Very picky cat NEED HELP

[mewlittle]

So my mom's cat Soar is really picky she is about 2 years old but a size of a kitten at around 6 lbs but need to be at 8-9 lbs. Previous owner was abusive and only fed her roman noodles ,she only likes the meow mix cups and it has 1.8-2% of fat content in it and I see to many recalls on it, she hates patés hates seafood/fish, wets she won't eat are Friskiest, Fancy feast, store brands ,Triumph ,Wholehearted, there's other brands but I forgot what, dries she refuses is Friskiest, meow mix ,Diamond active cat, kits n kaboodle
I understand those brands aren't the greatest but at this point she needs food that is better then meowmix that she'll eat, the things I used to use to get cats to eat are discontinued, we are trying to get the funds so she can see a vet (my cat just had major surgery that killed our wallets that's not even fully paid off yet) but in the meantime I need ideas on what to try on her,

She goes nuts over whip cream , chocolate and cheese and Roman noodles she is not allowed to have any of those all other human foods she snubs, I know she walked up to my plate sniffed it and walked off but if it was one of the 4 no nos she'll try to eat it ,

Anyone have any ideas on wets dries treats whatever to get her to eat? Or do I just stick to the meow mix cups and hope she don't lack fat, most wets are about 5% fat but meow mix cups are 1.8-2% which makes me nervous she won't eat the canned kind of meow mix

And if I stick to one kind of food she will flat out refuse to eat it, in a 4 day span she maybe eats about 2-4 ounces of what she dislikes ,and she also refuses to eat any where else besides on top of the microwave that's on the fridge which is why I know how much she eats, my cats food is scattered across the apartment and she never once touched their wet/dry food if she did I would let her ,she walks past it like there's nothing there

Could this be a sever picky problem due to previous owners abuse not letter her have cat food when she was a kitten or a medical issue? Besides the lack of wanting to eat she acts fine otherwise, and there are 3 water bowls 4 dry bowls laying around including her fave spot wet food always out even in her fave spot, and 4 litter boxes,

Thank you and have a great pawsome day
Black and white one is Soar the picky one ,the orange one is Diablo he is a food junky XD

 

[verna davies]

Sounds like you have been trying hard to get her to eat. Try her on kitten food, it is higher in calories. At this stage it's important to get her to eat sufficient so any cat food is better than none. Try pouring some tuna juice on her food, mixing some dry and wet together, crumbling a few treats on top of the wet food, toppers, hand feeding. See if you can get any samples from suppliers. Only feed her a little at a time so if she doesn't like the mix, then the whole sachet or tin isn't wasted. Hopefully you will find something she likes.

 

[Babypaws]

I’m so sorry to hear she was abused before you were able to get her…are you able to bring her to a vet? I have an older cat who, for whatever reason, lost her appetite a few years ago and the vet prescribed a small appetite pill….I don’t recall the name of it but it worked….
every now and then she loses her appetite again but I haven’t had to give her the appetite stimulant, instead I give her a jar of gerber baby food, I think it’s stage 2, chicken or beef…(with no spices etc) .that seems to get her back into eating her regular wet food.
Have you tried the pouches of “Delectables” my cats love them but I only give them as treats because they cost about $1.08 each, you could probably it in with other cat food.
ive also boiled chicken breast for her but that’s mainly to get her to eat something, I don’t think theres much nutrition in it for an everyday meal.
Good luck

 

[misty8723]

Please don't feed her chocolate! It is toxic to cats & dogs.

I have a picky cat and she wasn't eating when I first got her. I tried every thing imaginable including the real expensive ones, and it wasn't until I gave her Weruva Cats in the Kitchen Chick Magnet (Chicken and Mackerel in Gravy) that she would eat .She didn't like any of the other flavors until I found a couple that also had mackerel. I'm only mentioning this, because maybe it's only a certain flavor she would like. Also sometimes if you warm it up a little.

Someone mentioned hand feeding. I had a young cat who had FIP and the only thing I could get her to eat on her own was treats with catnip centers. I forget who makes them. Because FIP is always fatal, she got as many of those as she would eat. For nutrition, If I put a little bit of the high calorie wet food on her tongue, she would sometimes eat a bit of it. If you can have someone teach you how to safely feed with a syringe, that might help.

When another cat had cancer, and then GI issues, and not eating, we had a feeding tube. That's a last resort.

One thought I just had is to call a local rescue. They might possibly have some resources to help when money is an issue. I know there are vets who volunteer their time, but I don't know how or if it would work.

Good luck!

Here is a web site, I don't know how useful it might be.
Tips For Finding the Best Cat Food for Weight Gain | PetMD

 

[Kflowers]

Since she was being fed/is used to Roman noodles, you might want to find food that is similar flavors. Roman flavors are pork, beef, shrimp, and chicken. I would look for pork and beef flavored cat foods. Remember Roman noodles flavoring is rather high in salt and that taste maybe part of what you're having to fight here.

I've heard that some people have luck with Purina Party mix when their cats won't eat anything else. I'm thinking of these treats as toppers. When our cat was not happy with wet food, at all, she was thrilled to chase these treats and did gain weight on them.

 

[ladytimedramon]

Have you tried Sheba? Ms. Fussy Pants here, that's one of her main go-to foods (only cuts, no pate, primarily chicken, turkey and beef).

 

[TardisDance]

I can only get my cat to eat Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers and Creamy Delights. She won’t touch other Fancy Feast, even the medleys which I thought would be similar enough to Creamy Delights. She won’t touch pate. She was a hoarding rescue raised on kibble only. It took almost a year to get her to eat any kind of wet food.

I’ve seen a common theme that cats that weren’t initially raised on wet food only seem to like brothy/gravy foods only. Maybe they don’t understand how to eat pate?

 

[mewlittle]

Please don't feed her chocolate! It is toxic to cats & dogs.

I have a picky cat and she wasn't eating when I first got her. I tried every thing imaginable including the real expensive ones, and it wasn't until I gave her Weruva Cats in the Kitchen Chick Magnet (Chicken and Mackerel in Gravy) that she would eat .She didn't like any of the other flavors until I found a couple that also had mackerel. I'm only mentioning this, because maybe it's only a certain flavor she would like. Also sometimes if you warm it up a little.

Someone mentioned hand feeding. I had a young cat who had FIP and the only thing I could get her to eat on her own was treats with catnip centers. I forget who makes them. Because FIP is always fatal, she got as many of those as she would eat. For nutrition, If I put a little bit of the high calorie wet food on her tongue, she would sometimes eat a bit of it. If you can have someone teach you how to safely feed with a syringe, that might help.

When another cat had cancer, and then GI issues, and not eating, we had a feeding tube. That's a last resort.

One thought I just had is to call a local rescue. They might possibly have some resources to help when money is an issue. I know there are vets who volunteer their time, but I don't know how or if it would work.

Good luck!

Here is a web site, I don't know how useful it might be.
Tips For Finding the Best Cat Food for Weight Gain | PetMD

We do not allow her to have chocolate we are fully aware how bad it is ,it's just whenever we humans want to injoy chocolate we have to watch it like a hawk because she goes bonkers and tries to sneak it,

Thank you for the food suggestions
I tried hand feeding she still snubs it

The vet I go to is a vet that works with rescues ,ER ,wellness checks , surgery. Etc they even do payment plans which I'm currently paying on a balance from another cats surgery , we are on SSI and the other cats surgery killed my wallet and my mom's landlord over charged my mom which took her whole check ,and we don't have a working phone it seems like this month fell apart so I'm trying my best here , I also know how syringe feed cats from past experience I just haven't found a place that has them for sale or will give me one it don't help that I live in an area will drug addicts (needle users) live it's annoying,

If I had 44$ for vet visit and 42 for FelvFiv so around 90 total I can take her in ,I'm starting to suspect that she has FelvFiv bc she is showing symptoms of cats I had in the past with it, no I'm not asking for donations

Thank you

 

[mewlittle]

Sounds like you have been trying hard to get her to eat. Try her on kitten food, it is higher in calories. At this stage it's important to get her to eat sufficient so any cat food is better than none. Try pouring some tuna juice on her food, mixing some dry and wet together, crumbling a few treats on top of the wet food, toppers, hand feeding. See if you can get any samples from suppliers. Only feed her a little at a time so if she doesn't like the mix, then the whole sachet or tin isn't wasted. Hopefully you will find something she likes.

I tried most of that and it still ain't working I think I'm to the point where its syringe feeding time I just need to find a syringe

 

[mewlittle]

I’m so sorry to hear she was abused before you were able to get her…are you able to bring her to a vet? I have an older cat who, for whatever reason, lost her appetite a few years ago and the vet prescribed a small appetite pill….I don’t recall the name of it but it worked….
every now and then she loses her appetite again but I haven’t had to give her the appetite stimulant, instead I give her a jar of gerber baby food, I think it’s stage 2, chicken or beef…(with no spices etc) .that seems to get her back into eating her regular wet food.
Have you tried the pouches of “Delectables” my cats love them but I only give them as treats because they cost about $1.08 each, you could probably it in with other cat food.
ive also boiled chicken breast for her but that’s mainly to get her to eat something, I don’t think theres much nutrition in it for an everyday meal.
Good luck

I saw that cat treats at schnucks earlier unfortunately I don't have cash besides 3 bucks I need for an oral syringe being on ssi sucks as soon as I get about 90 bucks I can get her seen ,I'm able to get the baby food with my food stamps I will try that on her ,thank you

 

[verna davies]

Your vet will have a variety of sizes. Such a shame to have to syringe feed at her age but hopefully it may kick start her eating more.

 

[mewlittle]

Since she was being fed/is used to Roman noodles, you might want to find food that is similar flavors. Roman flavors are pork, beef, shrimp, and chicken. I would look for pork and beef flavored cat foods. Remember Roman noodles flavoring is rather high in salt and that taste maybe part of what you're having to fight here.

I've heard that some people have luck with Purina Party mix when their cats won't eat anything else. I'm thinking of these treats as toppers. When our cat was not happy with wet food, at all, she was thrilled to chase these treats and did gain weight on them.

Her abusive previous owners fed her ramon noodles ,we do not allow her to have it , what cat food you'll think mimik ramon? Thank you for the flavor suggestions ,I tried the party mix it was also a no go ,thank thou.

 

[mewlittle]

Your vet will have a variety of sizes. Such a shame to have to syringe feed at her age but hopefully it may kick start her eating more.

I was actually going to ask the vet about it

 

[mewlittle]

I can only get my cat to eat Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers and Creamy Delights. She won’t touch other Fancy Feast, even the medleys which I thought would be similar enough to Creamy Delights. She won’t touch pate. She was a hoarding rescue raised on kibble only. It took almost a year to get her to eat any kind of wet food.

I’ve seen a common theme that cats that weren’t initially raised on wet food only seem to like brothy/gravy foods only. Maybe they don’t understand how to eat pate?

She won't eat most Fancy feast and when she does it's only once and never eats it again thank you for the suggestion

 

[mewlittle]

Have you tried Sheba? Ms. Fussy Pants here, that's one of her main go-to foods (only cuts, no pate, primarily chicken, turkey and beef).

Going to once I get money, being on ssi sucks

 

[mewlittle]

First off I do not advise feeding Ramon noodles I also do not feed Ramon noodles,

My mom's cat Soar's previous owner fed her ramon noodles for about the first 4-6 mos of life straight ,she is very picky, what would be the long term effects of that diet after the cat don't get it anymore?

Yes I'm asking the vet when I can.

My mom is unable to take her in due to her major health issues and is bed ridden so I'm going to do it

Thank you

 

[StanAndAlf]

Personally I would be checking her kidney and liver functions, as they can be damaged from the salt levels found in ramen noodles. I would also be worried about obesity and nutrient deficiencies, though I think you would notice obvious symptoms of this such as hair loss and lethargy if it was severe.

Another thing to consider is IBD, as there is a good chance her previous diet could have aggravated her digestive tract. Are her stools ok? Is she keeping her food down now that you have changed her diet?

 

[Kflowers]

Yes, I want you to know, I do understand you don't feed her the Roman noodles, I just thought since that was what she was used to that would be the flavors she might like. I also understand it's really hard to get them interested in new foods. I went to Chewy to look for pork cat food and most of it is terribly pricey and you have to buy a lot at a time. I'm including the page I found, but rather than buy a case if it's too expensive, try asking the companies for samples so you can see if she likes it. (ours won't touch wet food and that's what she started on) Some companies will send samples. But with these companies price is certainly a consideration.

pork cat food - Free shipping | Chewy

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