Allow me to tell the tale of "Newbie"

[don patch]

I'm pretty sure this is the right place for this...


Anyway, my cat Felicia does not touch moist food. She will only eat dry food. I have spent a lot of good money on many different brands of moist cat food, even the expensive ones. I have offered her fresh fish, chicken, and cat treats. She won't even taste it. But when I set her bowl of dry food down, she eats like a madman. I was confused by this behavior, so I asked the breeder whom I got Felicia from, and she didn't really know why. The only thing she could tell me was that she was the runt of the litter she was born in. Oh, and that her original name was Newbie.

At first, I though this didn't mean anything, but I began to dwell on it, and formed a theory that seems to be the only possible explanation why she won't even taste moist food.

Picture if you will, a look back into the kittenhood of Felicia, a tiny Persian kitten living in a home with many other persian cats. Felicia was the smallest, and the weakest, so when that large bowl of moist food was set down, and she would scamper adoreably to taste it, her larger siblings would push her aside or knock her away from the bowl, only allowing her to eat the dry food. Little Felicia would be overpowered if she tried to take even a little moist food while her larger siblings greedily hoarded it for themselves.

It is my theory that this is how her childhood happened, and she associates moist food with pain, even though she knows she is the only cat in my home, the only animal period! (aside from myself)

Every now and then, I'll pick up moist food, and offer it, just in case she wants to try it. So far I've had no luck whatsoever.

Poor little Felicia. Excuse me, I have to go give her a hug

 

[arlyn]

Awww poor girl.

Have you tried tempting her with jars of plain meat baby food?
Also sprinkling fish food flakes on moist food seems to have some success as well.
Bless her heart.

Welcome to the forums by the way!

 

[don patch]

Originally Posted by Arlyn

Awww poor girl.

Have you tried tempting her with jars of plain meat baby food?
Also sprinkling fish food flakes on moist food seems to have some success as well.
Bless her heart.

Welcome to the forums by the way!

No, but it's worth a shot. Felicia is very thin for a Persian, and I want to make sure she gets the nutrients her body needs. I don't want her to get fat, but I'd rather her put on a pound or two than her to not have proper nutrition for her body.

Thanks for the suggestion

 

[rblaude]

I have no idea, but now I really want to see a picture of her.

Poor baby!

Oh actually, how 'bout that gravy stuff they sell to put on cat food?

 

[denice]

I have the same problem with wet food for my cats. In my case I didn't know any better and I fed them dry exclusively as kittens. I have read that cats want to continue eating what they ate as kittens, it's a survival instinct, in the wild their mother shows them what to eat and they continue to eat that their entire lives. It may be that she didn't get the wet food as a kitten and she isn't eating it now because she didn't eat it as a kitten rather than associating it with pain.

 

[arlyn]

Slightly heating wet foods can sometimes help as well.

My Cassi is a former feral, she never used to touch canned foods.
I tried every day different ways.
I finally discovered that if I added water to make it baby ceral consistancy and heated it, she would eat it.

Now she'll eat it straight from the can.

 

[don patch]

Originally Posted by rblaude

I have no idea, but now I really want to see a picture of her.

Poor baby!

alright then


-my camera isn't very good


-she sleeps a lot

 

[don patch]

Originally Posted by Denice

I have the same problem with wet food for my cats. In my case I didn't know any better and I fed them dry exclusively as kittens. I have read that cats want to continue eating what they ate as kittens, it's a survival instinct, in the wild their mother shows them what to eat and they continue to eat that their entire lives. It may be that she didn't get the wet food as a kitten and she isn't eating it now because she didn't eat it as a kitten rather than associating it with pain.

Possibly, but the kittens were offerered wet and dry food, including her, at least that's what the woman who breeds them told me, and I don't think she lied. Anyway, it's just my theory

 

[kaleetha]

My Kanoe won't eat ANY wet food except Blue Spa's Hairball Oven Roasted Chicken Entree.

So I know what you are going through. Like the others said, sometimes changing the consistancy helps... also I know for Kanoe the SMELL is VERY strong with the Blue Spa, and I think that helps. (Her nasal passages are all messed up.) Maybe (I don't know anything about Persians) her shorter passages present the same problem?

And I know this is REALLY weird... but you could try feeding it to her from a spoon or on your finger. One of my cats LOVES it off the spoon, the other is like, "What? No, on the floor please."

Hope something helps!

 

[denice]

Maybe she didn't actually get to eat any of the wet food.

 

[staciej]

You could try grinding up the kibble and putting it on the canned food, that way she has something she likes.

Devin eats canned food, raw food and kibble. Not as the same time, of course.

He'll only eat people food if he can "steal" it from you. If you hand him a bit of boiled chicken or even put it in his bowl, he'll refuse to eat it. So I leave some butter (tiny tiny amount), boiled chicken or whatever cat friendly people food on a paper plate on the table, pretend to eat it and then leave.

 

[maherwoman]

Well, I can say I know what you mean. Our Sunny won't touch wet food, either. I don't think it's necessarily from her being the runt, and associating wet food with pain...it's possible that she just doesn't like it. We, too, have spent money trying LOTS of different brands and types of wet food (not to mention mixing it with kibble), and she just won't TOUCH it. She barely SNIFFS it!! Sunny wasn't the runt of the litter, or anything, either.

So, don't worry...your kitty is fine. I'm sure she just doesn't like it, for whatever reason.

 

[jen]

Actually dry food is more fattening then wet food so if you want her to put on a few pounds then you are giving her the right food. Wet food is better ideally and all wet food diet is best, so keep trying it. Good luck.

 

[rblaude]

thank you for humoring me with the pictures.

What a pretty fuzzball! I think she looks a lot more like a Felicia than a Newbie!

 

[cookandcompany]

Also if you are wanting to put weight on her, Maybe try some nutri-cal as it is very high in calories & my cats love it. I also use Prozyme powder sprinkled on their food which helps them get the most out of their foods. I feed Royal Canin Persian 30 & All 8 of my cats love it, I just wish they had a wet food. lol Your girl is Beautiful! What color is she? A cream or red? Good Luck with her.