how can a poor canned food be better

[micmit]

ya and when i stirred in the warm water to heat it
it ended up like a huge mass of wet food like a pudding
im starting to worry because she hardly eats any dry
now but when i started this whole switch thing
she was eating a quarter cup of dry food
i fear i may be doing worse by her

 

[orange&white]

How many calories are in the dry food? And do you know how many calories she's eating now with the wet and dry?

The wet food is going to have ingredients which are more digestible, versus dry food where a lot of it just gets pooped out, so she may not need quite as many calories of wet.

Rest assured, switching her to wet food is better for her. Transitioning can be a little nerve wracking, but you'll get through it.

 

[micmit]

i dont know the calories of today
she just had licks of wet food
and only ate a few pieces of dry
she still seems as healthy though

 

[micmit]

For a bit of a twist, I've always heard of transitioning from dry to wet. How about when going from a cheap wet to a higher quality wet? It seems logical that if a cat's system is accustomed to fillers and the other low quality ingredients, there would still be an adjustment. Don't know if I stated that very well, but I bet you get my drift.

i will probably do that switch too
but not until the transition
as alot of the food is going to
the trash right now

 

[micmit]

i will probably do that switch too
but not until the transition
as alot of the food is going to
the trash right now

i can probably go at least the next step up
in quality and cost

 

[orange&white]

i will probably do that switch too
but not until the transition
as alot of the food is going to
the trash right now

I would either put down less food at a time, or pick up what she doesn't eat after an hour and refrigerate the rest in a covered container until the next meal time. Then you can measure what she is eating...if you put down 1 tablespoon, and pick up 1 teaspoon, you know how much she ate.

Secondly, are you saying she barely ate anything at all yesterday? You may have to go two-steps back, then one step forward again, and give her more kibble if she looks like she isn't eating anything. Then start the transition forward after you know she is eating enough.

 

[micmit]

I would either put down less food at a time, or pick up what she doesn't eat after an hour and refrigerate the rest in a covered container until the next meal time. Then you can measure what she is eating...if you put down 1 tablespoon, and pick up 1 teaspoon, you know how much she ate.

Secondly, are you saying she barely ate anything at all yesterday? You may have to go two-steps back, then one step forward again, and give her more kibble if she looks like she isn't eating anything. Then start the transition forward after you know she is eating enough.

now she wont eat the dry
thats why im wondering if i did the right thing
doing this switch because at least she was eating
enough dry
but i will keep trying

 

[micmit]

im posting the feeding routine in case someone
spots something i can improve on

a new food every morning so i can hopefully find a few favs
put on clean saucer every time and cut up and warmed
put in clean storage containers
fresh water twice a day
and left out for 2 hours at the most
twice to 3 times a day (amount of can divided in half or thirds)
sometimes dry offered that she ignores
in between the wet
and no ppl running around or loud noises
so shes not distracted or startled

i cant think of anymore to make it better
but there might be something

 

[orange&white]

If you're opening a lot of cans at a time, you can smear the food into ice cube trays and freeze them so they don't go bad. Just take out a few to thaw (in the refrigerator) overnight, and take out a few in the morning to thaw for dinner time.

If she is now not eating kibble, but also not eating enough canned food then you may need to try some toppers: a tiny bit of tuna water, soft-scrambled egg yolk, 100% meat baby food, etc. I hear that the probiotic Fortiflora works as an appetite stimulant...you don't need to use a full packet, just a light sprinkle for the scent.

A few days ago, she ate half a can of food in one sitting. You may just need to give her a bit of time. If she didn't eat much yesterday, she should eat more today on her own without you changing anything.

 

[micmit]

i think i see 2 things i can still try
try that food again that she did
eat the half can of in the 1 sitting
and maybe reduce the time to
an hour being out
and then if not enough success
cut out the middle one

and thanks so much to everyone for
sticking with us while i do this switch

if no one minds can i keep
posting about it along the way

 

[micmit]

i think i see 2 things i can still try
try that food again that she did
eat the half can of in the 1 sitting
and maybe reduce the time to
an hour being out
and then if not enough success
cut out the middle one

and thanks so much to everyone for
sticking with us while i do this switch

if no one minds can i keep
posting about it along the way

o and i do have parmesan cheese i can try
sprinkling on top
while i go get other toppings if needed

 

[micmit]

well the second half can is out
with parmesan cheese sprinkled
on top
shes licked a bit and is now
ignoring it
its been out for 33 minutes of the 2
hours i leave it out

 

[orange&white]

Is her food bowl somewhere private - not a lot of noise or people walking around?

I'd pick it up after one hour, and try again about another hour after that.

 

[micmit]

i live alone so there is never anyone
walking around at her feed times

 

[micmit]

i live alone so there is never anyone
walking around at her feed times

didnt eat it
not sure what i will do now
it cant continue that she eats
none to very little like this

 

[micmit]

didnt eat it
not sure what i will do now
it cant continue that she eats
none to very little like this

many years ago, for a different reason, i had a cat
starve to death so i really want to be careful
but hopefully am not being over concerned either

 

[orange&white]

What day did she eat enough food the last time? I would leave canned and kibble out for her tonight. Measure how much you put out, so that you can see how much she ate.

 

[micmit]

according to my posts it looks like it was tuesday
that she last ate at least nearly what she should

 

[orange&white]

Did she eat overnight? If not, I'd try offering her a soft scrambled egg (74 calories and highly digestible) or a little bit of chopped chicken.

 

[micmit]

nothing overnight
but she ate 1/4 can of wet so far
and if i leave it out the
normal 1 -2 hours
she has 1.5 hours left
for a first feeding