What can I feed this cat?

[FahanParish]

I’ve been given a cat who stopped eating his typical food - but cries to be fed. The vet finds nothing wrong - and says cats can get picky about their food. He’s lost weight but gains weight back when I hit on something he will eat.
He plays vigorously, purrs contentedly, cries for food but eats food sporadically. He will sometimes happily eat shredded baked chicken breast for a day or two and then refuse it for the next several days. He happily ate some tuna one day, but refused it the next. I‘ve bought many different cat foods - with only temporary success.
Any suggestions?

 

[betsygee]

How frustrating. How about toppers for his food?

 

[FeebysOwner]

How old is your cat? It may not be true in all cases, but I do think as cats age they can become pickier about their food. Right now, with my cat, I have to rotate food so that she isn't served the same thing for almost 2 weeks. And, even then, she might not choose to eat one she ate 2 weeks ago - but might eat it again in another 2 weeks. So, rotation might be something to try.

I do give Feeby an appetite stimulant to help out with the pickiness as it tends to make her a bit less picky. She has health conditions that brought on the need for the stimulant, but I don't think the use of it has to be isolated to cats with health issues alone, especially those that are older.

Food toppers, as mentioned above, are one thing to try, and there are tons more than just what is listed in that link. You can look up 'cat food toppers' on the internet and find a whole lot of options. FortiFlora is a probiotic, but really better serves the purpose of a food enhancer. However, I do think it is best when used sparingly (not every day) as over time Feeby got tired of it.

I also use baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut) to add calories to Feeby's diet, and - knock on wood - she hasn't tired of them so far, yet she gets a jar daily. I add a supplement to them that makes them nutritionally complete for a cat since she gets them so frequently.

 

[stephanietx]

How old is the kitty? What have you tried? My kitties will only eat smooth pate wet food, which is really hard to find, so sometimes I have to use an immersion blender and grind it up. My go-to for kitties who aren't eating is Fancy Feast, the plain "classic" pate. If it's super serious, ask the vet for a couple of cans of Science Diet a/d food. That stuff is like crack for kitties. I have mixed it in with regular food, then weaned off the a/d until they were eating only the regular food.