Cat ONLY eats Temptation Treats

CatGuyMD

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 22, 2020
Messages
9
Purraise
12
Last week I got an 8 year old cat from a lady who has left the cat in her condo for 3 months while she has been in hospital. Friends have fed the cat since August- Fancy Feast variety and Purina One Indoor Advantage dry and Temptation Treats. When I rescued him they told me he was not z big eater, but now I find he only eats the treats and nothing else.

The vet checked him, hydrated him and gave him a B12 shot- she looked at gums, tempetarure weight and he appears healthy and he is a prince. Not hiding and comfortable
I am beside myself with this eating. I tried Hills Diet dry, Taste if the Wild, whole hearted wet turkey and a few others. Nada. I even tried mixing the Temptations with other food and he walks away. I am afraid he is going to starve himself and I am going to go bonkers. I suspect he senses my frustration when I follow him around with a bowl. Help!!!!!
 

susanm9006

Willow
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
13,151
Purraise
30,219
Location
Minnesota
He may be on edge being new to your house and just not comfortable eating there yet. Don’t follow him around with food. Put it in his dish and leave it and him. Most cats, if hungry enough, will eat. I would mix mostly temptations with a little wet food and just let it sit there for a few hours. If he doesn’t eat, remove it and in a few hours try it again except with a little dry cat food mixed into the temptations. He may just pick out the temptations in which case I would break them up to make them mix in better and keep trying a blend of the two and then gradually decreasing the temptations.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

CatGuyMD

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 22, 2020
Messages
9
Purraise
12
I do know that I have been following him around with food samples like he has at a cocktail party. I will stop with that. He has adjusted so well, even sleeps with me. But after 6 days of minimal nutrition I am worried. Part of the problem is he is feeding into my anxiety. But a cat can’t live in Temptations 😂
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,429
Purraise
33,191
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
Hi. The Temptation treats do have some of the essential vitamins/nutrients in them, including taurine, so not an entire loss on nutrition. These are made by Whiskas, so maybe pick up a bag of their dry food and see if the taste might be similar to the treats? Once you getting him routinely eating again, you can start to 'test' other products for a gradual change over to something better.
 

di and bob

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
16,582
Purraise
22,956
Location
Nebraska, USA
Try some shaved deli turkey to at least get some protein in him, or a homecooked roast or cut up baked deli chicken. Then try to wean him off onto wet food. You might have to go back to cheaper foods, many cats prefer them, like Friskies shredded turkey and cheese, or Fancy feast gravy lovers. my cats have never refused Whiskas Purrfectly Chicken, it is a pouch food and smells good enough for us!
 

rubysmama

Forum Helper
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
25,278
Purraise
62,758
Location
Canada
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

CatGuyMD

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 22, 2020
Messages
9
Purraise
12
Since he's used to Fancy Feast, have you tried that? Since you have turkey, try beef or tuna. Good luck.
He refuses FancyFeast. I may try beef
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

CatGuyMD

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 22, 2020
Messages
9
Purraise
12
Hi. The Temptation treats do have some of the essential vitamins/nutrients in them, including taurine, so not an entire loss on nutrition. These are made by Whiskas, so maybe pick up a bag of their dry food and see if the taste might be similar to the treats? Once you getting him routinely eating again, you can start to 'test' other products for a gradual change over to something better.
I may take that Whiskas suggestion. He just ate about 12 treats and I tried to sneak in a Greenie treat and he knew. Refused it. Glad to hear he is getting some nutrition
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

CatGuyMD

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 22, 2020
Messages
9
Purraise
12
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

CatGuyMD

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 22, 2020
Messages
9
Purraise
12
Try some shaved deli turkey to at least get some protein in him, or a homecooked roast or cut up baked deli chicken. Then try to wean him off onto wet food. You might have to go back to cheaper foods, many cats prefer them, like Friskies shredded turkey and cheese, or Fancy feast gravy lovers. my cats have never refused Whiskas Purrfectly Chicken, it is a pouch food and smells good enough for us!
I tried with the fresh meat. He would not have it. I will check out your other suggestions
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
Temptations seems a rare instance of a brand that lives up to the commercials. Cats love those flipping things. Maybe he thinks that you'll give more if he holds out.

Find out the schedule the absentee feeders used, use that, and I suspect the cat will eat. Dry food has a lot of calories, a cat doesn't need a huge volume of it. What percent of a can of fancy feast and how much of a cup of dry has he been eating?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #13

CatGuyMD

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 22, 2020
Messages
9
Purraise
12
Temptations seems a rare instance of a brand that lives up to the commercials. Cats love those flipping things. Maybe he thinks that you'll give more if he holds out.

Find out the schedule the absentee feeders used, use that, and I suspect the cat will eat. Dry food has a lot of calories, a cat doesn't need a huge volume of it. What percent of a can of fancy feast and how much of a cup of dry has he been eating?
The problem is the owner is pretty much out of it and the lady who fed him came before work and stayed 1/2 hour, felt sorry for him and gave him treats. She told me she would come in the morning and saw that he eaten only a tad of dry but continued to waste the Fancy Feast but would scarf up the treats. I assume this is a behavioral challenge since the vet says he looks good.
He is so smart and I am an anxious mess. He isn’t at all. 😂
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
Well, there is something not adding up here. Temptations says their treats are less than 2 calories a piece. And cats need 24-35 calories per pound of cat. So how has the cat survived for 3 months without shedding tons of weight? Was this woman giving him a bag of treats a day? If you think about a human toddler that for three months was surviving on pizza, ice cream and cookies, it would likely be pretty dang hard to get him to eat baked chicken and there would be a transition period. So if thsi cat was getting a crazy amount of treats a day, I guess this becomes understandable.
 

Hellenww

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Mar 5, 2018
Messages
1,036
Purraise
1,533
Location
South Jersey, USA
Does he like catnip? I think a lot of treats have catnip in them. My catnip love likes most treats but the other doesn't like catnip or treats. If he likes nip try putting a spoonful of wet on a plate with a sprinkling of nip.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #16

CatGuyMD

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 22, 2020
Messages
9
Purraise
12
Well, there is something not adding up here. Temptations says their treats are less than 2 calories a piece. And cats need 24-35 calories per pound of cat. So how has the cat survived for 3 months without shedding tons of weight? Was this woman giving him a bag of treats a day? If you think about a human toddler that for three months was surviving on pizza, ice cream and cookies, it would likely be pretty dang hard to get him to eat baked chicken and there would be a transition period. So if thsi cat was getting a crazy amount of treats a day, I guess this becomes understandable.
I don’t know. I can only report what I have seen and the lady who fed him. She was not giving the cat extraordinary amounts. I have had the cat since Tuesday
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #17

CatGuyMD

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Nov 22, 2020
Messages
9
Purraise
12
Good news. It appears that the cat prefers his kibble on a dish rather than a bowl. On Monday after a weekend of no eating except Temptations, I put his kibble on a plate and was a happy guy. He is doing fine now, eating well. I have been frugal with treats
 

goingpostal

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Mar 11, 2011
Messages
852
Purraise
1,218
Location
MN
In a case like this I would have tossed the treats out entirely. The cat can and will eat kibble fine clearly because it's not dead and is holding out for the candy, likely just stressed in a new home. Last thing you need is a picky spoiled cat.
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
Wow, this is very instructive. Thank you for sharing, this will help us help others.
 
Top