Changing Food, Picky Cat

[JayHasCat]

Hello all. I'm posting today to see if anyone has any suggestions or input on what to do with a picky eater. My cat had to go into the vet last week as he had developed a blockage in his urinary tract. Fortunately it was an easy fix and in terms of crystals, his are the least destructive. He's been put on medication, but his diet has to change. Problem is that he is the pickiest eater I've ever seen. He won't go near wet food and refuses to touch anything aside from Purina. I've already tried him on Eukanuba and he'll starve before eating it. Tried mixing it with some of his old stuff and he'll eventually just pick out his old stuff and leave the good food. Im picking up Hills brand today and will see if that makes any difference. I'm just not sure if the best option is to just leave it out until he gets hungry enough to eat it. I hate to do it to him but he needs to be on a healthier diet.

So advice or opinion is greatly appreciated.

 

[Vega's Dad]

Fancy feast pate/classic is from Purina and not too bad. You can find low carb, fish free and, most importantly, it's wet food.

 

[JayHasCat]

He won't touch wet food. He won't even eat out of a dish that had wet food in it at some point. As soon as he sees it's not his normal stuff he turns around and walks away. Won't even sniff it.

 

[CAtman85]

Mine's the opposite. He will choose wet food over dry any chance he'd get. What I'd do at times is to sprinkle some water to make his dry food more "aromatic" to him and then he'd eat it.

 

[jcat]

Is he supposed to be switched to a "urinary" food? The best known are Hills and Royal Canin, but Purina also has one: Urinary Tract Health Formula Cat Food | Purina ONE®

 

[xcourtney3]

Purina Pro Plan has a urinary dry too
Urinary Tract Health Formula - Dry Cat Food - FOCUS - Purina® Pro Plan® | Purina® Pro Plan®

 

[cheeser]

He won't touch wet food. He won't even eat out of a dish that had wet food in it at some point. As soon as he sees it's not his normal stuff he turns around and walks away. Won't even sniff it.

Please don't get discouraged. We found these articles very helpful when one of our kibble-addicted cats developed urinary tract problems, and we had to transition them over to a wet food diet.

Transitioning Feline Dry Food Addicts to Canned Food

Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type of Food (Canned, Raw, or Homemade)

 

[Ceracera]

Try putting his food bowl with a mix of his old and new food (but mostly new) in a different room. It has worked for me before.

Dont have food still in the old place when you feed him.

Try to have a new bowl if you can too.

 

[lisahe]

Please don't get discouraged. We found these articles very helpful when one of our kibble-addicted cats developed urinary tract problems, and we had to transition them over to a wet food diet.

Transitioning Feline Dry Food Addicts to Canned Food

Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type of Food (Canned, Raw, or Homemade)

Yes, it can be done! It just takes time. We gradually cut access to dry food so the cats were only having the bowl out at night... then we put a little on their wet food (kind of like what Ceracera suggested) and then we eliminated it entirely. Our cats weren't exactly kibble addicts but they definitely preferred it to wet food and waited it out. They've been on just wet food for 3.5 years now; we switched them over shortly after we adopted them.