of your cat's feeding schedule. You will find a way to make it work.

Have you tried just giving her a raw sardine?  When Transitioning my kitty to raw, it was the 'OMG i'm in heaven' look that I got.  I buy them from Superstore (or Loblaws) in the frozen fish section.  They come uncleaned (guts and all) which kitties like.  I just put one in a baggie and then into a dish of cold water for an hour.  For the first go, I descale it and hacked it up  into pieces. 

Just try cutting it up around her dinner time when she's watching you in the kitchen, and 'drop' a piece 'oops!' on the floor and see what she does.  If she eats it, do it again.

If that works then you can add a few bits to her wet food, and see if its enough of a draw.  This isn't something that you can feed daily but may help get her a taste for wet rather than dry.  Now my little guy gets one a week.

You could also try raw egg yolk (good calories for small amounts) and see if she likes it. If she does then you can try drizzling some over her wet.
 

Will she eat cooked meat? I've found that most cats will. If so, maybe try cooking for her? It takes time, but if you're putting this much time and effort into getting her to eat canned food, you might as well go all out :tongue2:. I have one cat who wouldn't eat enough canned OR dry (she was accustomed to free-feeding on dry, but that can't happen here because the other cats will eat it fast!), and was losing weight. I started cooking for her and she's super excited about mealtimes now. This is the site I started with: http://www.dogcathomeprepareddiet.com/index.htm

Thanks for the suggestions! I've tried the fish (cooked and raw) as well as meat (cooked and raw) and she won't go near it.. She's not the type of cat that has any interest in any food other than her stupid kibble. I got her to eat a teeny tiny piece of cooked chicken (once) in the entire time I've had her and she never touched it since. My cat growing up wanted whatever food you had, so it's weird to have a cat this picky now.. my last one always wanted your dinner, snack, milk, cheese, rice... whatever you were eating she wanted a piece of! And this one could care less. The most she'll ever do is sniff and walk away. I'll keep offering and I'll try a sardine but I really don't know if she's ever going to cave. I'll try cooking too, I just don't understand what's apparently so tasty about her kibble... it looks/smells gross to me and there's no way it can be that tasty!

Have you tried Fortiflora as a topper? Because it contains the animal digest that's used in kibble to make it so enticing, FF seems to work well for kibble addicts.

vball91 said:

Have you tried Fortiflora as a topper? Because it contains the animal digest that's used in kibble to make it so enticing, FF seems to work well for kibble addicts.

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I haven't tried that yet! What exactly is it? I know it's some sort of probiotic, but is it safe to feed regularly? Do you have to use the whole pouch?

It's marketed as a pet probiotic but it isn't actually a good one, single strain, not very strong. It's expensive at the vet's, much cheaper on Amazon. You want to use as little as possible to get the job done, so not even close to the whole packet.

I agree with vball91, there are much better ones, much cheaper.

That said, because it tastes so good, you could save it for when you have to pill/give a liquid to your cat.  Ritz literally jumped up on the countertop and licked the inside of the foil package, it was that good.  (I was also giving her a liquid flavored Reglan.)

My healthy wet food crusade is failing miserably, so I'm thinking I may have to just feed her the wet food she likes (that has grains) for now until she accepts a mostly wet diet. Then in a few months when she's okay with the texture and idea of canned food in general, I'll start with the grain free again and maybe then it won't be so much of a change for her. It's clearly not happening right now, and I don't have 35 minutes every morning before work to follow her around with her dish and beg her to eat her food. I'm still going to try out the Fortiflora though just to see if it makes a miraculous difference... I wonder if that would work on top of her Wellness Core dry that she won't eat?? I'll update when I try it out.

Have you tried the Weruva brand wet cat food? It is grain free, and I was told that for those picky cats who are hard to switch to wet.. this is the brand that gets them hooked.  It looks more like food - Not Pate, has lots of broth and might be a good try for your little critter.
 

Ps - if she likes the fishy flavor, try the Mack and Jack flavor of the Weruva

But of course if that doesn't work go back to square one.  Soak her kibble in water.  Baby steps.  Get her used to hydrated food - don't let her have it dry, and once that is accepted because it tastes the same, slowly mix it with a proper wet food  and increasing the ratio slowly. 

My very picky eater likes both weruva and tiki cat. He also needs a topper so I put both fortiflora and freeze dried chicken on his food. He doesn't need a topper on the tiki cat ahi tuna and chicken but I am trying to limit it because feeding too much fish isn't good, but he will almost eat a whole can of this flavour everytime which never happens with any other food. 

Hello, sparklexo,

I feel your pain.

I've been working on transitioning my older cat, Buddy, to wet and/or raw. Even with toppers and tasty kinds like Weruva, he's been a juice-licker at best.

He was gaining weight on Blue Wilderness dry. Although it was grain free, it wasn't low carb. He hated Wellness Core. He liked EVO, but both cats got diarrhea from it. It ended up being a batch on recall. I then used Nature's Variety and then Young Again. I'm still with the Young Again dry right now as it's pretty low carb, and his picky self eats it. I've read of diabetic cats coming off of insultin with their zero carb version. So, if he must have kibble, at least I can give him a low carb one.

Two nights ago, Buddy finally ate some raw. He ate one nugget of Primal frozen raw in the quail flavor. Last night he ate a nugget and a half. This is after a year! Yes, a year! Some cats are just fussy and stubborn.

Mostly I've had to just try to not stress out about it. If he won't eat what's ideal, I have to find something close that he will eat.

Luckily, Lily, my younger cat, eats anything not put away.

Here's Buddy



With his BFF Lily.