How to switch from dry to wet, with picky cats?

StefanZ

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I want advices and tips on how to switch cats who refuse to eat wet, from dry to wet??

As it is now, I try to give these my residents high end dry, as the least bad.  Orijen, Nutro Gold are a couple of examples. They eat meat sometimes, and sometimes tuna both for humans and for cats.

But I know wet is better, so I would like to change their likings.

As said, they are picky and meowing & demanding if not happy with what they got.  Especielly the younger one Vagis.  Who also got somewhat fatty with the years, so we cant let him starve until he eats what he got.  Besides, Ma cant stand pityful meowing.   :)

The older Muskis could perhaps be talked over, he nibbles sometimes a little on the wet we try with now and then.  Licks at least off the gelatine.  :)

They are healthy senior citizens, pure indoor.
 

aprilprey

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You will get tons of help here!  I just got my 12 yr old off kibble addiction, so it CAN be done.  Basically, the first step is to try any and all wet food products to see if one "takes".  Usually, the stinkier the better - fish flavors tend to work the best.  Pay attention to texture too - cats have preferences there.  Also try human baby food, meat flavors - read labels to ensure its just meat.

Crush up the dry food they love into a powder and sprinkle the canned food with it.  Maybe if they start munching on the dry food, they'll just keep going and eat the wet food underneath.

Above all, remember, if you offer a food day after day, it is eventually "not new"!

It took my 12 yr old about 2 months to go from kibble addict to now eating canned chicken with raw mixed in.  If she can do it, YOUR cats can.

OH, one thing I did not do that does seem really important is to establish a feeding schedule, especially if you have been doing the free feed with dry.  This gets them a little hungier, so that when you do feed, they are more inclined to try something new.

Good luck!
 

franksmom

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Stefanz I am wondering if they will eat meat if you could do a cooked or raw homemade diet? Also if they like meat maybe they will eat shredded can food like tiki cat, not sure if they have it in Sweden but they might have something similar? Not sure if you have already seen this sheet from www.catinfo.org but it has a lot of helpful tips on transitioning dry food addicts (http://catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf)
 
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StefanZ

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AprilPrey, Franksmom, tx for the tips.

AprilPreys many practical tips, I can surely try out several of them. 

Also, if Muskis begins, it may be so Vagis will follow his example.

Btw, Gerber nr 1 we dont have here, but I shall look for others brands. Even if it is made by Nestle...

Franksmom,  Im not sure we have this Tiki Cat, it doesnt sounds familiar. I shall google on it and look see what it is.  I shall also look again at this Catinfo.com.   (once upon a time, I did the proof-reading for the translation into Swedish, it was there I learned wet was better than dry...   :)    )

More tips are welcome!    :)
 

franksmom

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For my cats what has worked is to use toppers on the wet food. Mine love freeze dried meat treats called pure bites and I crush them on top. My cats really only like shredded, flaked or minced varieties and do not like pate. I still give mine some dry food because I worry they are not eating enough wet yet and I have one growing kitten (they eat about 3-4 small cans a day shared), so I give them one or two handfuls of dry usually at the end of the day as one of their meals to up their calorie intake. Grain free dry actually has a lot of calories so they do not need a lot. The nature's variety limited ingredient I feed is over 400 calories for one cup so I don't have to give them that much in order to keep their calorie intake on track. 
 

sparklexo

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I've been trying to switch my kitty onto wet for months and it's still a process, she doesn't like wet and prefers to just lick the gravy off it. The only way she'll eat it is if I mash up the entire bowl with some water until it's a soupy consistency, and then she laps it all up! It took 5 months of throwing out half-eaten portions of food until someone on here recommended I try making it more liquid for her. It makes sense, since she likes licking the gravy, she now likes licking the food, which is the same texture as the gravy. That's the only way she'll eat it. She still only eats a small portion at a time, but she now finishes the bowl and licks it clean! So that's definitely progress for us. She still gets a bowl of dry at night because she doesn't eat enough of the wet food yet, but at least she's eating it now. You can also try adding treats or toppers to the wet food, sometimes that entices them to try it. Try different brands and textures, cats can be picky and have different preferences about what they like. My cat is the pickiest critter to ever walk the earth, so if she can start to eat wet, yours can too, you just have to find what works for them and what they like :) Good luck!
 

aprilprey

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The only way she'll eat it is if I mash up the entire bowl with some water until it's a soupy consistency, and then she laps it all up!
Same here. I call it "Meat Slurpee".

When my picky cat got to the point of cleaning the bowl of canned food (AKA Meat Slurpee), I threw away the dry food.  If your kitty is used to a dry food snack at night, maybe you can now replace that with more wet food?
 

jcat

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Stefan, they're supplemental, not complete cat foods, but Applaws, Almo Nature and Porta 21 are shredded meat and/or fish like the Tiki Cat, and available in more flavors. They usually appeal even to dry food fanatics and might be a good way to get them started on wet. Another one that's very similar is Cosma. They're all available at zooplus.se The Fancy Feast so many people recommend here for picky cats is called Gourmet Gold in Europe.
 
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StefanZ

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Stefan, they're supplemental, not complete cat foods, but Applaws, Almo Nature and Porta 21 are shredded meat and/or fish like the Tiki Cat, and available in more flavors. They usually appeal even to dry food fanatics and might be a good way to get them started on wet. Another one that's very similar is Cosma. They're all available at zooplus.se The Fancy Feast so many people recommend here for picky cats is called Gourmet Gold in Europe.
Ah, tx for the tips. I saw and remember my court deliverer has Applaws and Porta.  Applaws has btw also began with dry, a not too bad variation as far as dry goes, I did saw.

Almo Nature I saw too somewhere, perhaps even with said court deliverer of mine. Its holistic, I believe, which I see as a plus. As I remember, the big fault with Almo Nature´s products was they had too little fat.

But as you say, if we see these brands just as supplemental...

I see zooplus.se must be a swedish firm, its no fancy US adresse.   :)

Tx also for the translation of Fancy Feast to Gourmet Gold.  Yes, we do have it, the Supermarkets in the town do carries it.   Perhaps even our village shop, I shall go and see.

Wonderful and easy tips, so even humble and non technical me does understand and probably can manage.   :)

Well done everyone, tx for this lot of tips, personal experiences and advices,

Jcat,  AprilPrey, FranksMom, SparkLexo,
 
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