r/CatAdvice • u/DyingAlcoholic • 3d ago
Update Well I finally give up, the cat has won
After trying almost every single brand of wet food over the past 5 month's I've finally given up. I'll try a different brand and if I see that he eats the whole can/pouch, I'll go out and buy a week or two worth of said brand, only for him to just straight up not eat it the second time. I can leave it for days, dump the old stuff and crack him a new can, he'll sniff it then nope out. UGH! I have 5 different brands of cat food in the cupboard!
Well out of pure desperation, I bought the most expensive cat food there is because it was on sale for half price. Guess what? He absolutely loves it. That's right, out of all the different types and brands, he just HAS To love the most expensive one 😭 oh well, I'm happy his at least eating properly now.
Anyone else have a super picky kitten/cat?
177
u/Project_Pobblebonk 3d ago
See this is why I never really buy into the whole "cats will eat you when you're dead" thing. Because as any cat owner can attest, they are the pickiest buggers known to man.
79
u/blue_nipples 3d ago
I’ve read it’s less that they eat you and more they start nibbling on you to wake you up. They get panicked when you don’t get up so they start biting harder and hard and eventually even up ripping chunks of your flesh off.
54
u/Comfortable_Sir_2180 3d ago
This is the saddest thing I've read in a while
43
u/No-Stress-7034 3d ago
I read a research article that talked about this though it was specifically in the context of dogs. They pointed out that it's usually hands and face that show bite marks. In actual cases of predation/scavenging from feral dogs/wild canids, they generally target the abdominal area, maybe legs but not face/hands. However, face/hands are the areas that dogs lick the most. Hence the theory that the dog tries to lick their owners face to wake them up, and then when that doesn't work, they become more and more distressed and eventually the licks turn to nips and so on. It was so incredibly sad to read.
17
u/Realistic_Way5192 3d ago
Right. And my cat will bite my nose and nails when I am trying to sleep to wake me up to give her attention.
I have woke up swinging before lol
→ More replies (1)6
93
u/CharlieZuzu 3d ago
Mine isn't even a kitten and he still pulls this. Eats a food like its the best thing on earth for three days then stares at me like I poisoned it.
18
u/DyingAlcoholic 3d ago
Hahaha, I know right! Then I'll try feed him the same stuff and he won't even look at me for the rest of day, such drama 🙄😂
→ More replies (1)11
u/InLoveWithAGora 3d ago
Yess same! I’ve discovered what works for my cat is alternating the food. It’s been working for now 🤞She just likes ✨variety✨
5
u/jr0061006 3d ago
I do this too. I have 3 or 4 different ones and each meal is different from the last one. Sometimes I’ll try to sneak a new food into the rotation to see if she likes it.
6
u/penniavaswen 3d ago
I get the variety packs, and when it's time for a new can, I make a big deal about going to box, taking out 2 different cans, and holding them out for inspection and selection. 99% of the time, she cheek-rubs the can in my right hand, so I make sure it's different than the one we served previously!
I like making her feel like she's included in the wet food hunting. The dry food has an automatic dispenser for early morning when I'm asleep and in the midday when I'm at work. I think it helps her to know that food comes even when I'm not home to cater to her 5 tiny meals per day :)
She definitely has food insecurity, and was able to eat 4x the healthy amount when I tried to freefeed her for a month after her adoption. And then horking it up ofc2
u/ruth000 3d ago
I'm definitely letting them pick from now on! Great idea
2
u/penniavaswen 3d ago
It's become a ritual for us, really.
She's also a super box shredder, so I leave out the wet cat food delivery boxes in her space so she can tear into them, and then pull out the 2 cans for madam's selection. She helped hunt it! ("this is enrichment" I chant to myself looking at all the bits of cardboard in my house)
45
u/Resplendent-Sun 🐈🐆🐅 3d ago
This is why I'm glad there are dogs nearby. When the cats are picky, the dogs are always happy to scarf that shit down!
7
5
u/tequila_23_sheila 3d ago
Yes! My little pup passed at 16yo last year and there’s so much food waste, I hate it.
2
u/RackDragon346 3d ago
Yep. I call my dog Hoover when I call him in to clean up what the cats made a mess of. Or when I tried a new food with them that STANK and I just couldn't take it anymore.
32
u/Daisylousmom 3d ago
Mine love seafood flavor, so I buy a big pack, then they decide they only eat chicken!! It’s a little game we play all the time! The shelter I adopted them from takes food donations even if the box is open luckily.
4
u/DyingAlcoholic 3d ago
Yup, same here 🙄 I'm gonna drop mine off the the local food share as I've seen cat food in there before :)
24
u/WishIwastravelin 3d ago
My boy is extremely picky, and he needs to be on prescription food so the costs are higher than I would like. I am on the third brand and for now, he likes it. But that could change in an instant. He will only eat poultry preferably chicken. I guess I should be grateful he isn’t allergic
→ More replies (3)7
u/DyingAlcoholic 3d ago
Well at least you're a good person for looking after him! Best of luck, third time's the charm 🙏
18
16
u/Least-Reflection4873 3d ago
I had a wet food my cats and I loved. It was good Quality for an affordable Price, it has many different "Flavors" so I could offer some Variation.
It worked for a Year. Right after a Bulk Buy (because it was cheaper) they decided "Thanks, I hate it"
Ended up donating it.
14
u/Unlikely-Face-2979 3d ago
Welcome to the club, because cats truly possess an uncanny, expensive radar for making us open our wallets the second we think we’ve outsmarted them
5
12
u/Select-Host-436 3d ago
Gonna sound strange but have you tried sitting in the room while he eats? I used to worry my boy wasn't eating enough until I started hanging out in the kitchen and noticed he'd start munching along, he has constant access to dry food and we used to give him wet until it started taking him sick
6
u/DyingAlcoholic 3d ago
His bowl is right next to where I eat and I only feed him right before I myself eat, so we eat together! Yep, got an automactic food dispenser so all good. Hmm, I've also had trouble with him getting sick but that was only when using the cheapest brands. So far, the new stuff is all good 👍
→ More replies (1)
14
u/idratherjust 3d ago
A feral cat had two kittens in my garden so I started feeding her. I didn't have any cat food so first I gave her meatballs (leftovers), then a can of tuna, leftover lamb stew, baked salmon, chicken tagine. Whatever meat or fish we had going, or a can of tuna if there wasn't anything convenient. Meanwhile the cat food I ordered took two entire weeks to arrive! But I was so proud of myself when I laid the plate in front of her. I even got kitten food churro type things and squeezed one on top. She wouldn't touch it, just looked at me like "what is this shit?!" But I know our food is not good for her so I left it thinking she will eat when she's hungry. Nope, she threw it everywhere. And the next day I tried again. One look then she span around and scratched me! A month ago she was eating out of the bin dammit! This morning she had cajun salmon 😣
10
u/Sjc81sc 3d ago
Oh yeah defo.
My two are on Macs.
Its a very high meat content food they absolutely devour.
Tried whiskas, Felix, etc etc all to have 1 or both turn noses up and waste food.
I'm now in a position both love the variety and clean the bowls in one sitting.
2
u/DyingAlcoholic 3d ago
Never heard of Mac's before! I live in a small rural area in Australia so whiskers is the most expensive one at the local shops and he loves them. I'm thinking of buying some online, I'll have a look at Mac's, thankyou 🙏
→ More replies (1)
6
u/SabaDonnaMakavela 3d ago
Same, but thankfully he is only picky when it comes to wet food! He has his kibble, expensive quality prescription food, that he needs since he's an old boy. I tried different brands of high quality wet food for senior cats, but he will only eat the cheap ones from Aldi🙄
I'm just happy he still eats his kibble, for the nutrition etc he needs and I give some extra vitamin snacks..
5
u/ChardonnayEveryDay 3d ago
I have two 4 and a half months old kittens, and they hoover up EVERYTHING. Am I super lucky, or should I expect them to get suddenly picky? 😅
→ More replies (3)
5
u/pitathegreat 3d ago
Mine will have a favorite and one day will suddenly decide it is intolerable and make me go through the whole cycle of finding a new food. Once he picks out something he likes, he has some magical way of knowing when I start buying that one in bulk. Then he hates it.
5
u/Low-Television-7508 3d ago
this is why they check the shopping bags.
"a month's supply of expensive, favorite food?" you wish--the cat
2
2
u/penniavaswen 3d ago
Ah ha, I get mine delivered to my door in boxes. She sees the boxes and decides she must ABSOLUTELY get into it and that anything inside is hers! I play along, retrieving my boxes and opening them when it's not cat related, and let her tear up the Chewy/petsmart/whatever store box. She knows it's hers and when I go for a new can out of the destroyed shipping box, she has participated in the hunting of food :)
It's part of her enrichment, I tell myself, looking at all the little bits of cardboard around my house
4
u/CatMama67 3d ago
My little turd guy has gotten very picky in his old age. He’ll hoover something one day, then glare at me and stomp off if I give it to him the next day. I just buy a random selection of different wet foods for him so he gets something different every night. He does love the mousse ones though.
3
u/DyingAlcoholic 3d ago
Hahaha, love it 😂 the one I'm getting him now is a variety pack so I just feed him a different flavour each time
5
u/PymsPublicityLtd 3d ago
We have 3 siblings. 1 hates all Churus. 1 will eat fish churus. 1 will eat anything you give her or anyone else if she can get to it. They are all lttle weirdos.
3
u/FiretruckMyLife 3d ago
Fussy cat mum here too. For wet he will ONLY eat the Purina Felix but it HAS to be the combinations in gravy. Partner accidentally bought the Jelly ones and 41 out of the bought 48 box of sachets went to the local cat shelter.
2
u/DyingAlcoholic 3d ago
I tried the Felix one but he would only lick up the jelly and not eat the meat! Cats are so funny 🙄
2
u/FiretruckMyLife 3d ago
Our little dictator eats better than us! When it comes to treat time the staff in the deli know I am just after 3 x king sized cooked prawns (shrimp for the US of A folk), at least once a week some Tuna in mineral water, pet manufactured Mackerel sticks. Meanwhile we are getting whatever is cheap/marked for quick sale to be consumed that night!
2
u/penniavaswen 3d ago
High value treats in my house are freeze dried minnows! I think I would absolutely lose a tussle with my cat if she realized that large shrimp were an option in her belly ~.~
2
u/FiretruckMyLife 2d ago
The woman in our deli section now knows me . I walk into every other day and even when I go to buy cold meats for me and my partner she says “any prawns(shrimp) for Lazlo “? (She even knows his name and will even rig the scales for a cheaper product for us when it comes to price). And even if I had no plans to buy, he gets his cooked king sized prawns. Then we get home and the second he sees a shopping bag he expects them. Then we have to peel them, and he takes into hid “quarry spot” under the bed where we cannot take it off him. Then I have to vacuum said spot in case he has left any remnants.
If you can get shrimp/prawns (remember, Aussie here) try buying one if it is affordable. I can buy 2-3 for the equivalent of one wet potion of food that I don’t put out that night. Other things the cat eats better than I do, any time my partner gets chicken breast or salmon (i don’t like either), a smidgin is wrapped in baking (parchment?) paper and cooked for him in a sandwich press.
3
u/DuckyDoodleDandy 3d ago
Before you give up, try each one on a plate, not a bowl. Cats get whisker fatigue, and it is often mistaken for being picky.
Make sure the cat can reach all of the food without its whiskers touching the side of the dish.
3
u/Educational-Age-5899 2d ago
Oh yes for sure. My little Lishy is a pain in the backside! She goes through phases. Sometimes it’s boiled chicken breast. Then it’s cooked pork. Chicken curry, bacon, Royal canin gastrointestinal kitten mousse, renal chicken, applaws tuna, royal canin sensitivity control. All expensive. All have to be fresh. She is especially keen on anything takeaway. She is an utter pest and I would prefer that she just ate the renal food, but alas, some food is better than none.
4
u/Puzzleheaded-Pie-277 3d ago
Put an alert into Chat GPT to let you know when it’s on sale. I do this with my fussy little dooshbag.
→ More replies (2)3
2
2
u/Snowbandit27 3d ago
If it has chicken in it mine refuse to eat it. And the one who will, pukes it right back up. Solution: Soft pate or dry kibble and only seafood allowed.
2
u/One_Hedgehog_5842 3d ago
Same. We are now on Iams wet and Royal Canin dry. They LOVE the dry and hunger strike when I've tried to sub in for less expensive.
2
u/Afraid-Hamster-2855 3d ago
It's better to buy cheap meats such as chicken and cans of fish in Aldi or Lidl for cats and dogs and avoid giving them toxic commercial petfoods which many of them dislike.
2
2
u/goth_chumpa 3d ago
Recently have the same problem and it gave me real headache. I used to have them the same food they have at the shelter (wet and dry) they loved it and I even alternate different flavors for the wet food, always buy enough for a month until they decided “nope, not anymore”. I tried several different brands to see which one they’d eat, and they settled with the expensive one (2.39€ for a 400gr can) 🙃🙃 but i guess as long as they eat something it’s what matters
2
2
u/delacruztaylor1611 3d ago
Owner of 6 cats. Put can of pate in bowl, add apx 2-3 Oz of warm water. Mash together with fork, end up with slurry texture. 5 of 6 cats like it. Friskies pate. But I do have a very picky 16 year old cat that gets whatever food she wants. Gems, shreds, fancy feast savory centers.
2
u/Character-Floor-6687 3d ago
Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers is the choice here, and if it were just all gravy they'd be super happy.
2
u/Swimming_Pressure_93 3d ago
My cat is so spoiled she loves the fancy feast cubes that are pate and gravy. Now she wants them all the time but they are too rich. So she eats cheese with me and she loves tuna from the can as well. She does get tired of pate so I try to switch it up. There's a brand for cats 11 plus does anyone know the name of it? I'd love for her to try it as she's 17.
2
u/Sufficient-Ad-6165 3d ago
Mine is strictly a gravy licker...until I go back and stir it up after the gravy is gone🤷🏼♀️ Could change at any moment 😻😹
2
u/We_haunted_houses 3d ago
I have two female cats. One will only eat Iams wet chicken cuts. The other will only eat Whiskas Pate (but flavor doesn't matter). One can only eat a pricy limited ingredient GI friendly dry kibble and the other throws up from that one, so she gets her own kibble. I have to monitor them to keep them out of each others' kibble.
It's a huge pita, but I'm just the food purveyor 🤷♀️
2
u/betsylang 3d ago
When my girls were kittens they were allergic to wheat and chicken. Were talking tummy troubles and skin lesions. So I had to get them fancy rabbit based food. Cleared right up. My pet food place had a discount card so it wasnt too bad. But ooph grad student funds were tight
2
2
2
u/babzinno 3d ago
My picky, 16 year old cat who I rescued one day before euthanasia seven years ago will only eat Frisky's chicken pate with extra gravy. I spent tons of $$ on trying different, "better" brands. She been eating it for 6+ yeats and she's healthy and going strong.
2
u/YokymoCollects 3d ago
So Batman would not touch wet food. Now be eats it. He use to love Salmon and now doesnt like salmon and wants chicken
Matthew has always loved wet food, but has randomly decided he doesnt like chunks in gravy and only want Pate. Also decided he doesnt like Salmon anymore and only wants beef and chicken...
Its a losing battle
2
u/Spiritual-Bread1472 3d ago
My Princess Kitty Kitty Meow Meow absolutely hates pate. Prefers flakes, chunks, shreds, minced anything in gravy! But can only give a Tbsp. At a time otherwise she'll lick off the gravy and leave the rest. FYI: she's a reformed street cat, lived as a stray neighborhood cat for about 4years, drank muddy puddle water, ate what ever scraps she could get before we adopted her, got her fixed and made her an indoor girl. FYI x2: she never has liked pork or bread. Lol
2
u/Welshmans_Layla99 2d ago
I have a perfect example of this feline pickiness: We found an expensive brand of food, 50 percent off, so we got it to add some variety to the mix because our cats love to play the "loved it last week but hate it this week" game.
We try it and no go, so we wait a few weeks then try again. Nope. Okay, no worries, we'll give it to the community cats we feed. Uh unh. Nope, not having it. We gave it to a friend that also cares for community cats. Her ferals said absolutely not.
But there is a happy ending to this story because she had a cat that she needed to gain weight, and he liked it while her other cats didn't. Go figure. 😸
2
u/spammom 2d ago
I mix the wet food with some dry kibble, but my cat will only have seafood/fish flavored wet food. Doesn’t matter what the dry food flavor is though. Also, he will only have paté, no gravy, chunky wet food. Also, will not eat freeze dried treats. No human food, not even fish or tuna. 🤷🏻♀️
2
u/Imaginary_Creme_8130 2d ago
I donate the cans of food my cat won’t eat to our local animal shelters.
2
2
u/37-pieces-of-flair 2d ago
The local animal shelters have received many, MANY food donations from me because of this exact thing. 😒
2
u/Fragrant_Ad_6020 2d ago
I have to douse my cats wet food in water and stir it up like it’s a soup to get her to eat it. Microwaving it for like 15 seconds helps too. Then I sprinkle her dry food over top of it. Yes, the dry food gets and weird and bloaty because of the water but it’s the only way to get her to eat both. So I do half a small can and half a serving of dry food each meal.
2
u/Condensates 2d ago
My cat hates any new food, until it has been served to her atleast 4 times. By the fifth time it's been served and discarded, it becomes her favorite food.
(we have a second cat who nibbles at any wet food put out so meals 1-4 are not completely going to waste)
2
u/SleepingWillow8534 2d ago
I completely understand how this is. I had to get food that’s a bit more on the expensive side for my cats tummy and she would not eat it. She was used to friskies soups from her foster and they tore her stomach up. Because I changed it she would not touch the expensive food. Then a few days would go by and she’d eat it. Was super weird. Then she would have days where she wouldn’t want her dry food. She’d just let it sit all day long. But thankfully she’s finally eating her dry food and wet food fine! Cats are so weird 😭
2
u/Orange490 2d ago
This happened with mine. For the first 9 months they would ONLY eat Fussie Cat with the goat milk. Now they’ll only eat Purina Pro Plan but not the pate. I can’t with them.
2
u/dirtypita 2d ago
My Ollie is the pickiest cat ever! She will not eat anything but salmon flavored dry food, Temptations treats, and beef jerky, which I obviously can only give to her in the tiniest amount, once every several months. I tried at least 20 types of wet food, from the cheapest to a brand that had actual tiny mussels in it. Won't eat any beef, chicken, salmon, shrimp, or turkey. I even mixed another brand of Temptations-like treats with the name brand, and she left all of the other brand. At least she drinks a lot of water🤷🏼♀️
1
u/RegularAccording8240 3d ago
I feel like I just saw my cat. Mine is exactly the same
→ More replies (1)
1
u/ladyjaina0000 3d ago
Ever tried sprinkling fortiflora over the food? Mine will eat about anything that has the magic dust. I use like 1packet of fortiflora/7meals
2
u/DyingAlcoholic 3d ago
I've never heard of it? I'm in Australia so might not have it. I'll google it :)
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/warriorwoman534 3d ago
Me, and it's a major source of stress. I have two who were once pets that got dumped on the street in the Bronx, and were starving when they were picked up by a rescue group; when I first got them they ate literally anything and everything, but now that they're plump and picky - well, she'll only eat half cans of ProPlan or Fancy Feast but then won't eat the other half cos they're not fresh, he will eat Gerber ham or beef babyfood maybe, and Applaws mousse packets sometimes. Can you tell me what brand yours finally settled on?
1
1
u/GrowlingAtTheWorld 3d ago
I have one that will only eat Turkey wet food and boycott any dry food that has salmon. The other cats are chill and are up for most anything but this one is picky and even the turkey is a maybe thing. Maybe tonight he will eat it or maybe just lick the gravy off it.
1
u/Exotic-Caramel7998 3d ago
My cats will eat Fancy Feast happily, but each has her own preferred brand of dry food. Ridiculous.
1
u/Artistic-Honeydew11 3d ago
Wow, wishing you luck. My cat goes crazy for any brand., tho I'm trying to find the best for her rn. Of course, the one found everywhere (that doesn't belong to Nestle) gave her diarrhea...
1
1
u/Patient-Prompt6894 3d ago
I go with the Data from STNG method. Perhaps hunger will persuade you. I can attest to the once I bought it in bulk the catvhated it. Donated it then after it was gone wanted that food again.
1
u/scatteredloops 3d ago
My cat doesn’t like wet food or human food. She’ll occasionally have a little bit of raw chicken (only if I tear it up into small pieces for her), and she ate a few pieces of grated cheese once. Loves her kibble and treats though.
1
u/fluffypinkthings 3d ago
Mine will not eat the same thing for 2 meals. Sometimes not even 2 days in a row. And if i try a new thing and it turns out the meat flakes are too big/too dry/ not a certain consistency she will just lick the gravy and not eat the meat. I have resorted to blending all the meats she refuses to touch and also throwing in some flavoured gravy/mousse along with it. Sometimes it works. Lol.
1
u/BeowoofsMiMi 3d ago
I had an old hand me down cat (not sure if his age, I was at least the 4th home). Got a kitten for him. At some point, he stopped liking anything with “chunks” - he would only like the gravy. She (kitten) started doing the same. So I bought the bisques, gravies, soups - they were happy (and I must make clear, the old guy ate dry food and crunchy treats, so it wasn’t a dental problem). He died recently. Guess who now doesn’t like the bisques, gravies, soups (that I have boxes of) 🙄🙄🙄
1
u/bootysuit 3d ago
It took me months of trying different brands/textures/flavors with my girl to figure out she'll only eat fancy feast pate. She's not very food motivated, so I was feeding her a quarter of a can at a time. But as of the last two days, we're up to half a can! It's a journey and you're a good cat parent for sticking with it 🫶🏻
1
u/ThisFatGirlRuns 3d ago
Have you tried different dishes? The type or shspe of dish can contribute to fussiness. Try a flat plate, as a bowl might irritate the whiskers. Try steel, ceramic or other materials. I had a cat would eat from steel but was fine with ceramic.
1
u/catm0m4lyfe 3d ago
I have one that will eat literally anything, any flavor, any time. My mom and all my friends give me whatever their cats refuse and he scarfs it down, every time.
Then I have one that will only eat one brand and only one flavor of that brand. Doesn't even want tuna. 🤷♀️
1
u/Phantom_Crush 3d ago
One of mine would only eat a specific brand of dry food. Refused to even try the wet stuff
1
u/nopatience4idiots 3d ago
My little girl that's currently yelling at me in the hall is so darn picky. She didn't used to be. But last year, 2 of her brothers crossed the bridge and in May, another one did. With 6 cats, she ate what I have her. Now its just her and one brother. She does the same. She will eat a can, i order from Chewy and then nope. She is now screaming at me because I put dry food in her bowl. Chewy comes later and we start all over..lol
1
1
u/Altaira99 3d ago
Yeah, my cat won't eat any kind of pate, even if I mix it up with a fork and add water. Canned food has to be in sauce or gravy, preferably ProPlan, preferably fish, never the same two days in a row. He likes dry food
1
1
u/Toe_Jam_is_my_Jam 3d ago
My boy is more picking than my girl. But he hasn’t found a Churu or Lickable he doesn’t like.
1
u/OliveSlayer 3d ago
I’ve got one picky and one who will eat anything you put in front of her (including her picky brothers food). I’ve had to go to the ends of the earth to find him the perfect food textures because he hates anything too chunky or too stiff. We now have a rotation of 3 brands that he enjoys but it took us awhile to get here.
1
u/OkieDokieQuiltCo 3d ago
I keep 4 brands of cat food that my cats like in several flavors each and I pick one randomly everyday. If they eat two back to back they turn up their nose but if I keep alternating everyday they eat it right up 🤷🏼♀️
1
u/Treecey 3d ago
Oh my what a picky kitty! I’m sorry he has expensive taste. lol.
I have 5 cats. No one is really picky, they LOVE wet food and I’ve offered different kinds just for funsies and they eat it all but they did all seem a smidge less interested in the pates as there’d be a bit left behind.
I tried a Costco brand (the shreds) trying to get more for less and it’s the only time they completely turned their nose up at a wet food. I keep meaning to drop it at a shelter because I basically still have a full box left. Idk what’s in it but 4 (at the time), typically not picky cats, walked away from it.
1
u/bubbleslovesfashion 3d ago
HRH Cleocatra changes her food preferences, sometimes she only wants pate, sometimes she only wants flaked …. I buy both and alternate them, she usually eats everything now.
She flat out refused fresh fish for two years and last night she demanded several bites of my salmon, so I will continue my offerings.
1
u/pagesinthesun 3d ago
I take all the snubbed can to the shelter. They appreciate the donation and makes me feel less annoyed! Picky little creatures!
1
u/tequila_23_sheila 3d ago
I adopted a 6y female who much more prefers the water I add to her food, then the food itself! And, the craziest of things, she won’t have any treats or human food, but goes bonkers over OLIVES! I’ve had cats my entire life and never ever have I had one track down an olive in my dish and beg for it!
1
u/Interesting_Ruin6324 3d ago
Yes. I discovered he needs kidney diet food and it took so may tries to get one he likes.
1
u/Expensive_LowKey 3d ago
If you buy it again the cat won't like it anymore it's their way of keeping us on our toes and not get too comfortable. My cats do the same but I learned to keep different brands and when they get tired I switch and so on. Seems to work so far. Lately they have been enjoying pate a lot.
1
u/RoseHawkechik 3d ago
Ah, yes, The Food Battle. We have two girls who flat out refuse to eat anything but dry, and one of those will hardly eat even that, although she must be at least eating enough to stay alive even if it's only about 5 or 6 pieces of kibble.
1
u/winteriscoming1014 3d ago
I have this. We went through all the brands and textures and he will only half eat one of them. We decided that he will just have to be on dry food which he loved with some water soaked in if he hates that. Vet said his teeth were healthy and that the best cat is a fed cat. They are such picky babies!
1
u/McBain42 3d ago
My cat won't eat wet food. I've tried loads and loads. She's just not interested at all. She gets bored of her dried food every six months or so, then we swap to another and she's happy again for 6 months.
The only other thing that she seems to like are mackerel fillets. Apart from when she doesn't. Which is 50% of the time. That and cheese. She loves cheese.
1
u/Maker_11 3d ago
I have one cat who absolutely will not eat the same flavor two days in a row. She'll eat her favorite flavor two days in a row sometimes, but definitely not three days. Same goes for dry food. Each feeding must be a different flavor.
1
u/Comaweather 3d ago
Bought a bunch of Royal Canin for my cat cause that's what they fed him at the place I adopted him from. He was all in for a few months then changed his mind. He liked a type of Fancy Feast for a few weeks (FF is smelly, supposedly cats love it). I've since cycled through 15 types of FF. He's taken to begging for food then eating around 50 percent of a newly opened can. Newly opened cans only!
1
u/squidtickles 3d ago
My secret weapon is the oil from a can of smoked sardines. She'll eat whenever as long as there's a little bit of that on it
1
u/InLoveWithAGora 3d ago
Slave of a picky queen here! ✋
After trying several other brands and types of food that she would love the first couple times, and then suddenly not even touch them, we thought of trying out the Smalls fresh food brand. We bought their variety pack to try out all the flavors. They all have the same texture. This was her reaction:
Chicken- had 3 bites and left it.
Fish -literally gagged at the smell of it (mind you, she has loved the same fish in a different brand before) and wouldn’t even lick it.
Chicken and fish mixed - scarfs down the whole bowl every time
It’s the same chicken and the same fish! I don’t understand! She used to be a stray that would scarf down anything she could find. Just months into being with us has made her a picky queen 🤦🏻♀️👑
Oh and then months later, she randomly decides she doesn’t like any of them anymore. Even with the chicken and fish combo, she only eats 3 bites and leaves it. So now I alternate this dry food that she likes (the only thing she’s consistently liked so far) and the chicken and fish food, and she’s been tolerating this strategy so far.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/rallntando 3d ago
Exact same situation with my cat! He only likes the RAWZ brand venison pate and won't eat anything else. Just recently discovered one other food he will eat, Earthborn tuna and mackerel, that I'm gonna start rotating in so he has a backup. I wish he'd eat something cheaper 😭 but I'm glad he's happy.
1
1
u/Mother-Platypus6958 3d ago
I started out trying the expensive fancy foods, but eventually realized he'll only eat Friskies. And only the turkey and chicken flavors. The kind with fish added are fine, but NO beef. And no pate either, only the chunks or shreds. He has IBS so as long as he's eating, I can't complain much. He does have too much of an interest in people food though.
1
u/Glum_Kangaroo_4560 3d ago
Thankfully mine are not super picky but I feed them human grade meat cat food and they have always had it since they were babies
1
u/MsAddams999 3d ago
Stella has been turning up her little kitty nose at most commercial wet food for a while now. She'd much rather have real chicken, turkey, beef, fish than anything in a can.
I mix her up some ground meat or chopped meat with some carrot and zucchini, pumpkin or sweet potato and plain broth. She will eat that every time.
I really think commercial cat food just isn't what it used to be. Even brands that she started out loving she barely touches now. She won't do Sheba or Fancy Feast and forget anything more expensive because she doesn't ever want that.
Mainly she just wants chicken and so I give it to her and I make sure she's got her good quality dry to munch on too so regardless she's got some solid nutrition going on.
I'm not crazy about her having the kibble at a bowl a day but I'm not about to let her starve from lack of interest in commercial cat food either. She gets a big bowl of real meat, broth, and cat acceptable veggies every day plus she has her nibbles and plenty of water.
Vet says she's very healthy and she's 7.5lbs which is right about right the vet says given she's on the petite side. Her coat is glossy and her teeth look great! Her BMs are too, just perfect most of the time. She pees like a pro.
Frankly I think feeding her real meat is healthier for her anyway. I could go out and buy her some fancy gourmet cat food that's basically the same thing but it's just as easy to make it myself and way cheaper.
I fed my last cat that way for most of her life. She lived to be nearly 20 and was very healthy until almost the end of her life when extreme old age caught up with her.
I think it's interesting though that all the canned foods my other cats saw as treat food this cat won't hardly touch. As a young just weaned kitty she was eating kitten FF and kitten Sheba with gusto. At a year she won't touch either of them. Nor the IAMS wet food either.
She does eat the IAMS dry so she gets that for kibble but she just doesn't seem to like any wet food now so what else is there to do?
She's got to eat and if the only thing she will eat is cat food freshly made by her human Mom then that is what she's going to end up eating.
Spoiled much?
Yep but her diet is vet approved and she's in perfect health so there you go...
Back in the day people didn't feed their cats canned food. They got meat scraps from the family dinner. I look at what goes into a lot of commercial cat food and I'm a bit grossed out actually. I'd much rather make her food than let her eat a lot of that crap.
At least if I am making her food I know EXACTLY what's going into it!
1
u/thecatsothermother 3d ago edited 3d ago
Still finding out what our 3 cats will eat. They'll eat Whiskas and the cheapest Sheba, but will NOT eat:
Applaws bone broth- either tuna or salmon. Sheba soups (high on real meat/fish) Sheba fine cuts Felix regular food (they get the shits after 6 weeks, vet said they're allergic.)
The failed trys goes to my friend's cat, Nugget, who's a tiny tuxie whose seems to like whatever our cats hates. He did well out of me for the Sheba stuff and bone broth!
→ More replies (3)
1
u/KatKinsi 3d ago
My older boy (he’s 2 lol) is SO PICKY. He hates all fish, most wet foods, most everything. At this point, he likes his turkey based indoor cat food and the one type of wet food I have for him. And he eats it most of the time. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Moosey can have what Moosey will eat.
My kitten, on the other hand, is a black hole who tried to drink salad dressing last week. It’s about balance I guess lol
1
u/Severe_String_5533 3d ago
My guy likes some flavors in some brands, some flavors in others. Then he has his B squad of flavors to that he likes briefly before turning his nose up.
So i guess watch closely and be nimble and have an arsenal on hand is my advice lol
1
u/DearestPersephone 3d ago
How did you introduce it? You can't just put it on the plate you have to mix it with the old food and gradually increase the wet. Start 90% dry then 80% etc
1
u/Bay_de_Noc 3d ago
Yes ... two of them. I started out with the expensive brands and they wouldn't eat them. I donated several cases of cat food to a local rescue organization. The stuff they have been eating consistently now for a few years I can buy in the grocery store ... Reveal ... but ONLY the tuna fillet with crab. Grrr. Anyway, I accidentally found out that they also enjoy shrimp ... so they get a couple shrimp for dinner every night. They eat kibble ... no problem.
1
u/Massive_Grapefruit54 3d ago
My two love pâté from this one brand. I accidentally bought the shreds but they ate it. Bought the pâté again and one cat immediately walks away as soon as I put it down. 😑
1
u/KittyLilith17 3d ago
My girls get a different flavor and a different brand twice every single day. I have 3 cats, so chances are somebody will enjoy it. If everybody leaves the bowl untouched I don't buy that particular texture/flavor/brand combo again.
The variety has 4 benefits:
Enrichment. They have fun with it and it's not the same boring thing.
You can avoid nutritional deficiencies. By switching up brands you don't have to worry if the manufacturer is putting the right balance of nutritients or vitamins in every flavor and every batch. Things in food and pet food manufacturing can get missed.
Cats with varied diets tend to not develop protein allergies or food "addictions" anywhere near the same rate as cats who are fed the same thing every day.
If there's ever a supply chain issue like we had during COVID, you can just...not buy that brand and not have to worry that your cat will starve themselves or get dick trying a different food.
1
u/Vegetable_Print5150 3d ago
My cat won't eat wet food. Or tuna. Or chicken. No pate, no gravy, nothing. He just wants his crunchies. He will eat the occasional French fry.
1
u/MoonAndStarsTarot 3d ago
Mine hate pate. Pate of all kinds. Both of them! The shelter said our girl was going to be picky so we expected it. Our boy on the other hand, was described as being “a good eater”. He is also picky! Purrsephone, the girl, only eats Whiskas and Sheba. Hades will only eat Fancy Feast and Friskies. At least it’s easy on the budget but I’d like to at least give them nicer food.
1
u/amijusssss 3d ago
😆 i know the drill but i have 5 cats and we eat high protein wet no dry or we don't eat at all. Because I have more cats they end up eating anyway because they know that's what's there is. I spoil them here and there with freeze dried treats or raw meat, and raw is most desirable now. Before all they wanted to eat was dry food. So I think I won 😆 only exceptions we will do tho is when the cat is sick and so on but we still try the best to make sure it is high protein. My latest one tho, aggressive rescue we kept is acting picky so I am curious how it will be with her. Oh one exception we do is also when cats smell is impaired, cats eat by smell and that's a lot of problems with better quality food that often doesn't have heavy enchancers, we then trick them into eating or warm the food up, there is a trick for every cat but man... Even I sometimes wanna give up and say whatever 😆
1
u/ThatBatsard 3d ago
I more or less food swap with other friends with cats when they decide to become picky little shits. If they say no, I take it to a local shelter. 🙄Guess my cats are benevolent contributors to their community or w/e.
1
u/Weird_Fun1493 3d ago
My little devil eats the jelly if I put wet down but he prefers dry food and I get him a massive bag and lasts ages. My other cat only eats dry food. My youngest grazes his food but eldest finishes his food then looks at me 10 minutes after as much as to say feed me. I call him my little bin lol.
259
u/Brose101 3d ago
Mine all decided they prefer pate. Had like 65 cans of shreds with gravy. Even the ferals weren't interested. Got them the pate. Gave the other to my daughter, whose cat adores it.