My cats just don't like anything that's good for them!

Hi folks! Does anyone other than me have cats that just don't like things that you bring home for them that are good for them? My cats just completely reject new things! I have two examples I'm currently working on right now with them...

The Worlds Best Cat Litter... My cats hate this stuff. I love this stuff. I bought a bag for them, hoping to get them away from clay litter and they just don't like it and it makes no sense to me. Today I made my last ditch effort to get them used to the new litter by mixing one of their old clay litter boxes litter in with the new litter so that all their litter boxes are a combination 50% clay 50% WBCL. I'm hoping that by doing it this way I can just refill the litterboxes with WBCL and gradually convert them.

Prescription Diet G/D... My cat Zoey needs this since she just had surgery to have bladder stones removed and my vet prescribed it for her. All of my cats hate it. I gradually mixed it into their old food until the old food ran out and now all of my cats are eating like birds and hanging around the food bowl waiting for me to put out their old food for them. I'm going to be calling my vet to get some suggestions and look for other alternative foods for them. I am pretty sure I can find away to get my cats to eat food that's healthy for them.

I'm not necessarily looking for advise on these items, I'm just curious whether other folks have cats that just don't like the good things you bring home for them? Sometimes I think it's like they know this is good for them and they're turning their nose up to it. Like a child with their broccoli!

-Monica.

Monica,

Most definitely! As I posted previously, my Patrick would NOT eat S/D and I simply put him on a food that was fairly comparable (with my vets approval of the new food) that he would eat.

I hope you found the Katkarma url I gave you (that listed the as-fed per centages of protein/fat/phosphorus in GD and other foods), helpful?

You can now all say I have a title in my home of "She who will open another can/another flavor, if I just gaze at her long enough".

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I hope you found the Katkarma url I gave you (that listed the as-fed per centages of protein/fat/phosphorus in GD and other foods), helpful?

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I did, I need to go through it again and also find out how the food I was feeding them compares as well. They *REALLY* like their Purina Indoor Cat formula, but I don't think that list had that food in there... I have no idea how that compares to the G/D stuff.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

You can now all say I have a title in my home of "She who will open another can/another flavor, if I just gaze at her long enough".

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Yes, and oh what a great title that is! Everytime I go in the kitchen there's a swarm around my feet waiting for me to put something else down!

I know exactly what you mean! My cat has allergies and the only thing she wants is food that she is allergic to. Ugh. I can usually coax my other cat to eat his dry food by mixing in a little wet so the dry food smells like the wet stuff. I don't know what I'm going to do if I have to go away overnight... my cats are like infants.. lol

Your cats are gorgeous! I have a picture of 5 of mine sitting like little ducks in a row in front of the window. They were lined up by height too... It's so cute, I need to scan that one in.

Clarence has bugging me to death all day about the food. I think he's refusing to eat this food to the point of being stressed out he's so hungry. A couple times tonight a car drove by outside and he got real nervous about the noise, which is really unusual. I'm going to have to do something about it else he's not going to let me sleep!

Thanks for the compliment! You need to scan that picture in, I bet it's adorable! Your cats all look so fluffy and healthy!

Oh, btw, I couldn't get my cats to use World's Best Litter either. I finally gave up (who can argue with a cat..).

If your kitty hasn't eaten, I'd give him some of his old food and call the vet. I'm always worried about the cats not eating, especially for any extended length of time. You might want to inquire about Purina prescription formulas, I know some places have them, and since your cat already likes Purina, it might be worth a shot. Good luck!

Boy do I know what you mean! I just went through trying to convert Dori to World's Best cat litter. I finally gave up. I did the gradual mixing thing for a period of 2 weeks and then when I finally used only World's Best, she decided my clothes hamper was much more suitable to do her business in.
I tried to change her wet cat food from Friskies, to Nutro, and she refused it. I tried to change her dry food from Science Diet to Royal Canin and nope, she wouldn't have it.
I just love the way she makes the rules, this is Dori's world, and I am here to serve her

I realize every cat is different, but I think trying to change to a new litter in 2 weeks is too short of a time-spam. Also, doing a 50-50 split of old and new litter is probably too much as a starting point. When I changed over from regular clay to World's Best, I followed the instructions on the back of the bag and added 1" to the bottom of the litter box and added 2" of regular clay (or whatever you're using) on top. This way when the cat digs to china, the cat "discovers" the new litter and slowly it gets mixed with the stuff they are currently used to using. I repeated the same ratio for another week. Then I did the 50-50 for about 2 more weeks. It's a painful and sometimes costly process but it is the "cat's world" we are invading. I also discovered she didn't like this litter if the box was covered with a hood. I've been using it since December 2003 and she has had no problems adapting to it. Then again, some cats are like stubborn, older people who refuse a change no matter how good it is for them to do so.

With the Worlds Best cat litter, it's definitely that it smells very different from the clay... Which is something I actually like about the litter... go figure! I'm definitely going to give them more time to adjust. I'm in no big hurry and they are using the litterboxes with the mixed litter, though they keep going from one box to another trying to figure out which one to use... it's funny to watch them.

Last night I did break out a bowl of their old food for everyone but Zoey... Clarence ate like a little pig, but this morning I saw him and Isabelle eating the new food just fine. Speaking of which... time to call the vet and see what they have to say!

Originally Posted by MissCharlotte

I realize every cat is different, but I think trying to change to a new litter in 2 weeks is too short of a time-spam. Also, doing a 50-50 split of old and new litter is probably too much as a starting point. When I changed over from regular clay to World's Best, I followed the instructions on the back of the bag and added 1" to the bottom of the litter box and added 2" of regular clay (or whatever you're using) on top. This way when the cat digs to china, the cat "discovers" the new litter and slowly it gets mixed with the stuff they are currently used to using. I repeated the same ratio for another week. Then I did the 50-50 for about 2 more weeks. It's a painful and sometimes costly process but it is the "cat's world" we are invading. I also discovered she didn't like this litter if the box was covered with a hood. I've been using it since December 2003 and she has had no problems adapting to it. Then again, some cats are like stubborn, older people who refuse a change no matter how good it is for them to do so.

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I tried it that way, but Dori will not dig into her current litter. The fresh step. She uses it and then runs away and hides in the closet (seriously) everytime she goes to the bathroom. She has allergies, I think it's the dust. So I mixed a little World's Best in with the Fresh Step, just shook it all together and did it gradually over 2 weeks. She seemed fine with the mixture, even when it was 3/4 World's Best and 1/4 Fresh Step and was even digging away in it, as soon as it was all World's Best, she refused. I think I am going to try Arm & Hammer fregrance free soon. I am hoping that will be better for her allergies that the Fresh Step.