How do you deal with a picky kitten?

[jeebee]

I adopted a kitten a little over a week ago, and I had all these intentions of feeding him the best quality food. He was unfortunately very sick and couldn't smell his food; he wouldn't touch any of it so I ended up having to give him kitten milk by hand for a few days.

Anyway, his URI is clearing up and some days he loves my primal freeze dried dehydrated food. and other days he won't touch it, and prefers fancy feast instead. And vice versa. I bought the cheaper food to make the transition from shelter food easier on his tummy and nerves, but I would prefer to steer him towards strictly healthy foods so he doesn't have such gastrointestinal distress. When he eats fancy feast he has runnier (and smellier) poop from the starch in the gravy and I can tell he doesn't feel good. but what can I do when he decides to be picky and not eat the freeze dried?

Do you guys have any healthy brands that your cats enjoy? The only thing he has given a really strong reaction towards was freeze dried salmon treats, so I ordered a tiki kitty variety pack to see if he likes that.. but I would prefer his protein sources to be more varied than just fish. 

 

[lokhismom]

Tiki cat is a great food but it is no calorie so be sure to be feeding more of it, especially for a kitten.  They need to eat all they want.  Tiki has a few that contain no fish so take a look at those.    Another good brand is Weruva.   Its also shredded meat and also low calorie so make sure you are feeding enough to a kitten. 

A very good pate food is Nutro Natural Choice.  No careeganan(read labels because some of them do contain it.) No unneeded veggies.  The chunky chicken or chunky turkey are great choices.   

Fancy Feast isn't bad if you stick to the cans labeled classic.  The turkey and giblet and the liver and chicken are grain free, no fish,  no careegenan.  Its a decent choice I add to my 2 kitties rotation. 

Merrick is also a good brand.  Favorites around my house are the duck pate, chicken pate and the turkey pate.

 

[raintyger]

How long has he been off antibiotics? If it hasn't been that long, I wouldn't assume he can't handle the Fancy Feast. He needs time to rebuild his gut flora, and right now would be a good time to give him some probiotics to help him.

There are several good brands of cat food, just make sure it is either formulated for kittens or says "All Life Stages." I would introduce him all sorts of cat food so he won't get picky. Right now is when kittens start formulating ideas about what's safe to eat. So introduce him to different flavors, brands, and food textures. You want a high protein/low carb food, no grains, and the protein source should be from animal meat, not plant proteins (soy, gluten). Some of the brands that get mentioned most often around here are Nature's Variety, Hound and Gatos, Evo, Weruva, Tiki Cat, Soulistic. And I'm sure there's many more I've forgotten to mention. Also consider raw feeding--there's an entire subforum on the site for that.

Here's some articles to help you:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-compare-cat-foods-calculate-carbs-dry-matter-basis

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/what-makes-the-best-canned-cat-food

 

[jeebee]

He really seems to like the tiki cat food, he actually finished a whole can, and not just the jelly.

Having him hang out in the bathroom while I shower seems to have helped him a lot. His eyes aren't weeping anymore, he has a couple sneezes but I'm not hearing that scary congested meow/purr anymore So I'm happy.