Wet Food Woes

[thatfilmgirl]

I'm writing this as I listen to one of my cats insistently scratch around both the her dry food bowl and the dish of new wet food I left out.

So as kittens, I started Artemis and Traveler on the Blue Buffalo Carnivora Prairie brand (I gave them some coastal blend today and both are displeased. I can't win but it was all Petco had while I wait for their normal stuff to come). I also started them on the Carnivora kitten wet food as well. Which went fine, and they ate it most of the time until I ran out of it for two weeks and ever since then, they turn their nose up at wet food.

Also they are apparently turning their nose up at the Instinct freeze dried toppers I tried out today.

So basically what they've done is ignored the Blue Buffalo wet food completely, so I tried introducing Tiki Cat after dark because some fellow cat friends recommended it and that started the insistent floor scratching around the food. I tried three different recipes and it was a major nope. They really just want their dry prairie brand.

They went for their first year check up last week and I mentioned the wet food issue to the vet who did think it was odd, because most cats she's encountered are all about the wet food, so last night I went to Petco and spent $50 getting a couple cans of a bunch of brands to try out. Has anyone else dealt with this, can shed some insight as to WHY they decided wet food wasn't their thing, and if it's normal? They do drink water, but I don't even know if it's enough for them, and if they're both getting enough.

 

[klunick]

Sorry no advice on getting your kittens to eat wet food as I never dealt with that. But I do want to thank you. I have always fed my kittens Blue Buffalo Wilderness kitten food. I did look up the Carnivore line of product and they sound fabulous!! 95% animal products including organs and cartilage. I am going to make the switch. Good luck with your babies.

 

[felinelover2]

Maybe try (if you haven't already) mixing in some of their dry kibble with the wet food, like half and half to start, then decrease the kibble as they get used to the wet?

 

[FeebysOwner]

You could also try to add a bit of water to their dry food and see if they would still eat it that way. If so, you could continue to gradually increase the water that you add to the dry. It would help with water intake, but maybe would also work to wean them off of dry.

 

[Kgraham1511]

I understand your pain. Our 1.5 year old Maine Coon decided he no longer liked the Royal C. food he had been eating for about 6 months. He would only eat dry.

Tried tiki cat and turned his nose up to it. Would put three different brands of wet in front of him and no luck.

Finally we left them out one evening and he found a brand he liked.

The only advice is just keep trying brands and textures as far as pate, beef chunks etc.

 

[Kgraham1511]

Oh and the scratching of floor by food. They are trying to cover it up to save for later. That is a primal instinct thing. In the wild they would cover uneaten food to.save for later.