Need assistance with picky kittens please

Everyone here was so helpful when I first brought the kittens of my feral cat indoors that I thought I would ask for help again. They are males, 9 weeks old. I originally started giving them canned kitten food (i tried several varieties in the beginning) trying to get them weaned because I couldn't get them to eat dry food, softened dry food or dry food softened with milk replacement formula.  I smashed up the dry food & softened dry food into little bits that didn't help either.  I have tried softening it and mixing it in with the wet to make it last longer and they won't touch the wet if that is mixed in. I have tried 6 different kinds of dry (including some adult & ones labeled for finicky eaters) but they won't touch it.  I need them to eat dry food as I can't really afford the wet food at this point because they are eating so much. Due to my job new job I won't be able to feed them wet food like I have been because I will be gone 11-12 hours.

They have had diarrhea and the vet wormed them and gave them another med for some sort of bacteria puppies & kittens get but the meds are finished and it's still coming and going. One won't eat at all sometimes and they both threw up shortly after eating their food today. Any ideas on what I can do? They aren't lethargic and both are drinking water. I was hoping if I could get them to eat dry food this also might be better for the diarrhea.  I am feeding Iams kitten because that was one of the few in the beginning they would eat and the other is Nutro kitten chicken loaf because that's another that the really pick one will eat when he won't eat the Iams.

The vet told me I had to take the "tough love" approach to get them on dry by not feeding them wet. I tried it for on different days for 8 to up to 29 hours and they still refused to eat dry. It felt cruel to continue doing this any longer because they are energetic kittens who need food.

I am hoping someone out there has tried some things I haven't thought of that might work.  Thanks for reading!

You're quite right not to let the kittens go too long without food - 29 hrs really is the absolute limit for safety.

If you really need to get them onto dry, then it might be worth emailing a load of different brands and asking for samples. I did this when trying to find a new food for my ultra fussy greyhound. Sometimes you have to pay and sometimes they're free. It's still better than having bags of food you can't use.

I will say, though, that imo it's important to at least feed some wet for hydration reasons. If you can't do that, it's important to boost their fluid intake to keep them hydrated. This article has loads of ideas http://www.thecatsite.com/a/tips-to-increase-your-cat-s-water-intake.

Yes I WISH I had the same problem as you - I've had my cats since their infancy and I delved headfirst into nutrition info, and seeing that wet food was best for them, only fed them wet food during the day, leaving a little kibble out overnight for them to munch if needed.   However, as the months have gone on, they have now decided they like their kibble better and have almost totally gone off wet food completely.....and I'm fighting the battle to get them back on it.

For cheap options, Friskie's and even 9Lives  -as long as they are the Pate options - would do fine for wet food and are not $$$ at all - at my Kroger, you can get 10 5.5 oz cans of 9Lives for $4, which is great!  I use them to feed my stray cat visitors        You could feed them a can in the morning as soon as you get up, then put out some kibble right before you leave for work so they have something to eat during the day, then do another can or two when you get home and then right before bed  -    but I say you have a good thing going here, if they're willingly eating the wet food, please encourage them     I feel that even eating Friskies pate 100% of the time is better than being on an all-kibble diet.........

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I know many believe a wet food diet is best but it's not practical for those of us who work long shifts.  If  gave kittens wet food at 5:30 am when I get up, I would then have to put out wet food at 6:15 am so they would have something to eat while I am at work. I feel certain they wouldn't eat it straight away and I don't think eating food left out for several hours is safe, if they would even eat it at all.  I always keep a few different kinds of dry food out in hopes they will eat it some day. 

I will email the different brands to see if I can get samples, thats a great idea and I hadn't thought about that before!

My 4 yr old wouldn't touch wet food as a kitten & she had so many health problems, I wanted her on it hoping her health would improve. She still won't touch it and she is completely healthy these days. 

All seem to be drinking enough water without encouragement but thanks for the link to the tips to get them to drink more as I hadn't seen that before. My 4 yr old loves ice so that was a great idea!

Roxycat said:

 
Thanks to everyone for their replies. I know many believe a wet food diet is best but it's not practical for those of us who work long shifts.  If  gave kittens wet food at 5:30 am when I get up, I would then have to put out wet food at 6:15 am so they would have something to eat while I am at work. I feel certain they wouldn't eat it straight away and I don't think eating food left out for several hours is safe, if they would even eat it at all.  I always keep a few different kinds of dry food out in hopes they will eat it some day. 

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You can use a programmble timed feeder for the canned food so the kittens can eat several times a day. Canned food is perfectly fine if left out all day in a feeder There are ways to keep teh food fresher longer, such as freezing the food into portion sizes and put the frozen chunks into the feeder. The Petsafe 5 compartment feeder is a good one. Catmate is another brand.

Maybe instead of regular dry food, which the kittens don't seem to want to eat, try freeze dried raw food instead. Sometimes this type of food appeals to cats more. Stella and Chewy's and Nature's Variety Instinct are two brands you can try. Stella and Chewy's is only available at independent pet stores while Nature's Variety is available at both independent pet stores and some chain pet stores like Petco. Both Stella and Chewy's and Nature's Variety freeze dried raw are complete diets. There are other brands of freeze dried raw out there but not all are complete diets. Freeze dried raw can be fed dry, though ideally it should be rehdyrated before serving.

Maybe a happy compromise is canned food (with extra water added) when you are at home to feed the kittens and some dry or freeze dried raw when you are not at home.  Friskies and other brands found at the supermarket or big box store are acceptable to feed and affordable.

I hope you can find something the kittens will eat. I've never had a problem with getting a kitten to eat. My first kitten ate pretty much anything. Then mMy Aby was already eating raw food when I got him from the breeder. My rescue turned her nose up at food for a few days but that was because she was still settling into her new home. She didn't care for dry so I fed her canned and then got her onto raw.