Very finicky cat

[nerdgirl5]

Hi all,

I have two cats, both about a year and half. The girl, Emma Gomez, is a month older and quite a bit bigger (around 11 1/2 pounds), the male, Huey, is smaller and about 9 1/2 pounds. Huey has ALWAYS had eating issues. Meaning he eats, walks away, gets distracted, comes back, takes a few bites, walks away. They're both very active and playful. Both poop normally.

Lately, Huey is eating less. He hasn't lost any weight--if anything, maybe an ounce or two, but nothing serious and he's not emaciated. I suspect his lack of eating has to do with the humidity (I keep the air conditioner on). That said, he'll run and eat junk food (treats--I give freeze dried chicken) or dry food and gobble it up. But leaves about 3/4 of his bowl of wet food. I do not want to serve him just dry (I'm concerned about lack of moisture). I recently started giving him bone broth (made for cats and vetted by my vet). He laps it up. Maybe he's just sick of wet food.

I'm looking for suggestions to get him to eat more. Should I just give him dry food and bone broth after? And try to get him to eat a little wet?

Also looking for suggestions to get Emma to stop eating Huey's food (which she goes--she gobbles ANYTHING down).

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
There are suggestions in this thread that may be useful, - also have you considered a microchip activated feeder for Huey?

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

 

[nerdgirl5]

Thank you! I will try some of these suggestions. FYI, right after I posted, I took the bone broth powder (I buy Native Pet which is a chicken powder you add water to), sprinkled it on his wet food and he ate it. He also ate a small handful of kibble. I think he's just sick of wet food (he literally came running into the kitchen when I was getting the kibble out and just wanted kibble or treats).

I've never heard of a microchip activated feeder. Neither are microchipped. I was actually planning on taking them to Petco right before the pandemic (the rescuer I got them from was supposed to microchip both but didn't). I'll explore for down the line.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Furballsmom]

You're so welcome! These two databases might be useful as well

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

Canned Cat food Spreadsheets

 

[nerdgirl5]

Thanks!

 

[Furballsmom]

absolutely, and I'm thrilled to hear he's eating better!

 

[nerdgirl5]

Thanks. I'd still like to see him eating more so I will be putting the toppers on. I just ordered Dr. Elsey's dry (which has low carbs) so I feel better about it for kibble in case that's mostly what he wants.

THanks again for the tips!

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm glad he has you

 

[nerdgirl5]

Thank you! I'm glad I have him! (and her!)

 

[danteshuman]

Some cats are just finicky eater. Cats love dry food because they spray the outside of the food with animal fat so cats will eat them. Dry food is like Frosted Flakes for cats! So that is why cats prefer it over the wet.

I would suggest giving him 1 dry food meal a day and wet food meals the rest of the day. Giving him cat safe broth is a great way to get more fluids in. Food toppers like Bonita flakes or dried shrimp or even freeze dried salmon or duck are great ways to get your picky eaters to eat their food. The other thing you can try is mixing his meal into 1/2 dry and 1/2 wet.

You can feed her using slow feeder dishes to help slow her down.

I have a picky eater myself; so I sympathize. We finally compromised. He gets 3 wet food meals a day (1/2 of a can or 1.5 oz) & 1/4 cup dry food before bed. But I’m home all day and can feed him 4 times a day. I rotate his food. So every month he has like 8-10 flavors to choose from. When he gets sick of a food, I put it aside for a couple of months and then try it again. A month or 2 later he suddenly likes it again. Picky little brat is lucky he is a cuddly sweetheart!

All cats are grazers, so they eat small meals. They really want to nibble 6-8 times a day. You will figure out a way to get him eating eventually. It might be easier to just let him be a dry food junkie, who eats 1 or 2 small wet food snacks or meals a day. However if his eating doesn’t improve I would take him for a check up, just in case.

 

[nerdgirl5]

Thank you for this! That's what it's evolving to--1/2 dry and 1/2 wet. And putting the toppers (I'm using freeze-dried purebites chicken which he would eat all day long if I let him and the mix from the bone broth which he loves). I'm home all day long too so, for now, that will help.

I will also try either the Bonita flakes or freeze-dried shrimp, too.

Thanks again!

 

[nerdgirl5]

UPDATE: Just gave them lunch. Didn't serve the pate--just some Weruva Chicken Frick a Zee mixed with the kibble (Orijen), bone broth and freeze dried chicken on top. THEN sprinkled the dry bone broth on top. He ate the whole thing! I think it had to do with the freeze-dried, no pate and dry bone broth (which he loves). I'm going to try to mix it all up and also serve smaller meals more frequently--a pain in the butt but at least it'll get us over this hump. He's sitting down licking his chops! lol I love to see it.

 

[Furballsmom]

Good for you, and him!!

 

[danteshuman]

He is eating!!!

Another topper you can try is probiotics. They love it on dry or wet food.

Jackie doesn’t care for pate or big chunks. (Fancy feast minced in gravy lovers or melodies are his favorite.) Yes, I break up the big chunks with a fork for my picky brat; so he will eat my bff pouches. So with the wet food it might be a texture or not enough gravy thing. Then again Jackie wants everything to be tuna. If I had a dollar for every time I have said “eat your food!” to him! Set meal times are a must.... less begging.

 

[nerdgirl5]

Huey just switches what he likes all the time. But mostly, he's a shredded chicken guy with gravy (or broth over it). I don't want to be locked into feeding them 5 times a day--once the pandemic's done and I have to start taking work meetings in person, etc., it's untenable. I had been hoping to feed them twice a day but I see that giving him smaller portions also helps do the trick. I'm hoping that once it's winter, I can go back to three times a day. Or maybe feed him in courses (appetizer, main course, etc.) I always knew they'd ultimately make me their butler! lol and, here we are...

 

[Furballsmom]

Timed feeders might be useful...

 

[nerdgirl5]

Thanks! I will check them out.