Cat being picky….and only wants treats

[Jessica_Merlin_Meep]

Hi there,
My fat cat Merlin has always had a big appetite but over the years he has become so picky. He’s refusing his Fancy Feast right now AND his Nulo dry food which he normally likes. I feed him his breakfast and he’d rather chew on his cardboard box or lick the air coming in from the crack in the front door. I know he isn’t sick because he will eat treats like nobody’s business. He will scream and scream for food even when he’s got dry food all over the floor and a full plate of wet food.

He’s been on Blue Buffalo and Simply Nourish in the past. Been on Fancy Feast for years because I was told it was good for picky eaters and now he’s over it. Trying Tiki Cat because it’s a little more natural and he won’t even look at it. HELP!

Note: just had a full panel of blood work done in January as he had his teeth cleaned - blood work was “perfect” per my vet

 

[gitabooks]

Some cats truly are just picky, but in my experience, cats that stop liking a food they used to like had some form of nausea that led to them getting "conditioned taste aversion", like what people get if they eat something during the flu. They associate the food with feeling sick and don't want to eat it again.
My Nocturne had this before I got her on an anti-nausea medication (Cerenia). She does have IBD though. That being said, IBD (or nausea in general) doesn't show up on blood tests so even a good blood panel may not rule out nausea.
It might be worth looking into?

Other things you might try include adding broth to their food, trying a different base-protein (lamb, rabbit, etc) for a new flavor. You could try some of the air-dried or freeze-dried foods. Treats shouldn't make up more than 10% of their daily calories or it can unbalance their nutrients. Try getting treats that are complete and balanced if necessary (there are some out there, though using dry food as a treat is cheaper if your kitty is willing to eat it).

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Check out this thread to see if anything there might help: Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!

I have a very picky cat, and once he decides he doesn't like a particular food, that's it. He will starve himself rather than eat it again. So I am constantly on the lookout for new foods. Been doing this now for 15 years. I do use a lot of toppers to get him to eat, but I finally stopped giving him multiply choices if he didn't want something. If he doesn't eat at breakfast now, I just toss it and try again at lunch. I won't let him go for more than 24 hours though without intervention, so I keep Mirataz on hand at all times. Mirataz is a prescription appetite enhancer, in case you aren't familiar with it.

You need to be aware that, particularly with overweight cats, not eating can be dangerous to their livers. They can quickly develop what is called Fatty Liver, and this can be life threatening. And as mentioned above, treats aren't typically nutritionally complete, so they are like humans trying to survive on french fries.