Male cat very fussy eater. Need tips!

[Cassj]

Hi, our 4 year old cat is a very fussy eater.
He was brought to the vet for a check up and is healthy. Teeth are good. So health issues have been ruled out.
Basically I think he has us whipped. He eats wet food , which is what I prefer to feed him anyways and he completely refuses dry food. We feed him in the morning around 8am and also at 6pm for dinner. We will put a food down and it’s very hit or miss if he will eat it or not. Sometimes he will eat a few bites other times he will eat it all, and some days he will just look at you and walk away from it. When he doesn’t want the food I will put a new food down for him which is kinda also hit or miss if he will eat it. He’s a healthy weight and does eat but this picky eating is starting to become a problem money wise and we are wasting to much food. We have everything from toppers to broths, nutritional yeast , tried boiled chicken. But he’s so fussy. I know it’s bad to keep giving him options by putting food down when he didn’t eat what I just offered him, but I’m scared he’s not eating enough.
Any tips for whoever has dealt with a picky cat would be much appreciated.
Thanks so much

 

[maggie101]

One of my cats has to eat on a high elevated bowl whisker free. She is tall. She only likes minced,chunks,or shredded. No pate. My cat Peaches does not like tuna or lamb. Many canned foods will say chicken but fish is in the ingredients. I tried the brand Mouser as a last resort. 193 cals. My cats love it even though it's pate

 

[Cassj]

We feed him either on small plates or we also have high bowels to prevent whisker fatigue! I don’t think he cares what he eats on either way. I will look into the brand Mouser tho, thank you!

 

[maggie101]

Unfortunately it's very expensive. It takes my 6.5 pd cat 3-4 days to eat. You could also mix it with friskies to last longer.

 

[Biomehanika]

I have a very picky senior girl who refuses most new wet foods, she wont even try them and automatically refuses due to smell alone. A lot of the time she will refuse her favourite wet foods too just because there is the littlest tiny bit of a new wet food mixed in with it, because it smells slightly different. When that happens I will usually just take some food on my finger and carefully stick in right into her mouth, onto her tongue, so she will actually eat a bit and taste it. If she still refuses after that, it means she really doesn’t like the food, but many times that has made her realize it doesn’t actually taste bad and then she will just start eating it on her own. I actually did this just today and after a few bites she turned her nose up again and walked away. I followed her with the plate of food and *held the plate up for her* to offer it again and she ate just about all of it that way. If I put it down she stopped eating, so I just sat there and held it for her spoiled little butt. Very strange, but it worked for me and she is getting away with being extra fussed over right now because she’s on antibiotics.

 

[Cassj]

Unfortunately it's very expensive. It takes my 6.5 pd cat 3-4 days to eat. You could also mix it with friskies to last longer.

I looked it up but sadly they don’t ship to Canada yet (

 

[Cassj]

I have a very picky senior girl who refuses most new wet foods, she wont even try them and automatically refuses due to smell alone. A lot of the time she will refuse her favourite wet foods too just because there is the littlest tiny bit of a new wet food mixed in with it, because it smells slightly different. When that happens I will usually just take some food on my finger and carefully stick in right into her mouth, onto her tongue, so she will actually eat a bit and taste it. If she still refuses after that, it means she really doesn’t like the food, but many times that has made her realize it doesn’t actually taste bad and then she will just start eating it on her own. I actually did this just today and after a few bites she turned her nose up again and walked away. I followed her with the plate of food and *held the plate up for her* to offer it again and she ate just about all of it that way. If I put it down she stopped eating, so I just sat there and held it for her spoiled little butt. Very strange, but it worked for me and she is getting away with being extra fussed over right now because she’s on antibiotics.

The joys of having a fussy eater! Lol

 

[Babypaws]

The things we do for our precious kitties.. I think they all have us wrapped around Their paws (fingers). Lol
i find if you let them do something once they expect it all the time, doesn’t take them long to get in a habit.

 

[maggie101]

We feed him either on small plates or we also have high bowels to prevent whisker fatigue! I don’t think he cares what he eats on either way. I will look into the brand Mouser tho, thank you!

My cat Maggie is tall so she needs an elevated bowl. COoco is small. She eats on a plate otherwise drops the food down on the floor

 

[rubysmama]

this picky eating is starting to become a problem money wise and we are wasting to much food.

Ruby, my 13-ish year old cat, has become a fussy eater over the past several months, so I feel your pain, at the worry about them not eating enough, as well as the money being spent and food being wasted. Because it's hit or miss so often, I tend to stick with the smaller cans, so there's less waste if she doesn't eat what I open.

I looked it up but sadly they don’t ship to Canada yet (

I'm also in Canada, and one food I've tried and Ruby actually seems to like is Zoe. It's Canadian made, and seems to only be sold at Sobeys in my area. If you haven't tried it yet, maybe see if you can find it at a store near you.
Home - Why choose Zoë for your dog or cat?

As for tips, here's an older TCS thread that might be helpful:
Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!

 

[Alldara]

Perhaps you are feeding him too much? He might be full.

Are you feeding at specific times and removing the food otherwise?

 

[Cassj]

Ya he gets fed twice a day at the same time. Possibly I am putting too much food in his plate I can try to feed him less.

 

[maggie101]

Ya he gets fed twice a day at the same time. Possibly I am putting too much food in his plate I can try to feed him less.

That made me think of my cat Maggie. She does not eat her morning all at once. Instead eats some,2 minute break,eats more. Back and forth 3-4 times

 

[Alldara]

That made me think of my cat Maggie. She does not eat her morning all at once. Instead eats some,2 minute break,eats more. Back and forth 3-4 times

Yes my cats are like this too.

 

[louisstools]

There's always appetite stimulants but even those don't "make" your cat eat...they're more of a faint nudge.

You might have to play around with the whole feeding routine to find out how to trick the cat into eating. Pay attention to smells that might be in the general area (trash can), sounds (cars, tv, radio, outside dogs, etc), light beams, shadows -- basically anything that could distract.

I feel your pain though, it takes me 2-3 hours spread out 10 times a day to get my cat to eat enough calories. It's a very unsatisfying part-time job to keep calories in her but she won't eat on her own or without a lot of hoops to keep her eating once she starts.