Transitioning to Wet Food

TardisDance

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Hi, I have been trying to transition my cat to eat at least some wet food (monetarily wise, I can't afford all wet). I have reduced her dry food (Instinct Ultimate Protein) from a 1/2 cup to about 3/8 with a timed feeder and adjusted her feed times. She was fed 4 am, 9 am, 2 pm and 7 pm when it was a 1/2 cup. She would never quite finish the whole 1/2 cup especially on the weekends when our schedules are a bit erratic.
I changed to 4 am, 9 am and 10:00 pm for 3/8 cup total.

I've been trying Weruva and BFF since I've had success with feeding Friskies Lil Soups. This was before I changed her feeding times. I had fed at around 7 pm and she'd eat most of it and then finish it off by abour 11 pm. However the soups are quite expensive for what you get and there's been stock issues with certain flavors lately. So that's when I decided to give actual wet food a try again.

Here's the problem, She always been a grazer and never races to the feeder. I've been trying 7 pm feeds and she'll take some bites, then she'll maybe come back up a few more times. I tried earlier at 5 pm but she'll quite groggy because she sleeps most afternoons. I'll play with her and it's helped some to encourage feeding. She again take some bites and might return a few times. She'll then come up for the 10 pm dry feed and eat most of that. At about 4 or 5 am, she'll eat some more of the wet food, but she always leaves at least a few teaspoons. I've only been starting off a half of a 3 oz. can.

I tried breakfast and supper feeds of half a can, but she ends up not wanting the wet food for supper. She eventually will eat some but again leaves some left and might go back at 5 am the next morning to eat some.

Any tips? I may try rotating the half can so she she gets the new food on day 1, then a new food day on day 2 and then back to first food on day 3 and so on? I've had some issues with her eating leftovers where she laps all the gravy but leaves the meat (I've tried pates but she wastes even more).

Note: I tried just a 1/4 cup total of the Instinct dry food to encourage her to eat the wet food, but my spouse is worried that she'll just starve herself so I switched back to 3/8 cup. She's around 8 lbs. so she's very petite.
 
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TardisDance

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I have been leaving the wet food out at night for her and will add water and push it together in a pile if she flattens it. I may try more of BFF OMG. I bought some and then Weruva generously sent a bunch of cans of different types. I tried a BFF play which is a pate and she gave it a chance but didn’t totally eat it. I may try an OMG flavor again tonight and try the rest of the pate again tomorrow. I bought 6 pouches myself when I couldn’t find Lil Soups and then I got samples in the mail. I have 12 cans/pouches and I’m a little overwhelmed now LOL.

I really don't want to starve her of her dry since she's tiny, but I'm just a bit frustrated at her grazing habits. She was a rescue from a hoarding situation so I'm sure the dry I give her is much better than what she had. She drinks plenty of water and pees 4 times a day but does have occasional constipation (I see small hard pieces of poop on the floor every couple months). I think some wet could help.

I had tried various wet foods about 6 months ago and tried mixing in treats, dry food, etc. and she would pick around the food and make a huge mess around the floor (and I was using a mat!). I guess if all else fails, Lil Soups are back on the menu. I could only find Salmon at the local stores and none of the Chicken and Tuna she likes.
 

neely

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I've been trying Weruva and BFF - I've had some issues with her eating leftovers where she laps all the gravy but leaves the meat (I've tried pates but she wastes even more).
She sounds like she could be my cat's sibling especially since you mentioned she came from a hoarder, as did my guy. He only had junk dry food when we adopted him so I transitioned him to a better quality dry food at first. Then I tried introducing wet food but with no luck. Fast forward to a year ago when the only wet food he would accept was Weruva Paw Lickin' Chicken. He loved the gravy too! But the most recent cans have much less gravy. I go to an independent pet store and the employees have been very helpful. They gave me several Weruva and BFF pouches for free. The one he liked best was Pumpkin Lickin' Chicken in Pumpkin Soup but as you said, he lapped up the gravy and left most of the chicken. :rolleyes: I've also left the wet food out for several hours as Furballsmom Furballsmom mentioned without any issues and he usually but not always comes back to graze. One thing you might want to try which I just did was to buy some pure chicken or beef broth. Cats cannot have anything else in it, just the broth, no seasonings, sodium/salt, etc. You may have to search around for it but it seemed to help him eat his food better.

Best of luck, I'm currently on the hunt for a new wet food that might entice him. I'll be checking back to see if you've made any progress. Good luck! :goodluck:
 

kry

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Could it be that your kitty might not like the brand? Cats can get tired of wet food rather quickly compared to dry food. "Craved" is around the same price range, and maybe you can give it a try. The brand is stored in food tray rather than cans, so less food is wasted and you don't have to put the food out in the air for hours.

Personally I also don't like food putting wet food out for hours since I find that the food will go bad after 2~3 hours (color change).
 

Cheekiezsheek

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I'm in the same situation with my little guy at the moment as well. Whats worked for me is mixing a little bit of kibble in with his wet food. My boy is also weird with large pieces of meat that have broths or gravies, I've found that mashing the chunks up or cutting them up to be smaller often does the trick. Try experimenting with more brands and flavors if you're not already, I've had to play around with a few different brands and textures to find one he tolerates. I've found the brand Farminia to be of some success specifically their quinoa and prime line, it's not the cheapest brand but it may help with finding a brand she likes. I've also found the dryer meat can be harder for them to eat and thus they don't really like them so meats like chicken and other poultry can be a hit or miss.

Good luck I hope you find something that works for your kitty soon! :)
 
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TardisDance

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I tried mashing the pieces and I think it helped? She ate almost all except about a teaspoon of meat. The BFF tuna pieces are rather big. I tried Chicken & Tuna Charm which seems to be the one she eats the most of.

neely neely , she's definitely a gravy lover. The challenge is trying to find an animal protein she wants to chew through. I had some success with Weruva's Goody Stew Shoes. She actually inhaled the half can I gave her, even the meat. I gave it again the second night and she only ate the gravy. Maybe there's something to it and she just wanted variety. I only received one can of this flavor from the samples, but I also have Stewlander. I'm not if she's thrilled about duck (she wasn't with the BFF stuff), but I'll give it a go.
 
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maggie101

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Hi, I have been trying to transition my cat to eat at least some wet food (monetarily wise, I can't afford all wet). I have reduced her dry food (Instinct Ultimate Protein) from a 1/2 cup to about 3/8 with a timed feeder and adjusted her feed times. She was fed 4 am, 9 am, 2 pm and 7 pm when it was a 1/2 cup. She would never quite finish the whole 1/2 cup especially on the weekends when our schedules are a bit erratic.
I changed to 4 am, 9 am and 10:00 pm for 3/8 cup total.

I've been trying Weruva and BFF since I've had success with feeding Friskies Lil Soups. This was before I changed her feeding times. I had fed at around 7 pm and she'd eat most of it and then finish it off by abour 11 pm. However the soups are quite expensive for what you get and there's been stock issues with certain flavors lately. So that's when I decided to give actual wet food a try again.

Here's the problem, She always been a grazer and never races to the feeder. I've been trying 7 pm feeds and she'll take some bites, then she'll maybe come back up a few more times. I tried earlier at 5 pm but she'll quite groggy because she sleeps most afternoons. I'll play with her and it's helped some to encourage feeding. She again take some bites and might return a few times. She'll then come up for the 10 pm dry feed and eat most of that. At about 4 or 5 am, she'll eat some more of the wet food, but she always leaves at least a few teaspoons. I've only been starting off a half of a 3 oz. can.

I tried breakfast and supper feeds of half a can, but she ends up not wanting the wet food for supper. She eventually will eat some but again leaves some left and might go back at 5 am the next morning to eat some.

Any tips? I may try rotating the half can so she she gets the new food on day 1, then a new food day on day 2 and then back to first food on day 3 and so on? I've had some issues with her eating leftovers where she laps all the gravy but leaves the meat (I've tried pates but she wastes even more).

Note: I tried just a 1/4 cup total of the Instinct dry food to encourage her to eat the wet food, but my spouse is worried that she'll just starve herself so I switched back to 3/8 cup. She's around 8 lbs. so she's very petite.
I have similar issues with my car Maggie. She does not immediately go to her bowl when I put food down and does not finish. Instead goes back 2 more times. Adding freeze dried chicken,heating it up,and/or giving her food with pieces of meat. She loves against the grain chicken and cheese and simply nourish chicken recipe with tender morsels for kittens. She is almost 7. Really doesn't matter. Against the grain is very low in fat so its part of her rotation of so many brands
 
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TardisDance

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neely neely , I may have found wet food she actually likes! Weruva sent a couple cans of their Weruva stews (Stewlander and Goody Stew Shoes) in the samples package, and she seems to really like them. I’ve started dividing a can between breakfast and supper using a different variety for each meal. I‘ve been topping her food with a small spoonful of her dry food and I think it’s helping. I bought more of the same flavors plus others from Petco today, so hopefully she’ll like the other varieties. She’s been eating through the Stew’s Clues flavor tonight and so far, so good. Crossing my fingers that she accepts this food and doesn’t decide to reject it in a week.
 

neely

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neely neely , I may have found wet food she actually likes! She’s been eating through the Stew’s Clues flavor tonight and so far, so good. Crossing my fingers that she accepts this food and doesn’t decide to reject it in a week.
Thanks so much for the update, that's wonderful news. :thumbsup: Fingers and paws crossed she continues to eat the new flavors of Weruva stews. :crossfingers: :bluepaw: Glad they sent you some samples and she took a liking to them.
 
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TardisDance

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Thanks so much for the update, that's wonderful news. :thumbsup: Fingers and paws crossed she continues to eat the new flavors of Weruva stews. :crossfingers: :bluepaw: Glad they sent you some samples and she took a liking to them.
It’s definitely a great start! The closest pet store is Pet Supplies Plus and they don’t carry the stews. The only store that carries the stews is a Petco that is 20 mins away so my husband and I made a special trip just to buy them. She’s one spoiled little girl! I’m hoping that she likes at least 3 flavors so I can order in bulk online.
 
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