Apologies in advance for the length of this post. I'm going to include all the background and details and hope that you knowledgeable people can give me some advice. Here goes:
My kittens (Hester and Hugo, 11.5 weeks) have eaten James Wellbeloved dry kitten food ever since they were weaned. When we adopted them, we kept them on the same food so they would feel comfortable and to avoid tummy upset. We got them from a friend of mine who has had cats all her life and who I think did a great job with these kittens, making sure they were well socialised, litter trained, etc. We haven't had any problems (touch wood) with them using their litter tray or eating their dry food. Hugo had a spell of soft stools, but after a dose of dewormer and some probiotic, he is now fine. They both poo regularly (1-2 times daily) and their poo is normal now (though perhaps Hester's is a bit dry...more on that later). However, my friend did tell me that she prefers feeding dry food because it's better for the cats' teeth. Now after having read loads of posts on this forum I have doubts about the truth of this (though the vet did tell me the same thing) and so am hoping to introduce some wet food into their diet.
James Wellbeloved I think is only available in the UK, so for anyone not familiar with it, it is grain-free, uses rice and potato as filler with 29% turkey meal as its main ingredient, and seems to have a pretty high protein content at 33%. So I think that as far as dry foods go it is pretty good, and since I have read multiple times on TCS that kittens should be allowed to eat as much as they like and should always have some kibble available to them, I feel OK about my babies eating this food. However, I would like to get them eating some wet food as well. Now, when Hugo had his dodgy tummy, the vet gave us some pate-style tinned food designed to aid gastrointestinal issues that she said they would love. They did not love it. Not only did they refuse to eat it, but they pawed at the ground around the bowl and once Hugo dragged a piece of paper towelling that they had been playing with over the bowl to hide the food. This may be at least partly my fault because I at the time didn't know about introducing new food gradually and as the wet food was supposed to be to hide their medicine in, I was a bit too keen for them to eat it. Later I tried mixing it with their kibble, but they still weren't having it.
After this debacle, I decided to try another kind of wet food. I did a bit of research and found Lily's Kitchen Organic Scrumptious Dinner for Kittens, which looked good to me. The kittens unfortunately were not of the same opinion. They reacted basically the same way as they had to the vet's food. Lily's Kitchen is also pate-style, so I began to wonder if maybe it was the texture of the food that they objected to. The day before I tried the Lily's Kitchen, I had made some chicken for dinner. I cooked it in the oven wrapped in tinfoil. When I took it out of the oven and opened the foil packet, Hugo jolted awake and started sniffing the air, and when I was eating he tried to climb into my lap and eat off my plate. So after they rejected the Lily's Kitchen, I cooked up another chicken breast the same way only without any seasoning, and offered a small piece to Hugo. He ate it enthusiastically so I put a few more small pieces plus the cooking juices into a bowl for him and he gobbled it right down and licked the bowl clean. So Hugo likes chicken. A few days after I discovered this, I roasted a chicken for dinner then made a broth from the carcass, something I do regularly. This time, instead of putting veggies and herbs into the broth I used only the carcass, and when it cooled I gave Hugo a bit and he lapped it up. I froze this broth in ice cube trays with about a tablespoon of shredded chicken breast and once a day I take out a cube and melt it with a bit of boiling water and Hugo gobbles it up. Hester, however, is completely uninterested. She doesn't react negatively, just doesn't show any interest in eating the chicken. A few days ago, I made salmon fillets for dinner and deliberately left some unseasoned to see if Hester would eat it. She did, with what seemed like reasonable enthusiasm, so I felt encouraged. Hugo ate his chicken and Hester ate her salmon. They are used to eating and drinking from the same dishes, so getting them to eat different things is a challenge. The next day I gave Hester more salmon and she ate a bit of it, but then Hugo came in and polished off the rest. Encouraged by this, I bought some Applaws salmon and tuna in jelly and gave them a bit of that today. Hugo seemed a bit uncertain at first but then cleaned his plate... and Hester's too. Again, she wasn't interested. Not opposed, just uninterested. From this I deduce that Hugo will eat meat and fish in flakes or chunks, but I don't know yet what might tempt Hester.
Both of them love kitten milk and I give them about a serving of this a day, and I see Hester drinking water daily as well, but I am concerned that if she won't eat wet food then she will get dehydrated. She is healthy and her fur is soft and glossy but I think her poo may be a little dry. Sometimes it takes the form of small pellets instead of a log. She doesn't seem to have any trouble pooing, though, so I don't think she is constipated.
My main question is should I completely abandon pate-style foods, or try to sneak some in amongst the chicken and fish? I've tried mixing some in their milk before and they haven't really been fooled, but a bit of chicken in broth or even the Applaws are not complete foods, and I don't think I'm ready to commit to making home-made food for them, so I need them to eat complete wet food. There doesn't seem to be much kitten food available that is not pate. Is it worthwhile to try mixing pate into their chunks? I don't want Hugo to be put off the food he likes because he detects food he doesn't like mixed into it. And as for Hester, do you think she will eventually start eating the chicken and fish if I keep offering it to her? She did eat the salmon the first time. Are there any strategies I could use to get her to try wet food? Buying a million different kinds to see if she likes them is not really an option, financially.
Finally, please reassure me that this is a slow process and they are still just babies and I've only had them 3 weeks and it will all work out eventually. I know this in my head but until I started reading this forum I'd had no idea that feeding a cat was such a complex issue, and I really want my kittens to get the best nutrition possible.
Thanks for your help!
My kittens (Hester and Hugo, 11.5 weeks) have eaten James Wellbeloved dry kitten food ever since they were weaned. When we adopted them, we kept them on the same food so they would feel comfortable and to avoid tummy upset. We got them from a friend of mine who has had cats all her life and who I think did a great job with these kittens, making sure they were well socialised, litter trained, etc. We haven't had any problems (touch wood) with them using their litter tray or eating their dry food. Hugo had a spell of soft stools, but after a dose of dewormer and some probiotic, he is now fine. They both poo regularly (1-2 times daily) and their poo is normal now (though perhaps Hester's is a bit dry...more on that later). However, my friend did tell me that she prefers feeding dry food because it's better for the cats' teeth. Now after having read loads of posts on this forum I have doubts about the truth of this (though the vet did tell me the same thing) and so am hoping to introduce some wet food into their diet.
James Wellbeloved I think is only available in the UK, so for anyone not familiar with it, it is grain-free, uses rice and potato as filler with 29% turkey meal as its main ingredient, and seems to have a pretty high protein content at 33%. So I think that as far as dry foods go it is pretty good, and since I have read multiple times on TCS that kittens should be allowed to eat as much as they like and should always have some kibble available to them, I feel OK about my babies eating this food. However, I would like to get them eating some wet food as well. Now, when Hugo had his dodgy tummy, the vet gave us some pate-style tinned food designed to aid gastrointestinal issues that she said they would love. They did not love it. Not only did they refuse to eat it, but they pawed at the ground around the bowl and once Hugo dragged a piece of paper towelling that they had been playing with over the bowl to hide the food. This may be at least partly my fault because I at the time didn't know about introducing new food gradually and as the wet food was supposed to be to hide their medicine in, I was a bit too keen for them to eat it. Later I tried mixing it with their kibble, but they still weren't having it.
After this debacle, I decided to try another kind of wet food. I did a bit of research and found Lily's Kitchen Organic Scrumptious Dinner for Kittens, which looked good to me. The kittens unfortunately were not of the same opinion. They reacted basically the same way as they had to the vet's food. Lily's Kitchen is also pate-style, so I began to wonder if maybe it was the texture of the food that they objected to. The day before I tried the Lily's Kitchen, I had made some chicken for dinner. I cooked it in the oven wrapped in tinfoil. When I took it out of the oven and opened the foil packet, Hugo jolted awake and started sniffing the air, and when I was eating he tried to climb into my lap and eat off my plate. So after they rejected the Lily's Kitchen, I cooked up another chicken breast the same way only without any seasoning, and offered a small piece to Hugo. He ate it enthusiastically so I put a few more small pieces plus the cooking juices into a bowl for him and he gobbled it right down and licked the bowl clean. So Hugo likes chicken. A few days after I discovered this, I roasted a chicken for dinner then made a broth from the carcass, something I do regularly. This time, instead of putting veggies and herbs into the broth I used only the carcass, and when it cooled I gave Hugo a bit and he lapped it up. I froze this broth in ice cube trays with about a tablespoon of shredded chicken breast and once a day I take out a cube and melt it with a bit of boiling water and Hugo gobbles it up. Hester, however, is completely uninterested. She doesn't react negatively, just doesn't show any interest in eating the chicken. A few days ago, I made salmon fillets for dinner and deliberately left some unseasoned to see if Hester would eat it. She did, with what seemed like reasonable enthusiasm, so I felt encouraged. Hugo ate his chicken and Hester ate her salmon. They are used to eating and drinking from the same dishes, so getting them to eat different things is a challenge. The next day I gave Hester more salmon and she ate a bit of it, but then Hugo came in and polished off the rest. Encouraged by this, I bought some Applaws salmon and tuna in jelly and gave them a bit of that today. Hugo seemed a bit uncertain at first but then cleaned his plate... and Hester's too. Again, she wasn't interested. Not opposed, just uninterested. From this I deduce that Hugo will eat meat and fish in flakes or chunks, but I don't know yet what might tempt Hester.
Both of them love kitten milk and I give them about a serving of this a day, and I see Hester drinking water daily as well, but I am concerned that if she won't eat wet food then she will get dehydrated. She is healthy and her fur is soft and glossy but I think her poo may be a little dry. Sometimes it takes the form of small pellets instead of a log. She doesn't seem to have any trouble pooing, though, so I don't think she is constipated.
My main question is should I completely abandon pate-style foods, or try to sneak some in amongst the chicken and fish? I've tried mixing some in their milk before and they haven't really been fooled, but a bit of chicken in broth or even the Applaws are not complete foods, and I don't think I'm ready to commit to making home-made food for them, so I need them to eat complete wet food. There doesn't seem to be much kitten food available that is not pate. Is it worthwhile to try mixing pate into their chunks? I don't want Hugo to be put off the food he likes because he detects food he doesn't like mixed into it. And as for Hester, do you think she will eventually start eating the chicken and fish if I keep offering it to her? She did eat the salmon the first time. Are there any strategies I could use to get her to try wet food? Buying a million different kinds to see if she likes them is not really an option, financially.
Finally, please reassure me that this is a slow process and they are still just babies and I've only had them 3 weeks and it will all work out eventually. I know this in my head but until I started reading this forum I'd had no idea that feeding a cat was such a complex issue, and I really want my kittens to get the best nutrition possible.
Thanks for your help!