Wet Food Eating Habits...is This Normal?

[jericat]

Hi friends,

A question re: wet food. About a month ago we successfully transitioned our dry food addict to a completely wet diet after her diagnosis of IBD via ultrasound. She’s on the royal canin selected protein hypoallergenic (I know it’s not the best but it’s the first step in getting her on wet!) and gets one full can a day as we are trying to get her to lose weight. She seems to be doing well - has lots of energy, and has nice poops and pees. The inflammation in her tummy is definitely down, for which we can also thank a dose of dexamethasone. She currently tapering her .5mg dose of dex and has about 2 weeks left at every 3rd day.

For the first couple of weeks on wet, she ate it all right up, but in the last couple of weeks she’s seeming to get more finicky about it. She will wait about 30 minutes to eat it if it’s right out of the fridge or still a little chilly (lol) and recently she leaves about 1-2 tablespoons of food left after every meal. She gets one can split in to 3 meals - a big breakfast and dinner and a small snack - a day. It does take her about 6 hours to eat the majority of her breakfast and dinner and after that she won’t touch what’s left. I’ve sprinkled some of the same formula dry on top of the wet to see if that entices her, and it does! So she hasn't lost interest in food in general.

My question is - is it normal for a cat to leave a couple of tbsp of wet left? And is it normal for her to eat so slowly? The vet said the pace at which cats eat wet depends entirely on the cat but we’re coming off dry where she’d eat everything within 30 minutes and I’m just anxious to know if this is her “new normal” or if she doesn’t like the food.

 

[bonepicker]

My cats eat wet only at timed feedings and eat it all within 15 minutes

 

[Neo_23]

Maybe she’s losing interest in the food. My cat often eats a bit and comes back but he will gobble everything up in one sitting if he’s hungry. If your cat seems like she’s not interested You might try bringing in new flavours or brands to entice.

I actually had a really similar experience with Royal Canin with my kitten. And once I started bringing in new flavours/brands he pretty much refused to eat Royal Canin anymore.

 

[MissMolly08]

Have you tried warming the food up for her? My cat doesn't like chilled food either. She wants her food room temp and with about a tbsp. of water added. When my husband feeds her and does it "wrong", she always leaves some in the bowl. When I do it, the bowl is licked clean in 15 minutes.
Also, have you tried splitting the meals more evenly? If it is the 2 bigger meals where she is leaving some behind, perhaps it's just too much for her at once. Since you already feed 3 times a day, I'd try to make them even feedings instead of 1 being a "snack".

 

[jericat]

Maybe she’s losing interest in the food. My cat often eats a bit and comes back but he will gobble everything up in one sitting if he’s hungry. If your cat seems like she’s not interested You might try bringing in new flavours or brands to entice.

I actually had a really similar experience with Royal Canin with my kitten. And once I started bringing in new flavours/brands he pretty much refused to eat Royal Canin anymore.

Thanks Neo! I have a feeling she may be losing interest. She had IBD and I know there are a lot of good threads on here regarding best food for IBD kitties as well as other forums dedicated specifically to that. I'm going to do my research and see what I can find for her!!

Have you tried warming the food up for her? My cat doesn't like chilled food either. She wants her food room temp and with about a tbsp. of water added. When my husband feeds her and does it "wrong", she always leaves some in the bowl. When I do it, the bowl is licked clean in 15 minutes.
Also, have you tried splitting the meals more evenly? If it is the 2 bigger meals where she is leaving some behind, perhaps it's just too much for her at once. Since you already feed 3 times a day, I'd try to make them even feedings instead of 1 being a "snack".

I don't warm up her food but I do bring it out of the fridge and let it warm up for 15-30 minutes prior to a feeding. I totally agree with you about more even meal splitting and we even started a new routine last night of trying half and half 12 hours apart. So, she gets fed at 7am and 7pm. She was definitely hungry and went right to it last night. There was still a small amount (probably a teaspoon) left over this morning - better than yesterday. She was hungry this morning and ate her second half right away; it's been a few days since she's gone right in for it (it's the chilled half!) and had eaten about half when I left for work about 45 minutes later. Here's hoping the new schedule works better too.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

My cat was eating one meal of Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck wet food. He loved it when he first started, but changed his mind and finally quit eating it altogether. He is back now only having the dry until I can find something else he can eat. I hope you get an answer. Cats can be so frustrating when they get picky about food.

 

[jericat]

My cat was eating one meal of Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck wet food. He loved it when he first started, but changed his mind and finally quit eating it altogether. He is back now only having the dry until I can find something else he can eat. I hope you get an answer. Cats can be so frustrating when they get picky about food.

Thanks blueyedgirl! It helps hearing that. My vet recommended cutting back on the wet and increasing the dry but I really don't want to get her back on the dry. I feel so much better knowing she's getting a lot more water from her wet food. Hope you find something soon for your guy! <3