When they are picky about a meal...

buddybellamom

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So this morning both my "kids" were picky about what was offered to them.  The first bowl was leftover from the can they heartily ate last night; I had warmed it up, and added a bit of water (I always do that), and they both only took a few bites and walked away.  I coaxed them back to their bowls a time or two, but they still didn't really eat much.

I opened a fresh can, but different flavor -- SAME THING.  They were just really picky this morning.  After about 15-20 mins of trying to coax them, I had to pick up the bowls and get going for work.  I really didn't want to leave the bowls down for the whole day till I got home from work, but could I have?

Was this OK, to just end the meal?  Do your babies just sometimes NOT want to eat much?  They will not be offered anything else till their evening meal when I get home from work.  Should I have done anything differently?

bbm
 

oneandahalfcats

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So this morning both my "kids" were picky about what was offered to them.  The first bowl was leftover from the can they heartily ate last night; I had warmed it up, and added a bit of water (I always do that), and they both only took a few bites and walked away.  I coaxed them back to their bowls a time or two, but they still didn't really eat much.

I opened a fresh can, but different flavor -- SAME THING.  They were just really picky this morning.  After about 15-20 mins of trying to coax them, I had to pick up the bowls and get going for work.  I really didn't want to leave the bowls down for the whole day till I got home from work, but could I have?

Was this OK, to just end the meal?  Do your babies just sometimes NOT want to eat much?  They will not be offered anything else till their evening meal when I get home from work.  Should I have done anything differently?

bbm
In my opinion, you did the right thing. Wet food should not be left out longer than 30 minutes. Bacteria can set in very quickly and wet food can also attract flies and ants, which can harbor diseases.

Cats are notorious for being picky eaters. I believe like people, sometimes they are just not hungry .. My female is like this in the morning as I feed quite early (5:00AM). Fortunately I work from home and can try her again a little later, so she doesn't go without. What type of wet food are you feeding?
 
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blackcat416

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I have 7 cats, 5 of the 7 are always ready to eat at meal time. The other 2 will eat whenever they feel like it. I feed them 3 cans of food, 3 times a day. As they finish a dish, the dish gets washed and put aside for the next meal. If all 5 dishes are empty when I leave for work in the morning, they are removed, washed and ready for dinner when I get home. If any food is left in the dish it will stay until I get home from work which by then it's as hard as a rock and has to be soaked, then scrubbed to be used again at dinner time. I have several bowls of IAM hard food through out the house that they can eat and 4 giant water bowls so they can drink during the day. I have always left the soft food out during my work day, though most goes untouched after breakfast. Their final meal of the day is between 11 pm to 12 pm when my husband gets home an feeds them. Then the ritual begins again at 530 am when I get up. Since I started my cats on probiotics about 2 months ago; there is really less and less food left over, they love the probiotic, which we sprinkle 1 capsule among all 5 dishes, 3 times a day. I even sprinkle 2 capsules in their dry food as well each week. The dry food bowls hold about 2 lbs of IAM's each. Yes I go thru about 7 lbs of hard food a week. Only 2 cats Virgil 22 lbs and Sally 12 lbs are over weight. But Sally looks super chubby because she is so short and little.
 
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buddybellamom

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Ah, so 2 different answers about leaving it out, lol. I will sort that on out later.  I do feel confident that all the food would be gone within an hour, because when I give them their evening meal, I let the bowls out till they are really really done and they do finish it all off. I just don't have that luxury in the morning.  As to what type of food: it's all canned, and right now I am going through several varieties of "better" foods.  In their rotation is Wellness Turkey, Wellness Chicken, Performatrin Ultra no Grain, EVO chicken, and this morning's second choice was Natural Balance liver and chicken.  All are pate, with a bit of water added in.

Bella is a bit overweight, and Buddy has kidney disease.  I give no dry kibble at all.  They do get one treat per day, at about 11:30 PM, once Buddy is finished his sub q fluid therapy.  It's just something I had on hand before I started getting wiser about better foods -- Whiskas something or other.

bbm
 

oneandahalfcats

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Your selection of canned is pretty decent and so it could have been just one of those things with the not eating. If it happens more often it could be a sign that one of the brands may need to be switched out for something else. You are smart to stay away from dry food. I am in the process of reducing dry with my cats. They still get a wee bit of high protein dry in the afternoon, but the majority of the food is canned.

My little female Maggie did not care for the Wellness Grain-free chicken that I was serving. I think she found this too gummy. I want canned food, especially when it comes to feeding picky felines, to be as fresh as it can be every time and so this is another reason why I prefer not to leave wet food out..
 

procat

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According to my vet: Food straight out of a new can has about a 4-6 hour limit. Mother Nature gave cats short, rapid digestive tracts and acidic tummies that are (in a healthy cat) very effective at killing bacteria.

Personally, I don't leave food out for more than two hours. The cats won't eat it once it starts getting crusty and cleaning caked food bowls is a pain.
 
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