Very Picky Cat

mycatmo

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My cat is stressing me out. He is 11yrs old and has gotten extremely picky. He will not eat dry food at all anymore. He started eating wet food about a year ago. I have switched between Blue and Iams chicken. It looks like shredded chicken. He was eating that like crazy. But, now he only licks the gravy. He later turns his nose up on a lot of the Blue flavors now. Or sometimes after the throws up a flavor he will stop eating it. I feel so bad because he sits by his food dish like he is hungry. The only thing he will eat is plain chicken breast or pork. He also eats some treats made by Friskies. Any suggestions on what I can try? I read to try sprinkling catnip on the food and that did not work! Ugh! I am sure he is picking up on my frustration! Thank you!
 

daftcat75

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Cats hold a grudge against foods they throw up. Wouldn't you? But it's usually not permanent. It's good to have at least a few foods in their rotation to weather out such grudges. The key is to keep offering a little of the old food next to another one. They'll come back to the old food again.

Can you add bone broth to his diet? That will give him minerals that meat alone doesn't have. Make sure it's an unsalted and unseasoned bone broth or there are recipes to make your own. Some pet food stores are starting to carry bone broth in their raw and frozen section. There are supplement premixes to make cooked or raw meat into a balanced food. One of them is EZ Complete which can be mixed as small as an ounce and a half of boneless meat. That would give you a balanced homemade option while you look for other canned varieties that agree with him.

When's the last time you had his teeth checked? His pickiness may not be flavor but texture. My Krista's teeth are starting to go bad at 14. She's had some removed and will need another dental soon. In the meantime, she's made it clear to me that she prefers a slurpable texture like boneless raw grind over a pate or shreds.
 
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mycatmo

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Thanks for your suggestions. It is crazy because he started eating Iams. It is chicken flavored. So, I went and bought a few cans. Then he stopped eating it. It is almost as if he gets bored now.
 

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Hi!
I agree about the vet check, and maybe there's something here that might help;
Also, try feeding in different locations - really, completely different, and utilize different heights. For example put a couple of books underneath the dish, next time use two thick phone books, or a small-ish box so the heights are varied....

Maybe there is something that might help here;

Sit with your cat and scoop some food on your finger or a spoon and hopefully your kitty will lick it. Or gently tuck some food inside the cheek.

(You might want to double-check with your vet just to be sure these things below are ok for your kitty).

Try some raw egg yolk. Egg white must always be cooked, and some people cook the white and make a slurry of sorts by adding in the raw yolk.

Also you could try some Nutri-cal or similar product.

Try making these recipes - they're just as viable for an adult cat;
Kitten-Rescue.com

These can be used on their own or combined with food. Also, as mentioned if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave.

Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A small glass works to stir it all up.
  • Chicken, beef or ham flavored (pureed) baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients
  • Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch
  • Salmon, mackerel
  • Sardines (make sure there are no bones)
  • boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings
  • canned kitten food any brand
  • Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought
  • Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)
  • Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food
  • kitten glop (recipes in website link above)
  • Bonito flakes
  • fortiflora
  • fish oil
  • green beans, asparagus mushed up, lettuce, applesauce, mashed chickpeas, black olives
  • whipped topping such as reddiwhip
  • dry pasta
  • goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
  • whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
  • broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
  • There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  • Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables, Only Natural Pet, Primal
  • There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
  • shredded cheddar cheese, string cheese
 

HPeters

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Id recommend getting a dental done on your cat including xrays to ensure the teeth are not painful. If his teeth are fine some other suggestions are: heating the food (make sure its not in a metal dish!), a different dish (plastic, metal, low sides, etc), mixing the food with water, ive heard of a gravy like food that you can try (i think its friskies but i could be wrong- i know it comes in a pouch), kitten food (since its more calorie dense its better if hes not eating much), and an if-all-else-fails trick, chicken flavoured baby food to entice him to eat.
I also suggest weighing him a couple times a week to make sure hes not losing too much weight
 
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mycatmo

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Tonight I went and bought a few different brands. I tried Friskies Bits with Chicken. He took a few bites and then turned his nose up. I did buy these Fancy Feasts appetizers with chicken. He ate some of that after I put his dish up a little higher. I guess we will try another brand tomorrow. I am worried that trying too many different ones will confuse him though.
 

daftcat75

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Tonight I went and bought a few different brands. I tried Friskies Bits with Chicken. He took a few bites and then turned his nose up. I did buy these Fancy Feasts appetizers with chicken. He ate some of that after I put his dish up a little higher. I guess we will try another brand tomorrow. I am worried that trying too many different ones will confuse him though.
It absolutely will confuse him and his gut to try too many foods at once. That’s a recipe for regurgitation. Also cats are notoriously conservative (you may call it picky) when it comes to new food. If a cat takes more than a couple of bites of a new food, that’s high praise. Keep offering that food. Many times they are testing the waters. “I’ll try a few bites this time, and if it doesn’t turn me inside out, maybe a few more bites next time.” It’s better for their gut anyways to not switch to a new food too fast.
 

daftcat75

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My Krista is holding a grudge right now. She loves her turkey but she doesn’t trust it right now because she just got through another hairball. But she eats more than a few bites so I’ll keep offering it each meal and she’ll come around again. In a couple of days, she’ll be hounding me for the stuff again like I never feed it to her. This isn’t our first hairball.
 
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mycatmo

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My cat finally went to the vet. He has been getting so skinny and has turned his nose up at everything. He has a number of issues going on. He has a kidney infection, hypothyroidism, and a heart murmur. He also needs a couple teeth pulled which could explain why he stopped eating dry food. He is on medicine now to deal with the kidney infection. Vet thinks him getting really picky has to do with the infection and upset stomach. He is on a antibiotic and also is having us give him Pepcid AC to calm him stomach. There are days when he has been eating better. But, not every day. The Vet said right now to pretty much let him have whatever he wants. But, that is the problem. He loses interest in food so quickly. Vet said later on his food will change.
 

LadyLondonderry

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My cat finally went to the vet. He has been getting so skinny and has turned his nose up at everything. He has a number of issues going on. He has a kidney infection, hypothyroidism, and a heart murmur. He also needs a couple teeth pulled which could explain why he stopped eating dry food. He is on medicine now to deal with the kidney infection. Vet thinks him getting really picky has to do with the infection and upset stomach. He is on a antibiotic and also is having us give him Pepcid AC to calm him stomach. There are days when he has been eating better. But, not every day. The Vet said right now to pretty much let him have whatever he wants. But, that is the problem. He loses interest in food so quickly. Vet said later on his food will change.
I'm glad he is getting the care he needs. Keep us posted on his progress! We all will try to help.
 
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mycatmo

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I found only one can of wet food that he will eat since he started taking his medicine. He seems to like Blue Buffalo flaked chicken. But, he will only eat it for a couple days and then seems to get tired of it. He then started eating it in the middle of the night or when we were at work. Today he is back to not eating it. I told the vet all he will seem to eat is turkey lunch meat. Which I know is not the best for cats. But, the vet said to give him whatever he will eat right now. He only weighed in at 7.5lbs. I feel so bad for him. I can tell he wants to eat. Hopefully these pills are helping the infection. Later on we will get to the teeth! Nervous on how much that will cost!
 

daftcat75

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Please prioritize the teeth. That’s probably why you can’t get him to eat more than a couple days in a row. Cats won’t cry out in pain about dental issues. If the vet says there are a couple that need to be pulled, assume he is in pain this entire time until that’s resolved.
 
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mycatmo

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The vet didn't want to address the teeth yet
 

daftcat75

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The vet didn't want to address the teeth yet
I'm sorry. Your cat may force the issue. If he continues to not eat well, you will either have to syringe feed him the difference with an angry mouth or prioritize the teeth despite the vet. Please don't let the teeth become a complication for his other issues.

My Krista had a broken tooth and another with deep pockets and food trapped in them. She stopped eating over Christmas. While scheduling her for a dental, they do blood work to screen before anestheisa. Her liver and gallbladder chemistry were all off. Poor candidate for anesthesia. I was faced with having to re-feed her liver with bad teeth. She was having none of it. She pitched a fit during ultrasound for her liver and got herself sedated after all. While sedated, they took two canines and found a couple root fragments from prior extractions that needed to go. Now she really wasn't eating because of the procedures and recovery. We still needed to address the liver and gallbladder. She got a feeding tube inserted so that we can finally start re-feeding her without going through a sore and swollen mouth or waiting on her appetite to return after not eating for so long.

Long story short, Krista has been at the vet's since Monday (going on her second week tomorrow) and has racked up enough bills to pay for her dental several times over.

If his eating doesn't resume normally soon, prioritize the extractions. It can get so much more expensive if you wait too long.
 
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mycatmo

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Can you think of any reason why the vet doesn't want to address the teeth yet? Is it going to affect his kidney infection or something?
 

aradasky

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Also, he may only be able to eat small meals since he may be nauseous. Leave a small amount of wet food out all day, then throw away and feed another regular amount out all night. My cats eat this way. One, takes small amounts all the time or she WILL throw up. As long as the food is not raw, you can leave it out over 12 hours.
 

daftcat75

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Can you think of any reason why the vet doesn't want to address the teeth yet? Is it going to affect his kidney infection or something?
Ask the vet. The reason Krista was initially denied was that her liver chemistry came back pointing to impaired liver function aka poor candidate for anesthesia.

The vet may be wanting to take it one thing at a time. Or maybe he’s worried about a drug interaction or something. Tell the vet you don’t want to wait for your cat to tell you when it’s time to address the teeth. If they need to go, that’s not going to change in a month. They should be prioritized. Ask him if it’s in his plan, and if not, why not?

The vet may be wanting to wait until February which is Pet Dental Awareness month. But the deal or the discount may not be worth waiting for if the teeth turn into a complication between then and now.
 

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Also, he may only be able to eat small meals since he may be nauseous. Leave a small amount of wet food out all day, then throw away and feed another regular amount out all night. My cats eat this way. One, takes small amounts all the time or she WILL throw up. As long as the food is not raw, you can leave it out over 12 hours.
This is a good strategy to try with the food! It's also possible that your cat, mycatmo mycatmo , is bored with his food and wants more variety; this is a constant issue with one of our cats. Also, I'm figuring your cat's name is Mo, is that right? ;)

If your cat's appetite continues to be a serious concern while he's on his antibiotics, you might ask the vet for an appetite stimulant -- that can really help get a cat eating again. (Our cat had a shot of something after she'd eaten a plant and gotten very sick.) I agree about trying to keep off the lunch meat! Will your cat eat anything like Friskies or Fancy Feast? Their pates are stinky and appealing!

The vet may be wanting to take it one thing at a time. Or maybe he’s worried about a drug interaction or something. Tell the vet you don’t want to wait for your cat to tell you when it’s time to address the teeth. If they need to go, that’s not going to change in a month. They should be prioritized. Ask him if it’s in his plan, and if not, why not?
I would also ask the vet more about the teeth and the reasons for putting off the extractions. Given the infection, daftcat75 daftcat75 may very well be right about the pre-op blood tests but even so, I'd ask more. There's not much that can be done about the heart murmur (our previous cat had a very bad arrhythmia -- we had to get used to that threat) but the big positive is that the infection should clear up soon.
 
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