Consuming Difficulties

[Kalsajo]

Hello, I have a 5 year old named Toby that's been given dry food for most of the lifetime. Today, however, I bought him some wet food (Pure Balance) for a new change, as well as his previous dry food (Meowmix). For a try, I opened the can and allowed Toby to sniff the food, and he was following the can everywhere I put it. I found a plastic plate for him and gave him a spoonful of the wet food. He ate it, but it seemed it was difficult for him to swallow (he was biting and biting with bits of the wet food falling out). After that, he didn't eat the other spoonful I gave. I thought it'd be because it was difficult for him to eat, so I mixed warm water with the wet food. He still refused to eat it. Did I do something wrong? D

 

[KarenKat]

I don’t think you did anything wrong. Some cats don’t like specific textures. Our boy Gohan seems to get annoyed at Pate that gets stuck in his teeth. Have you tried different textures like shreds or morsels?

 

[Kalsajo]

I don’t think you did anything wrong. Some cats don’t like specific textures. Our boy Gohan seems to get annoyed at Pate that gets stuck in his teeth. Have you tried different textures like shreds or morsels?

I've given him Friskies wet food that's been shredded, and he's only sipped the liquid part of it. I've bought one can of Fancy Feast for today, which he hasn't tried before.

 

[Furballsmom]

My boy does that with some foods, where he licks up the sauce/gravy.
I don't worry about it much since it still means he's getting hydration, and he gets calories from other food.

 

[duckpond]

Try the fancy feast pate, and they also have some fancy feast, the grilled i think that has tiny minced pieces. My guys have a hard time with larger chunks, but they are not fond of pate either. I usually find them small minced foods, or real shreds, like fussie cat, weruva or tiki cat.

If i have a larger chunk food, they like merrick backcountry rabbit, but i have to mash it up some, so its smaller minced bits with a fork before they will eat it.

 

[Saber_Wing]

I have ceramic plates I serve it to them on. They seem to like it better, and it's easier for them to eat, and lick the plates clean. I also add water, which helps. Pates are difficult that way.

 

[Columbine]

Hello, I have a 5 year old named Toby that's been given dry food for most of the lifetime. Today, however, I bought him some wet food (Pure Balance) for a new change, as well as his previous dry food (Meowmix). For a try, I opened the can and allowed Toby to sniff the food, and he was following the can everywhere I put it. I found a plastic plate for him and gave him a spoonful of the wet food. He ate it, but it seemed it was difficult for him to swallow (he was biting and biting with bits of the wet food falling out). After that, he didn't eat the other spoonful I gave. I thought it'd be because it was difficult for him to eat, so I mixed warm water with the wet food. He still refused to eat it. Did I do something wrong? D

You didn't do anything wrong at all. Struggling to eat in this manner can often be a sign of dental issues. Watch him carefully while he's eating to see if this happens (even to a lesser extent) with his regular foods. If he continues to drop food when eating, or shows any reluctance to eat, get him to a vet for a dental check up. I might be tempted to take him for a check up in any case, just to make extra certain nothing physical is going on.
The Healthy Cat: Eight Things You Should Check
Gingivitis And Stomatitis In Cats

 

[Kalsajo]

You didn't do anything wrong at all. Struggling to eat in this manner can often be a sign of dental issues. Watch him carefully while he's eating to see if this happens (even to a lesser extent) with his regular foods. If he continues to drop food when eating, or shows any reluctance to eat, get him to a vet for a dental check up. I might be tempted to take him for a check up in any case, just to make extra certain nothing physical is going on.
The Healthy Cat: Eight Things You Should Check
Gingivitis And Stomatitis In Cats

Thank you for your advice! We've decided to take Toby to the vet once November starts. I do know for a fact that even when my boy was a kitten, he's often dropped food from eating onto the floor. I'm assuming that he either has dental/physical problems, or he's just very picky. From what I've also seen, he had difficulties in eating large chunks of meat since he was a kitten, so I always assumed his teeth was weak. I'll be sure to read the articles.

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know how things go, and what the vet says .

 

[Kalsajo]

Quick update: As a last resort we opened up the Fancy Feast we bought and gave it to him. Surprisingly, he ate it all! He's never done that with wet food before, I'm seriously happy right now. Don't know how good or bad Fancy Feast is, but at least I know he enjoys some type of wet food.

 

[KarenKat]

Awesome, way to go Toby!!


We all try to feed the best we can, and that the cat will eat. I heartily cheer on any food picky Gohan will eat a large amount of. Definitely worth a celebration!

 

[Furballsmom]