My cat wont eat new bags of same food

[BashTN]

Hello. My 10 year old cat is a notoriously picky eater. We finally managed to find a dry food he likes and he's been eating it with gusto for over a year now. He was running low on his current bag,so I went and got a couple of new ones. Usually he is all over a new bag when it's opened - barely able to contain himself. But the first new bag he just sniffed at the food an mouthed a couple of pieces. I tried mixing some of what was left from the old bag, and he picked the old kibbles out and just stared at the new ones. I opened the second new bag, thinking something might have been wrong with the first one, but he's acting the same way. I tried forcing the issue and not feeding him anything all day, and he at first dove into the food, but after a few bites, he slowed down and backed away from the bowl. I have very little of his old bag left, and I tried mixing again, and he did the same thing. He pushes kibble around and seems to selectively eat the old. If he bites into a new kibble, he drops it out of his mouth.

What would cause this suddenly to happen? He's had no problem with this food at all, right up until the day I introduced the new bag. SOMETHING has to be wrong with it, but if I go for a third bag, and he doesn't eat it, then what do I do? He is very hard to find food for. Are there any tips to get him to accept this (or any potential new food) that have worked for very picky eaters?

Thanks.

B

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It's very possible the manufacturer has changed their formula. That's always so maddening when they do that. Either that or perhaps those bags are expired? Did you check for that? How does it smell? Cats can obviously smell much better than we can, so if there is something actually wrong with it, he can probably detect it and that's why he isn't eating it.

As far as how to get a cat to eat a different kibble, usually it's a matter of mixing the old with the new and slowly integrating the new into the mix, over a matter of several days. This helps with gastric distress mainly. Normally ats don't have an issue with liking kibble. Maybe sprinkling Forti Flora on it would help. Most cats LOVE that, however, one of mine hates it. But the problem with toppers and dry food is they tend to fall off .

I have no idea WHAT you're feeding him, but keep trying different brands and flavors until you find something he'll like IF those bags aren't simply expired. If that made a formula change, maybe you can find some of the old formula somewhere. That's work until you transition him to something new

 

[BashTN]

Thanks for the reply. I do know about mixing old with new, but he's so good at poking aside or avoiding what he doesn't want. The topper sounds like a good idea to try - that's the sort of thing I was looking for. I did check the date on the food when I bought it and it's still a year out from expiration.

Interestingly, last night he finally did reluctantly eat a bit more of the new bag, but he's still being very dodgy about it. I'l just have to be patient.

Thanks
B

 

[FeebysOwner]

Compare the ingredients in the old bag to the new bag. I would be willing to bet there has been a change, and he can tell it. It might even be something as simple as the flavoring that is added.

He likely ate more last night because he is hungrier than he was before he started eating less of the new bag. I hope the toppers work!!

 

[BashTN]

Compare the ingredients in the old bag to the new bag. I would be willing to bet there has been a change, and he can tell it. It might even be something as simple as the flavoring that is added.

He likely ate more last night because he is hungrier than he was before he started eating less of the new bag. I hope the toppers work!!

He seems to be on board, 80%... He gets a little sniffy at them for a minute. But I think we're over the hump. I'll check the ingredients, though. Thank both of you for weighing in!

B