Help!!

[Kefa]

Just over a year ago I found a very hungry, maybe 8 week old, Applehead Siamese on my front porch.

I fed him tuna, and then went out for cat food. He was sick while I was gone, vomiting and diarrhea, so I turned around and went back to the store for chicken breasts and sweet potatoes, and I cooked up a big batch. I added some taurine and some powdered calcium and cooked it all in real butter. He thought it was delicious and in a few days he was feeling great.

I gradually transitioned him to canned food, although he would not touch any Fish or Liver or Beef flavored foods.

I was worried he was bored though, and I used my creativity to make him puzzle toys. I used Whiskas Temptations in the puzzle toys. He loved the toys and the treats.

Fast forward, and now I have a cat that will eat nothing but Temptations, and only out of puzzle toys. Oh and grass. I bring him in a handful of fresh grass every day.

I tried putting different crunchies in the toys. He was not fooled. I took all the toys away, and fed him by hand. That worked, he will now eat the treats if they are not in a toy. I have spent a ton of money on different kinds and flavors of food. The only other food he will touch is Dry Purina Kitten Chow, and just barely and only if starving. He has always drunk a lot of water.

He will not eat people food. I made him some more chicken and sweet potato. Turkey, liver, ham. Nothing. I tried crushing the Temptations and mixing it with wet food, but he is not fooled. He will eat Frito's and Bacon, but only a small amount, so I think he is crunch addicted as well as digest addicted and corn addicted.

I am putting out Blue Buffalo crunchies with the Kitten Chow and he very delicately picks the Kitten Chow out of the pile.

We are in a battle of the wills now. It has been 2 days. He seems committed to starvation.
He nibbles three or four Kitten Chow pieces and then gets dramatic and vocal. I broke down today because he vomited up the little bit of Kitten Chow he did eat and gave him his Temptations. (This was before his daily grass nibbles, the grass doesn't make him puke all the time) His litter box habits haven't changed.

I don't think I have the will to go on.




.

 

[Neo_23]

Have you had the kitten checked by the vet? It is likely that he needs to be dewormed or he has parasites, especially since he was a stray. This may also be affecting his appetite. I would get him to the vet for deworming and also to schedule his FVRCP shots.

As for food - if he was a stray, he may be used to eating raw food (e.g., rodents, birds, bugs). I would try giving him some of your raw uncooked meats (just small amounts at first). If he takes to it, you can prepare raw food for him. There are lots of helpful recipes online (you want to make sure you're adding in all the right supplements). A couple great websites are catinfo.org and feline-nutrition.org. There is also commercially prepared raw food (both freeze dried and frozen varieties - just make sure you add water to the freeze dried if you go down that route).

Another trick to getting cats to eat if they are being picky eaters is to add a bit of Fortifloria probiotics to their food. There is something about fortiflora (probably the animal digest) that makes cats really love it. I would only do this until he starts eating the food you want him to eat. Or, you can try adding the temptations as a topper on some wet food and see if it will entice him.

Please definitely do get him to the vet though if you haven't already because more than likely he needs to be dewormed and that is probably what's causing his poor appetite and diarrhea. Also, fish is not a good protein to feed cats on a daily basis. It is fine as an occasional treat, but too much of it can be harmful because of the high amount of metals and magnesium.

Edit: Sorry, I just realized that you found this kitten over a year ago, so it may not be parasites. However, if he is an indoor/outdoor cat then it may very well still be. I would still make sure to rule out any diseases before tackling the taste bud issue.

 

[Merlin77]

Well, you have one crazy picky cat on your hands. Have you tried fish flavoured food? Most cats seem to like that.

You could try putting a little bit of wet food on each temptation treat, and see if he eats it like that.

This really makes me wonder just what they put in those treats... goodness!

Sorry if I couldn't be of more help.

 

[arouetta]

Sometimes you got to give in to the cat. I tried to give my cats a healthier food and Midway got really skinny before I gave up. If it helps, I feed Purina Cat Chow and my cats seem to be doing well.

Edit: I meant to include stick with the Kitten Chow if it's working. Better something than not eating the healthy stuff.

 

[Kefa]

Wow fast replies. Thank you so much!

Yes the cat has been to the vet. He is parasite free. He has been neutered and had all his shots. He doesn't even have fleas. He never had fleas. I don't think he was a stray. I think someone dumped him, and I found him very soon after that. He was more than willing to come to me and come in the house. I checked all the neighbors and posted ads, but no one claimed him. He looks to be pure bred Thai as they call them now. He is healthy and active on the Whiska's and grass diet but I just worry it's not a complete diet.

I will try dipping the Whiska's in some wet food, I hadn't tried it that way around. I did try crunching up Whiskas and putting them on wet food, and mixing them with dry food. That will work for a few bites then he figures it out and is not amused.

He doesn't have diarrhea anymore. I think he was just dehydrated and hungry when I found him and the canned tuna I gave him was too rich for him, but I think that incident put him off fish for the rest of his life. He does very good business in his litter box.

 

[Neo_23]

Seriously though... if all else fails, try fortiflora. It’s like kitty crack. It’s kinda pricy, but your vet office might have samples.

 

[Kefa]

This morning started with him puking grass all over the rug by the bed and missing the litter box with his pee.

I gave in and gave him his Temptations. He ate a few, drank some water, then puked all that back up.

All this cause I tried to get him to eat healthier food.

 

[dahli6]

Siamese cats are genetically predisposed to Pica. I think you should talk to your vet about getting some bloodwork done at least and making sure that he is healthy and doesn't have any underlying problems that wouldn't be apparent in regular physical exams and then move on from there.
He can survive on the cat treats but he will eventually exhibit a worsening condition, the same as a human would if they only ate junkfood.

 

[Kefa]

That is what I am worried about. I even bought the All Natural Temptations cause they say they were complete and balanced. After the events of this morning I am really concerned.

 

[maggiedemi]

Try Purina Cat Chow Complete in the blue bag. Also, Friskies Shreds canned food. That's all my picky cats will eat. I only give the fish flavors once a week, too much fish is bad for male cats. I think you're only supposed to give like 10 of those Temptations treats per day. They make Temptations hairball treats too that you can give every other day. If your cat is puking up grass, he might have hairballs.

 

[Kefa]

He won't eat fish. Not even fish flavored Temptations. We have a MANDATORY (according to him) brushing session every day. I have yet to see my first actual hairball. I tried the Purina cat chow complete. No. For awhile, he would lick all the Juice from shredded canned food but he won't even touch it anymore. I wish you could get sample packs of dry food.
I give all the bags of stuff he won't eat to the local shelter though.

I mopped all the floors with lavender bleach while he was resting. He got up, had some tempations, and some water, and is now happily rolling all over the dry floors because he does that when I use Lavender bleach. Because cat.

Going to give it a week and then try again with dipping his tempations in wet food.

I am even considering getting another cat to see if competition for food makes him rethink his position.

 

[Neo_23]

He won’t survive on the treats... I wouldn’t wait a week. The treats don’t have the nutrients he needs. He will end up with a deficiency that could be fatal. Please take him to the vet as soon as possible.

 

[Kefa]

Actually the vet said they do have all he needs on the phone. Temptations All Natural line. And he has always been a good water drinker, even back when he did eat wet food. Also, the daily grass serving seems to help with his BM's, they are usually perfect. His litter box habits are exactly the same as when he ate wet food in fact. Same amount of everything. But we have an appt on Tuesday, because before we try again I do want to make sure he is fine. I don't want him to be a one food cat.

BTW I did get some Blue Buffalo Treats. They looked exactly like Temptations. But in reading the ingredients, they DON'T have ANY vitamins or minerals or Taurine added.

 

[maggiedemi]

I don't think a cat can survive on treats alone. Cats need a lot of Taurine or they can go blind. This really worries me that your vet says he can live off of treats. I would never give more than 10 of those Temptations per day. I don't think they are good for the kidneys. Is there a different vet you can go to?

 

[Kefa]

The Temptations have Taurine. Since I made my own cat food years ago I was well aware of the Taurine issue, which is one reason I picked the Temptations over other treats. I would worry about his Kidneys too if he didn't drink at least a cup of bottled water a day. But he does. In fact I give him bottled water because we have hard water here and I thought he was drinking too much of that.

PS. He will not drink water out of a bowl. He drinks it out of a giant Buddy Mug that used to be mine. If the water is too low in the Mug for his pleasure, he dumps the whole mug on the floor. Thus he ensures he always has fresh water. Because cat.

Did I spoil him...nah not too much...

PS. Spiders are also high in Taurine. He eats those too. !!

 

[maggiedemi]

I don't think it has enough. Those are suppose to be treats, not their whole diet. This really, really worries me. I would get a new vet.

 

[Kefa]

The vet didn't say they were ideal, just that he didn't think they would cause a serious deficiency problem. But that is why we are having a blood test on Tuesday!! Also because trying to starve him into submission made him sick. He is fine today, and back to his normal demanding self. But I have a new cunning plan. He always would eat a few Kitten Chow pieces before pouting. And I taught him many tricks using the treats. So tonight, I gave him five pieces of kitten chow. He ate them, and before he could start pouting, I gave him one temptation treat. Then I gave him five more Kitten chows, and told him he was a good boy. He ate them, and got another Temptation. We did this until I felt he had had enough. No pouting. No histrionics. It's not ideal, I want him off grain, but it's better than nothing. If he gets the idea he has to eat something ELSE before he gets a treat, which he seems to have figured out, we will try to transition to wet food.

 

[dahli6]

Actually the vet said they do have all he needs on the phone. Temptations All Natural line. And he has always been a good water drinker, even back when he did eat wet food. Also, the daily grass serving seems to help with his BM's, they are usually perfect. His litter box habits are exactly the same as when he ate wet food in fact. Same amount of everything. But we have an appt on Tuesday, because before we try again I do want to make sure he is fine. I don't want him to be a one food cat.

BTW I did get some Blue Buffalo Treats. They looked exactly like Temptations. But in reading the ingredients, they DON'T have ANY vitamins or minerals or Taurine added.

Taurine is naturally found in raw meat. If the treats are made using raw dehydrated meat and a binding agent there may still be taurine in it. Cooking destroys it which is why it is added to commercial catfood.
I am not going to suggest any potential helps until the bloodwork and stuff comes back. You know your cat, you trust your vet.
How much of the treats does he usually eat per day? How much does he weigh?

My Siamese had Pica, she ate ramen, potato chips, ice cream. She was indoor outdoor so she also killed things and ate them.

 

[prairiepanda]

The Royal Canin Aging 12+ kibble has the same shape and texture as Temptations treats; crunchy rectangular pockets with soft filling inside. It's expensive, but it might be an easier transition to kibble. Right now you're trying to change the taste, texture, and appearance all at once, but with that Royal Canin food you would only be changing the taste for now. I've used it successfully in the past to wean cats off of Temptations, although I've never seen one quite as addicted as your cat.

 

[lisahe]

To add to what dahli6 mentions about Siamese cats and pica, Siamese cats are also very prone to digestive issues like food allergies and sensitivities. We adopted two Siamese mixes and that was one of the first things our (cat specialist) vet told us when she saw them the first time. And they quickly proved her right, though they were also still young! They're doing very well on a diet that's largely raw food, plus homecooked and a bit of canned food.

I'm glad, Kefa , that you want to switch your cat -- what is his name, by the way? -- over to wet, grain-free food. Beyond that being a better diet than Temptations (I know you already know that!), particularly for a Siamese cat, it's not inconceivable that something in the Temptations is what's making him barf. You've probably already tried using Temptations as a "topper" on wet food, sprinkling some on top to entice him to eat but if not, it might be worth trying. Pure Bites chicken treats always seem to work to get our lynx mix to eat: I sprinkle a little of that on her food and she polishes it off. A nugget of Stella & Chewy's (raw food) often has a similar effect. (I'm also trying the treat-after-eat tactic, though it's failed before...) And you've probably already tried feeding Nutro Natural Choice canned food but I'll mention it just in case. FWIW, a lot of picky cats seem to like it, especially the minced chicken and chunky chicken loaf.

I like prairiepanda 's thought on the Royal Canin food... maybe that would be a good way to start getting away from the Temptations, if only to get your cat eating something that tastes a little different? Our previous cat was also fixated on Temptations. They're a tough one to get rid of.

Good luck! I hope the blood tests go well and you can get some good ideas from your vet.