Cat does not like grain free food

Hi all,

My one year old male cat does not like any variety of grain free food (canned). I keep it out for several hours and he slowly nibbles it at it, but the other canned foods he eats in a matter of minutes. Is wrong to force my cat this food? Should I just give him the kinds he likes? 

Have you tried different textures of grain free food? Some cats will not eat pate foods, but they'll gobble up sliced or shredded food. Some cats will ONLY eat pate.

It's likely either the texture of the food, or something in the food he doesn't like. Not necessarily the lack of grains. A lot of grain foods have junky ingredients in them that aren't good for cats... even if the cat likes them. Like a kid with the choice between candy and carrots, the kid is probably going to take the candy.

Just keep trying with different grain free varieties. You can add some treats (like Purebites) as toppers to entice him to try the new food.

You can try sprinkling fortiflora probiotic on it too, this is the animal digest that food companies will layer over the junky food brands so the cats really go for it.

Mine don't like it either, and after trying countless foods, spending a crazy amt, I finally landed with fancy feast classics, which are still grain free but tasty to them.

Here and there I can give BG 95% chicken, it looks like shredded chicken, or soulistic carried by petco.

Yep, fancy feast is what I feed mine.

Paiger8 said:

Have you tried different textures of grain free food? Some cats will not eat pate foods, but they'll gobble up sliced or shredded food. Some cats will ONLY eat pate.

It's likely either the texture of the food, or something in the food he doesn't like. Not necessarily the lack of grains. A lot of grain foods have junky ingredients in them that aren't good for cats... even if the cat likes them. Like a kid with the choice between candy and carrots, the kid is probably going to take the candy.

Just keep trying with different grain free varieties. You can add some treats (like Purebites) as toppers to entice him to try the new food.

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I completely agree with all these thoughts! Variety is key with a lot of cats -- like ours! -- so definitely try feeding and rotating all kinds of textures, proteins, and brands. That's what keeps our two cats fed! That and using freeze-dried meat treats like Pure Bites on certain foods, particularly leftovers.

Paiger8 is so right about the ingredients in foods with grain: cats' bodies don't process grains (or other carby ingredients like potatoes and peas) very well, plus the extra carbs can cause weight gain. Young cats have a particular need for meat-based protein, too, which is another reason it's worth trying to keep the cat on grain-free, low-carb foods.

It can take some time and patience to find a good rotation of high-protein foods but the end result is worth it!

You could try mixing some of whatever old food he was eating in with (or on top of) the new grain-free food to sort of ease and entice him into the new food. Slowly decrease the amount of old food you give (and I mean very slowly) until he is eating all the new grain-free. Definitely try a variety of grain-free as others have recommended and see what he likes better than others. Good luck!