Kitten wont eat wet food..unless its Sheba :(

[Geekchic36]

Hoping someone can give me some advice since I'm kind of at the end of my tether now and have exhausted nearly all possibilities..my male kitten who's 21 weeks eats his biscuits (James wellbeloved turkey) with no issues but when it comes to wet, well I've tried them all, from hills to whisks, blink to lily's kitchen pate, he's tried them all, and rarely eats 3 mouthfuls, just goes back to his biscuits..I've tried mixing biscuits in, mashing up the food (if it's meat pieces) adding water to the pate types..nothing works, the breeder where I bought him said she'd fed all the kittens Sheba, which I feed my older cat and ill admit to trying him on a half pouch and it's the only time he's ever eaten a full amount of wet food. Obviously this isn't ideal since its an adult cat food so I don't want to cave in and give him it. I'm under the impression that a dry only diet isn't great for cats, tried to call my vet to get him checked over but they deem it as a non emergency and have a backlog of patient's, I'm hoping someone has a clue what I can try since I've never had this issue with a cat before now.

 

[Geekchic36]

Obviously I meant whiskas not whisk lol

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I would say if he'll eat Sheba and nothing else wet, then feed him some of that on a daily basis so he doesn't become totally dependent on eating bisquits, but continue feeding him the dry food as well since I'm guessing that food is either an "all stages" or a "kitten" food. In a few months he should be fine to eat only Sheba if you want to transition him to an all wet diet.

BTW, you are in Europe, no? (I'm guessing by your use of the term "bisquits" for dry food. I ask because it will help any other posters in giving you any food options. )

 

[Geekchic36]

I would say if he'll eat Sheba and nothing else wet, then feed him some of that on a daily basis so he doesn't become totally dependent on eating bisquits, but continue feeding him the dry food as well since I'm guessing that food is either an "all stages" or a "kitten" food. In a few months he should be fine to eat only Sheba if you want to transition him to an all wet diet.

BTW, you are in Europe, no? (I'm guessing by your use of the term "bisquits" for dry food. I ask because it will help any other posters in giving you any food options. )

Yes sorry I'm in the UK, yes the James wellbeloved is for kittens. I'll try that I was just concerned he wouldn't grow properly. I've had had a few cats now and he's the first one that hasn't eaten anything in front of him.

 

[LTS3]

V verna davies do you have suggestions for UK foods?

My kitten doesn't like "posh" expensive wet cat food!
Best Wet Kitten Food: Pouches/ Trays :-)
UK Cat lovers, please advise new mummy
Commercial Wet Kitten Food UK

 

[daftcat75]

As long as Sheba or any other "adult" cat food says it is appropriate for "all life stages", then you don't need to feed specifically kitten food. Just feed him as much as he wants to eat. That's more important. Kittens are bottom-less pits, or so I've heard. It's been a long time since I had a kitten in my care.

 

[verna davies]

Have you tried Proplan or Iams? I'm fairly sure that if your kitten wont eat it, Pets at Home will give you a full refund but check when you buy from them. Is there a favourite treat he likes, if so crumble one or two up and mix in with the wet food, Dreamies works well. Also if he likes tune, pour some of the juice on the wet food

 

[Geekchic36]

Yes tried every brand and tried the treat thing and tuna juice, he eats a couple of mouthfuls and leaves the rest, as I said the only food he'll eat and finish is Sheba, I've even tried mixing a spoonful of that into kitten food, but he'll manage to pick out sheba and leave the kitten food! He's very intelligent, think it's the maine coon in him! (He's a maine coon cross)

 

[Flybynight]

If the breeder was feeding him Sheba, then likely he sees that as food. If ate from a small kitten.

Dry food is sprayed with animal digest to make it appealing to cats.
If you leave dry out it will be harder to transition to all wet. And yes, as you said dry especially is not ideal for male cats.

Have you tried Thrive or Cosma snacks as a topper? They are freeze dried raw so healthier than some other snacks.
See if he will eat them as a treat - then you can try crumbling as a topper for other wet food.