My First Super Picky Eater

[jazee]

After many years and many cats, my new American Shorthair has taken the crown as the most picky eater ever. I took ownership of her recently at 18 months year old from a breeder who said she liked the Iams High Protein Dry Chicken+Salmon. With all my cats I've supplemented with wet once a day. My previous American Shorthair loved the wet although he was a bit picky too (probably a trait of the breed.) He liked flavors with Tuna which I eventually switched to a chicken-salmon that he liked to avoid the tuna and possible mercury exposure although as the third or 4th ingredient after other proteins and not his 100% diet, the health risk probably is not that huge but I like to play it safe.

I've tried my goto's including Tiki cat chicken shreds in gravy and several flavors of the Weruva BFF. And even my Kitty Crack trick, mix some canned sardine juice with any flavor wet. She ate a tiny bit of the Sardine mix the first time but hasn't touched it after. With my previous ASH I'd remove the dry food bowl during the day, feet wet in the evening and put the dry bowl back out for the night otherwise he's wake us up at 4am wanting to eat! But he would eat the wet whether the dry was out 24/7 or not.

Good thing is the new cat, even though smaller than the old does drinks close to about twice the water so she's well hydrated on a 100% dry diet. But she's very lean and I'd like to give her something hydrating that is high protein and higher quality than the Iams to supplement the dry food. I think because she probably was on a 100% dry diet all her first 18 months, wet food is just very too foreign to her. But turning your nose up at Sardine juice!? That's pretty incredible.

I know it's a process of trial an error but any suggestions are appreciated. I think I may just need to temporarily start limiting access to the dry food to encourage her to try the wet more.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, limiting food access isn't recommended, especially with a cat that's already lean. Take a look through this thread for tempters including fortiflora (it's a better enticer than a probiotic honestly);

Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!

 

[jazee]

Thanks! Yes I found that thread shortly after posting this. I asked the breeder for suggestions too this morning and just got a reply. She gave me a few to try but confirmed the cat never ate wet food which is the obvious issue. But she also confirmed as an article I read from a Vet did that going 100% dry is perfectly fine as long as the dry is of good quality and the cat is drinking an adequate amount of water. I'm having to replenish the water dish twice as often as I did with my 13-yo male that was twice as big (2X weight but not fat at all).

It seams the Fancy Feast Petites, especially the Roasted Turkey appear to please highly finicky eaters and even for a lower-end brand the ingredient list isn't too shabby. But now I'm sort of liking the idea of simplicity as long as the cat is drinking lots and not getting overweight on the kibbble. Maybe for the first time I have a cat best suited for an all-kibble diet.

Another recommendation from the Vet was if you go all dry don't use one single dry to make sure they are getting the best balance of nutrients, minerals and vitamins as the formulas in most all these foods of any single food isn't perfect. I think I'll transition her from the Iams High Protein Chicken & Fish to a 1/3rd IAMS 2/3rds Instinct Original Grain Free which has a superb nutrient profile relative to my goals (high protein, high calorie.) Should make a great blend with the IAMS. I was considering the Costco Kirkland brand too which appears to be excellent (although not grain free), but you have to buy it in such a HUGE bag! It would be like more than a half-years worth of food for my little cat I bet and would get stale.

Oh for anyone else interested this is the article I ran across which I think seemed like a pretty well-balanced informed take on the dry vs wet question.

Can Cats Live On Dry Food Only? Wet vs Dry | Walkerville Vet

 

[Furballsmom]

Another recommendation from the Vet was if you go all dry don't use one single dry to make sure they are getting the best balance of nutrients, minerals and vitamins as the formulas in most all these foods of any single food isn't perfect.

I've always liked this approach, good for you! I even utilize a couple different brands of pellets for my Betta fish

You could maybe buy that big bag and divide it up into freezer bags and freeze it. I've done that and it helps, even with the smaller kibble bags if you have the space.

 

[Alldara]

I always try to encourage people to do 1 can or 1/2 can per day with added water as there may be times when your cat can't have dry food in the future and having full-blown dry addict can get dangerous. (Such as if a dental extraction is needed in the future.)

But also as there is health benefits to wet.

To move a dry addict to wet though I recommend giving it as a once a week treat first. Just something manageable like a 1/4 can and to keep it the same food consistently.

A cat who is not used to different foods often needs the same food presented multiple times before they eat it. For example, Calcifer needs to try a food 3 times (small taste or lick) before he will realize it's safe to eat. He was born indoors at a foster home and was used to a full wet diet and still wouldn't touch new things. I had to boop his nose with the wet food the first time I had him try something else. (Not smear as that would be dangerous.)

Usually something inexpensive is best as they can be very tempting for a cat. But I usually stick to the kitten version as it usually has less additives. For example the Fancy Feast kitten chicken or Iams Perfect Portions kitten are low cost foods with fairly limited ingredients. (And no added peas, legumes etc which for me is vital)
What's in My Cat's Food?: Designer Diets, Grain Free Diets | VCA | VCA Canada Animal Hospitals

 

[ColorPointOtome]

Have you tried adding water to the dry food that the cat already eats and then starting to mix a small amount of wet food into their dry food?

 

[jazee]

Have you tried adding water to the dry food that the cat already eats and then starting to mix a small amount of wet food into their dry food?

No. I use Instinct Brand Original Dry Food which is pretty high-end with freeze dried raw coating which the water might create a mess or make the dry more prone to going bad/growing bacteria sitting out all the time.

This 2-year old girl is almost half the weight as my previous Male American Shorthair and along with the dry, he didn't eat more than 1/3 of a small can of wet food a day mixed with a half teaspoon of water max and she easily is drinking twice as much water as him!! Her coat is like a bunny rabbit, she's the Energizer Bunny all day long so I think the combo of a very high quality dry only diet (I do mix 1/3 Iams High Protein Salmon with the Instinct to add some variety to the formula), and lots of water has her at optimum health. Plus the all dry is optimal for her teeth health.

 

[ColorPointOtome]

I don't see that being a problem in the near future but when your cat is a senior or on medication that may cause nausea it might be. My experience is that vomiting prone cats do poorly on dry food. 2 year old is still relatively young for a cat so it might be good to condition your cat to accept some wet food so that you won't have to syringe feed your cat when it is older.

No. I use Instinct Brand Original Dry Food which is pretty high-end with freeze dried raw coating which the water might create a mess or make the dry more prone to going bad/growing bacteria sitting out all the time.

This 2-year old girl is almost half the weight as my previous Male American Shorthair and along with the dry, he didn't eat more than 1/3 of a small can of wet food a day mixed with a half teaspoon of water max and she easily is drinking twice as much water as him!! Her coat is like a bunny rabbit, she's the Energizer Bunny all day long so I think the combo of a very high quality dry only diet (I do mix 1/3 Iams High Protein Salmon with the Instinct to add some variety to the formula), and lots of water has her at optimum health. Plus the all dry is optimal for her teeth health.

 

[jazee]

I don't see that being a problem in the near future but when your cat is a senior or on medication that may cause nausea it might be. My experience is that vomiting prone cats do poorly on dry food. 2 year old is still relatively young for a cat so it might be good to condition your cat to accept some wet food so that you won't have to syringe feed your cat when it is older.

That's a very good point. Thanks!