Cat food for a picky cat, wants to only eat baby food

[bananamillie]

It's a long story but our 13 yo cat was diagnosed with early kidney disease and the vet made us switch her to a prescription diet, which ended up doing more harm than good. She ate it for a few weeks but eventually got sick of it. As it turns out, she should not have been put on the CKD diet in the first place
She was also diagnosed with Small Cell Lymphoma in her small intestine couple of weeks ago so she is on Prednisolone to treat those symptoms. We have not started chemo yet but will likely do it soon.

Ever since her lymphoma diagnosis, we have been feeding her what she used to eat before the CKD diagnosis fiasco, which is Blue Buffalo wilderness chicken. She was thrilled to have her old food back and ate it happily for a few days, but now she doesn't want it anymore. We had also given her Weruva BFF Cloud9 chicken gravy which she accepted for a while but wasn't excited about it.
She's definitely hungry and wanting to eat, but at this point she will only eat baby food (Beechnut turkey) and bonito flakes.
I'm aware that baby food is not a good longterm solution for cats, so I have a couple of questions -

1. What are some cat food brands that even picky cats cannot resist? Our cat eats only wet food and prefers gravy or paté rather than chunks. She likes to lick her food rather than pick it up with her teeth.
2. If she is going to insist on only eating baby food, what are some supplements that we can add to it to make it a balanced meal for her?
Has anyone tried the nutrient formulations offered on justfoodfordogs.com?
I've purchased Taurine from Amazon, but would love any insight.

 

[verna davies]

Have you had her teeth checked,? Try giving her the usual food but mash it with a folk it try a mousse food. Also, if she likes a particular dry food or treat, crush a few and sprinkle on top of the wet food.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Some of the other foods you could try, if you haven't already are any of these pates: Tiki Cat Mousse (probably closest to the consistency of baby food meats), and Nutro, Sheba, Iams, & Crave Perfect Portions (also fairly close). Although Fancy Feast pates seem to be a bit more grainy than all the others listed above, you could give them a try.

Perhaps, adding some baby food meat to any one of these might work. You could start out with more baby food meat/less cat food, and if she will eat it you could decrease the baby food meat while increasing the cat food over time.

I have read on this site about many members who use a product called EZ Complete Fur Cats Food Supplement to use with raw and homecooked meat - it should be what you would need if you have to continue with the baby food meats.
EZComplete Fur Cats Food Supplement | The Cat Connection.

 

[LTS3]

There might be a little info here: How much premix do you need to add to a jar of baby food for assist feedings, and what's a good source of fiber/bulk to include as needed?

Try a sprinkle of FortiFlora on any food to make it more appealing. The animal digest in FortiFlora is appealing to inappetant cats.

Mash up pate foods with some water. Puree chunk type foods in a food processor to turn it into pate.

 

[TardisDance]

Please have her teeth checked. I adopted my Sango a year and had a check up within a month of adopting her. I worried because she was from a hoarding situation, but the vet said her teeth were fine. However, now a year later I had her check up last year and the vet indicated she has lesions and she may need to have at least one tooth removed. She’s been super fussy with wet food and she’s only about 4 years old now. It could be pickiness but it could be very well because of pain. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[bananamillie]

FeebysOwner LTS3 V verna davies TardisDance

Thank you all!!
I will get right on putting together a sampler of these foods for my cat, and I'll also get a hold of the EZ Complete supplement.

I have asked the vet to check her teeth, I bring it up every time we're there. Which has been at least 5 times in the last 2 months because of her other health issues
They've always told me that her teeth look great for a 13yo cat. But I'm still concerned and I'm looking into getting a second opinion on her general health from a different internal medicine specialist, so I will be sure to bring it up again!

 

[TardisDance]

B bananamillie , Sango is willing to eat Weruva stews and Fancy Feast gravy lovers. Maybe try those. The Weruva is pricey but it’s really dense in calories compared to a lot of foods - around 90 calories for a 2.8 oz can. Now that I know she has tooth problems, the gravy preference sort of makes sense. She does seem to eat more of the meat on the Fancy Feast though but it’s slightly bigger chunks but not huge cubes or anything The Weruva is very minced/ground so it may be tough for her to slurp up. I do have to re-pile her food in the middle even with a whisker fatigue friendly bowl.

She did eat some of the Weruva BFF, but it was super inconsistent so I haven’t bought more of it . . I think it’s because of big cuts of dark tuna. Some cats really love those.

 

[LTS3]

You may want to seek out a veterinary dentist. Lots of "regular" vets have no clue about dental health. Even internal medicine vets may not be familiar with signs of dental issues.

 

[mizzely]

When my Jasmine had cancer, Friskies was the only thing I could get her to eat. Then when she died, Lydia wanted nothing to do with Friskies for 2 years! The only foods I could get her to eat were Tiny Tiger (Chewy brand), Sheba, and Tiki Cat Mousse. A sprinkle of freeze dried food on top helps encourage her to eat when she's decided she's bored with a flavor.

 

[di and bob]

When my cats are sick and refusing to eat, the ONLY thing they love is Hartz Delectable Lickabels in the stew flavors. I give all their meds in it too. Each night they have Whiskas Purrfectly Chicken too, you might try it. it even smells good to me! You can get both at Target, Amazon, and Dollar General, the Whiskas is always out of stock at Walmart, even online. You can get the Lickables in store there though, in the treat section.