She Will Only Eat New Food!

[farscapekitties]

Hi all, I know I've posted about this before, but it's out of control and I'm almost in tears with frustration! Scratch that, I am. I'm completely at a loss as what to do, and I'm hoping, praying, someone can help.
My cat is 13. No health problems at all (she had a complete panel done three weeks ago). She's 11 pounds. All her life she's eaten wonderfully.
Until two months ago.
Now, she will only eat new food. As in a new bag, new flavor, new brand. And she will only eat it for a maximum of 4-5 days, and eat it enthusiastically. Then, all of a sudden, she's done and I'm stuck with a full bag of brand new cat food (I do donate what's left to the shelter). I've tried crunching treats up and mixing it in - she digs out the treats. I've tried slowing incorporating old and new food - she digs out the new food and eats in on the floor. She refuses to eat food toppers - sniffs it and walks away. I have had her for 13 years and have yet to find a wet food she will eat, instead of licking the gravy or pate sauce/jelly (Friskies, Blue Buffalo, Purina One, Nutro, etc). Her bowl hasn't changed, eating area hasn't changed, nothing in her environment is different. I've brought this up to my vet who doesn't have a clue. Her teeth are fine. I keep buying bag after bag and it's far beyond out of control.

 

[farscapekitties]

Okay sorry I don't know why it posted. But to finish, my vet gave her an appetite stimulant (mitra-sonething I no longer have the packet) but it would make her cry in distress and vomit profusely whenever I have it to her. Sorry I needed to vent, and I hope someone out there has had a similar problem and knows how to resolve this!!

 

[prairiepanda]

Have you tried rotating foods? With my old cat as she got older I had to start rotating between several different varieties of food. She would like one kind for a few days, then when she stopped eating I'd switch to the next one, and by the time we got back to the first one it seemed new again. That was in the earliest stages of her kidney disease, though...eventually she settled on one variety (thankfully a prescription kidney diet) that she actually ate every day, though. But I was playing the new food game with her for 2-3 years. If I remember correctly I had 7 different dry foods and 15 different wet foods that I was rotating.

Some other things you could ask your vet about are Cerenia or Pepcid, in case your cat is experiencing nausea or excess stomach acid. Controlling my cat's acid buildup helped a lot with getting her to settle on one food. Of course, if your cat is helped by these medications then it would be worthwhile to look into underlying causes for such symptoms. X-rays and ultrasounds can be surprisingly informative when it comes to digestive issues, as there may be obstructions or inflammation that the blood panels could miss.

 

[maggiedemi]

Have you tried shredded canned food, like Friskies Shreds? This year, my cats started being very picky too. Now they only want shredded. They also like Sheba Cuts, which is almost like a shredded texture.

 

[di and bob]

As she is getting older, I would heat any canned food slightly, their smelling is not what it used to be and might be the reason for all this change. I would also hold onto the bags of food until they get close to expiration, or for a while anyway, and rotate them back in. My older cat often refused food after a while but would eat it again in a few weeks. (no problem with leftovers, I feed a herd outside too!) Just rotate teh dry every few days, leaving it out for her to graze on. As my cat got pickier I found alternate food for him once in a while just to get him eating again. His absolute favorite was warm Arby's roast beef. Also shaved turkey breast from the deli , and at the end of his life his favorite was broasted chicken. I hope you find ways to keep her interested, you are an angel for your concern, I'm sure she loves you very much for it!

 

[farscapekitties]

I've tried heating canned food, but I've never found any she will actually eat. She just licks the gravy and eats whatever falls into her mouth. I would love to keep out food for her to graze on, but my other two boys will eat it (they're on kitten food for another few months). She does love roasted turkey and chicken.
I do keep the other bags of cat food and when she stops eating one I put out the other, but she just sniffs it and walks off.

 

[di and bob]

I gave my older cat kitten food too, it is full of calories and nutrition. If she thinks she is stealing it from yoru boys she might just eat it!

 

[farscapekitties]

Tried that too lol! For a few months she was eating kitten food (she had lost weight due to a bad tooth) and we were trying to get some weight back on her. That's sort of when this all started. Such a silly frustrating lovey lady!

 

[Columbine]

It's not an ideal solution, but you could try and get hold of sample bags of dry food (many manufacturers will send out samples for the cost of the postage, or a small charge). Cat shows are great places to find sample bags, some vets have them, and sometimes big pet stores have them too (I've found them in a local warehouse type store that carries mostly large/farm animal feed and equestrian supplies, but has some cat and dog stuff too).

Another trick to try is getting the smallest bag size possible, and splitting it into single serving bags (I'd use small food/freezer bags). Tie or otherwise seal each bag, then freeze the lot. Freezing the dry food will keep it much fresher, so your girl might be more willing to eat it. I know it's a faff, but its worth it if it stops food wastage

As for the reject bags, shut and store them somewhere, and feed them to the kittens when they move onto adult food.

I had a fussy eater who was also a big gravy-licker. I got him eating more wet food by getting paté style foods, and mixing in enough hot water (from the kettle) to turn it into a thick gravy. Over time, I was able to reduce the water a bit, too. It's a case of trial and error.

Especially with wet foods, toppers can help tempt fussy appetites. Crumbled freeze dried treats (e.g. Purebites) are a big hit in this house. Finely grated parmesan can work too, as can bonito flakes or even a little Purina FortiFlora (as you only want the flavour, not the probiotic, you don't need to follow dosage instructions ).

In terms of appetite stimulants, I always prefer to start with a simple B12 injection. It doesn't have the nasty side effects of mirtazapine, and is often enough of a boost to get the cat interested and enthusiastic about eating again. The only downside is that it lasts 24hrs at the most, and it's not ideal to keep repeating it (in terms of vet visits alone!).

I had my old guy on a nutritional supplement - Nutri-Vit Plus by VetIQ. I don't know if it's available where you are, but it might be worth looking into that or something similar, especially given your girl's age. As with all supplements, though, it's best to run it by your vet first

 

[Yanaka]

When did you adopt the two kittens? Could she be bothered by them, and stopped eating around that time? Would you be open to trying other preparations, like freeze-dried raw food? Maybe she'll develop an appetite for that.

But I'm interested in your thread, because my two (young) cats are being really picky and difficult with food. They get bored so fast, and I'm not sure why.

 

[pushylady]

Okay sorry I don't know why it posted. But to finish, my vet gave her an appetite stimulant (mitra-sonething I no longer have the packet) but it would make her cry in distress and vomit profusely whenever I have it to her. Sorry I needed to vent, and I hope someone out there has had a similar problem and knows how to resolve this!!

Was that mirtazarpine that Columbine mentioned? I had to pill my friend's elderly cat with that and it caused her to cry out and seem disorientated. She did however eat afterwards, and it worked quite quickly. I'm not suggesting that you keep trying that though, or really any stimulant if you can avoid it. Better to try some tricks to see if that works. My one cat is very fussy and we have to give him new food all the time. I can however mix kibbles and he will eventually eat them. He's a strange boy - if I give him kibble from a sample bag he goes nuts like he's getting treats, then I go out and buy a big bag of the same stuff and he turns his nose up! Quite aggravating and it's a good thing he's cute!!

 

[thefiresidecat]

have you tried some anti anxiety pills for her? it could be anxiety from the kittens. that said I have a cat who is also very fickle. we rotate. different food every day. never feed the same food even for a week straight or they'll be like yuck. lol. we save food he gives up on and rotate it in a few weeks later. they'll always eat wellness pate though (pretty much) but we still do have to rotate the flavors.