Converting to Wet/Raw

catdancing1

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Well it's not going well.  I have cut back all three cats to 1 level tablespoon of kibble twice a day, served on a plate together with a portion of wet food.  Two of them (most of the time) eat all around the wet food and fish out the kibble if it happens to touch the wet food then walk away.  I have purchased a can of everything the pet store sells except for beef which none of them will eat and of course I can't use any fish as Mimi has had bladder stones and struvite crystals.  It took me a year to get her to eat any wet food at all so it has already been a long battle. 

I don't know what else to do, I am primarily concerned with Mimi's long term health, I don't want any more emergency vet visits with the accompanying lecture that I need to feed Hills or SD urinary franken food (which she won't eat anyway cause I already tried that too).  I have tried forti flora, parmesan cheese, bits of raw food, cooked food etc. etc. 

Am looking for any other information someone might have that I haven't tried yet.  On the plus side they are all eating at least some of the wet food and Nefra has lost a pound or two which is all to the good as she was starting to look like a fur sausage. 

Does anyone have any other suggestions, when I read about people  transitioning their cats to wet food in a week and I want to send them hate mail.
 

oneandahalfcats

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Well it's not going well.  I have cut back all three cats to 1 level tablespoon of kibble twice a day, served on a plate together with a portion of wet food.  Two of them (most of the time) eat all around the wet food and fish out the kibble if it happens to touch the wet food then walk away.  I have purchased a can of everything the pet store sells except for beef which none of them will eat and of course I can't use any fish as Mimi has had bladder stones and struvite crystals.  It took me a year to get her to eat any wet food at all so it has already been a long battle. 

I don't know what else to do, I am primarily concerned with Mimi's long term health, I don't want any more emergency vet visits with the accompanying lecture that I need to feed Hills or SD urinary franken food (which she won't eat anyway cause I already tried that too).  I have tried forti flora, parmesan cheese, bits of raw food, cooked food etc. etc. 

Am looking for any other information someone might have that I haven't tried yet.  On the plus side they are all eating at least some of the wet food and Nefra has lost a pound or two which is all to the good as she was starting to look like a fur sausage. 

Does anyone have any other suggestions, when I read about people  transitioning their cats to wet food in a week and I want to send them hate mail.
Here is something that might help you .. The following is a link to an article written by Dr. Pierson, DVM (catinfo.org) on how to successfully transition cats from dry food to wet : http://www.catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf

Hope this can help .. Best of luck
 
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gcat

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The link that oneandahalfcats is really helpful- gives a lot of great advice on how to transition dry-kibble kitties to wet food. The key is to progress very slowly and steadily.


It’s great that Nefra’s losing weight- just keep an eye on the amount of weight loss. If it drops suddenly then it may be a sign of hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver), which is when a cat consumes around 50% of his daily calorie requirements.

Best wishes and good luck with the big transition. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.
 

chasetheblue

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Do you warm it up? When I first started switching to canned Miami would ONLY eat it if it was heated up a bit first. I also found that they (Miami mostly, Cairo eats anything) like it better if you mix in a bit of warm water. 

I'm not sure where you are but here there's a canned "supplemental" food called Schesir that is shreds of actual meat, and both of my girls LOVE the stuff. I started their wet food mixed in with this and gradually moved to less Schesir and more of the other foods. I still give them a bit of the Schesir on top of their food from time to time for a treat. 

Good luck! Miami was frustrating to switch and she didn't take nearly as long as yours have to switch. Hopefully they'll cave soon!
 
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