Transitioning to new food

[raintyger]

Sorry, forgot you are not in the U.S.! The brands I referred to look like this:

http://www.weruva.com/

The fish and chicken broths can be fed to a cat as long as they are supplemental (10% or under of calories). I still wouldn't feed the fish very much, though.

You can feed goat's milk to cats, too! Some of the cat milk products are really goat's milk. Like the broth, though, don't make it a huge part of the diet.

 

[tiho]

Thanks Raintyger. The Weruva brand looks really good. Glad to know goats milk is ok. Funny though, she has since turned her nose up at it as well. I tried mixing water into her kibble but she refused that. So I gave in this morning, gave her the Whiskas Tender Tuna which she happily gobbled up (1/2 the pouch which is single serve). Don't understand why she won't accept other brands of it.
Another thing hard to understand is the kibbles' top ingredients are real meat, yet she refuses the cans!
What about herring? If I can get her more interested in other fish then try again mixing in chicken, etc., but it's costing so much money & causing so much waste. Like I said previously though, it's the moisture I so badly want her to take in to make sure she keeps hydrated. Maybe I'm just worrying too much.

P.S. My previous cat had UTI with lots of blood & crystals in her urine, yet her diet was a healthy mix of good quality kibble & wet foods,& she drank probably about a cup or a bit less of water a day. She was the only cat of all the cats I've had who got this. So I doubt that the dry food is entirely to blame.
Thanks for all the advice

 

[raintyger]

It's good to be concerned about her hydration levels. Most cats on a dry only diet won't take in enough water to be properly hydrated. Plus, kibble is typically high carb, which creates other health problems because cats were made to be meat eaters. So when we try to feed them more carbs then they were intended to handle, a lot of times health problems arise.

Here's an article by TCS member LDG about increasing your kitty's water intake:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/tips-to-increase-your-cat-s-water-intake

Cats can be very stubborn about accepting new food. For some people it can take years for them to convert the cat to wet food, and then if the kitty gets one taste of kibble afterwards, it's an uphill struggle all over again.

It looks like your inroad is using fish. She's probably addicted to tuna, (tuna) fish addiction is very common. Have you tried sprinkling bonito (shaved tuna flakes) on her food? Or using the Whiskas Tender Tuna and mixing in a very, very small amount of another Whiskas flavor? I'm talking like 90% Tender Tuna. I know you can freeze cat food. Maybe you can put tiny amounts of another flavor in and only increase something like 10% a week. Freeze the portions you're not going to use in a couple days.

 

[tiho]

Silly of me not to realise the wet food could be frozen, never thought of that. I've tried mixing other food with her tuna without success, but yes I'll try again over the next week. I guess I give up easily. She likes the pet milk more than the goats milk, so will give her a small amount every day. I can't find bonito flakes here, have tried sprinkling cheese (she likes cheese but won't eat it this way. sigh).
I'm quite happy with the Orijen; it's completely grain free, protein level is 42%, guarantees very low carbohydrates, has all necessary vitamins, minerals, etc. It's just the moisture level needs raising. This will remain her main meal, the few bits of wet stuff she accepts right now will be supplemental until/unless she takes more when it will replace one meal of dry with the wet. She doesn't eat a lot, just a few biscuits at a time.
I really appreciate all your advice.

 

[raintyger]

Do you have Asian markets? Even in the U.S. there's only a few brands of bonito marketed for pets. The Japanese put bonito on their food and eat dried fish for snacks. On the U.S. Amazon site they have bonito. Just make sure if it's human bonito that there aren't other ingredients unsuitable for cats.

Over here we also have appetizers for cats. If it's 10% or under of her calorie intake, maybe these can be of use:

http://www.fancyfeast.com/gourmet-cat-products/appetizers

Another plus is the 85% moisture! My kitty loved the tilapia flavor.

You also mentioned she accepted some homecooked food once. When you're preparing your own meals take a bit of the protein before you season it and see if she'll eat that. That way you don't have to spend extra $ to find out what she likes.

When I go to the pet store there's often reps for raw food companies. They'll give away sample packs of freeze-dried raw food.

 

[tiho]

You are so helpful. I will try all of those - there are a couple of small Asian shops in our city, I should have thought if looking there. I just hope I'm not messing with Bibby's tastebuds or her tummy with trying all these things. Today perhaps I should guve it a break & just give her the Orijen & a small saucer of the petmilk for the day before trying again.