Feeding Advice/ideas/suggestions

I need some ideas with feeding my male cat, Dexter. He is almost a year old and when he was a kitten, I started him off with the better brands (UK) like Applaws, Nature's Menu and occasionally Hi-life. He took to it well but when he was fixed, they fed him Royal Canin Recovery so then he flat out refused the good stuff and basically starved himself (I did manage to tempt him with fresh chicken and ensured he was hydrated).

However, Dexter has a habit of eating too fast and despite me mashing food up and giving him tiny amounts, he still brings food back up. I got him checked at the vet and all was fine and tried different flavours in case it was the chicken or fish, etc.

He is now currently refusing everything apart from a few mouthfuls here and there and also some dry food (Applaws), which I am not happy about but he just will not eat anything else. I did, however, see my neighbour putting food out for her cat, which was Whiskers and Dexter finished it off before I could get out there. I really do not want him on that stuff but it's the only wet food I've actually seen him eat for 2 days.

I have considered that he could be going to other cat homes and helping himself to food (I had a cat before who used to do that) or he might have caught his own food on occassion, but that doesn't stop me worrying because it will soon be the third day of him barely touching anything, despite another vet trip today, who said he was fine.

What can I do? He won't eat chicken on it's own or the Applaws chicken and rice, he never touches fish and turned his nose up at rabbit and venison. I have tried so many of the recommend tips, etc.

I just don't know what else to do and I am more than aware of the serious health implications that coincide when a cat doesn't eat, which is why I am so worried.

Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This Whiskers you mention is wet food, yes?   If so, it is good enough, so just shoot!

These brands you mentioned seems to be mostly dry, yes?  Have you tried with wet?  I know, he probably wont eat wet, if he is picky about dry, but still, try.

Adding an egg yolk in?  Say in minced meat?  Tuna-fish?  (much tuna fish isnt recommended, but some now and then is OK).

Goat milk is always excellent.  Plain unsweetened fat youghurt is OK if he wants.

Can you find the american brands of children food Gerber stage 1 or 2?   Even picky cats eat this, tells our American Forumists...   We dont have it in Sweden, but perhaps in Britain??

A  Feliway diffuser may perhaps make a difference - as you need to bring in a change...

Some ideas, I hope something in them helps.

Good luck!

Applaws and Nature's Menu are wet with high meat content, basically meat with very little else, fresh and where you can actually see all the ingredients used. Applaws also make dry but is 80% meat, grain free (similar to Orijen). Whiskers is wet but it is a really cheap brand (4% meat content, with the rest made up with additives, etc.), which is why I don't want him eating it.

He did eat some chicken today but I will also give your other suggestions a try. Thank you for the ideas.

Hi there

Eating a "lower quality" food is much better than not eating at all. So if he likes something like Whiskers, then I'd give him that, establish a regular eating pattern and then very slowly try to wean him off that and onto a better food.

Thanks for the advice, I will get a diffuser and then try gradually introducing him back on the good stuff!!