Picky Picky Eater

[leen and alice]

Aghhhh!

I m so tired of Alices "food drama" ... she always has been like this !(except when she was a teeny kitten she would eat dry food and boiled chicken+ potatoes and carrots from her bowl but I quickly learned that vegetables weren't the best thing to give carnivores on a daily basis) so I switched to wet food and she loved it! and wouldn't even stand the smell of chicken anymore! But gradually she started not eating by herself and eats very little so I stay with her for a lot of time adding flavors or putting in on the floor(cause she would NEVER eat from her bowl) or putting it on her gums ..every damn meal (except for dry food which is one meal at 6 am ) and now I switched to chicken again with dry food that I made into a powder so she really liked it and would even ate it out of her bowl! But then I tried giving her chicken liver for a change (just one time in a month ) but she hated it and believe me I tried every trick in the book but she just wasn’t having it (also she began sneezing a lot and had this weird gum infection which I suspected to be an allergic reaction so I gave her natural honey and rubbed it on her gums it seemed to fade away). So now even when I went back to boiled chicken she doesn’t want it and the house turns into a mess just because I m trying to feed her! what frustrates me even more is how I see peoples cats eating everything and anything .. and out of their bowls not leaving a single piece behind ! and Alice had always had this strange appetite ! btw she drinks water by her own , poops and pees well (Idk how since what she eats is breadcrumbs), weighs something like 7-8 pounds , 1 year and four months, currently on Friskies dry food but I will change it to Royal Canin really soon , I want her to eat from her bowl again,loves Friskies treats and dental treats from Gim Cat she goes Cray-Cray for them !, is becoming more playful than she was before,is strangely petite .


Oh and one more thing its behavioral: every time Alice doesn’t like the smell of something or is full she does this strange paw movement like shaking it as if it had water on them and walks away..I find it really strange tbh have you seen a cat do this before?

Thank you

 

[stephanietx]

Does she like dry food? It's more important that she eat, so if she'll eat dry food, feed her that. You can always offer wet food as a treat. You could also try some plain meat baby food.

 

[Ardina]

Ahh, I suspect Alice has trained you well in the methods of how to properly serve her.

Saipha had me trained for quite some time too - I'd follow her around with her bowl, feed her where she wanted, feed her from my hand - all in the attempt to get her to eat. And she got pickier and pickier.

Finally, I realized that all of my efforts were futile and started giving her some tough love instead. Food goes down for 20 minutes in the designated spot. If she didn't eat it, it would go away and not reappear for 3-4 hours. If she didn't eat it a second time, I would try a different food and give her a choice. Again, both foods would be picked up in 20 minutes, whether she'd eaten any or not. Of course, I never let her go more than 18 hours without food, but sticking to strict mealtimes and letting her normal hunger response motivate her solved a lot of her pickiness.

Of course, all this only applies to healthy cats - feel free to ignore this if your cat is nauseated or sick in any way.

 

[leen and alice]

Ahh, I suspect Alice has trained you well in the methods of how to properly serve her.

Saipha had me trained for quite some time too - I'd follow her around with her bowl, feed her where she wanted, feed her from my hand - all in the attempt to get her to eat. And she got pickier and pickier.

Finally, I realized that all of my efforts were futile and started giving her some tough love instead. Food goes down for 20 minutes in the designated spot. If she didn't eat it, it would go away and not reappear for 3-4 hours. If she didn't eat it a second time, I would try a different food and give her a choice. Again, both foods would be picked up in 20 minutes, whether she'd eaten any or not. Of course, I never let her go more than 18 hours without food, but sticking to strict mealtimes and letting her normal hunger response motivate her solved a lot of her pickiness.

Of course, all this only applies to healthy cats - feel free to ignore this if your cat is nauseated or sick in any way.

Oh my ! and I thought I was the only one struggling
Alice is a very healthy cat , shes active when she feels like it and lazy for the rest of the day so I will try your "tough love" method on her and see how it goes
thank you

 

[Ardina]

Cats the world over have figured out how to train humans - they motivate us with their cute faces and then turn into benevolent tyrants at the first opportunity. Good luck!

 

[misty8723]

I have noticed that if I don't put the dry food down for Cricket, she is willing to eat more of the Weruva. She will only get 2 flavors of Weruva and 1 of Soulistic - both have Mackrel. Prior to that, I offered her a wide variety of stuff from very healthy to junky and it was are you crazy? I'm not eating that! So she gets her dry food at night, and the wet 2 or 3 times a day. She's very healthy, I just would prefer she would eat wet and not dry so I could get them both off the dry. Most cats, you offer wet and they snarf it down, but not my little fuss pot.

 

[leen and alice]

Does she like dry food? It's more important that she eat, so if she'll eat dry food, feed her that. You can always offer wet food as a treat. You could also try some plain meat baby food.

Hello there,
I agree with what you said ..if Alice isn't eating at all but she is eating a bit and doesn't look underweight , but of course if she doesn't eat in 12+ hours Ill give her her dry food .

 

[leen and alice]

Cats the world over have figured out how to train humans - they motivate us with their cute faces and then turn into benevolent tyrants at the first opportunity. Good luck!

Their adorable eyes hypnotize us

 

[leen and alice]

I have noticed that if I don't put the dry food down for Cricket, she is willing to eat more of the Weruva. She will only get 2 flavors of Weruva and 1 of Soulistic - both have Mackrel. Prior to that, I offered her a wide variety of stuff from very healthy to junky and it was are you crazy? I'm not eating that! So she gets her dry food at night, and the wet 2 or 3 times a day. She's very healthy, I just would prefer she would eat wet and not dry so I could get them both off the dry. Most cats, you offer wet and they snarf it down, but not my little fuss pot.

Your cats eating routine is about as same as mine . The dry food bowl gets finished in a matter of minutes but any other food will stay for days at a time.. I just wish they put the same flavors for treats and dry food in regular wet food .

best of luck with your fussy kitty!

 

[fenya7]

Aghhhh!

I m so tired of Alices "food drama" ... she always has been like this !(except when she was a teeny kitten she would eat dry food and boiled chicken+ potatoes and carrots from her bowl but I quickly learned that vegetables weren't the best thing to give carnivores on a daily basis) so I switched to wet food and she loved it! and wouldn't even stand the smell of chicken anymore! But gradually she started not eating by herself and eats very little so I stay with her for a lot of time adding flavors or putting in on the floor(cause she would NEVER eat from her bowl) or putting it on her gums ..every damn meal (except for dry food which is one meal at 6 am ) and now I switched to chicken again with dry food that I made into a powder so she really liked it and would even ate it out of her bowl! But then I tried giving her chicken liver for a change (just one time in a month ) but she hated it and believe me I tried every trick in the book but she just wasn’t having it (also she began sneezing a lot and had this weird gum infection which I suspected to be an allergic reaction so I gave her natural honey and rubbed it on her gums it seemed to fade away). So now even when I went back to boiled chicken she doesn’t want it and the house turns into a mess just because I m trying to feed her! what frustrates me even more is how I see peoples cats eating everything and anything .. and out of their bowls not leaving a single piece behind ! and Alice had always had this strange appetite ! btw she drinks water by her own , poops and pees well (Idk how since what she eats is breadcrumbs), weighs something like 7-8 pounds , 1 year and four months, currently on Friskies dry food but I will change it to Royal Canin really soon , I want her to eat from her bowl again,loves Friskies treats and dental treats from Gim Cat she goes Cray-Cray for them !, is becoming more playful than she was before,is strangely petite .


Oh and one more thing its behavioral: every time Alice doesn’t like the smell of something or is full she does this strange paw movement like shaking it as if it had water on them and walks away..I find it really strange tbh have you seen a cat do this before?

Thank you

Hi Alice and mom:
I've read your thread now... how familiar! them, little manipulators and us - we are happy to do ANYTHING for them.
Thank you for the Scheshir info, I had no idea about it, I don't think I saw it in Petco. Will get more info on it definitely. I now am leaving for vacation. Wishing you best of luck and BON Appeetit always, Scheshir or otherwise !
Fenice and mom :-))

 

[leen and alice]

Hi Alice and mom:
I've read your thread now... how familiar! them, little manipulators and us - we are happy to do ANYTHING for them.
Thank you for the Scheshir info, I had no idea about it, I don't think I saw it in Petco. Will get more info on it definitely. I now am leaving for vacation. Wishing you best of luck and BON Appeetit always, Scheshir or otherwise !
Fenice and mom )

Have a great time on your vacation!

 

[leen and alice]

UPDATE:
So the past couple of days were .. kind of off?
Alice is skipping her meal times by sleeping and when she does wake up she doesn't seem hungry and wants to play..
I don't really know what the matter is with her since she appears to be really healthy..
And I just noticed that I haven't said that she used to eat Facy Feast of course even half of the can wasn't being finished daily and that was the same problem with fenya7 which was a really strange coincidence to read ! . or maybe FF doesn't appeal to most cats . And now when I want to give her the chicken she runs away from me or walks backward away from me ..! which is a really strange behavior.
So do you have any suggestions ?
Thank you

 

[Ardina]

Is she feeling hot/feverish at all? Is she sleepier than usual all the time? And is it just Fancy Feast that she's not eating or everything else too? Can you give her any food that is her favorite and that she'll eat reliably?

 

[maggiedemi]

You said she likes Friskies dry food, will she eat Friskies wet food with it?

 

[leen and alice]

You said she likes Friskies dry food, will she eat Friskies wet food with it?

Well shes pretty moody about the Friskies wet food since she like to lick all the flavor off it and walk away so I have to run after her to feed her just a few pieces.. I know what a spoiled kitty and so ungrateful as well!

 

[maggiedemi]

Try the Shreds, my cats like those better than the square chunks.

 

[sophie1]

I've noticed that my cats don't like to eat when they first wake up, and their favorite time to eat is after playing. The sequence goes like this: wake up - eat cat grass - walk around or lounge - play - eat food - groom - go back to sleep. What about introducing a twice daily routine where you play with her for a few minutes, then feed her a meal? And pick times when she's usually active and wanting to play. My cats' best play times are 7am and 10pm, for example. She might be less picky if you give her food only when she's most receptive to it.

My sympathies on the picky eating routine. It sounds like it's driving you nuts!

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

This is absolutely, completely off-topic and I only mention it because others have given great advice here and I'd be repeating them to give some of my advice... but I had to smile when you said,

... , I want her to eat from her bowl again,loves Friskies treats and dental treats from Gim Cat she goes Cray-Cray for them !, ...

because I actually know a family that named one of their kittens, Cray-Cray. lol! I think we all can recognize the kitten "cray-cray" behavior!
Hoping your kitty's food drama gets better very soon!