Picky Cat And Food Toppers

I feed both my cats raw; one absolutely loves it and the other... Well, not so much. She would eat it, but would only eat half the amount my other cat eats. So I've resorted to food toppers, particularly bonito flakes. It has been going well so far, she absolutely loves that stuff.

But it looks like I would need to add the flakes at every meal or else she would turn her nose up to her food. So I'm wondering how harmful is it to feed bonito flakes at every meal. They each get about 80g of raw at each meal 3 times a day. For Ms. Fussy I add about half a teaspoon of bonito flakes mixed in. I read fish in large quantities in the long run is not good for cats.. ie. Level of mercury etc. Should I be concerned? Should I decrease the topper amount?

Wish I could get fortiflora, but it's not available in my country.

Thanks in advance!

I personally do not think that what would amount to 1 1/2 tsp of bonito flakes per day would hurt. If it gets her to eat the food you want to feed i would use it. My cats love bonito flakes as well. They all 4 absolutely hated fortiflora, they will not eat anything with fortiflora on it

Hi! I agree with duckpond .
After two or three months, my boy has started to refuse fortiflora but still really likes bonito

I agree with duckpond that that amount is fine. I use them a lot myself, and yes at this point I have to add a topper to every wet meal for Wiggies to eat it. I mix up what I use though because he's fussy so I don't want him to "go off" something. Have you tried something like Stella & Chewy freeze dried? I use one nugget crumbled on top as a good enticement and it should work well with the raw you're feeding.

Thanks all for the reassurance.

Unfortunately Stella & Chewy is not available in my country and shipping is exorbitant. However, we've got Primal freeze dried nuggets here so I think I'll try that too.

I hope Ms. Picky doesn't go off the flakes. I've been using bonito flakes for about 2 weeks and so far she still loves it. What other safe and healthy toppers would you recommend? Other things I've tried:

- Pieces of plain baked chicken - liked it in for the first day or 2 but went off it.
- Freeze-dried fishy treats - works well, but again - fish.
- Parmesan cheese - didn't take to it.

She seems to like the fishy smell/flavour which make it a bit more difficult.

You could try unseasoned boiled (rather than baked)chicken or turkey, green beans, baby peas, cheddar cheese.
You could also try some raw egg yolk (egg white must be cooked) now and then, and some baby food with no onion or garlic just to mix things up a bit.
You're trying to avoid fish which is quite a bit of my list, and why I threw in the veggies.

Do you know if "Vet's Best Hairball Relief Digestive Aid Cat Supplement" is available in your country? I'm not sure why, but my cat goes absolutely crazy for them. They crumble very easily into a powder and you can use it as a topper.

Thanks, I will look around the local pet stores for it, yeva2292 . I know I've seen the same brand's flea spray before.

Furballsmom , thanks I'll try your suggestions!

Furballsmom said:

You could also try some raw egg yolk (egg white must be cooked) now and then,

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Egg yolk is a really good one! I buy egg yolk powder but you can make your own. Our cats love it on their food.