He's only a fussy eater at home. Help!

[Flash84259]

Hey so I'm new here! Decided to join to get some advice from others as I'm baffled by my cat. He's 1 year 8 months and adorable. I got him at 6 months from my mum who couldnt handle 3 cats like she thought she could. Anyway, he was never a fussy eater at hers and has since been down there and will eat literally any cat food put down to him. I'm assuming this is because there's two other cats there and a bit of competition. Whilst he's home however he is as fussy as anything! I can put down the same food my mum feeds him and he will refuse to touch it. He won't eat the same treats, refuses every type of biscuit put down to him except one type. Literally the only thing I know he'll eat is these expensive little tins of salmon in jelly (it's one portion per tin). But when I try and feed him the exact same thing (same brand and I've matched the ingredients list, it's the same ingredients) in the pouch version - he won't touch it! I have wasted a fortune going through every brand of cat food I can find. Most of the time he'll eat one or two of the pouches out the box but then he'll turn his nose up at the rest. I've tried everything. I've googled and come across loads of sites telling me to warm the pouches, remove his biscuits so he'll be forced to eat the meat, he just won't eat! I've even left it sitting until it goes dry and refused to remove it. Nothing works. I'm at my wits end with him cause he's costing me a fortune and if this keeps up I won't be able to afford to keep him. This terrifies me cause the last time I had to send him to my mums for a few weeks he scratched himself bloody out of anxiety being away from me! Any suggestions on how I fix this will be greatly appreciated. He drinks loads of water and loves his one type of biscuit but I don't want him on a biscuit only diet. Thanks.

 

[Flash84259]

One other thing I forgot to mention. I have tried just leaving him biscuits and not putting any meat down. But no matter what I do he continually cries for meat. Sometimes it can last a solid hour before he gives up cause he knows I'm not gonna put anything else down. Still won't eat what's there! I even tried different bowls. This has been going on a long time now. It's not the placement of the food cause he'll eat his biscuits and like I said those salmon things as well.

 

[MissClouseau]

If I got it right, he eats his dry food, and he eats one certain wet food, but no other wet food although he eats different types of wet food at the other home. You are right the competition might make him eat faster or ignore some things there. At your house, at the top of my head..

- The portion is too big for him to eat at once. Many cats like to eat small meals throughout the day especially with wet food. My own cat eats maximum 35-40 grams of wet food at one sitting. There are usually around 3 hours between her meals.

- There is one or more things about the bowl going on. Some cats get whisker stress (mine does too) and eats from flat-ish plates. Some cats prefer glass, some porcelain, some plastic... Or maybe the detergent you use to clean the bowl smells weird to him. Or maybe the bowl isn't clean enough for his like.

- My cat eats wet food on her own only one meal at most. We figured out it's because she swallows more air with wet food and gets more gas cramps. But she eats when I handfeed her just fine. (She eats dry food totally on her own.)

 

[Flash84259]

Ok so he eats one specific brand and flavour of dry food - any others and he turns his nose up at it. And it is literally just him being fussy.

I've tried many things, including changing his bowls, changing where he's fed, putting out smaller portions and although he's got one specific (very expensive) brand and flavour of wet food in a specific tin, he will at times eat other stuff as well. Currently for example, I've purchased meat pouches in jelly; in a brand and flavours he has eaten before. He ate the first couple of pouches out of the box (different flavours) and has turned his nose up at the rest - even the flavours he ate before. When I put him down something he's willing to eat - he destroys it in a few hours.

I've always used the same brand and smell of detergent and like I said he eats sometimes and sometimes he won't.

As for hand-feeding him; he won't eat a thing out of my hands. He won't eat his treats off of any surface, if you put them on a table he'll bat them off onto the floor and then eat them. He won't eat off your plate (unless it's butter) and I've found that if I put ANY of his food in a different plastic bowl or on my own plates - he won't touch it. He won't eat fresh meat or chicken. He LOVES the spring water that tuna comes in and will occasionally eat the tuna itself.

I would love it if it was as easy as him feeling there's too much there or cause the bowls aren't right. But I've left him and went to work on many a day with a flavour of wet food I know he's eaten and enjoyed before and came home to find it hasn't been touched in the slightest.

 

[MissClouseau]

I've left him and went to work on many a day with a flavour of wet food I know he's eaten and enjoyed before and came home to find it hasn't been touched in the slightest.

My cat doesn't eat any wet food if it sat on the plate longer than 15 minutes

he eats one specific brand and flavour of dry food - any others and he turns his nose up at it. And it is literally just him being fussy.

I've purchased meat pouches in jelly; in a brand and flavours he has eaten before. He ate the first couple of pouches out of the box (different flavours) and has turned his nose up at the rest - even the flavours he ate before

You had the kitty for 6 months, right? I think you might be also changing the food too much/too frequently. Like even with dry food there are instructions for a slow transition. I don't know what kind of dry food you try but cheaper dry foods like Whiskas, Friskies... even some street cats where I live don't touch or eat only a few.

It is also possible the times he eats a food is exception because that's new. He tries it and decides he doesn't like. Or he ignores a problem over the excitement of "new food." For example my cat has a preference for pate texture but if I bring her a chunky food that smells nice, she might eat a few bites.

I know you want to add more wet to his diet and it's very understandable but if he's drinking water and eating enough calories, I would give some time between trying different foods both for your budget and so the kitty will have some time to try a new thing.

 

[Flash84259]

Hey,

So I've had him for over a year now. Got him at 6 months old. He was always on a varied diet even before coming to me because my mum always has 4 separate flavours and types of biscuits down and mixes her cat food. She will always buy felix but will organise them so the cats get a different flavour every time she puts a pouch down.

For his dry food he gets whiskas lamb flavour. I've tried others - even the ones my mum buys and he doesn't eat them. Again, I've left them down for ages and then I get really concerned cause he's not eating.

I do agree that I've changed his wet food a lot but mostly because he won't touch what I've put down to him. I've had this problem from the start; even after he first moved to mine and I had him on the same food as he was on at my mum's - he just didn't want it.

To be honest he's my first cat that I've had on my own so I am still a little uncertain on what I'm doing. I know a lot, have researched a lot and my mum has been a great help cause she's looked after cats all her life but this is confusing us both!

As for textures - he doesn't like meat in gravy, only in jelly. For a while he would actually just eat all the jelly and leave the meat. He's not even doing that anymore! At one point he refused meat pouches and would only eat fish ones. Then he decided he didn't like them and after spending a fortune on the same pouches cause he was eating them - I ended up giving over half of what I purchased to my friend.

I'll take your advice and spend a few days just giving him biscuits before going back to the food he has eaten the most (not the expensive tins but the pouches). Hopefully the removal of the meat and the re-introduction of it will be the catalyst for change.

Thanks for your help - will post again and let you know how it goes!

 

[MissClouseau]

Hey,

So I've had him for over a year now. Got him at 6 months old. He was always on a varied diet even before coming to me because my mum always has 4 separate flavours and types of biscuits down and mixes her cat food. She will always buy felix but will organise them so the cats get a different flavour every time she puts a pouch down.

For his dry food he gets whiskas lamb flavour. I've tried others - even the ones my mum buys and he doesn't eat them. Again, I've left them down for ages and then I get really concerned cause he's not eating.

I do agree that I've changed his wet food a lot but mostly because he won't touch what I've put down to him. I've had this problem from the start; even after he first moved to mine and I had him on the same food as he was on at my mum's - he just didn't want it.

To be honest he's my first cat that I've had on my own so I am still a little uncertain on what I'm doing. I know a lot, have researched a lot and my mum has been a great help cause she's looked after cats all her life but this is confusing us both!

As for textures - he doesn't like meat in gravy, only in jelly. For a while he would actually just eat all the jelly and leave the meat. He's not even doing that anymore! At one point he refused meat pouches and would only eat fish ones. Then he decided he didn't like them and after spending a fortune on the same pouches cause he was eating them - I ended up giving over half of what I purchased to my friend.

I'll take your advice and spend a few days just giving him biscuits before going back to the food he has eaten the most (not the expensive tins but the pouches). Hopefully the removal of the meat and the re-introduction of it will be the catalyst for change.

Thanks for your help - will post again and let you know how it goes!

In the future, try different textures like pate. Am I correct to assume you're in Europe? I could recommend this food:

Purina Pro Plan Delicate 24 x 85g


Gourmet Gold pate is also quite popular among cats, but I like the Pro Plan Delicate one better and so does my cat.

As it's recommended on TCS, you can also try powdering the a few of the kibbles and put it on top of the wet food.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.