How to make cat eat more wet food

[makeuplover8]

I’ve had my girl for a few months now. She’s 2 years old. Since the beginning she rarely finishes her wet food and almost always finishes her daily dry food.

She only eats shredded wet food and refuses pate. She was eating friskies shreds twice a day but now we are transitioning her to a much healthier food, Weruva. When she sees me bring her wet food she runs and meows in excitement chasing after me but when she eats it she takes a few bites and walks away. She just licks most of the sauce and barely eats any meat. I have to put the plate in front of her to remind her to eat her wet food.

I only give her 2 teaspoons of wet food each meal which is very little because she hardly eats it. I want her to eat more wet food so she is more hydrated. What can I do? Any recommendations

 

[Robyn5678]

Have you tried other brands? She may not like that brand or flavor.

 

[makeuplover8]

I’ve tried friskies with her and now Weruva. I have tried many different flavors with her. She seems to like tuna a lot and not turkey. A few times she eats a lot off her plate but most of the time she leaves all the meat. She just likes licking all the sauce off for most types of food I give her.

 

[arr]

I would keep trying different wet foods. Ultimately it doesn’t matter how much you want to feed a certain food, you will have to feed what your cat will eat. Some other brands most cats like besides Friskies are Fancy Feast and Sheba. My cats also like Tiny Tiger, Purina One, Merrick Purrrfect Bistro, and Heart to Tail. Also, is she free fed dry food or do you feed meals? Perhaps the total amount of dry for the day is too much? Maybe she is filling up on dry and isn’t hungry enough to want to eat the wet food. Maybe you could try serving her a larger portion of wet with dry food crushed over the top of it to entice her to eat.

 

[makeuplover8]

I would keep trying different wet foods. Ultimately it doesn’t matter how much you want to feed a certain food, you will have to feed what your cat will eat. Some other brands most cats like besides Friskies are Fancy Feast and Sheba. My cats also like Tiny Tiger, Purina One, Merrick Purrrfect Bistro, and Heart to Tail. Also, is she free fed dry food or do you feed meals? Perhaps the total amount of dry for the day is too much? Maybe she is filling up on dry and isn’t hungry enough to want to eat the wet food. Maybe you could try serving her a larger portion of wet with dry food crushed over the top of it to entice her to eat.

Currently she is transitioning to Weruva so she prob is tired of eating that chicken for days but it’s essential since cats can get sick from eating a new food as you know.

Yes like most cats she is a grazer so the dry food is always out. You may be right but even if there is wet food she decides to nibble on the dry food instead.

After a couple months I will introduce her to another brand/food so she doesn’t get tired of it. I only am choosing foods with high quality ingredients now because she has a sensitive stomach. Churro treats once gave her diarrhea which was surprising to me because so many cats eat it no problem.

I actually have tried putting treats on top of her wet food and I guess it sort of worked. Although I don’t think that can be the case every-time. I like to use treats with her to reward her for coming out of her comfort zone and engaging in good behavior. She is still getting used to us.

Right now I’m thinking if I should maybe portion her dry food. Like give half in AM and the other half in PM. Instead of giving all of it in AM for 24 hours. Has anyone tried this?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I would also try blending the non-pate foods - they won't come out like pate, but it would make it harder for her to just lick the gravy/sauce from them. It will still leave chunks of food, but a lot harder to just lick the 'juice' from them.

If she loves her dry food, you can also try letting some soak in a bit of water to make it seem more like canned food, but it will still retain most of the 'flavor' if that is what she is after. If she were to eat it, then you are giving her the extra moisture that is typical to canned foods.

No one food should be given in its entirety at the start of the day and then left out all day long without some cats deciding they don't like it as well - either from drying out (if wet food) or the flavor/taste falters from being exposed to air. While not as applicable with dry food, it does still go through a process of going stale. Smaller portions, multiple times a day could be the solution to this issue, if that were to be her problem.

Many on this site (and others) do not seem to think that switching from one canned food to another - without a transition - is much of an issue, like it can be with dry food. However, you might have to be more careful on this matter since she appears to have a sensitive stomach.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Many people have transitions their furbabies from being free fed to scheduled meals. I did it myself with two seniors and two youngsters. Believe it or not, the seniors did better than the babies. Anyway, perhaps there is something in these two articles that will help you. Oh, BTW, two, three or even four meals per day would fine for a two year old.

Transitioning Free-fed Kibble Kitties To Timed Meals - TheCatSite

Kitty parents find themselves wanting to transition from free-fed kibble to timed meals and/or a new type of food for many reasons: The need to monitor food intake in multi-cat homes Kitty health As part of a transition to canned, raw, or homemade food, where the food is not left out and must be...

thecatsite.com

Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food - TheCatSite

I want my kitties to eat a healthier diet, and I’m ready to go! What’s next? Free-fed kibble eaters are usually nibblers. The very first step is to begin feeding timed meals. For free-fed nibblers, you cannot just pull up the kibble, they need to learn how to eat “meals.” This process is...

thecatsite.com