Help!!

[Kefa]

Thanks guys! I will check out all your very good food suggestions. And don't worry, he is healthy as hell. He weighs 9 lbs. The scale is one of his "bases" so he is easy to weigh. He has a bit of belly fat. He only started puking when I tried to starve him into eating something else. Otherwise he rarely pukes, even when he has his daily grass nibbles.

Even before the Temptations addiction he was picky as hell. I tried to get him off Kitten Chow many times, but he never would transition to any other dry food. I thought okay that is cool, we will just do wet food.

But he would only eat chicken and turkey flavor and he wouldn't eat Pate, even though I made him Chicken breast and sweet potato puree and he gobbled that up as a kitten. I had moved him from the homemade puree to flake/gravy canned food and that was all he was going to eat.

So even before this happened I had a cat that would only eat Purina Kitten Chow and and Chicken or Turkey flavored Flake/Gravy food and grass and the occasional spider or pill bug or fly. And Temptations CHICKEN flavored treats.

Seriously, I tried sharing everything with him. Ice cream, milk, cheese, my chicken, my hamburger, my turkey, my beef, my tuna, my fish, even chicken liver and beef liver. He would always come see what I was eating and I would always offer him some. No matter what it was. The only two things he ever even TRIED to eat were Frito's Corn Chips and Bacon. I put ice cream, heavy cream, butter, sour cream, ect on his paw, and he instead of being happy to lick that off he was indignant about it.

He doesn't have Pica. He doesn't eat/chew on weird things. He doesn't have digestive problems. I envy him his regularity and formation even. I have IBD. He doesn't.

There is another addiction factor here. He used to get his Temptations for doing tricks or solving puzzles. Seriously I made him over 15 different puzzle toys. I am thinking of sharing some of my homemade designs on this site. The first thing I had to do once he stopped even licking the gravy from his canned food was make him eat food that wasn't in a puzzle.

I have replaced the Puzzles with a whack a mole type homemade box and a hide and seek box and some tinfoil turtle shells that he loves to run under and then crawl around with on his head.

I have totally messed Homer up with only the best of intentions. But on to the good news. This morning I gave him a handful of Kitten chow and he ate it all up. Then looked at me and I gave him five Temptation treats. So now he expects to be rewarded for eating his Kitten Chow and he expects to be basically hand fed. Am I winning? Damned if I know.

Meanwhile, other than the two days of stubborn near starvation and the resulting sickness, nothing else has changed. Litter box is fine, activity level is still really high. And no more puking.

I will update again when we get the results, although I expect them to be fine. And I have to go, it's play time !

 

[maggiedemi]

Good boy, I'm glad he ate the handful of Kitten Chow. That was a good idea, to give him the treats after he eats the handful of food.

 

[Kefa]

By the way all, I love this site. I love how much you all care. I am grateful for all the support. I have never dealt with food problems like this. And I take all your suggestions and ideas very close to heart. Especially the food suggestions, I will buy and try anything at this point. I think when I go to the vet I will look for some Royal Canin and see if he will eat that out of a puzzle. I haven't tried Nutro Natural Choice but if its chicken flavor I will give that a try too. I read some cats really like the FF creamy stuff, I think I have tried it but will try it again. I read another thread about the "size" of the grain free food and am wondering if that isn't part of the problem there.

 

[Neo_23]

Have you tried any foods that are more than 95% meat? I find that with my kitten, he gets especially excited with foods that have higher meat quantity. This would be brands like Northwest Naturals, Nature's Variety, Primal, Rawz, etc (some of these are raw, but some cats go crazy over raw, so you might try it if you haven't yet).

 

[Kefa]

We are doing well on our Kitten Chow and Temptations Rotation. I say "eat" and point at the Kitten Chow. Then good boy while he eats it. I am hoping to transition this to getting him to eat something else on command. Maybe. I think he has a bit of constipation now though.

 

[Kefa]

oh yes, I will look into raw foods. I was thinking that might be the next thing I try with my new "eat" command since I have never tried to offer him raw food, it might surprise him into actually trying it.

 

[Willowy]

Some treats are "complete and balanced". My cousins raised their kitten on treats. . .I'll see if I can find which brand. I mean, it's not exactly ideal but those treats are basically just repackaged kibble. Um, yes, it looks like most Temptations varieties are complete and balanced Cat Treats - FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions | TEMPTATIONS™ . So it's not gonna kill him; they're basically the same quality as Kitten Chow. Of course I'm sure you still want to get him on something better (and less expensive, lol), but those treats are as good as any lower-quality kibble so it's not an emergency.

Will he eat cooked chicken?

 

[Kefa]

No. He won't. I would really like it though if he began to see other things as food. Non Carb things. It concerns me that he is so picky. He has even decided he only wants One type of grass. I wish I knew what was going on in that silly little cat brain of his.

The Temptations aren't really that expensive. I try to hold him to 130 treats a day, or 260 calories, but now I am mixing in Kitten Chow which is even higher in calories.

 

[Kefa]

I get him the All Natural Temptations. They say they have more vitamins and minerals. One thing about having a picky cat though, I never have to worry about leaving things around or him getting in the trash for chicken bones. He loves to watch the birds and squirrels I feed on the porch. I tease him by saying "You know if you caught one you wouldn't eat it?"

 

[Willowy]

The Temptations aren't really that expensive.

LOL, if you add it up---they're usually around $1.50 for the bag, right? And the bag is 2.47 ounces. Which is over $9.50 a pound! Bet you never thought of it like that!

I get him the All Natural Temptations. They say they have more vitamins and minerals.

Yeah, they don't look too bad. Chicken meal is the first ingredient, protein is 30%, fat is 17%. . .I'd compare it to Purina ONE, which isn't a terrible food, though not top-quality either. He'll be OK while you work on it .

 

[Kefa]

Thanks! He seems really healthy and happy and his coat has a nice shine and is soft.

 

[Kefa]

Homer is healthy. Vet called, his blood work from yesterday came back fine. And the vet told me that Royal Canin is made by Mars, which is the same company that make Temptations, although Royal Canin is made in South Dakota, and Temptations are made in Canada. He said not to worry as long as Homer was drinking a lot of water. The grass eating is NOT a folic acid deficiency, but good fiber for him on his crunchy diet. He is not overweight, even though he does have a bit of belly fat. So all good. Although the Vet did say that Johnson grass was not a good choice.

Meanwhile, he will eat his Purina Kitten Chow now mixed with a few Temptations, but the vet said to try to move him to some kind of adult food as the Kitten Chow was high in calories. So I will go get some Royal Canin today.

Dipping his treats in Wet food kind of worked a bit. He ate some of dipped pieces, but then turned his little Royal nose Up.

 

[Willowy]

I'm not sure he'll like Royal Canin. None of my cats ever have :/.

I'd recommend Purina Beyond. It seems to have the flavor cats like but still has reasonably healthy ingredients. Well, whatever you get, get a smallest bag in case he doesn't like it.

 

[Kefa]

I really wish you could get small sample bags of dry cat food. Why isn't that a thing?

I am torn between buying the Royal Canin that has the same texture as Temptations or another Purina product because he likes their kitten chow. I need to start saving the bags of the stuff he won't eat or keep a list, I am beginning to forget what he has refused. I know I tried Blue Buffalo, every Iam's product, and some of Purina's line already along with some others.

Thank you again to everyone in this thread! May your cats never need to use their 9 lives!