Cat Hates Wet Food...unless It's Novel

[auntie]

Hello!

I have a problem that is annoying to me, since I'm trying to keep my cats super-healthy. I have two cats, both indoor spayed females. One is a 4-year-old Balinese (Kitty) with stomatitis and no teeth, who is always skinny and rough-looking. The other is a 10-month-old Siberian (Ruby) who is giant and appears to be very healthy. For both, I free-feed Blue Buffalo dry kitten food, and give wet food twice a day.

Kitty tends to be really into food, and will usually eat lots of wet food as soon as she gets it, and also finishes Ruby's food if she has the chance...Ruby pretty much doesn't finish hers, ever. This is because Ruby only likes wet food if it's a "new" brand or flavor. A while back, I was like, "Okay, fine, because there are one hundred kinds of cat food at the pet supply shop...I'll just keep changing it for her". So I always got different kinds. The result was stomachaches and loose stools, especially in Ruby. The dry food, I did keep consistent...I thought it was only dry food you weren't meant to switch up.

Anyway, now that I've been sticking to basically two kinds of wet food, Ruby won't even touch it. She kind of backs away and runs off as though she's afraid. I've also taken to just giving them a tiny bit per feeding (like, 2 or 3 tablespoons), since Kitty usually tries to eat both, and I don't want her to have too much. I have to stand there watching so I can take the food away from Ruby. It's getting to be such a pain. I would love to just quit even trying to feed wet food to Ruby, she seems quite healthy and strong and I know she will drink water to counterbalance the dry food. There's no way I'm going to try and switch up her wet food all the time, it's bad for her system. And I feel like I'm wasting my time trying to constantly monitor her food-mood.

Advice? Can't I just stop trying?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi -

her food-mood.

That's such a great way to put it.

I went through this with my Big Guy and we finally did work out (or, rather I did ) a few foods he's eating fairly regularly now.

What happens if you add some moisture to the dry food - granted, that means you wouldn't be able to leave it out due to bacteria growth but you could have some moistened and some dry.

Have you tried topper enticements for the wet food?
Bonito flakes, fortiflora, crushing the kibble and putting that on the wet. You could take about half of a pate style food from one of the small cans, add a tablespoon of hot water, stir (a shot glass works well for this) and serve?

I don't know where you're located but have you tried pouch foods (Pouch foods and pouch treats such as Delectables have a lot more gravy) such as Merrick Backcountry, Pet Pride (at King Soopers), Abound, Tiki Cat, Nature's Balance, Paws and Claws (Tractor Supply)?

 

[duckpond]

Oh i feel your pain. my guys all get fussy about their food too. i have driven myself nuts with this. My little white avatar cat, love of my life, basically hates any wet food. She also fixates on one dry, and thats all she will eat.

My other three like several different wet foods, and i do rotate around between several brands and types for them. I always offer some to my little white girl, i know if she snubs it someone else will eat it, and the dry is out for Itty when she is hungry. I only feed one dry as well.

Lo and behold not long ago i offered Almo nature nature salmon and apple, she ate it, shock for me. Now she runs to the kitchen at wet meal time with the others and wants her salmon and apple. I am thrilled that she will eat some wet food, but of course it would be salmon, so now i worry about too much fish, or all dry i feed her the salmon wet food, still offering her other alternatives, which she always refuses, and keep her dr. Elseys out too. She is healthy, and drinks from her water fountain and water bowls well.

My thinking is, life is too short anyway, they need good food, and food they will enjoy. Food is just part of it. I keep up with their vet visits, provide clean litter boxes, mental and physical stimulation. And love the dickens out of them

 

[Azazel]

Hi there, have you checked out Dr. Pierson's recommendations for transitioning dry food addicts to wet food? If not, here is the link: https://catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf

 

[Furballsmom]

of course it would be salmon, so now i worry about too much fish,

I know, right??! same thing here....

 

[RajaNMizu]

Sitting in the same salmon-boat with Mizu, Right now, I'm still kinda thrilled she likes "something"!

 

[barrelchick29]

Yup. My guy would eat a dump truck full of dry food if I let him. I've had him for 4 months, tried about 6 different brands/formulas of wet. He decided that he'd eat Weruva B.F.F., but not as enthusiastically as his Nutrish Indoor food (refused Blue Buffalo, TOTW, Instinct). He likes the Carbalicious dry food! I've finally got him eating about 6-7 oz. wet, and 3/4 c. dry per day. He's holding his ground on just the tuna based variety pack wet, but it's fine because he's not allergic to fish. In MY perfect world he'd eat 100% wet - but he'd rather starve. We compromised. At least he likes water. Good luck. I know it's frustrating.

 

[verna davies]

One of mine loves dry food but will eat wet. I mix a small amount of dry into the wet and he usually finished the lot

 

[Azazel]

Well we can once again thank the pet food companies for coating dry food with kitty crack.