Picky cat

[MommyOfMilothecat]

I am a mom to a very picky cat
I sometimes find myself lost on what to feed him
When I buy him high quality canned food he only seem to eat from it once , i noticed that he doesn't like repetition when it comes to his meals
Same goes to his dry food , it's high quality
Yet he's only interested in eating it when really hungry , I end up cooking for him chicken, fish , or some meat with veggies carrots , potatoes , rice or squash , he seem to prefer that over cat food, but I'm scared that it wouldn't provide his daily needs
Any advice?

 

[FeebysOwner]

No real answer for you in terms of getting him to eat cat food that you serve him. I do have to rotate canned foods for Feeby so that she does not get the same one for nearly a week, but even then, there are occasions where she will turn her nose up at one or more of them or get tired of it enough that I don't give it to her for a while.

There are supplements you can buy to add to human food to make it nutritionally complete - one is a pre-mix that you simply mix in with the food you prepare, but I am not sure if it doesn't need 'tweaking' when adding to chicken (vs. beef, fish, etc.). The pre-mix is called EZComplete and you can read all about it here - EZComplete Premix Information (foodfurlife.com). There is another that requires a bit more preparation but is more appropriate with chicken. It is Alnutrin and you can check it out here - A Guide To A Balanced, Homemade Cat Food - Alnutrin Supplements (knowwhatyoufeed.com). I use EZComplete with non-chicken baby food meats for Feeby, but have not tried Alnutrin yet.

 

[verna davies]

Try sprinkling a little Fortiflora on his wet food, it works a treat for my picky eater. Its a probiotic so will be fine for him.

 

[Furballsmom]

Yet he's only interested in eating it when really hungry

The kibble, you meant?

I spent literally years with my angel boy trying to get him to eat what, at the time, I considered better quality wet foods. I did finally find a couple of brands that he decided were acceptable, but these were in addition to Fancy Feast. I was glad in the end that I'd gone through all that effort because although I'm not so sure now that the "high quality" foods are really that much "better" I was able to provide him with a more diverse menu of nutrients.

Speaking of, have you tried some Fancy Feast? Can you tell, is it the consistency of the food he's particular about, where he might prefer pate over shreds, or vice versa? There are more new brands on the market now, including Mouser.

There's also Forza10, Daves, Solid Gold, Weruva, Merrick, Dr Elseys, Instinct, The Honest Kitchen, Open Farm, Pure Cravings, Kasiks, Koha, Tiki Cat, Halo, Feline Natural, Ziwi Peak, Nature's Variety, and more.

This chart hasn't been maintained but it can give you an idea of some brands to try if you haven't already

Canned Cat food Spreadsheets

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

If you want to feed homemade food, as mentioned above, there are premixes you can add to make it nutritionally complete. We actually have a forum for raw and homecooked food. It's here and has more information: Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food

 

[Alldara]

My advice: feed him what he will eat and enjoy eating.

I, like Feeby's mom above, fussed over what I considered to be healthy and trying to get my cats to eat it and killing my pocketbook while wasting a ton.

Once I decided to feed what they likes (within allergy limits), my cat ate more, our bond improved and I had less stress.

I also started to look for longitudinal studies that showed what types of cat foods are best and learned that there's only longitudinal studies for cats with specific conditions (and one 6 year one from Purina Pro Plan Prime Plus and senior cats). So we don't actually know what's best at this time.

We know what works best for certain cats with medical conditions. For example the boutique high protein diets (80 to 90% protein) can be hard on cats with genetic inclination to kidney disease. They are great for other cats who have been eating these long term!

Cats are likely similar to humans: there isn't one best type of diet that fits all. If it fits your pocket book and you can afford the yearly vet checks and bloodwork, as well as your cat likes it and is happy to eat it, than that's the best fit for you and your cat.