My kitten is not eating dry food anymore

Hi Everyone!





I was hoping someone could help me, i am in quite a tricky situation.





I have two kittens, now with 8 months each, both boys.



One of them (Theo) is already castrated but it is still too soon for the second (Bubba).



After Theo got castrated, we had to change his kibble for the sterilized kind (we feed them Royal-Canin kibble, by the way, Kitten for Bubba and Sterilized for Theo).





By that time, feeding the cats was already a problem. Before, i would leave their food out pretty much all day, but now, since they eat different foods, I pretty much have to supervise the meal times, otherwise they will eat each other's food, and I don't want Theo to gain weight (he is already quite big and heavy for his age).





But now it is even worse: Bubba has grown tired of the kitten food. He eats less than half and walks away. He wants to eat the sterilized food more than his own, and I am starting to be worried that he will lose weight... He does love the wet food, but it is quite expensive, and if I give wet food to one, I will have to give it to both of them..





Now, my problem is what to do with his kibble as well! I bough a big pack of kitten food (was on sale) and now he won't eat it! He loves raw food and wet food like there is no tomorrow, so I was also wondering if I should just switch them to home-made food..





What do you think is better? Do you have any advice on what to do with the remaining kitten kibble? Should I just switch them to home-made food (I hear such horrors about kibble food being bad for cats..)?



Thanks for your help!

That is great news! Yeah, dry diets are....drying. And often high carb. Not what you want for your kitties, especially as male kitties are at higher risk of urinary blockages and so forth.

I would donate the kibble to a shelter or return it if the store allows it, and feed them all grain free/low carb wet and raw. If you are interested in a homemade diet, please do your research (the raw forum can help you out I am sure) as it is very important to make sure they are getting all they need via supplementation, etc. Some grain free canned is cheaper than others (i.e. Fancy Feast classics is on cheaper end, and othef options like Wellness, Weruva, NVI, Evo, etc range in price)

I am not sure why they need to be on different diets right now? I don't know much about Royal Canin but I have seen that it is high in carbs and such and of course, the dry stuff is dry. I have never heard anything convincing to say Royal Canin is a great food, though the price certainly is higher.

But they can both be on an all wet/raw diet so no need to feed them different things, IMO, unless there are certain allergies, etc.

No need for your one kitty to lose weight if you ensure they are being fed the proper amount of calories for them....you just need to make sure they are eating and enjoying it! As they are kittens, usually you should still be free feeding them anyway, unless one is getting overweight.

Also, they can sterilize kitties way before 8 months for sure...so not sure why you can't get Bubba neutered?

ScubaCat (love that name by the way), has given you some very good advice. Feeding a wet and/or raw diet for both cats is ideal. Seeing as you have already started feeding this and they are loving it, the transition should be pretty easy and actually now is the perfect time before they become too accustomed to eating kibble food.

Much of the Royal Canin foods contain some corn and/or other carb products which are cheap sources of protein and not good for cats. Its best to stay clear of this kind of food and feed a meat-based wet food which will be better for your cats in the long run. Is there a particular reason why you are serving the sterilized food?

Barring any existing medical condition, you should be able to get Bubba neutered right now and its best to do this before he becomes sexually mature to prevent spraying and behavioral problems.

Donating the leftover kibble to a shelter is a great idea and I am sure the shelter would be most grateful.

Good luck and enjoy your kitties.

ScubaCat said:

That is great news! Yeah, dry diets are....drying. And often high carb. Not what you want for your kitties, especially as male kitties are at higher risk of urinary blockages and so forth.

I would donate the kibble to a shelter or return it if the store allows it, and feed them all grain free/low carb wet and raw. If you are interested in a homemade diet, please do your research (the raw forum can help you out I am sure) as it is very important to make sure they are getting all they need via supplementation, etc. Some grain free canned is cheaper than others (i.e. Fancy Feast classics is on cheaper end, and othef options like Wellness, Weruva, NVI, Evo, etc range in price)

Click to expand...

Thanks ScubaCat, for the great advice. Yes, it is a bit of a stretch, but I think that I can find some reasonably priced good quality wet food for them. If not, I will consider making my own. But yes, I even tried giving them some grinded raw chicken thigh and they actually loved it, I was very surprised. Maybe because they are kittens, they are still very keen to try new things

And good idea about the shelter!

oneandahalfcats said:

Much of the Royal Canin foods contain some corn and/or other carb products which are cheap sources of protein and not good for cats. Its best to stay clear of this kind of food and feed a meat-based wet food which will be better for your cats in the long run. Is there a particular reason why you are serving the sterilized food?

Barring any existing medical condition, you should be able to get Bubba neutered right now and its best to do this before he becomes sexually mature to prevent spraying and behavioral problems.

Click to expand...

Well, When I took Theo to be neutered, the vet advised to change the kibble to avoid weight gain, that is why I changed Theo to the Sterilized kibble.. But yes, I suppose I can just give him a bit less food if I see he is gaining weight.. I would actually prefer, because supervision of all meals is horrible.

The reason Bubba is not neutered is that he is evolving a bit slower and I didn't want to take them both at the same time (Theo went about 2 weeks ago to be neutered).. But now yes, I need to take Bubba as well, and very soon I will.

Yeah, really no need to switch your kitty's diet just as he is fixed. For one, he is still a kitten. He needs to eat a lot of quality food (eg high protein, low carb) to help him grow. Second, as already said, most of those weight maintenance diets are high carb. Finally, his energy needs depend on his ideal weight and activity level...not all kitties get lazy just because they are fixed! In any event, you can still feed him yummy good quality food...just watch the calories he gets. Indeed you might find with a great quality diet they still play like kittens for many, many years!

That is great they like raw! We recently adopted Jackie who is 3 and was fed mostly cheaper dry with some cheaper wet and turns out she loves the ground (commercial) raw I am feeding her (along with grain-free canned). I know that before we adopted her she has caught a mouse or bird or two so that might be why she was so eager, I tried an HPP raw (NVI) before and she was less interested - she likes it to be quite meaty! So I am using a Canadian manufacturer right now that offers a variety of meats. I am going to try doing a few treats of chicken chunks (

For any of you thinking about getting into the Raw arena, we have a great Raw Forum here:  http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-home-cooked-cat-food  

There are TONS of resources to help you get started.  Here is the resources thread:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264154/raw-feeding-resources

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
For any of you thinking about getting into the Raw arena, we have a great Raw Forum here:  http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-home-cooked-cat-food  

There are TONS of resources to help you get started.  Here is the resources thread:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264154/raw-feeding-resources

Click to expand...

A huge thanks to MrsGreenJeens and ScubaCat for your help!

I went through the resources and we decided to switch our kitties to raw diet. 

We will order the supplement pre-mix (easier for beginners like me ), and for the time being I will transition them from dry to wet food, and then to raw. I know they like the raw a LOT, but I'm afraid the sudden change will be rough on their stomachs, so I will switch them a bit slower

We also decided to have Buba neutered next week.

Anyway, thank you all for the help! This is a great community, and I will definitely stick around, you helped me take better care of my babies!

Can't wait to hear all about their journey into raw.  I think you will be so pleased  with you "new" kitties    Sounds like THEY will be very happy  

BTW, glad Bubba is getting neutered too.  I've always heard that neutered males are much more loving.  I've never had an unaltered male, but I can certainly attest to the fact that my two boys are SO loving, they are like my shadow....I can't go anywhere without them being right there, and they aren't kittens by any means.  They are now 5 years old.  They've been this way with me their entire lives...well ever since they adopted us anyway, when they were 4 1/2 months old.