Fish Fish And More Fish Aaarrrrggggghhhhhhhh

[danteshuman]

OK my 6 month old kitten is super picky about wet food. I’m trying to get him primarily onto wet food but lately I feel like his hall monitor always telling him to go eat his food! The problem? If it doesn’t have fish in it he just about flat out rejects it. He eats chicken flavor lil soup but that is a treat not a meal! So he has rejected fancy feast patte, won’t even nibble on tiny tigers gravy lovers (chicken or turkey or beef) and he eats a little of fancy feast gravy lovers (he likes beef better, turkey and chicken ehn.)

He is driving me nuts! I know a diet that is heavy in fish is bad for him. I’m about ready to give up and feed him one fish mixed with something else wet food meal a day and dry food the rest of the time. Help?

 

[tabbytom]

If it doesn’t have fish in it he just about flat out rejects it.

My boy was on fish diet when he was rescued at 3 weeks old. Knowing fish especially Tuna, after a year, I switched his food with Tuna/Chicken and slowly increased the chicken portion and in less than a year, he was totally switched to chicken only.

It takes time to switch food as they need time to get their system get used to a new food. So by mixing it which, he gets to taste the other flavor and texture. Once he's eating and accepting it, it's easier to switch over completely. Provided that your kitty is not a fussy eater

 

[verna davies]

You could try sprinkling a little bonito flakes on his food. It has a very strong fishy smell but can sometimes trick them into eating whatever flavour is underneath.

 

[mizzely]

I would try some other brands too. I know it used to be that all cats loved Fancy Feast but that hasn't been the case lately for a lot of people! My kitty was also flat out refusing foods (though it was the opposite issue, she hates anything with unnamed fish or tuna!) but was able to get her to eat other foods. Sheba, Aldi's brand, and American Journey are some cheaper options that she enjoys.

They can be so darn picky!!

 

[danteshuman]

He is eating the mix of half my bff tuna and chicken with half fancy feast gravy lovers ..... but the little jerk are around and left a few pieces of fancy feast. I might try mixing his tiny tiger gravy cans with something and see if I can get him to eat it.

He eats Sheba pate ..... if it is mixed with a lil soup

 

[mizzely]

Yeah I have to mix extra water, bone broth or kitten formula into pretty much anything except Tiki Cat Mousse for my kitty to eat it! I feel your pain lol

 

[Gizmobius]

I believe the beef and chicken pates of Tiny Tiger have fish listed as an ingredient. Maybe you could try to sneakily transition him first into foods that are mostly meat-based while still having fish listed somewhere in the ingredients? And then if that works go from there!

 

[daftcat75]

If he's not a texture snob, you can toss two different cans in the blender, including and especially that jelly stuff in pates. That will make it blend up nice and smooth, about the consistency of a milkshake. If you need it thinner, you can use kitten milk replacer or bone broth to get the most out of the added moisture. If you need it thicker, you can add gelatin. You can also experiment with adding shreds in after you've blended the pates to give the food a texture other than milkshake or thicker milkshake. Actually, if you use gelatin, you can let it set in the fridge and then chop that cat food mold up like a new franken-pate.

Get creative! Iron Chef, Feline Edition!

The hardest game show you'll ever play!

 

[danteshuman]

All the bfff foods are fish and some other kind of protein (except their tuna and pumpkin and their tuna to cool which is just tuna) so it is already mixed with non fishy stuff.

He nibbled on the fancy feast/bff mix ... then ate some dry food *sigh*

If I wasn’t worried about high fat levels of tuna/salmon possibly causing issues with your cat’s pancreas..... I would just let him eat fish everything! I just lost my bud to pancreas issues and asthma .... I want this kitten to live a long healthy life. Even if I have to trick, cajole or starve him into eating healthy I will try Bonita flakes once they arrive.

 

[danteshuman]

I can feed him kitten milk? He would love that has a treat!

 

[daftcat75]

It’s not kitten milk. It’s Kitten Milk Replacer. It’s basically formula for kittens.

 

[danteshuman]

I know what KMR is ....... it is what I gave him in a bottle when he was a baby. I just thought it wasn’t good to give to adult cats. I have been looking for safe dairy products for him. I was going to try lactose free milk next, but KMR would be better. That way I can just mix up a small amount as needed.

 

[daftcat75]

My thought is that when you're thinning cat food, since it's already mostly moisture to begin with, you want to make the most out of the moisture you're adding. That's why I would recommend using KMR or bone broth over plain water. As for milk or KMR as a treat? As long as it's within the treat budget (no more than 10% of his daily calories) and it's well tolerated (doesn't cause discomfort, gas, loose stools, or vomiting), go ahead and treat away if he likes it. I'd probably stick with KMR because it was formulated for cats. Though if he likes bone broth, that would make a great treat (and wonderful gut medicine) too.

 

[war&wisdom]

Wet foods with fish broth (like many flavors of FancyFeast and TinyTiger) aren't as bad as foods that list their first ingredients as fish. And they can be a good transition food, if you're patient!

 

[danteshuman]

Daftcat75 thank you for the texture tip! I mashed (with a mash potato masher) his fancy feast gravy lovers into his bff tuna & pumkin. The little punk gobbled it all up! He is a texture snob!! I’m going to buy him fancy feast pate to mix in with his fishy stuff! Yeah I figured the punk out! Bring on the healthy wet food in a few months muhahaha!!!