My Ragdoll won't eat anything but Friskies

yooool

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Hey guys! it's my first post :)

I need some help with my cat... Here's Some information first:

1) It's the first time im having a 100% indoor cat who never gets out of the house, since we live in an apartment building.

2) It's also the first time im having pure breed cat, It's a female ragdoll at the age of 8 months.

Usually i was just picking cats off the street and feeding them whatever + i had a backyard for them to chill.

With that said + the fact pure breed are a bit more sensitive than the regular "street" cat, i'v been trying to make sure that i provide her with everything she needs, But i struggle with dry food.

At first the breeder told me he was feeding the cats with "Regal" -- so that's what i got. But afterwards i was told it's not very good, and that he's a crap breeder... indeed she never ate it with passion...

Later on  I was thinking that Friskies is a good food, and that's what i gave her... and she really really liked it :)

But lately i'v been hearing that Friskies is shit!... after few months of Friskies, i have been researching a little on the web and decided to try Orijen.

I was sure she is going to love it and i bought a bag and oops, she even refused to smell it!, so i tried Acana, but guess what? same story.

Afterwards, the guys at the shop gave me loads of tester packs of dry food, which i don't even remember their names because she refused to eat them as well.

Then i noticed the Purina logo on Pro Plan bag (like friskies), and decided to give it a try as it was more expensive, it wasn't bad as the rest of them, and i guess there's maybe some future with this one since she eats of my hand, but off my hand only (this was today), and not from her plate.

Now, i know that friskies has flavour and smell improvements in it (dunno how it's called in english) and i guess that's why she loves it, but... it's been a week now and im tired about this + it's becoming very expensive... I have to go away twice in a month for several days each time because of work, and in general i work most of my time, therefore dry food is the only option for me, and I feel like im about to go back to feeding her friskies, as i want to know she eats when im not ther + i want her to enjoy her food as well... what's the point if it's super healthy but disguasting to her?

Few more pointers:

1) She really likes all types of canned food yet.

2) I feed her 50g canned food and half a cup of dry food every day ("Go!",  "Athena" and "Fancy Feast" usually).

3) I would like to keep having this rotation between dry and wet food.

Questions:

1) Just how bad friskies is as a basic everyday cat food? what are it's drawbacks?

2) Can i maybe compensate for friskies by using some sort of canned food?

3) How is pro plan in terms of diet? should i stick with it?

+ anything else you will be able to tell me.

I guess it's also a bit weird for her to get different food each day, and that probs makes an impact as well... But what can i do?

Try to give me direct tips, and not general guides for feeding if possible.

Here's my girl btw:

.

Thanks in advance!
 

Kieka

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Friskies is on the lower end of the dry food quality, sorry. Probably just above 9Lives or the store brand generic so right in the top 5 worst dry food options. It has a lot of fillers and grains in it that can lead to weight problems in cat. Especially in indoor only cat who is already at risk of weight problems due to lower activity levels. I hadn't heard of Regal before but listing "poultry" without which in their ingredient is kinda scary so probably good idea to get her off that.  

Without knowing which samples you tried it is really hard to tell you an alternative to try. I will say that part of the problem may be in the frequent switching and sudden switching. When you change dry foods you should be doing it slowly over a week or two (or longer). Typically what I do when I am switching is when my current food starts to get low I add in a cup of the new food (I store my dry food in a 3 gallon air tight storage in the house and have a bigger airtight that holds the bags in the garage but I have 3 and buy 15 pound bags). Then mix well, add a cup when there is room, mix well, add a cup, etc. Essentially slowly increasing the ratio of new to old until it is all new. In your case on a smaller scale you could put the Friskies in a gallon bag and when there is room add a cup of the new mix, etc. 

Doing the slow switch may make her notice the new stuff less and accept it easier. It would have the smell and taste of the Friskies from sharing storage and the Friskies gradually decreasing might be slow enough for her not to notice. She may still pick out the Friskies pieces but as the quantity decreases she should start eating the new food when she gets hungry (just make sure she doesn't go more than 24 hours without eating something). You can also try sprinkling some freeze dried chicken into the new food once you are on just new food to entice her to eat it. 

You might want to try maybe Natures Variety Raw Boost they have bits of freeze dried chicken in the food and the kibble is dusted with it. I've yet to meet a cat who turns up their nose to the freeze dried chicken dusting and it should have a stronger smell that may entice her away from the Friskies. 

Also, remember with an indoor only cat to watch her calorie intake (which means dry free feeding is probably not the best). The general rule of thumb is 20 calories per pound for indoor cats unless they are very active then up it to 25. There are products out there you can buy that will regulate dry food servings while you are out of town. 
 

mrsgreenjeens

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She's GORGEOUS


OK, here goes.  If you can make the canned food the majority of her food, all the better, especially since she likes it best.  Can you (on a typical day, manage to feed her three meals of canned food, say one before work, one when you get home, and one right before bed?  Then it's not quite so critical that she eat "the best" dry food. 

Next, when you've tried switching her over the a new dry food, have you done it by slowly introducing the new food...1/4 new food mixed with 3/4 Friskies for a week, then half and half, then 3/4 new food with 1/4 Friskies?  It really should be done very slowly.  Usually this is done to prevent tummy issues, but in her case it might work just to get her used to the new taste.  

If it comes down to only Friskies or Pro Plan, I would definitely try to get her on the Pro Plan.  Friskies is really the bottom of the barrel as far as healthy food goes. 

Are you going to board her when you are gone for those days for work, or are you having someone come in to take care of her?  If someone is coming in, how many times per day?  There are actually feeding stations that you can put frozen canned food into that might work and be able to last for a couple of canned food meals. 
 
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yooool

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Hey guys and thanks for the help!

So ok, Kieka, I tried to integrate the new food for about a week, after the orijen failed integration, my friskies stock was over and i had to try rest without any familiar food...

Even after i make a canned/dry mish mash she just licks all the pate and leaves the rest... crazy!

Im sure the bad integration adds up to the problem... and the fact i have no friskies at home.. as well. do you think i should get another bag of friskies and try it out slow and steady?

Natures Variety Raw Boost looks good, i'll have to check where i can get it in my country.

Mrs. Greenjeans, i rarely take her with me, you know how cats are... and i don't want her to be afraid of new places and people every now and then... i really prefer to let her stay at her home...

even if it means she's alone most of the time at least she's in her safe and familiar enviorment...

She have all sorts of toys that releases food when she play with them, and before i leave i make sure all the devices and her plates are full...

When im home im not free feeding by the way, only when im away.. if im away for more then two days then i make sure someone can visit her but usually two days is the max.

About the canned food, i believe i can manage that -- that's what i'v been doing lately.. and i don't mind keep on doing that... but i feel like the dry food is the most basic, and is what i rely on the most, when not at home mostly... it sounds weird to me to make the canned food basic... is it not full of fat and stuff like?

So, you gave me a lot of information here, help me make a descision... :)

I can give her canned food 3-4 days a week, is it okay to give her friskies in the rest of the time?

Or should i maybe keep a rotation between dry friskies and "Go" in cans for example? like, 2 meals of wet food and one of dry food daily?

or should i just keep trying to switch her food? get another bag of friskies and start over?

Im kind'a worried cuz, for example a day after the post have been posted i had to go for two days and went back today, to find out she wasn't eating anything at all except the canned food i left for her...

She had stocks of pro plan, natural balance, and acana yet she touched nothing.

What do you think?
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I ONLY feed my guys canned food.  In my opinion, it's the better food for them.  Depending on which canned food, of course, it doesn't have to be full of fat, etc., nor carbs, which cats don't need.. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they are meat eaters.  Dry food is normally full of corn, wheat, soy, that type of thing. 

Maybe this article will help you with that:

  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-choose-the-right-food-for-your-cat  and

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/what-makes-the-best-canned-cat-food

Now if I were you, I'd stick with feeding her at least two or three (remember she's still a kitten and will continue to grow for some time yet since she's a Ragdoll) wet meals per day when you can, and supplement with dry if you need to.  Then when you're away, feed her anything she will eat, because she cannot go for too long without eating or you risk other health issues.  If it 's Friskies for those days, then so be it. 
 

lisahe

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I ONLY feed my guys canned food.  In my opinion, it's the better food for them.  Depending on which canned food, of course, it doesn't have to be full of fat, etc., nor carbs, which cats don't need.. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they are meat eaters.  Dry food is normally full of corn, wheat, soy, that type of thing. 
<snip!>
Now if I were you, I'd stick with feeding her at least two or three (remember she's still a kitten and will continue to grow for some time yet since she's a Ragdoll) wet meals per day when you can, and supplement with dry if you need to.  Then when you're away, feed her anything she will eat, because she cannot go for too long without eating or you risk other health issues.  If it 's Friskies for those days, then so be it. 
I couldn't agree more with all mrsgreenjeens's suggestions here. We, too, feed our cats only wet food that's grain-free and low-carb so they get maximum meat-based protein, which is what cats thrive on and are built to process.

Feeding as much wet food as possible, supplementing with dry food (and Friskies if need be) as needed sounds like the best option, particularly since this beautiful cat -- what is her name, by the way? -- is young and still growing.
 
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yooool

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Ok, it's decided then.

Back to friskies with more canned food. im actually pretty happy to do it she really seems to like it... it might get more expensive but meh...

I guess i will try again to integrate new food in the future, in the same way Kieka suggested.

Thank you all for your kind help. i really appreciate it!

By the way, is friskies in cans also shit?... or is it good?

Lisa - her name is Sunny, i called her like that cuz, on the day i got her from the breeder she played or somthing, and got messed up in some turmeric (i think that's how it's called... that yellow spice).

So it was all over her and she was banana yellow for a few days... and ofc, she brought back the sunshine after my last cat passed away.

Right now im looking for a friend cat for her :) 
 

NewYork1303

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Ok, it's decided then.

Back to friskies with more canned food. im actually pretty happy to do it she really seems to like it... it might get more expensive but meh...

I guess i will try again to integrate new food in the future, in the same way Kieka suggested.

Thank you all for your kind help. i really appreciate it!

By the way, is friskies in cans also shit?... or is it good?

Lisa - her name is Sunny, i called her like that cuz, on the day i got her from the breeder she played or somthing, and got messed up in some turmeric (i think that's how it's called... that yellow spice).

So it was all over her and she was banana yellow for a few days... and ofc, she brought back the sunshine after my last cat passed away.

Right now im looking for a friend cat for her :) 
Friskies in cans is pretty bad. Using things that are grain free is a lot better. Classic fancy feast is much better than friskies. 
 
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yooool

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Aye! thanks again for all the info i didn't knew fancy feast is considered good... but im happy to hear that at least i did somthing right.

Danke Scon :D
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Yes, you're ok with the Fancy Feast, as long as it's the CLASSIC Line, or the PURELY line.  All the others are full of carbs. 
 

young again

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I thought I would add to the discussion.

Many of the high carb, big company cat foods use phosphoric acid as a flavor enhancer. Cats find acids irresistible. Once a cat is addicted to phosphoric acid it takes a fair amount of work to get them onto something else. A good method is to take the new food and grind it into a fine powder and coat their old food with it. Add a lot so that have to push the powder around to pick out the old kibble. Cats have a memory of about a week, so do this for a week as well. After the week is up take some of the old food and powder it and then coat the new food in the same way.

Their old food starts tasting like the new food and then you switch it up on them and make the new food taste a little like their old food. When you are confident they are eating the new food, then gradually reduce the powder until they are just eating the new food. You have to make sure they are eating. If they are not keeping you up at night or begging constantly and there is poop in the litter box, then they are eating enough.

If they like a canned food you can also grind their new food into a fine powder (no chunks) and add just a pinch to the canned food. Increase the amount until you are putting about a tablespoon in a 3oz can and at this point place the new kibble in a bow and offer it to them. This method can take up to 10 days to make the change since you are adding the powder to the wet food very slowly. If you go too fast then they may reject the wet food and then you have a new problem. Cats are suspicious so always best to take it slow.

I would encourage you to always feed a carnivore food, kibble or canned or both. A carnivore food is defined as 52-58% protein, 22-28% fat and less than 6% starch. As long as the starch content remains below 6% and the food is balance between protein and fat the cat will remain fully hydrated with a urine specific gravity of less that 1.030. For canned foods no plant should show on the label unless it is a fiber source and the protein should be at least 12% and the fat 5.5-6.5%. For wet, these percentages pretty much ensure that the canned food will be below 6% starch/carbs.
 
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