Help! My kitten won't eat any cat food!

Hi, I have a 9 weeks boy who won't eat any cat/kitten food. I tried everything! I bought every single type of food I can find in both Tesco and Asda and nothing. He won't even touch the kitten milk replacer, anything. He eats any type of meat tho.. I feed him chicken breast and sliced beef and ham. I don't want him to starve. I don't know what to do!I tried to mix some can tuna with kitten tuna in jelly - still nothing. I tried to put dried food in his milk to make it soft.. he won't even drink the milk. Is frustrating cause I love him soo much and I want him to be healthy. Pleaseeeee help

In the short run he can live on meat, as long as he eats.   Making it more varieously food is important in the long run, though.

Does he eats fat meat too?  If so,  let it be so...  Perhaps pour some melted butter on the meat.  Or have raw yolk on the minced meal...

Had you tried with goat milk?   If he happens to take it, because it IS animal source, your luck will be done...  As its a calcium source too...

The same with plain, full fat youghurt...

Cheese??

What was he eating before you got him? That's usually the best starting point.

If he likes plain meats he might prefer some of the very high meat wet foods. Brands like Nature's Menu, Lily's Kitchen, Feringa and Thrive Complete might be more tempting for him (I know they're more expensive, but they're balanced and really high quality...plain meats cannot give him what he needs to stay healthy and grow). It might also be worth trying him on raw food to see if he likes that better. You don't have to make your own - there are lots of ready made frozen raw brands available (Nature's Menu, Purrform, Nutriment, Natural Instinct...).

These brands are available online, and also in some pet shops. http://www.zooplus.co.uk has most of the wet food I've listed. Amazon has a big range too, and the manufacturers also have their own websites.

The final option is to make your own food - either cooked or raw. You can find lots of information about how to do that in the raw and home cooked forum here.

I hope you can find something your little guy likes.

StefanZ said:

In the short run he can live on meat, as long as he eats.   Making it more varieously food is important in the long run, though.

Does he eats fat meat too?  If so,  let it be so...  Perhaps pour some melted butter on the meat.  Or have raw yolk on the minced meal...

Had you tried with goat milk?   If he happens to take it, because it IS animal source, your luck will be done...  As its a calcium source too...
The same with plain, full fat youghurt...
Cheese??

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I didn't tried yogurt or goat milk. He likes the cow milk. But no cheese or any other thing close to cheese. I want to make sure that he has a source of taurine.

That's the problem. When I bought him I asked the owner and she told me that he is eating wiskas and felix cat food and also normal food. However, when she mentioned normal food she emphasised that he eats lots of it. I don't have any problem in cooking for him but as you said I don't think is enough to ensure that he grows nice and healthy. I was really surprised to see that he won't even touch the cat food. I will see what is next but I think I will end up cooking

fluffy kitten said:

I didn't tried yogurt or goat milk. He likes the cow milk. But no cheese or any other thing close to cheese. I want to make sure that he has a source of taurine.

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If he manages cow milk nicely (some cats do), you can continue with it.  Use full fat versions.  So you DO have your calcium source, at least to begin with.

But goat milk is even more healthy (although more costly true).

All meat, and thus including milk and milk products do naturally contain taurine.  As he eats much meat, he will by definition get more then enough with taurine.  

We had been learned its a must to add taurine, because the dry cat food is so common.  And cheap dry food doesnt contain much meats nor animal products, perhaps half of the total contents...  In much being filled up with the greatly inferior for cats cereals and carboydrates.

And thus, THEY  must add at least some taurine to these  cat foods...

In the long run, you will perhaps go in for a RAW inspired food for him.  Ie eating mainly natural foods, with much meat and animal "biproducts".   Its entirely feasible, perhaps even the very best, but you must know what you do, so he gets enough of, for example, calcium and fats...  Its not enough with lotsa of muscle meat.

  Look into our  Nutrition Forum, and the subforum therr of RAW, to get more ideas and hard knowledge.

Ok. I see the problem. If you want to cook for him then this is a great starting point http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263751/cooked-recipes-thread

Is it bad if I want him to eat cat food? I want to find a way to mix somehow the cat food with normal food. I want to spoil him as much as possible but I don't really have the time to cook each day for him as I'm working as well. Anyways thank you for your help!

Thank you soo much for everything! I will try what you've told me and hopefully he will be fine

fluffy kitten said:

Is it bad if I want him to eat cat food? I want to find a way to mix somehow the cat food with normal food. I want to spoil him as much as possible but I don't really have the time to cook each day for him as I'm working as well. Anyways thank you for your help!

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It's definitely not bad to want him to eat cat food: that's what he should have, to get all his nutrients. The big question is whether you can find commercial cat food that he'll eat or will have to make something complete for him by adding nutrients to meat. I would definitely try to keep him off the ham because of the salt and (possibly) curing ingredients.

I agree with all Columbine's suggestions and wonder if maybe the little guy might like some sort of canned food with real shreds or chunks of meat. I'm not familiar with UK cat foods, unfortunately. Shreds of meat are the kinds of foods our cats like... unfortunately, they're often a bit expensive but they do keep them sated for a long time! They also like raw foods, which we buy, too.

Good luck! And your kitten is very cute!

If your kitten is eating cooked meat, you need to add taurine because cooking reduces the amount in the meat. And although milk does contain taurine, cow's milk has very little. Goat's milk has much more, so it would be a better choice. You might want to look through the Raw & Home Cooked forum http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-home-cooked-cat-food  to find complete recipes you can make, to ensure your kitten gets good nutrition.

There's nothing at all wrong with wanting him to eat cat food! It's what I feed mine. I'd only home cook as a last resort...simply because you have to be so careful to ensure correct nutritional balance. Thrive Complete is a shred - style food. They do a kitten version as well as an adult range. The only downside is it isn't cheap. My two go crazy for it though, so it's definitely worth trying.

I agree with the others, he must eat something. I would like to add in, once you get started making cat food and getting away from the ickiness of it, you'll see a good difference in your cat. I do not think it is wrong, at all to get him to eat canned cat food. I do recommend you stay away from dry. Have you tried any pate cat food like Friskies or 9lives? The cheaper brands, cats seem to find yummier as they have by-products, which aren't bad and also not as many veggies or anything which is actually good. I do make cat food for my cat Cookie, he never could tolerate any canned/dry food even rx food, no luck, as it would give him explosive stool. He was a thin and frail kitty when I found him as a stray, I am assuming since he gets explosive stool when eating commerical food, that was the reason he was dumped. It doesn't take me long, about 2 hours twice a month to make food for him. I freeze it in little baggies, good for one days ration and just set another to defrost before bed. Once you get a system going, I think it works well. I use Dr. Piersons recipe with real fresh bone. I do not buy pre-ground meat for him as the bacteria load is too high. I see that the rawfeeding forum has already been added up above, so I will not link it. Here is the link to Dr. Pierson's recipe, which Cookie has done good on. http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood

I bought the grinder, the supplements off of amazon and I buy fresh meat in my local grocery store for him. I do hope you can find a good food, or perhaps make him some. He is a handsome little tuxedo.