Spoiling Picky Eaters?

[catloverfromwayback]

When we were getting our boy Hadji onto solid foods our vet said “try him on some raw meat as well.” Great idea, Doug ... Hadj refused to eat anything but steak and kidney for the next fifteen years.

 

[ailish]

Have you tried crushing up some of her kibble and sprinkling it over some wet food that isn't tuna? That may help, or may not...hard to say. Of course, you could have a Vet check her over, but it doesn't sound like a health issue to me since she is still eating, and especially since she is eating kibble. sometimes if cats have an issue with their teeth, they won't eat kibble because it might hurt more than eating wet food. (but is is always a good idea to have a Vet exam at least annually anyway)

I have a very picky cat who often refusing ALL food, and we've been to the Vet on numerous times, I even asked for an ultrasound and that came back clear. He's just a very picky cat. HATES tuna, even human tuna. Doesn't like salmon unless it's freeze dried. Basically doesn't like any fishy cat food, hates turkey, is so so about lamb, every so often will eat beef. We keep Mirataz on hand just for the days when nothing meets his satisfaction. I did learn though, finally, after 13 years, not to keep offering something and if he doesn't eat it to toss that down the drain and try something else. Now if he doesn't eat it, he has to wait until the next meal. then if he doesn't eat at the next meal, I toss THAT and he has to wait until the next meal. (We serve up three meals per day to the cats) By the last meal if he hasn't eaten anything, I will give him some freeze dried meat just so he has something on his stomach, and that will usually stimulate his appetite enough that he eats a little bit of whatever I've served for dinner. If he still doesn't eat anything, I dose him with Mirataz the next mornng because that at least ensures he will eat pretty well for a day or two. And repeat. it's exhausting, but that's our life. It's a good thing he's so cute

In your case, since you know she will eat at least TWO items, if using toppers doesn't help, and withholding food for a couple of meals doesn't work, I'd probably just feed her kibble mainly and then give her wet food every few days. And make sure she drinks plenty of water (you could even add water to the food at wet food meals). Many, many cats eat only kibble for their entire lives and live long and healthy lives. There are no guarantees either way though.

I agree with not feeding assorted food for one meal just to get them to eat. My cat is not picky, but there are times when she just walks away from the food. In my house, the food sits there until the next meal and then gets tossed. I don't like the idea of training a cat that she can have different food if she doesn't love what I'm serving. Cats are all too ready to learn how to get what they want. 95% of the time it gets eaten by the next meal. Some food is just so good that it has to be eaten right away. Other food is OK and it gets grazed on, usually finished well before the following meal. Other food isn't great and will be eaten just before the next meal. Every now and then, very rarely, the food is so bloody awful it cannot be touched. This last category is usually if I add too much water. If I sense that that is the case I will dump it and provide different food, which is usually then eaten without a problem. But that's a several times a year situation.

 

[Meekie]

I'll be very interested to hear, --on both counts

She didn't eat it.

Why is there no 'banging head against wall' emoji? After all, this is a cat forum!

Been reading a lot of picky eater posts and I suppose, in the end, it's really up to her. Again and again I hear: "The best food for your cat is what she will eat.

Luckily, she likes the Blue Buffalo all chicken kibble. She's good with drinking her water, so I'll just have to offer her more kibble for the time being and hope her tastes evolve as she reaches maturity.

If she really likes tuna she's going to have to settle for better quality tuna . I've been feeding her Purely Fancy Feast Chicken and Tuna. She loves it, but I'm so annoyed with Fancy Feast for (presumably) changing their recipe I'd like to just stop buying it. I was tempted to try Nine Lives but after decades of ignoring it, I no longer see it anywhere. Maybe Friskies. Also made by Purina (and owned by the insidious Nestle) but since she's never eaten it, she won't notice if there's been a change.

I blame capitalism.

 

[Furballsmom]

You mean this one?


You could try adding Hydra Care, and possibly baby food soup to help with extra hydration (the soup is a teaspoon or so of meat baby food, Beechnut doesn't have cornstarch, and a teaspoon or so depending on the cats' taste of warm water).

 

[Meekie]

You mean this one?


You could try adding Hydra Care, and possibly baby food soup to help with extra hydration (the soup is a teaspoon or so of meat baby food, Beechnut doesn't have cornstarch, and a teaspoon or so depending on the cats' taste of warm water).

I must have missed that one. Thanks.

Maple is big on texture. She hates anything mushy like pate. She won't eat chunky cut meat, only shredded. SInce she eats the kibble well, I don't want to mess with it. She's a pretty good drinker, so as long as the urine clumps in her box stay big, I'm not overly worried.

Plus I treat her to some Churu a couple times a week. It would probably be easier to add some liquids to that.

 

[Furballsmom]

I meant separately, to her diet In general. It's something to keep in mind. A lot of cats including my very picky Poppycat (who also isn't a fan of pate ) totally love the baby food soup

 

[Astragal14]

I must have missed that one. Thanks.

Maple is big on texture. She hates anything mushy like pate. She won't eat chunky cut meat, only shredded. SInce she eats the kibble well, I don't want to mess with it. She's a pretty good drinker, so as long as the urine clumps in her box stay big, I'm not overly worried.

Plus I treat her to some Churu a couple times a week. It would probably be easier to add some liquids to that.

Meekie have you tried Soulistic canned food? It's made exclusively for Petco by Weruva. Their shredded meats with gravy are what really helped my picky girl transition to more foods. And now the chicken-only variety is her favorite, we don't need the chicken & tuna variety any more!

Soulistic Sweet Salutations Chicken and Tuna dinner in gravy

All Soulistic varieties

Soulistic offers a wide variety of textures but my girl only likes the shreds in gravy. She'll eat almost anything when it's mixed with the chicken in gravy flavor. And some of their flavors are offered in 10 oz cans, which is a better value (especially when they go on sale, but I feel like Petco's sales are almost exclusively in store).

 

[Meekie]

Meekie have you tried Soulistic canned food? It's made exclusively for Petco by Weruva. Their shredded meats with gravy are what really helped my picky girl transition to more foods. And now the chicken-only variety is her favorite, we don't need the chicken & tuna variety any more!

Soulistic Sweet Salutations Chicken and Tuna dinner in gravy

All Soulistic varieties

Soulistic offers a wide variety of textures but my girl only likes the shreds in gravy. She'll eat almost anything when it's mixed with the chicken in gravy flavor. And some of their flavors are offered in 10 oz cans, which is a better value (especially when they go on sale, but I feel like Petco's sales are almost exclusively in store).

Thanks for this! I was thinking of making a thread asking what brands have shredded cuts. I'll often try a new type of food only to find out the meat is cut wrong for her tastes. Sometimes the meat is cut so small it's practically pate.

 

[Meekie]

I meant separately, to her diet In general. It's something to keep in mind. A lot of cats including my very picky Poppycat (who also isn't a fan of pate ) totally love the baby food soup

I'll try it! Anything to get less seafood in her.

 

[Astragal14]

Thanks for this! I was thinking of making a thread asking what brands have shredded cuts. I'll often try a new type of food only to find out the meat is cut wrong for her tastes. Sometimes the meat is cut so small it's practically pate.

This is the Soulistic chicken & tuna in gravy (left) and chicken in gravy (right). The gravy is somewhat thick, it's closer to traditional gravy than a broth. The chicken itself is too large for my girl as is, so I chop it into smaller pieces with a spoon.

 

[Furballsmom]

ooo, nice. I just ordered some Good Karma, that photo and description helped me since I'm unfamiliar with it.

 

[Meekie]

This is the Soulistic chicken & tuna in gravy (left) and chicken in gravy (right). The gravy is somewhat thick, it's closer to traditional gravy than a broth. The chicken itself is too large for my girl as is, so I chop it into smaller pieces with a spoon.
View attachment 430172

Yes that's exactly what she likes.

After a quick look I see Chewy doesn't have Soulistic but Amazon does.

 

[Furballsmom]

After a quick look I see Chewy doesn't have Soulistic but Amazon does.

The company was smart and set up a sellers "portal" with amazon

 

[Meekie]

The company was smart and set up a sellers "portal" with amazon

It's still probably cheaper than in-store, no? Petco is so expensive!

 

[Astragal14]

It's still probably cheaper than in-store, no? Petco is so expensive!

It's actually the same price! I just checked my Petco receipts, the 5.5 oz cans are $2.19 in store, which is the same as Amazon and Petco online.

I've been buying almost everything online since the start of the pandemic and I rarely see Soulistic go on sale online. But there are often sales in store, usually something like 'buy 10 get 2 free'. And the 10 oz can is a GREAT value if your cat will eat that much! My picky girl doesn't finish the 10 oz cans so we buy the 5.5 oz cans.