hey y'all! so i have two kittens about 3 mo old (2 mo 23 days), and i've been struggling hard to find food that they will eat. when i got them from the shelter, they told me they free graze with dry food (hills) and got pate wet food two times a day. i kept them on the same dry food from the shelter but i initially tried them on a chunky with gravy wet food (wholehearted grain free for all ages) instead of pate because i read that the shreds had a little more nutritional value and moisture. however, the problem started with my girl phoebe, where she got extreme diarrhea from the wet food. im still not sure if it was an intolerance to the brand's mix of the food and the ingredients in it, or if she is just allergic to either tuna or salmon. in any case, i took it out of her diet and gave her only dry food for a a couple weeks, plus a probiotic from my vet. after a bit she was back to solid poops, so i started slowly adding pate back in to see if that would safer, mixing the wet with the dry.
when i first started them with the pate (wellness complete health kitten, chicken flavor) it went really well! poops stayed solid and they both seemed to relatively enjoy it, even meowing when i made their food out of anticipation. however we're a couple weeks into it, and my cats almost refuse to eat the wet food now! i will also mention i had this problem with their first food as well, and i just assumed they didn't like it. i have to physically move it around in the bowl or put it on my hand for them to actually eat it. i've tried another flavor (whitefish), i bought a flatter bowl in case it was the whiskers on the rim, but nothing has seemed to make them want to eat anything without me immediately putting it in their mouths. they still free graze on dry food so they will actually eat something, but its been almost a week and i dont think i can hand feed them anymore or else they will start to expect it from me every meal time. my friend (who owns two cats) said they might just not be super food motivated, but they are still really young so i worry they aren't getting enough food. essentially, all of this essentially sent me down a rabbit hole of cat food.
for the last few hours i've been watching every video i can on raw food for kittens/cats, and i'm starting to seriously consider it. they are still pretty young so it would be easiest now from what i can tell, but i guess i would really love some input on if this is something that is safe for them. could their lack on interest in food be somewhat fixed by raw food? also, should phoebe's initial digestive upset be of concern when starting on raw food, or would it help? obviously i will ask my vet on monday during their next appointment, but i would also like some cat owner opinions as i know a lot of vet's don't recommend raw diets for a number of reasons, and i worry i'll be shot down if i bring it up. i'm also a worrier and want to be fully prepared before starting raw food before doing so, i know the basics of the portions/supplements but if there's anything i should really look out for please let me know!
any advice helps!
when i first started them with the pate (wellness complete health kitten, chicken flavor) it went really well! poops stayed solid and they both seemed to relatively enjoy it, even meowing when i made their food out of anticipation. however we're a couple weeks into it, and my cats almost refuse to eat the wet food now! i will also mention i had this problem with their first food as well, and i just assumed they didn't like it. i have to physically move it around in the bowl or put it on my hand for them to actually eat it. i've tried another flavor (whitefish), i bought a flatter bowl in case it was the whiskers on the rim, but nothing has seemed to make them want to eat anything without me immediately putting it in their mouths. they still free graze on dry food so they will actually eat something, but its been almost a week and i dont think i can hand feed them anymore or else they will start to expect it from me every meal time. my friend (who owns two cats) said they might just not be super food motivated, but they are still really young so i worry they aren't getting enough food. essentially, all of this essentially sent me down a rabbit hole of cat food.
for the last few hours i've been watching every video i can on raw food for kittens/cats, and i'm starting to seriously consider it. they are still pretty young so it would be easiest now from what i can tell, but i guess i would really love some input on if this is something that is safe for them. could their lack on interest in food be somewhat fixed by raw food? also, should phoebe's initial digestive upset be of concern when starting on raw food, or would it help? obviously i will ask my vet on monday during their next appointment, but i would also like some cat owner opinions as i know a lot of vet's don't recommend raw diets for a number of reasons, and i worry i'll be shot down if i bring it up. i'm also a worrier and want to be fully prepared before starting raw food before doing so, i know the basics of the portions/supplements but if there's anything i should really look out for please let me know!
any advice helps!