My Picky Eater Blues..

[2cj]

Hi there! I hope someone can shed some light onto what to do in my situation!

I have two young cats, both around 2 years old. My Russian Blue is long, lanky, and extremely picky when it comes to his food. My American shorthair is small, round, and eats everything she can get her paws on. The Russian Blue (RB) eats slowly, carefully smelling each piece before he even considers taking a bite, while the American Shorthair (AS) does not care. She will push RB away to get at his bowl, even when hers is full! RB doesn't care, because he starts covering up his food halfway through anyway. Sometimes, he will refuse to eat completely. As of right now, he is eating way less than even half of the recommended amount of food.

I've fed them both Hill's Science Diet for Indoor Cats ages 1-6 for dry food consistently for over 6 months, and maybe for the past two months RB has not wanted to eat the appropriate portion. I purchased Taste of the Wild Venison and Salmon dry food to see if he would like that, but he didn't even try a bite when I mixed it into the Hills. Then, finally, I purchased some Nutro Max Cat Duck flavored wet cat food and he ate almost the entire can (1/3rd of the daily serving) in one sitting!!! I thought I had found the answer to my prayers!! But...the next day he, again, ate less than half of each can I gave him. All the while, AS ate everything and wanted more...

I feed my cats 3 times a day, and sit there and watch them eat so that RB actually eats and that AS doesn't steal RB's food. Each time before feeding time and bright and early in the morning, RB plops himself on my chest and meows until I feed him, so it seems he has an appetite so I tried a few things to see if it'd help with how much he eats. Thinking maybe RB needed smaller portions, I actually tried feeding him up to 5x/day but he wouldn't want to eat every other meal time. Then, I put him in one of the rooms in our house all day to see if free feeding was a good idea for him (in which case I would've bought one of those sensor meal bowls so that AS can't steal his food) but I think he was stressed out about being stuck in a room (though it's one of his favorite rooms in the house..) and he just let the food sit there.

I'm at my wit's end!!!!! I have a vet appointment scheduled early next month but I don't know what to do anymore! Does anyone have any advice, or am I just being overly concerned? I've read online that if he's eating at least a little, he's fine. However he's always ate much less than the recommended amount and he is eating less and less as of lately, despite wanting food at first. He hasn't lost any weight either (which is kind of weird)....so I'm very confused..!

 

[Hugospal]

Is he underweight? As long as he is eating and isn't underweight I don't think it's urgent, but it's always good to have a vet check him out, especially if his food intake decreases more.

If you are going by the directions on the bag, I can tell you that when I feed dry food, the recommended daily amount on the bag is way more than what my cats will even eat. Normally one serving for the both of them is enough for the day. Not sure why companies think one cat needs to eat a whole cup of dry per day but it could just be they don't take into consideration that indoor cats activity levels are much less.

Both of my cats are kind of just nibblers...they eat a little food, nap, eat a little more. I don't free feed but a portion of will persist throughout part of the day. Sometimes I come home from work and there's still some in the bowl. Sometimes they're pigs one day and others not so much. It's hard to tell if he's just a finicky eater like maybe he's tired of that particular food or there's a problem. Is he playing/acting normally?

 

[Daisy6]

Welcome to TCS. Thank you for joining us.

There is no reason to stress out about the feeding directions on a can or bag. It is not meant to be accurate for all cats. As long as RB is not underweight and likes a wet food enough to finish each serving of that, he will be fine.

You can look for a canned food that RB likes but AS hates so she will stop stealing the Nutro Max Cat.

 

[2BSH]

Have you tried toppers.? Does RB have a favorite treat? You can sprinkle that on his food to entice him to eat. Tuna water, pure bites ( my cats absolute favorite),stinky cheese, bonito flakes etc are all good toppers to entice picky eaters. Have you tried fancy feast. Most cats, even picky one usually love those. The classic pate kind are the best but any kind works to get your kitty to eat. My girl refused to eat once for two days and the one thing that got her back on track was fancy feast ( the delights with cheddar kind). I keep some cans on hand just in case.
I have two British blues and mine are real piggies and eat like there is no tomorrow kind of like your DS. Good luck! I hope your blue boy becomes a better eater.

 

[Daisy6]

You are wrong about the stinky cheese. If cheese stinks, it is not safe to eat. Also, cats are lactose intolerant.

 

[2BSH]

You are wrong about the stinky cheese. If cheese stinks, it is not safe to eat. Also, cats are lactose intolerant.

By stinky cheese I mean Parmesan. That stinks always and can be a good enticer for a picky eater when sprinkled on top of their food.

 

[Daisy6]

You are in the minority of you think Parmasean cheese always stinks.

If a cat likes something, he or she will want to keep eating it. Any food used as an enticer must be safe to eat long-term.

 

[lisahe]

Although I don't intentionally feed Parmesan cheese to our cats, they love hoovering up whatever drops on the floor during grating. (This happened just a while ago...) And I don't stop them because small amounts are fine: the aging breaks down the lactose so it's not a problem. (Here's an article from Prevention on the subject; there are lots more about certain cheeses being safe for people who are lactose-intolerant.) Although I wouldn't want to feed a lot of Parmesan cheese to cats -- it's a bit salty and one of our cats already has a habit of jumping up on the table if she smells it -- even Dr. Pierson mentions it on Catinfo.org as a strategy that she's used!

And I do have to agree with 2BSH that Parmesan is "stinky," in the sense of having a strong smell. I love the distinctive smell and so do the cats, who always seem to sense it very quickly (and head for the table) when it's in use.

 

[2BSH]

Although I don't intentionally feed Parmesan cheese to our cats, they love hoovering up whatever drops on the floor during grating. (This happened just a while ago...) And I don't stop them because small amounts are fine: the aging breaks down the lactose so it's not a problem. (Here's an article from Prevention on the subject; there are lots more about certain cheeses being safe for people who are lactose-intolerant.) Although I wouldn't want to feed a lot of Parmesan cheese to cats -- it's a bit salty and one of our cats already has a habit of jumping up on the table if she smells it -- even Dr. Pierson mentions it on Catinfo.org as a strategy that she's used!

And I do have to agree with 2BSH that Parmesan is "stinky," in the sense of having a strong smell. I love the distinctive smell and so do the cats, who always seem to sense it very quickly (and head for the table) when it's in use.

Thank you lisahe ! That’s exactly what I meant to say and you said it better!. I would never feed my cats lots of cheese but when my girl stopped eating for two days fancy feast cheddar delights got her eating again and a bit of cheese is better than fatty liver .....
And Parmesan cheese is sooo stinky. It’s such a smelly cheese that’s why it attracts the kitties

 

[lisahe]

I think Parmesan cheese is one of those things where a little bit goes a long way! Especially for a cat.

 

[duckpond]

I must have a weird nose, as well as finicky cats...lol. most people say Parmesan cheese stinks. but i cannot smell it at all. I have offered a bit to my cats on occasion, one kind of likes a bite or two, others are like naaah

 

[2BSH]

I must have a weird nose, as well as finicky cats...lol. most people say Parmesan cheese stinks. but i cannot smell it at all. I have offered a bit to my cats on occasion, one kind of likes a bite or two, others are like naaah

Oh my goodness it stinks to high heavens. I personally don't eat dairy and have not in years so maybe my senses are extra sensitive to the smell.

 

[lisahe]

I must have a weird nose, as well as finicky cats...lol. most people say Parmesan cheese stinks. but i cannot smell it at all. I have offered a bit to my cats on occasion, one kind of likes a bite or two, others are like naaah

You and your cats have a lot in common!

 

[BonitaBaby]

I have a very picky cat. I've tried different brands and flavors of wet food and put different toppers on top. It gets frustrating to, for example, buy a canister of bonito flakes that are not accepted by my cat and then have to be thrown out. Also, it's very frustrating to throw out perfectly good and supposedly great wet food because my cat says no.

I did find a couple cans of different brands to feed her, but after eating just a tiny bit, she'd stop and I'd have to try others. I think these were the ones that worked before they stopped working: Iams kitten food (accidental purchase and the only small can she almost finished the first time, but just that time), Fancy Feast pate, Sheba pate portions and Nutro Perfect Portions. No expensive fancy food works for her. Fortiflora as a topper did help her eat a little wet for a while, but doesn't work anymore.

I think if you have a very picky cat and you need a break from trying different wet foods because you've already tried what you've seen/can think of, just feed what s/he'll eat until you're ready to try again.

For my cat, she likes turkey only when it comes to wet food. She likes pate and gravy. No gelee. No strips. No a lot of stuff. I gave her and myself a break (too long though) from wet food and have resumed feeding her Nutro Perfect Portions turkey pate (I realized she doesn't like the other flavors) and now added in Nutro Perfect Portions turkey cuts in gravy. I'll stick with those until she stops eating them. Hopefully, never.

But I was really excited when I first fed her the Iams kitten food after I adopted her and she finally came out of hiding. She was very excited by the smell and ran to her room where I was putting down the bowl, crying "Now! Now! Now!" the whole while. I was so excited because I thought I'd gotten a cat that liked wet food, but nope. I have a very picky eater. After that day, she ate 1/2 can and then less and less and then really just licked her wet food until I gave up. A couple months ago I decide to try again after a year-long break, which was much too long and my bad.

 

[mikameek]

My cat suddenly became aggravatingly picky when she got sick. While she's getting over it now and seems to be trending towards full recovery, she has retained her finicky feeding habits. She was in and out of fatty liver syndrome (hepatic lipidosis) range for some time which is only fixed by getting calories and eating. I coudn't get her to eat anything with chunks (she wouldn't take the time to chew anything) so I tried basically everything under the sun to get her to eat.

Your RB sounds a lot like my Mika. She'd wake me up to beg me to feed, come running when I opened cans for food and even climb my leg or meow at me to be fed. Of course that never really amounted to her eating as much as she should. She would lick on something and seem to really enjoy it but then would turn up her nose to the next time I offered it. I couldn't get her to eat full portions of anything. I was buying 3 oz cans and offering half of that which she would or wouldn't eat.

When I was really desperate to get food in her I gave her tuna in tuna water. She would lick that and tear it apart (getting some into her) but she really loved the water. I also gave her KRM (kitten replacement milk) since it has calories and she would drink it. Kitten food was also given because its typical soft and easy to digest with lots of calories.

I first tried Royal Canin Mother and Baby Cat which comes in a mousse and was super easy for her to lick up. She ate maybe 1 1/2 of that before that was no longer good to eat (a whole day, yay.). I tried Fancy Feast and was feeding her on a rotation of those pates till she started to figure that out. I fed her Salmon, Salmon and Shrimp, Chicken, Chicken and Liver, and the kitten Ocean Whitefish with Milk. I tried Applaws toppers and foods but they were too chunky for her. I had her eating Lickable Treats (which isn't meant to be food so I had to give her lots since it was only 14 calories a pouch) Chicken Broth because it was a slurry liquid that she slurped up. She's tried Merricks pate wet food (and dry food now that she eating kibble again but the kibble was too small for her) and she only enjoyed the Chicken and Tuna flavors of that but still not enough to finish whole 3 oz can.

The vet recommended the Hill's Prescription urinary foods because she has had a pretty bad UTI which she liked the gravy of and sort of ate the pates but again, nothing stuck. I just recently got her on TikiCat as they have mousse pouches which have as many calories as a 3 oz can but are super high in protein. She's loving those and so far hasn't turned those up. She hated their canned food because they're actual slivers and chunks of the protein given -- again, not her thing.

My cat refused Friskies even though I've been told thats like crack for them. She also hated all Nutro-Cat food I gave her. I looked at doing Blue Buffalo wild wet food but I was suspicious and haven't bought any yet.

I tried basically everything to get her eating again with regards to putting parmesan cheese on top, FortiFlora (which wont work on her food) and tuna water/sardine water. Nothing really got her to eat more than before.

This has turned into a novel but I also agree that any eating is good. If your RB gets to the point that he's barely finishing small portions, you might consider syringe feeding. It's really unpleasant, especially if your cat is hard to medicate, but getting those calories and food into them is really important!

If you have any questions or want someone to talk with, this community has been so welcoming and great for me so I know they'll be incredibly helpful to you!

Warm Wishes and heres to hoping your RB gets a big stomach again!