Need help with picky cat!

felvy

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Hey everyone,

So I've got a 6yr old female tortoise shell that is super picky. For years and years she ate Orijen chicken and was fine with it. We got a new kitten a year ago and Pepper decided that she hated the chicken and didn't want anything to do with it. Around that time I discovered she LOVED meowmix. I know Meowmix is pure garbage but hey it got my cat eating when she was boycotting any other food. At one point she went 24 hours without eating (and this is with the kitten being kept separately).

Fast forward to now and she's been eating Orijen Fish along with the new kitten and they're mostly good friends now. However over the last month or so she's not liking it so much. I have to give her a treat and drop it in her dish to get her to eat. She'll wake me up at 3am wanting her treat so she'll eat. I know it's a bad habit but ontop of that she doesn't really dig the food that much. If it was meowmix she'd eat like crazy. I'm hoping to get some food suggestions as I want something high quality but maybe something along the lines of meowmix that she might like. 
 

2Cats4everLoved

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Hey everyone,

So I've got a 6yr old female tortoise shell that is super picky. For years and years she ate Orijen chicken and was fine with it. We got a new kitten a year ago and Pepper decided that she hated the chicken and didn't want anything to do with it. Around that time I discovered she LOVED meowmix. I know Meowmix is pure garbage but hey it got my cat eating when she was boycotting any other food. At one point she went 24 hours without eating (and this is with the kitten being kept separately).

Fast forward to now and she's been eating Orijen Fish along with the new kitten and they're mostly good friends now. However over the last month or so she's not liking it so much. I have to give her a treat and drop it in her dish to get her to eat. She'll wake me up at 3am wanting her treat so she'll eat. I know it's a bad habit but ontop of that she doesn't really dig the food that much. If it was meowmix she'd eat like crazy. I'm hoping to get some food suggestions as I want something high quality but maybe something along the lines of meowmix that she might like. 
Are you feeding them the wet or dry.

There are so many better options than Orijen, not to mention meow mix.

If you can, try and stay away from fish flavored foods.
 
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felvy

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Are you feeding them the wet or dry.

There are so many better options than Orijen, not to mention meow mix.

If you can, try and stay away from fish flavored foods.
Whats wrong with orijen? It was recommended to me by my vet years ago as a high quality food. I've really always fed both cats dry food. As for meowmix I threw the bag out long ago, was just a crutch about a year ago. 
 

red top rescue

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If I remember correctly, Orijen changed its formula not too long ago and many people here did not like the change and have gone to other foods.  It may be just coincidence, but perhaps the change in the Orijen is what made your cat not like it anymore.  The most important thing is for you to find a food that is basically good for them, that they also like, and that is in your budget.  Wet food is important for urinary health, and the ideal diet is made up of primarily animal protein (not vegetable protein), moderate fat, and very few carbohydrates, as that is the composition of a cat's natural diet and their bodies require it.  Unlike dogs and humans, cats cannot be vegetarians.  They require meat.

You need to learn to read labels and understand what you are feeding them.  Is MEAT the No. 1 ingredient?  Some fish is in most cat foods, but it is not recommended to feed primarily fish.  Here is an article about why:  http://www.littlebigcat.com/category/nutrition/

Have you tried feeding her any wet food?  She might like it.
 
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felvy

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If I remember correctly, Orijen changed its formula not too long ago and many people here did not like the change and have gone to other foods.  It may be just coincidence, but perhaps the change in the Orijen is what made your cat not like it anymore.  The most important thing is for you to find a food that is basically good for them, that they also like, and that is in your budget.  Wet food is important for urinary health, and the ideal diet is made up of primarily animal protein (not vegetable protein), moderate fat, and very few carbohydrates, as that is the composition of a cat's natural diet and their bodies require it.  Unlike dogs and humans, cats cannot be vegetarians.  They require meat.

You need to learn to read labels and understand what you are feeding them.  Is MEAT the No. 1 ingredient?  Some fish is in most cat foods, but it is not recommended to feed primarily fish.  Here is an article about why:  http://www.littlebigcat.com/category/nutrition/

Have you tried feeding her any wet food?  She might like it.
Thanks for the help! After reading on here I'm going to start giving them some canned food. I'm not too concerned with budget, health of my 2 kitties is the more important thing. I didn't realize fish was a big issue but it makes sense with heavy metals. I'll probably try a combo of the boar orijen and wet so I'll check it out and see if she can adjust to canned at all. I tried her on canned back when she threw a fit we got the kitten and she wanted nothing to do with it but here and there I've given her some and she either eats some or just licks it til shes bored lol. 
 
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LTS3

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Have you tried Applaws dry food. It comes on a variety of flavours.
If @Felvy lives in the US, Applaws dry food is not an option because it is not sold here in stores. A few online places do sell it but at nearly $30 for a 5.5 lb bag, it's very expensive. The Applaws canned, pouches, and pots are sold here in independent pet stores but they are treat only, not complete diets like they are in the UK and in other countries.
 
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felvy

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If @Felvy lives in the US, Applaws dry food is not an option because it is not sold here in stores. A few online places do sell it but at nearly $30 for a 5.5 lb bag, it's very expensive. The Applaws canned, pouches, and pots are sold here in independent pet stores but they are treat only, not complete diets like they are in the UK and in other countries.
Yeah I'm Canadian :)
 

2Cats4everLoved

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Whats wrong with orijen? It was recommended to me by my vet years ago as a high quality food. I've really always fed both cats dry food. As for meowmix I threw the bag out long ago, was just a crutch about a year ago. 
I personally have not had luck with feeding my female cat Orijen - besides her gaining weight she never seemed satisfied and was always hungry, plus soon after feeding her this she got very sick and got Crystals and was on meds for a month.  Then after reading up on this brand, I found that I wasn't alone.  Now I'm reading about Blue Buffalo causing the same reactions.

As @Red Top Rescue-  mentioned, cats aren't vegetable's eaters or berry pickers by nature, so after my research I don't get foods filled with sweet potatoes or anything the animal wouldn't eat.

I now have her on a strict wet diet.

I understand all cats are different and react in different ways, so I always say use your judgement.  If money isn't an issue, you have many more options at your fingertips.  But always remember, even expensive brands can be crap. 

How is your wee one doing now.

Hope all is well.
 

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Just a suggestion, my cat is super picky (only likes wet food but heaven forbid it's not the little bits and gravy kind). We went online to pet supply stores and found that using autoship and buying it in bulk brought down the price of our nutro cat food to about 60 cents a can. And we get enough for a whole month. It's still not cheap but it helps us feed her a pretty good wet food and always make sure we have some on hand. My cat only likes certain types of wet food so you might have to try different textures to see what your  cat prefers. Good luck!!
 
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felvy

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Just a suggestion, my cat is super picky (only likes wet food but heaven forbid it's not the little bits and gravy kind). We went online to pet supply stores and found that using autoship and buying it in bulk brought down the price of our nutro cat food to about 60 cents a can. And we get enough for a whole month. It's still not cheap but it helps us feed her a pretty good wet food and always make sure we have some on hand. My cat only likes certain types of wet food so you might have to try different textures to see what your  cat prefers. Good luck!!
Great idea. Yeah mine is super picky with texture too. I was given a small case of the Tiki Kitty stuff and it all was good quality but some of it she wasn't interested at all or she'd just lick it til it was dry and she didn't want it anymore. Got her eating some wet last night and it's made her more interested in the orijen.. weird cat. 
 
I personally have not had luck with feeding my female cat Orijen - besides her gaining weight she never seemed satisfied and was always hungry, plus soon after feeding her this she got very sick and got Crystals and was on meds for a month.  Then after reading up on this brand, I found that I wasn't alone.  Now I'm reading about Blue Buffalo causing the same reactions.

As @Red Top Rescue-  mentioned, cats aren't vegetable's eaters or berry pickers by nature, so after my research I don't get foods filled with sweet potatoes or anything the animal wouldn't eat.

I now have her on a strict wet diet.

I understand all cats are different and react in different ways, so I always say use your judgement.  If money isn't an issue, you have many more options at your fingertips.  But always remember, even expensive brands can be crap. 

How is your wee one doing now.

Hope all is well.
Seems to be a somewhat common complaint. I've seen things all over the place claiming to cause it but it seems it's something that can happen to almost any cat eating a high protein diet of quality stuff. Hopefully neither of mine run into that! Definitely getting her off the fish formula and giving her some wet food. 
 

2Cats4everLoved

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Great idea. Yeah mine is super picky with texture too. I was given a small case of the Tiki Kitty stuff and it all was good quality but some of it she wasn't interested at all or she'd just lick it til it was dry and she didn't want it anymore. Got her eating some wet last night and it's made her more interested in the orijen.. weird cat. 

Seems to be a somewhat common complaint. I've seen things all over the place claiming to cause it but it seems it's something that can happen to almost any cat eating a high protein diet of quality stuff. Hopefully neither of mine run into that! Definitely getting her off the fish formula and giving her some wet food. 
You'll figure out a decent diet, but more wet is better than more dry.  Good idea to stay away from the fish.

Keep us posted.  Do you have any pictures of your sweet Tortie?  Mine is a Tortie too.  Chestnut is her name.

Best of luck.
 
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felvy

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Update: She's doing better. She didn't like the orijen boar formula at first but shes grown to like it. Couldn't find anything else at the pet store that didn't have a lot of potatoes or fruits and vegetables in it. Oddly enough neither cat is super enthused about wet food, might take a bit of time. They'll lick it til its dry but not actually eat it. 
 

2Cats4everLoved

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Update: She's doing better. She didn't like the orijen boar formula at first but shes grown to like it. Couldn't find anything else at the pet store that didn't have a lot of potatoes or fruits and vegetables in it. Oddly enough neither cat is super enthused about wet food, might take a bit of time. They'll lick it til its dry but not actually eat it. 
That's okay if the cat's really don't like the wet, if they'll grow to like the Orijen Boar dry, they'll grow to like the wet also.  Just remember, for the long haul, it's much better for them down the road then the dry.  Please take it from the members here who have ended up in the end with serious health issues due do a dry diet.

You can always add a little bit of Gerber Baby Food, chicken, ham etc (without added spices) to give it more flavor and totally ween them off the dry eventually.

Pepper is adorable, sh'e a tortie just like my Chestnut.  Interesting, all the torties I see, I notice a goldish triangle over the left eye.  I have yet to meet one without that mark. LOL

Enjoy her, she seems very sweet.  I also notice, torties have a very loyal disposition and like to be close at all times.

Keep up posted.  Best to you and sweet Pepper.
 
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