Wet Food Cat Suddenly Only Eating Dry Food??

[loonieluna]

I have been having an eating issues with my 11 month old kitten for a while. I have posted another post concerning it.

Heres a little history: Two months ago she was eating her Friskies wet food, the indoor cat line, completely fine. She loved it because they mixed rice and veggies into it. Suddenly she stopped eating it and since then we have been trying soo hard to get her to eat wet food.

We recently found a very specific flavour of a specific brand that she will eat: Fancy Feast Salmon and Shrimp. But the problem is that she will only eat a little. We are lucky if she eats a one can in a day and the can is a very small single serving can. We have tried so many different kinds of the Fancy Feast brand and of other brands but she will only eat this flavour. Other than this she is eating her dry food alot. This worries me a little because her main food source used to be wet food, with dry food being given as a treat. It was a good, healthy mix and she was thriving. Now its seems her wet food is the treat and the dry food has become the meal, which isn't good on her health or her kidneys. She has been gaining weight and is a little over weight for her age and I know the dry food isnt making it better. It does give me a little solice knowing her dry food is a prescription dry food given to us by her vet so it is high quality and better for her. Still how can I get her back to being a wet food cat??

Forgot to mention, she is active and hydrated despite the fact that she is mostly eating dry food. I make sure to offer her water every hour so she has been drinking enough water. She is also using her litter regularly. No diarrhea but instead of it being a well formed long-ish poop (awkward to talk about but i have to know), she has been pooping balls of poops which may indicate that she is constipated, i think? I have tried giving her pumpkin in any way I can, by mixing it with wet food, with dry food, treats and on its own but she refused to eat more than a lick. Should I be worried about her having any other serious problem?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Why is she on prescription food at 11 months of age?

Yes, if she is pooping "balls of poop" that may be a sign of constipation, which could be brought on by the dryness of dry food, but knowing the why of the prescription food may help us here.

Are you still trying to mix pumpkin into her canned food? That may be why she isn't interested in it anymore. Some cats absolutely do not like things mixed into their food. Yours may be one of those. Try not mixing anything into it. OR, try crushing some of her beloved dry food and using that as a topper for any wet food you try to give her. Also remember that cats like different tastes and textures just like humans. Some like pates, some like chunks, some like minces, etc. Some like fish, some like chicken, some like lamb, etc. So...it's a process trying to find out what they like. I have one that will eat one thing and one thing only - Nutro National Choice Chunky Loaf Chicken. My other cat hates that food and won't come near it . HE will eat pretty much any texture, and likes chicken, just not that one . But he has his quirks too. He doesn't like plain turkey foods, they have to be mixed with something else, and he doesn't particularly care for anything with tuna in it. What I'm getting at here is you just have to keep searching until you find the right foods, and then, of course, she'll change her mind once you find them

 

[loonieluna]

Oh shes not on prescription food. It was just a gift I guess that the vet gave us. It is a dental dry food to help maintain the healthiness of her teeth.

I haven't added any pumpkin in her food since we found out she wasn't eating any of it. I guess she has become like your one cat - only eating one kind of wet food. She never liked pates and she always really liked textured wet food with gravy. I just need to figure out a way for her to eat more of it.

 

[shadowplay]

Have you found any other types of flavors she seems to like? One of my cats is particularly picky, and she prefers chunks in gravy as well. Some foods that have been successful with her: Hill's Healthy Cuisine Roasted Chicken and Rice Medley (they have a kitten variety), Fancy Feast Medleys Primavera (any meat), Fancy Feast Delights Grilled Chicken with Cheese, and Friskies Cat Concoctions with Cod in Cheesy Bacon flavored sauce. Most of these are relatively inexpensive per can so hopefully you can try some and find what she likes!

 

[sargon]

I've never had much luck getting my cat to eat canned food, but I have had excellent luck getting her to drink water, and improving water drinking will help offset the reduced food moisture in your cat.

The ebst way to do that is to get one or more water fountsins. I like the pioneer pet raindrop, because it is inexpensive, works well, is stainless steel ( they also make a ceramic version if you prefer), and can easily be taken down and put in a dishwasher for cleaning ( if you wash the plastic pump cage, be sure not to use heat dry and use the top rack), but any quality fountain will significantly improve hydration in most cats.

a few fountain pro tips: use purified water; clean and replace the water every week or 2, so that it stays fresh; put it on a dish drying mat ( it will catch any stray water drops from messy kitty drinking and dampen vibrations so that it runs a bit quieter (not that they are very loud); remember to chance the filters every so often; use "split Loom Tubing Wire" to cover the power cable if your cat is a bit of a cord chewer.

 

[cat princesses]

I'd try and avoid dry food completely - it's just bad for cats and is linked to all sorts of health issues later on in life. Dry food turned my cat diabetic!! There are lots of cat foods out there- my cats always liked Daves Naturally healthy, it's more of a mushy pate texture. I am also giving them Tiki Cat Aloha friends which is a new one that's out with pumpkin in it. My cats won't touch pumpkin off a spoon or mixed into their food but somehow they love this one! Weruva makes some nice foods as well, those are more like fine shreds of meat paw lickin chicken is good, or mid east feast. You just have to keep trying different ones. My cats have really been fussy lately, I will feed them one type for afew weeks, then they don't want that and I'm trying something else. Always keep in mind though when you switch around foods, that can cause tummy upset and soft poops.

 

[loonieluna]

Thank you! Right now, we have only been giving Luna dry food as a snack. She is eating her wet food more now. It is still the Fancy Feast Salmon and Shrimp. I've only ever bought her food from Walmart but I might go to speciality pet food stores or Petsmart to look for new kinds of food when we start running out of the Fancy Feast. We have about 10 cans right now which will probably last her another week. But if she gets tired of her food before that, I will look at all of these kinds. Are there any fish kinds that aren't pate?? She really loves the fish flavored fancy feast and we have been giving her tuna and tuna water which she also loves.

 

[cat princesses]

I just bought these whole life brand pure chicken freeze dried treats. The bag is about $13.50 but it's nice because you just break apart some of the pieces into fine pieces and sprinkle that over the wet food. Another member on another board suggested this to me and they call it "kitty crack". The one from Weruva the mid east feast flavor is kinda almost like a gravy sauce consistency with pieces of fish so definately not a pate style. The tiki cat aloha friends with the pumpkin is tuna with X so Tuna with shrimp, tuna with tilapia, tuna with calimari etc. Those ones look sorta like tuna fish salad consistency but in an orangy soup mixture which is the pumpkin I'm guessing. You just kinda have to try afew and see if your cat likes them. These are all grain free so they are more pricey but IMO worth it. I'd just buy 1 or 2 cans of afew - ask at the pet store, if you have a pet supplies plus in your area they're always pretty good, just find a manager and ask. Sometimes they even have sample cans they can give you. My local Bentleys has been a weatlth of information for me and they helped me pick the most recent ones I am feeding. I know Tiki cat is always a huge hit with most cats - they have a whole variety, these aloha friends are just the newest ones to their mix.

 

[loonieluna]

I don't have the Tiki cat brand, the Weruva brand or some of the other brands mentioned on this thread at any store near me - probably because I live in Canada. But I know the Petsmart close to my house has a ton of grain-free options and Walmart also has Pure Balance. I will definitely go out this weekend and buy some.

Today we have kept Luna off her Whiskas Temptations treats completely. Normally she has a handful a day which isn't good at all but shes always begging and purring and kneading up my leg when she wants some and shes so cute I can't help but give her some. I stayed strong today though. I also gave her minimal dry food. She could only eat what was left out from the day before which was a little bit. She ate great this morning and was so active, she took a late nap and woke up just a few hours ago. Shes still tired from not getting enough sleep so she hasn't eaten her food yet but I've left it out for her to eat when she gets hungry. I think I'll keep this routine going for a few days, keeping her on no treats, minimal dry food and letting her eat when she gets hungry. I will also try some different foods. I just hope she gets her normal appetite back soon.