Finicky cats who get more finicky when given more choices

stephenq

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A while back someone posted a link to an article about cats who get progressively more finicky when more feeding choices are offered.  Like they keep holding out for the newest flavor.  If anyone knows this link I would be grateful if you could post it. 
 

pushylady

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That rings a bell with me too, but it's a difficult topic to search for!

I found this article online:
http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.0010003

Basically they're saying because cats can't detect sweetness.
This doesn't explain to me why they like one food one day and turn their noses up at it the next. I heard on a program that cats' fussiness was an evolved behaviour meant to encourage them to have more variety in their diets. :dk:
 
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2cats4me

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This is very interesting .  I think my cats are just the opposite . They  WANT  the same food everyday .  If I try to change their food they stop eating ..  
 
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stephenq

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That rings a bell with me too, but it's a difficult topic to search for!

I found this article online:
http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.0010003

Basically they're saying because cats can't detect sweetness.
This doesn't explain to me why they like one food one day and turn their noses up at it the next. I heard on a program that cats' fussiness was an evolved behaviour meant to encourage them to have more variety in their diets.
Wow complicated article but cool.  We're starting to believe jenny likes freshly opened cans of food too, even though we gently reheat her food from the fridge, and so what i've done the past 2 days is open the cabinet where we keep the canned food (remember she's blind so i'm tricking her) and since she knows this is where the food is she gets extra excited and it seems to help her eat :).  and i'm laughing.
 

2cats4me

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Lucky you!
Yeah , they are little weirdos 
  .. They like it  fixed a specific way too . They will eat different flavors of FF Classic but it has to be FF... They have to have the same kibble aii the time too.. It does make it easier for me i guess..
 

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My cat acts like she is walking away, then she circles back to eat when I leave the room. She wants treats on top every time, no way Jose!!!
 

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That's interesting! And here I thought variety is always better so a cat doesn't develop allergies. I'd love to read that article when someone finds it!
 

bonepicker

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Variety works for me, you know how a cat will love something the first or second day then not? Well if the same food only comes up on an 8 to 12 food rotation, it is always like the first day!
 

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A while back someone posted a link to an article about cats who get progressively more finicky when more feeding choices are offered.  Like they keep holding out for the newest flavor.  If anyone knows this link I would be grateful if you could post it. 
I believe this! It explains why I literally had 4 (yes, 4!!) types of dry kibble out, but my extremely picky cat baby kept holding out for the 5th kibble flavor that had just run out. To explain why there were 5 types of dry kibble out, it's because I was trying to get her off the Hill's Science Diet kitten kibble that the vet specialist gave her and that was the only dry kibble she wanted when I brought her home. I already had Orijen cat & kitten kibble, which she used to love, and Acana Wild Prairie, so I got 12 oz bags of the other 2 Acana kibbles and the other 2 Orijen kibbles. After I contaminated her Hill's kitten kibble with the Orijen cat & kitten kibble and she was hungry for a while, she finally decided to eat a little Acana Pacifica before deciding on the Orijen Regional Red. When that ran out, she was starving herself for 2.5 days even though 4 types of dry kibble were out. She ate only a tiny bit of Acana Pacifica until I brought her more Orijen Regional Red and then she started eating again. *sigh* Thankfully, the huge 15 lbs bag of Orijen Regional Red just arrived today so she now has a supply for a long time.

With wet food, the problem with my cat is that she gets tired of her new favorite after a while and will stop eating it, so then I have to find something else. Right now, no wet food is working.
 

2cats4me

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My cats are super finicky .  I think I tried every brand of wet food and they would not touch anything  but they love FF Classic and  eat it everyday twice a day .  They do not want more choices . Same wet food , same kibble every day ..  I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing but it works for us .. 
 

BonitaBaby

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My cats are super finicky .  I think I tried every brand of wet food and they would not touch anything  but they love FF Classic and  eat it everyday twice a day .  They do not want more choices . Same wet food , same kibble every day ..  I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing but it works for us .. 
I consider that a great thing! *sigh* For a short while, my cat was eating a little Fancy Feast turkey & giblets and chicken & liver. She doesn't like any of the other F.F. flavors. I stocked up on those two and, immediately, she didn't want it anymore. I have LOTS of wet food cans that were her old favorites. 
 

2cats4me

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I consider that a great thing! *sigh* For a short while, my cat was eating a little Fancy Feast turkey & giblets and chicken & liver. She doesn't like any of the other F.F. flavors. I stocked up on those two and, immediately, she didn't want it anymore. I have LOTS of wet food cans that were her old favorites. 
Thank you ..  I hope your cat goes back to her favorites again .. They sure are fickle creatures aren't they ? 
 
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stephenq

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Jenny isn't fickle about her kibble, just the wet. Sometimes petting her helps too. Our Simon, even though he loved food, enjoyed being pet during meals and sometimes told us it was petting time for eating.
 

2cats4me

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Jenny isn't fickle about her kibble, just the wet. Sometimes petting her helps too. Our Simon, even though he loved food, enjoyed being pet during meals and sometimes told us it was petting time for eating.
That is cute ..   
 

BonitaBaby

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Thank you ..  I hope your cat goes back to her favorites again .. They sure are fickle creatures aren't they ? 
Thank you! I've been trying, but no success so far with the old favorites or new wet foods. The Hill's prescription a/d seems to have made her not want any other wet food...I thought maybe she associated wet food with throwing up, but maybe it was the Hill's prescription a/d that ruined it although she really needed to eat when she was given the prescription a/d.
 

2cats4me

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Thank you! I've been trying, but no success so far with the old favorites or new wet foods. The Hill's prescription a/d seems to have made her not want any other wet food...I thought maybe she associated wet food with throwing up, but maybe it was the Hill's prescription a/d that ruined it although she really needed to eat when she was given the prescription a/d.
I know what you mean ..  I am glad the a/d worked for her . How is she doing now ?
 
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