Why would a cat prefer dry food?

lisalu

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When I first adopted this very hungry stray kitty, she ate anything and lots of it. Dry food, canned paté food, canned wet food, Fresh Pet, bits of chicken and fish - ANYTHING. Now she won't touch any canned food, won't touch the Pet Fresh (which, my dogs used to LOVE) and will eat a little bit of chicken or tuna but only if I give it to her as a "treat" rather than in her bowl. (I got her a nice raised, shallow ceramic dish for cats but she won't eat a thing out of it.)

She'll only eat dry food - Iam's Proactive Health - I serve that to her in a puzzle bowl so she can't scarf it down.

Is it weird that a cat would prefer dry food? I'd ideally like her to have a better diet, but I can't account for her preferences.
 
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LTS3

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Dry food is typically coated in a substance that is irresistible to cats, usually animal digest. You can try adding toppers to canned food to make it more appealing: crushed up treats, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast, a bit of those lickable cat treats. FortiFlora is nutriotnal supplement / probiotic for pets that is basically just animal digest. You can sprinkle a little bit of it on food. It's pretty addicting so use sparingly to avoid the cat not eating unless there is FortiFlora on top.
 
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lisalu

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Dry food is typically coated in a substance that is irresistible to cats, usually animal digest. You can try adding toppers to canned food to make it more appealing: crushed up treats, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast, a bit of those lickable cat treats. FortiFlora is nutriotnal supplement / probiotic for pets that is basically just animal digest. You can sprinkle a little bit of it on food. It's pretty addicting so use sparingly to avoid the cat not eating unless there is FortiFlora on top.
I actually tried the lickable cat treat trick today, I put it on top of the Pet Fresh and she licked it off and left the rest.

I'll look for the product you suggest, though, thank you! :)
 

HAS

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My kitties will refuse wet food (we’ve tried every texture and flavor) and finally found that they love broths. Broths are a good way to get hydration into your cat’s diet, but not nutritionaly complete. Our dry food is, so we figure they are ok.
 

Sajast

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Could also be a consistency thing. One of my girls will only eat pate and it had better be the extra smooth kind or she’ll walk away 🤷‍♀️ Up to you whether it’s worth trying a bunch of things - wet food is great for added hydration but it’s not the end of the world if they don’t eat it.
 

MindyStClairesMom

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Yeah . . . we are pate-only here (we feed Weruva -- their pates are VERY smooth). NONE of my 3 "got it" at first (and they would ENTIRELY reject anything with texture. They HATE all Tiki flavors) . . . but I kept trying a finger-full smeared on the side of the bowl of dry . . . then one of them tried it . . . He liked it! Then another one tried it . . . meh, she would have it or not . . . eats it if served, but isn't bothered if it's just dry (we feed Dr. Elsey's). And, oh, Mindy St. Claire! She is the wary / suspicious one. I've stopped offering it on her bowl as Zach Pizazz just comes to eat it out of her dish. But I will try again from time to time . . . they might just have to be in the right mood. Like as a kid I wouldn't eat broccoli. Now I don't hate it.
 

Raul-7

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Ask yourself why people prefer fast food to eating at home? Same reason. It's loaded with unhealthy fillers, etc.

Also only a small group of people realize they've been lied to regarding pet nutrition [ie. dry food is terrible]. So most breeders and adoption centers still feed dry to their kittens. Guess what the kitten will end up craving?
 
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