Cat Can’t Pick Up Food

[Ruthy]

I have two 6 yr old female cats that are sisters that I adopted when their owner died and have had them 3 mts and they have adapted well to me and are very spoiled. I think they were on all dry food before I’m not for sure, I have read a lot about cats and find out canned is better for them but I have decided to feed them both because the one seems to like it a lot. I wanted to feed them a good cat food and by trying numerous different kinds they seem to like wellness gravies the best. They don’t like the chunky cat food and wellness bits seem to be ok but the one cat seems like she can’t pick up the food she just licks at it but she can eat dry food OK ( i’ve never noticed to see if she licks up the dry food with her tongue and then chews it) I have tried the pate and she still just licks at it to but acts like she wants to pick it up. At first I tried the fancy feast gravy‘s and they seemed to clean their plate better because the meat in there is a different or smaller shape than the bits with wellness but I wanted to put them on a higher grade cat food and after a few cans of the fancy feast they didn’t seem to eat it as well anyway. I tried wellness dry cat food and different flavors but they didn’t care for it, they do like Purina one hairball formula because the cat that I’m talking about seems to get a lot of those and the hairball formula works wonders with that but I would like still a better grade but can’t find one I hate to have to go through that again like I did with the canned food. Is my one cat just wanting gravy only and leaving the rest? I first thought that but it just seems like she’s trying to pick up the food help!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I can't help with the food type, as Feeby is on urinary care food only. But, I can tell you that she eats canned food the same way. All I can do is place the food in a pile in the middle of a dish, let her lap/lick at it as much as she can until she flattens the rest out in the dish - which is when she stops eating it. So, I re-scoop it into a pile again, let her eat it until she flattens it out and repeat, repeat, repeat. I will add just a smidgen of water or low sodium chicken broth to it to help with her eating it a bit faster throughout the process.

When she first started eating canned 2-3 years ago, it would take over an hour to eat less than a 1/3 of a can at a time. Now, for the most part, after all this time, she can eat that amount in a little less than 1/2 hour - as long as I re-scoop as many times as necessary. Perhaps, your cat will learn how to handle it a tad bit better over time, as Feeby has?

Feeby also get dry for free grazing, but I like her having at least some canned food in her diet.

Hairballs - try a dab of margarine/butter on your finger or on her paw for her to lick off. 2-3 times a week should help.

 

[Ruthy]

I can't help with the food type, as Feeby is on urinary care food only. But, I can tell you that she eats canned food the same way. All I can do is place the food in a pile in the middle of a dish, let her lap/lick at it as much as she can until she flattens the rest out in the dish - which is when she stops eating it. So, I re-scoop it into a pile again, let her eat it until she flattens it out and repeat, repeat, repeat. I will add just a smidgen of water or low sodium chicken broth to it to help with her eating it a bit faster throughout the process.

When she first started eating canned 2-3 years ago, it would take over an hour to eat less than a 1/3 of a can at a time. Now, for the most part, after all this time, she can eat that amount in a little less than 1/2 hour - as long as I re-scoop as many times as necessary. Perhaps, your cat will learn how to handle it a tad bit better over time, as Feeby has?

Feeby also get dry for free grazing, but I like her having at least some canned food in her diet.

Hairballs - try a dab of margarine/butter on your finger or on her paw for her to lick off. 2-3 times a week should help.

I thought about the broth once but didn’t try it but now I will and I’ll try the other advice to. Thanks

 

[daftcat75]

Can you take her to the vet and have a dental exam performed under anesthesia with mouth x-rays? Cats can and do hide pain. Sometimes the only clue you have that a cat’s mouth is hurting her is that she has texture preferences. It’s possible that she’s either not chewing her dry food (a lot of cats don’t) or that she chews it with her molars and sub-molars (back teeth) while soft food is picked up and shredded with canines and incisors (front teeth.) It’s possible for her to have dental issues and eat dry food because she’s using different teeth for it.

Some cats are also very picky and maybe she just likes the gravy and not the actual food. If you’ve tried four foods with her, that only means she doesn’t like four foods. There are hundreds to choose from.

Another thing you can try is blending a pate food to a smoother texture. If she eats that, I’d book that dental appointment. But I’d book it anyway. Rule that out before you spend too much on food trials.

 

[Ruthy]

Can you take her to the vet and have a dental exam performed under anesthesia with mouth x-rays? Cats can and do hide pain. Sometimes the only clue you have that a cat’s mouth is hurting her is that she has texture preferences. It’s possible that she’s either not chewing her dry food (a lot of cats don’t) or that she chews it with her molars and sub-molars (back teeth) while soft food is picked up and shredded with canines and incisors (front teeth.) It’s possible for her to have dental issues and eat dry food because she’s using different teeth for it.

Some cats are also very picky and maybe she just likes the gravy and not the actual food. If you’ve tried four foods with her, that only means she doesn’t like four foods. There are hundreds to choose from.

Another thing you can try is blending a pate food to a smoother texture. If she eats that, I’d book that dental appointment. But I’d book it anyway. Rule that out before you spend too much on food trials.

I have taken and gotten them shots because I didn’t know the last time they had had any but they didn’t do a exam that day, I am planning to schedule A regular exam in September hopefully it’s nothing major I would hate to think that my cat was hurting and I didn’t know it Thank you for replying

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Along with the great advice you've gotten, I wanted to mention that there are some foods where my boy will only lick the gravy and not eat the morsels, and I've read other cats on this site that have the same approach. I give him those brands for the variety and let him have the brands where he eats the morsels as well

 

[Mamanyt1953]

And it MAY simply be a matter of hypersensitive whiskers. Hekitty won't eat out of a bowl with sides. The cheapest thing to try and see about that is a paper plate. It can work wonders, and if it doesn't work, you're not out any money to speak of.

 

[Furballsmom]