Introducing My New Fur Kids! (Pictures & questions!)

Hi! Just wanted to introduce myself and my new fur kids. I adopted these two from the local rescue league yesterday afternoon. They are 3 1/2 years old, brother and sister. They are "bonded buddies" so the shelter was adopting them as a pair. They are seriously the sweetest cats I've ever met. Total lap cats. In fact, this is my second time posting this, because the girl just walked across my laptop and deleted my super long post. (Thanks cat.)

I've been looking for two kitties to adopt for almost a year. I saw these two online, and stopped in to see them the next morning. The boy jumped out of his cat tree, and came up to rub on me the second I walked into the room. I was hooked. They have longish gray-blue fur, and bright green eyes. The shelter wasn't sure on breed. They were owner surrendered, due to the previous owners moving to an apartment that didn't allow pets.

Obligatory pictures! Aren't they gorgeous? No names yet. Trying to think of something clever and matchy. 

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Male cat.

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Female awake, male sleeping.

Now, on to my questions...

The shelter relies on donated food, so they mix all the brands of cheap dry cat food together, so the cats don't get used to a specific brand. I plan to transition them to wet food, but they've never had it before. Since I can't match the shelter food mix, I picked up a small bag of Wellness CORE Grain Free Indoor kibble, to get by until I can switch them to wet. I also bought an assortment of Wellness Grain Free pates. 

It's been 24 hours, and they haven't eaten much. The boy has eaten maybe an 1/8 of a cup of dry, and a couple tablespoons of the pate. He threw up the first spoonful of pate this morning, but he has kept the couple tablespoons since that down. I've been slowly trying to introduce the wet. The girl hasn't eaten much, if at all. She may have taken a couple bites of the kibble during the night, I'm not sure. I only put 1/2 cup out, and there was still quite a bit left this morning. She won't even sniff the wet, and she hasn't even shown interest in treats. 

They're both super comfortable here. Kneading my face and rubbing on me. So it's not like they're scared or hiding and that's why they're not eating. 

Any suggestions? Or will they just eat when they're hungry? The girl also weighs a couple of pounds less than the boy. Not sure is this is normal. The shelter just left food out in the community cat room. 

Also, they both had a small amount of dandruff by their tails at the shelter. I'm assuming high quality wet food will help this, as opposed to what they were getting. Any other suggestions?

Thank you!!

oooo, they are gorgeous! lucky you--and them! i'll have to think about names...

i wouldn't worry about the girl being smaller. females usually are.

Wow , Congrats .  They are beautiful ..    I love the names Samson & Delilah  or McKinley & Denali  .  

As for the Wellness  food , it could be they just don't like it .    I think 24 hours is too long to go without eating a normal meal .  I would try a different brand of dry food .    Natures Variety Instinct has a real meaty smell  ...  They may like that . 

Beautiful kitties! For names, this site has some great suggestions for bonded pairs: http://www.petplace.com/article/cats/selecting-a-cat/naming-your-cat/185-littermates-names-for-cats

My favorites from that list are:

Bonnie & Clyde

Fred & Ginger

Hansel & Gretel

As for the food / eating:

It's possible that they're not eating due to nervousness, adjusting to their new environment. But if you want to test that theory and see if it's really just the food they don't like, try picking up a single can or package of different kinds of wet food and try small portions until you see what they will eat. You may find that they like the cheaper brands. Even Friskies is better than not getting wet food at all.

If they turn their nose up at any other wet foods, try some rotisserie chicken or fresh fish. Even a small amount of raw chicken (just be sure to refrigerate or throw away any uneaten portions immediately when they're finished). They may prefer raw food, in which case there are some excellent recipes out there. I had one cat that barely knibbled on cat food, but could destroy a raw chicken breast (cartilage and all) like a woodchipper. 

Thanks for your input. I have discovered that they (weirdly) are not a fan of their dry food, even though they were fed dry at the shelter. Maybe they're just not a fan of the Wellness Core dry. He'll pick at it (and throw it up) and she won't even touch it. Even if I drench it in a tuna juice. They just had their first vet check today, and the vet said to continue with the dry, because it is better for their teeth. I'm leaving a small amount of dry out as a snack during the day while I'm at work.

He'll eat the wet food, IF I mix it with warm water so it's more of an oatmeal consistency. The only gross thing is, they both have "beards" so some of the soupy food ends up on it. The Vet gave me some prescription Hills Science Diet for her, since it's super smelly and she wouldn't even look at it. I took my finger and smeared some food on her mouth, and she finally ate some and liked it. I don't know if she realized that the wet food was actually food, since she's never had it. She only ate 2-3 tablespoons but I'll take it. The Vet said they're both in great health, and she's not dehydrated or anything. He said they're both probably just adjusting to their new home.

Still kicking around names. (I feel like I'm naming a child, it's that hard. )

Also, the vet said they're both 1-2 lbs under weight. The girl is 8.3 lbs, and the boy is 10.2. Their bone structure is bigger, so he'd like to see them gain a couple pounds. You can easily feel all of their back bones. Any food suggestions for weight gain?

Since they seem to be picky eaters, you might try some homecooked meals (I think there's recipes around here, I'm new myself so I haven't checked them out). We had one cat who was severely anemic and lost a shocking amount of weight. Once we figured out that he preferred raw, cold meat to any other type of food, we kept a stock from the local butcher shop just for him.

Apart from straight meat, cooked or raw, I haven't experimented with making cat food. I have a homemade dog food recipe that I use which is awesome for weight gain, worked really well on several of our rescues who were skin and bones when we got them. But dogs and cats have different nutrition requirements, cats being more restrictive than dogs, so I would really do some research and also talk to a vet before venturing into homecooked food territory. Straight meat is easy, so you might try that. My silver bullet is always a rotisserie chicken. For $5-$7 you can pick one up from your local grocery store. If the cats like it, you have a cheap winner that will feed them for several days. If they don't....you have dinner for yourself. Win-win either way. 

Your kitties are gorgeous! Congratulations!

Pets from shelters often have problems. I don't have suggestions about their food, as I am still struggling with my cat's vomiting problems. I have just switched him to canned and dry food for sensitive stomachs (Royal Canin and Blue Basics).

I DO have a suggestion for their names. My cat came with the name Rhett Butler. What do you think about Rhett and Scarlett for your cats?

Good luck with their health problems.

Paiger8 said:

Thanks for your input. I have discovered that they (weirdly) are not a fan of their dry food, even though they were fed dry at the shelter. Maybe they're just not a fan of the Wellness Core dry. He'll pick at it (and throw it up) and she won't even touch it. Even if I drench it in a tuna juice. They just had their first vet check today, and the vet said to continue with the dry, because it is better for their teeth. I'm leaving a small amount of dry out as a snack during the day while I'm at work.

He'll eat the wet food, IF I mix it with warm water so it's more of an oatmeal consistency. The only gross thing is, they both have "beards" so some of the soupy food ends up on it. The Vet gave me some prescription Hills Science Diet for her, since it's super smelly and she wouldn't even look at it. I took my finger and smeared some food on her mouth, and she finally ate some and liked it. I don't know if she realized that the wet food was actually food, since she's never had it. She only ate 2-3 tablespoons but I'll take it. The Vet said they're both in great health, and she's not dehydrated or anything. He said they're both probably just adjusting to their new home.

Still kicking around names. (I feel like I'm naming a child, it's that hard.

)

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I am glad they are both in good health .. That is good that your male cat likes the wet with added water . It is very good for him .. Maybe it would work for the girl too ..   Wellness makes a new formula called Wellness Tru Food  .. It comes in kibble and canned ..

Maybe they would like that ...  http://www.chewy.com/s?dept=cat&query=Wellness+Trufood

Paiger8 said:

Also, the vet said they're both 1-2 lbs under weight. The girl is 8.3 lbs, and the boy is 10.2. Their bone structure is bigger, so he'd like to see them gain a couple pounds. You can easily feel all of their back bones. Any food suggestions for weight gain?

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Our cats were also underweight when we adopted them as ten-month-old kittens: we just fed them whatever they'd eat ("unlimited calories!" was what the vet said), weaning them off dry food fairly quickly and on to a diet of canned and raw foods. I think it took about a week for our two to really get eating a normal amount of food. It's pretty typical for cats to be a little slow to get eating after an adoption. Yours sound very friendly right from the start and they certainly are beautiful!

Wellness Core's wet foods are generally caloric; our cats particularly loved their kitten food, which I still give them as an occasional treat. Initially, though, we just focused on getting them to eat: the shelter sent them home with a bag of dry food (a lot like yours!) and cans of Friskies. Friskies were very helpful in the beginning. Then I started feeding them all sorts of foods--pates, shreds, lots of brands--to see what they liked so I could get them settled on a rotation of food. They were like bottomless pits at that time but it took several months to find foods they would consistently eat, that I felt good about feeding them, and that agreed with their stomachs. At any rate, as @2Cats4Me mentioned, it's great that your male cat likes the wet food with extra water. That's a very good thing.

Personally, I think it's also a good thing that your cats aren't really into their dry food. There's a good Cat Site piece, here, about dry food and dental health. Our vet isn't into dry food (she recommends grain-free, low-carb wet foods): she recommends brushing cats' teeth... I thought toothbrushing would be a disaster with our squirmy cats but they love the toothpaste so much they seem to regard it as a treat. Ah, cats!

Have fun with your two!

They are both beautiful cats!! When I took a look at them, I immediately thought of the names Bonnie and Clyde? Just a thought. As to the other questions, I will leave to the experts. Again, very beautiful cats.

Your cats are beautiful.

Hard to pick out names till you know them better.  Same with kids - I think birth names shouldn't be official until 90 days. 

What were they called at the shelter?

How bout

Berry and Belle (Blueberry and Bluebell)

What a beautiful pair. They are so fortunate to have found such a loving caregiver who has kept them together.  

It may take time for them to adjust to a regular brand of food being shifted from one to another for so long. You might could try meat baby food and some KMR. Both will offer them the extra nutrition they need right now and give you an idea of their eating habits.

As far as names go. It take time to get to know their personalities to find a name for them. If you want a matching name for them I would say Smoke & Ash.

They are beautiful cats and I know you will have many happy years with them. They also look very much at ease and happy.

What about Paulie and Polly?  Then you only have to call them once!

Bornagain57 said:

I DO have a suggestion for their names. My cat came with the name Rhett Butler. What do you think about Rhett and Scarlett for your cats?

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Rhett & Scarlett are super cute. I'll add it to my "list." lol. I'm a total book worm too, so that kind of fits.

LisaHE said:

Wellness Core's wet foods are generally caloric; our cats particularly loved their kitten food, which I still give them as an occasional treat. 

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I'm actually planning on trying the kitten food, since the vet said they need to gain some weight. The girl especially is super boney. I've discovered she'll only eat if you take the food to her in her "spot." I almost wonder if she didn't eat much at the shelter which is why she's so skinny mini. She's very friendly, she's just not super food motivated. She won't go looking for food. They don't even like TREATS!   The reason I was hoping to keep them eating at least a little dry food is so I can leave for a weekend trip, and just leave food out. I can always con a friend into stopping over and feeding them I guess. I can just imagine the "instructions" list I'd have to leave for these picky cats. 

MollyBlue said:

Hard to pick out names till you know them better.  Same with kids - I think birth names shouldn't be official until 90 days. 

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Cute name suggestions!  I'm kinda of calling them different things right now, to see what fits them. I agree with you. Names shouldn't be official at birth. 

kntrygrl256 said:

 
It may take time for them to adjust to a regular brand of food being shifted from one to another for so long. You might could try meat baby food and some KMR. Both will offer them the extra nutrition they need right now and give you an idea of their eating habits.

As far as names go. It take time to get to know their personalities to find a name for them. If you want a matching name for them I would say Smoke & Ash.

They are beautiful cats and I know you will have many happy years with them. They also look very much at ease and happy.

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Great suggestions! Thanks. I like those names too. I hadn't thought about Ash. It'd be pretty for the girl.  I actually had "Smokey & Bandit" (like the old movie, Smokey and the Bandit) on my name list for a while, but I kind of feel like every gray cat is named Smokey. 

Thanks for all the fabulous suggestions everyone. I grabbed a couple of different brands at the pet boutique near me this weekend. Wellness Core, Wellness GF, Wuerva Cats in the Kitchen (pouches and canned.) I also picked up some samples of pre-made raw. 

So far I've discovered:

1. Both like food warmed and a little watered down.

2. Both love gravy but won't touch the meat chunks, but will eat shreds if they're smushed up enough. They actually both dug into Cats in the Kitchen "Fowl Bowl" tonight, and that's the first time I've really seen them eat something without ignoring it first or me following them around with the food bowl. 

3. He'll eat out of the feeding station, but I have to find her and bring her dish to her. She won't go looking for it.

4. If you try to put fish oil in their food, you're throwing the entire dish away. They're like "Noooope!"  How do CATS not like FISH oil?! (I've been giving them fish oil for their coats, since they both had dandruff by their tails at the shelter. Regular brushing and petting has gotten rid of most of it, but fish oil should help make their fur super soft and shiny! I put it on the tops of their paws so they have to lick it off.)

I have a feeling these cats are going to have me bowing to their every whim and demand. 

Paiger8 said:

 
I'm actually planning on trying the kitten food, since the vet said they need to gain some weight. The girl especially is super boney. I've discovered she'll only eat if you take the food to her in her "spot." I almost wonder if she didn't eat much at the shelter which is why she's so skinny mini. She's very friendly, she's just not super food motivated. She won't go looking for food. They don't even like TREATS! 

 The reason I was hoping to keep them eating at least a little dry food is so I can leave for a weekend trip, and just leave food out. I can always con a friend into stopping over and feeding them I guess. I can just imagine the "instructions" list I'd have to leave for these picky cats. 

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I think that kitten food must be extra-tasty! I hope they'll eat it. And it's probably not such a bad thing that they're not into treats... ours got really treat-focused early on so we stopped giving them. As for instructions for cat sitters, ha ha, when I travel, I set out a note and what we call The Matrix (several rows of food cans) for my husband so he can feed them from their usual rotation. It's something!

Paiger8 said:

Thanks for all the fabulous suggestions everyone. I grabbed a couple of different brands at the pet boutique near me this weekend. Wellness Core, Wellness GF, Wuerva Cats in the Kitchen (pouches and canned.) I also picked up some samples of pre-made raw. 
So far I've discovered:

1. Both like food warmed and a little watered down.

2. Both love gravy but won't touch the meat chunks, but will eat shreds if they're smushed up enough. They actually both dug into Cats in the Kitchen "Fowl Bowl" tonight, and that's the first time I've really seen them eat something without ignoring it first or me following them around with the food bowl. 

3. He'll eat out of the feeding station, but I have to find her and bring her dish to her. She won't go looking for it.

4. If you try to put fish oil in their food, you're throwing the entire dish away. They're like "Noooope!"  How do CATS not like FISH oil?! (I've been giving them fish oil for their coats, since they both had dandruff by their tails at the shelter. Regular brushing and petting has gotten rid of most of it, but fish oil should help make their fur super soft and shiny! I put it on the tops of their paws so they have to lick it off.)

I have a feeling these cats are going to have me bowing to their every whim and demand. 

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Our cats also really like "Fowl Ball"! That one purees well in a mini-processor, BTW, if you think they might eat more that way. Weruva's generally kind of low-calorie so you'd have to feed a lot of it to fatten those two up... but it was one of the ones we fed ours when they were skinny, too, and it obviously worked! They also like the Cats in the Kitchen "Double Dip" and "Chicken Frick a Zee". And the chicken/pumpkin pouch.

If you have freeze-dried raw food and the cats like it, of course it's good rehydrated for a meal but it's also good to crumble on foods they might be iffy about. It works great for ours cats when they're being picky. (About 60% of their diet is commercial raw food. They tend to like that better than canned.)

Cats can be really weird about where they eat. And yes, "bowing to their every whim and demand" is a big part of things! Good luck with it!

LisaHE said:

Our cats also really like "Fowl Ball"! That one purees well in a mini-processor, BTW, if you think they might eat more that way. Weruva's generally kind of low-calorie so you'd have to feed a lot of it to fatten those two up... but it was one of the ones we fed ours when they were skinny, too, and it obviously worked! They also like the Cats in the Kitchen "Double Dip" and "Chicken Frick a Zee". And the chicken/pumpkin pouch.

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Any idea if the Wuerva "Paw Lickin Chicken" is anything like the "Fowl Ball?" Attempting to save money by purchasing in a bigger can, and the CITK brand doesn't come in big cans. They won't eat anything with chunks, they'll just lick off the gravy. (After I bought like 20 different pouches ) They seem to like shreds best. I've had okay luck mixing the leftover smashed up chicken chunks with the Wellness pates, but it's getting a little ridiculous. The only food I've seen them readily eat is Fowl Bowl and another canned Cats in the Kitchen. The Wellness pates they'll eat... but only if you leave them out for a couple hours... and then maybe 1/2 a dish. These cats do NOT want to be fattened up, lol. Going to try mixing some chicken baby food in their food next. I've probably spent $60 on food in the 6 days since I've adopted them. 

I even went to Petsmart last night to attempt to buy them Fancy Feast, since I've heard it's Kitty Crack, but I couldn't find anything that was grain free, fish free, and didn't contain carrageen.  

Paiger8 said:

 
Any idea if the Wuerva "Paw Lickin Chicken" is anything like the "Fowl Ball?" Attempting to save money by purchasing in a bigger can, and the CITK brand doesn't come in big cans. They won't eat anything with chunks, they'll just lick off the gravy. (After I bought like 20 different pouches

) They seem to like shreds best. I've had okay luck mixing the leftover smashed up chicken chunks with the Wellness pates, but it's getting a little ridiculous. The only food I've seen them readily eat is Fowl Bowl and another canned Cats in the Kitchen. The Wellness pates they'll eat... but only if you leave them out for a couple hours... and then maybe 1/2 a dish. These cats do NOT want to be fattened up, lol. Going to try mixing some chicken baby food in their food next. I've probably spent $60 on food in the 6 days since I've adopted them. 

I even went to Petsmart last night to attempt to buy them Fancy Feast, since I've heard it's Kitty Crack, but I couldn't find anything that was grain free, fish free, and didn't contain carrageen.

 

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All of the Fancy Feast Classic are grain free , carrageenan free  and there are a couple flavors without fish  .. The  Liver & Chicken ,  Turkey & Giblets , Chopped Grill ..

Also the Paw Lickin Chicken is shredded chicken in pumpkin gravy .  My cats did not like that one .They up all the pumpkin gravy but left the chicken .   The only one they like is the 

BFF Tuna & Pumpkin Valentine Pouches ..

Paiger8 said:

 
Any idea if the Wuerva "Paw Lickin Chicken" is anything like the "Fowl Ball?" Attempting to save money by purchasing in a bigger can, and the CITK brand doesn't come in big cans. They won't eat anything with chunks, they'll just lick off the gravy. (After I bought like 20 different pouches

) They seem to like shreds best. I've had okay luck mixing the leftover smashed up chicken chunks with the Wellness pates, but it's getting a little ridiculous. The only food I've seen them readily eat is Fowl Bowl and another canned Cats in the Kitchen. The Wellness pates they'll eat... but only if you leave them out for a couple hours... and then maybe 1/2 a dish. These cats do NOT want to be fattened up, lol. Going to try mixing some chicken baby food in their food next. I've probably spent $60 on food in the 6 days since I've adopted them. 

I even went to Petsmart last night to attempt to buy them Fancy Feast, since I've heard it's Kitty Crack, but I couldn't find anything that was grain free, fish free, and didn't contain carrageen.

 

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Well, let's see... the Paw Lickin' Chicken is most like Fowl Ball because it's also shreds... but the Paw Lickin' has a potato-thickened sauce/gravy and the Fowl Ball is more goopy, with gums. Weruva.com has a photo of the Paw Lickin' here. Our cats weren't wild about it and then it turned out one's sensitive to potato anyway, so we don't feed it. (We also got a batch that had very little meat but a lot of really gloppy sauce... I wasn't impressed!) OTOH, they've done well with Fowl Ball for a long time. Someone at one of our local stores said it's possible some cats particularly like the Cats in the Kitchen foods because they have fish oil. If your cats like shreds, the CITK pouch food with chicken and pumpkin, Pumpkin Lickin' Chicken, might be appealing. Ours like it, anyway!

If you have Petsmart nearby, you might want to try Nutro Natural Choice, which a fair number of picky cats seem to like. Ours eat the minced chicken, sliced turkey, and chunky chicken and chunky turkey. None of them have grain, fish, or carrageenan. They're probably the cats' favorite canned foods.

It may still take a little while for your cats to settle into their new eating routine and start to pack on the pounds. I know what you mean about spending a lot of money on cat food at the beginning! It can be really frustrating to serve up all that food and have it go to waste. (And not to their waist!)

Good luck!