What and how to feed my new cat

[momofmaxwell]

Hi Cassa.great you decided to go all canned.So many urinary issues with dry food & uti's for males.Lots of poblems period with dry.He's darling.!! C.

 

[cassafrass710]

Thanks for all your kind words, everyone! 

A problem has arisen. He doesn't seem to like the canned food. He ate it the first morning (yesterday) I gave it to him after a little coaxing, but he refused last night and this morning. He ate it this morning after a put a little dry food down. He went for the dry food, but when I took it away, he started eating the canned food. He did that again tonight. I got some Orijen dry food to graze on throughout the day in addition to a quarter can of the NVI in the morning and again at night to keep dry food in his life in case I ever have to put him on a timed feeder for a couple days. He loves the dry food, but not so much the wet. Does anyone have any suggestions on another wet food to try? I picked NVI because it's higher in calories than most of the other carrageenan-free wet foods out there. My goal is for him to have around 225 calories a day. Half a can of NVI Chicken has around 102 while a quarter cup of Orijen has around 125. I'd really like to avoid giving him more than one can a day, but other brands' cans are much lower in calories.

I'll keep trying for a couple of days to see if things change since apparently I am able to trick him into eating it, but does anyone have any other suggestions for a good canned food? I'll try going to my local natural pet store and see what they have to say this weekend, but I'd love to hear what you guys recommend. He hasn't been eating much lately because he hated the sample food the shelter gave me that I put him on after the actual food he was eating at the shelter ran out, so he's been acting kind of moody lately, which isn't much fun. Thanks for all your help!

 

[cassafrass710]

I should also add that when I do finally convince him to eat the wet food, he never finishes the quarter can. 

 

[lisamarie12]

Thanks for all your kind words, everyone! 

A problem has arisen. He doesn't seem to like the canned food. He ate it the first morning (yesterday) I gave it to him after a little coaxing, but he refused last night and this morning. He ate it this morning after a put a little dry food down. He went for the dry food, but when I took it away, he started eating the canned food. He did that again tonight. I got some Orijen dry food to graze on throughout the day in addition to a quarter can of the NVI in the morning and again at night to keep dry food in his life in case I ever have to put him on a timed feeder for a couple days. He loves the dry food, but not so much the wet. Does anyone have any suggestions on another wet food to try? I picked NVI because it's higher in calories than most of the other carrageenan-free wet foods out there. My goal is for him to have around 225 calories a day. Half a can of NVI Chicken has around 102 while a quarter cup of Orijen has around 125. I'd really like to avoid giving him more than one can a day, but other brands' cans are much lower in calories.

I'll keep trying for a couple of days to see if things change since apparently I am able to trick him into eating it, but does anyone have any other suggestions for a good canned food? I'll try going to my local natural pet store and see what they have to say this weekend, but I'd love to hear what you guys recommend. He hasn't been eating much lately because he hated the sample food the shelter gave me that I put him on after the actual food he was eating at the shelter ran out, so he's been acting kind of moody lately, which isn't much fun. Thanks for all your help!

Sorry this little guy is getting a bit fussy, it happens to the best of kitties. What works for our cats when they get fussy with their NVI is to crumble some freeze dried treats on top of the food. Currently, they are loving Orijen FD boar treats. A little goes a long way, just one or two little treats crumbled on top, they lick their bowls clean. I feed them NVI's rabbit / pork so the boar FD works well. They also make FD duck (available for dogs but it's just duck / duck liver so it's not a problem for cats).

You could also try Pure Bites in turkey or chicken, FD treats or Bravo FD turkey or chicken. These are meat only, no liver - just chicken or turkey breast.

I use NVI's canned chicken once in a while but I've noticed it's hit or miss, the rabbit / pork they usually always like.

As far as other alternatives, you could check out the following site which lists carrageenan-free (although not gum free, if you cat has a very sensitive stomach), but they are low starch / low carb, those in "first place", and also don't have questionable ingredients like pryrophosphates. Not sure which would be higher calories, however, duck and lamb are fattier meats, rabbit and venison leaner with the other meats somewhere in the middle:

http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2010/12/the-7-best-natural-commercial-cat-foods-so-far/

http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2015/09/11-changes-to-the-best-cat-foods-page/

Good luck.