[BoscosMum]

Bosco is sitting at his bowl 'meowing' at me!
Today was the first day I offered him some wet cat food!

Any input will be appreciated!

 

[queen of the nile]

Here's a thread describing a few ways to entice him. Hopefully something will work :lol: .
http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4424&highlight=justin+wet

 

[BoscosMum]

Oh! queen of the nile!!! Thank You for the thread! I posted a reply in there hoping to hear an update!

 

[drjean]

I answered on the other thread, too, but here's an article that tells why and how to *safely* switch diets:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... chingfoods

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[BoscosMum]

Wet Food Meatballs!!!

There is no response in the other thread...
I was hoping to get some feedback in here.
Here are the meatballs I made for Bosco his evening feeding.
They were all gone by morning...so I will start increasing the number I make,
(there are only 8 in the bowl)
Last night was the first night that he ate all of them.
In the morning I am offering him 1/4 cup of dry food.
He eats it all in no time! I has been us 4 days into this adventure!

Is this adequate food intake right now???
Will I have to make meatballs forever??? 8O

P.S. Thanks drjean for the links...I have read all of them!
Still a nervous kitty mom! :?

 

[kitkat]

I don't think you have to be making meatballs forever. Gradually try feeding him without the crumbs and see what happens. My cats love wet food so its easy for me to feed them. I feed them both a 3 oz. can in the morning, so they each get about 1 1/2 oz. Some chicken soup to nibble in the day and another 3 oz. can at nite.

 

[BoscosMum]

Not sure if anyone is reading this anymore...
For the past few days Bosco has been licking and trying to chew on my fingers. I suppose my fingers smell due to the cat meatball chef I have become!! LOL! So today I offered him some canned food off my fingers.
He loved it! Then I put it on the counter, rather than in the bowl.
He ate it all! In one sitting!

I got a few new brands to try...this was Iams turkey & giblets. I know alot of folks are not fond of the Iams company....

I just need to learn if he ate it because he liked the Iams....or because he does not want to eat it in a bowl...(for whatever crazy reason)

 

[queen of the nile]

I think it is probably because you hand-fed him first. I think some cats just really like it once they give it a real chance. Maybe he was afraid of trying something new at first, who knows! I'm just glad it's working out for you. I hope all your efforts pay off and we'll be seeing less of Bosco soon :wink:.

 

[BoscosMum]

I hope all your efforts pay off and we'll be seeing less of Bosco soon :wink:.

Hey wait a minute! You hurt his feelings!

(it's ok Bosco Mummy loves you)

 

[queen of the nile]

I meant seeing less of him weight-wise because I hope the diet thing starts working soon. When I switched my kitties to wet food they lost over 1/2 lb in one month. That's all I meant .

 

[BoscosMum]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Duh! That makes sense! Thanks, I was having a sensitive moment
and I thought you didnt like us!
I can bee silly that way sometimes...

 

[Superkitties]

And I loved your thread title, I had such a good laugh imagining the standoff!

Well, I didn't have anything to add, but wanted to say that I am keeping up on the progress in this thread. Glad he warmed up to the wet food!

And we like you! We really really like you!

 

[kitkat]

And we like you! We really really like you!

Hehe of course we do and Bosco too :!:

 

[BoscosMum]

Awe Gee Thanks everyone!

Question to anyone who might know....we are almost 2 weeks into this
and at the current rate....1 can of cat food would last about 14 days!
(I am throwing away alot of cat food)

He will only eat about 1 teaspoon. Then I give him 1/4 cup of dry!
It seems as if he is holding out for the dry food.

Regardless, he will lose weight with this diet....it doesnt seem like enough!

The only wet food he seemed to enjoy so far was the Iams....what am
I supposed to do if it turns out this is the one he likes? 8O

 

[queen of the nile]

I think he is holding out for the dry food. In the link I gave you, drjean suggests to not feed the dry if he doesn't eat the wet. You are just training him to hold out for the dry food. She recommended that you put the wet food down for an hour and then take it up. If he hasn't eaten it, don't put down the dry food and let him go hungry. This should make him question whether or not holding out for the dry food is a sensible idea. I hope you can get him to comply because it really seems as if you are having a tough time with it!

 

[BoscosMum]

Makes perfect sense! I will stop the dry food completely starting tomorrow....I was hoping to have a smooth transition...I had read that cats can get really sick from not eating....and I just did not want him to get sick. :?

 

[queen of the nile]

This is what drjean recommended. So don't let him go more then 2 meals without some food. She also recommended that you switch up which meal he'll get the dry food on. That way he can't predict when you will 'cave'. I hope it works for you.

Next time, put the wet food out for an hour. Pick it up. If he doesn't eat, too bad. Do NOT put out any dry food. Let him be hungry. It will surprise him and make him think. It will also make him hungry. Next meal try again. I don't want him to skip more than one or two meals completely, but still, pick up the leftovers and leave the room. Go do something else. In an hour or so, give him a small snack of dry. Just a little bit, not a full meal.

 

[BoscosMum]

I believe Bosco is fully made this transition...I am posting to finish the story and for future reference to anyone in a similar situation with
a extremely finicky cat.

I think I did everything right and stayed persistant. Thank you everyone who replied in this thread and offered support and encouragement!

Bosco will eat Turkey and Giblets...does not matter what brand.
He is now biting my arm because I do not get the pouches open
fast enough and dump it into his bowl.

He gets a Nutro Natural Pouch in the am.
1/8 cup of Chicken Soup dry in the afternoon.
Special Kitty Pouch (turkey & giblets) in the pm.

Special Kitty Pouches are not as good as the Nutro, but the ingredients are not that bad either...there are 2 meats and 1 organ meat
in the first 5 ingredients. They cost .27 cents at Wal-Mart.
I will use up my dry food I have left and see how it goes.
Bosco needs to remember dry food, due to the fact that we
go camping during the summer and no-one will be home to feed him.

My husband wants me to keep his daily diet under $1.00 per day.
Which is very understandable in our financial situation.

Thanks again everyone. I am so happy!

 

[queen of the nile]

That is great to hear! I hope everything goes well.

 

[Superkitties]

Oh, good! Glad you found a flavor he likes. Definitely don't cut the dry out completely, kitties need a bit of crunch. LOL impatient Bosco with the arm biting.