The Boycott on Wet Food

Sometimes we think they hate everything but it is just how we prepare it.

Glad I haven't had skittish eaters. For me Purina is a local product and I have been using it since time began for all of our animals, but different strokes for different folks I guess.

I like LTD ideas about dehydrated or freeze dried. Something new to try with Eliza (18) who is starting to cough up dried food so we put her on canned only. Next stop at the grocery store she will get a better variety and better quality canned, freeze dried, or dehydrated. We know she won't last forever and diet now is probably more important.

Add a teaspoon of water to wet food? experiment. does Jasper have his own water dish? He might object to a common water hole and doesn't know about dehydration.

A dog, a new kitty, a new house.......and whatever went on that changed his behavior at you Mom's house must have had some effect on him that he hasn't 'got it all sorted out' yet? Baby steps is about all you can do...one thing at a time with constant rewards....(doesn't have to be food).

I was originally feeding the cats Fancy Feast dry food (because that's what my parents were feeding them!!!) but when I spoke to the vet she told me that if he won't eat the canned food then Purina One was the best dry food to feed.

Jasper doesn't seem to care if he misses meals. When I was putting the wet food in with the dry he simply wouldn't eat. I would leave it there until the next night and his bowl would still be full. I would throw the food away and refill it with fresh wet and dry food. Again, the next night, full. So I just put some dry in because I was sad and didn't want him to starve.

Yes, Cat'sHouse, Jasper has his own water dish. We keep him in the den of our home. He is isolated from everyone else because he likes it. He doesn't have to worry about the dog attacking him and boyfriend and I don't spend much time in there so he has free reign.

I don't think he's fully gotten over whatever it was that freaked him out at my mom's house. I still think he's fearful of me but because he knows that I'm here and I feed him that's why he lets me pet him and that's why he's giving me a chance again.

LDG- I'm going to try the different "styles" like you said but he had the opportunity at my parents' house to eat all different kinds of wet food (gravy lovers, etc) but my dad said he never did. It's worth a try again, I suppose. Even if I can get him to eat a little of one kind perhaps I can find whatever it is you said smelled like kibble and sprinkle it on. I know you said it's a terrible probiotic but...I'm running out of options here, and I know it's just not healthy for him to eat only dry food.

fancy feast isn't a premium cat food but cats love it. it's like cheetos. your kids would eat them all day long if you let them, so you have to mix the broccoli and spinach in there along with it.

the premium catfoods vary in taste and texture a lot so you have to pick and choose until you find one he likes. nutro, royal canin, and wysong are all top shelf like blue buffalo. i have to say that i think blue buffalo smells the tastiest--not that i would taste test (i'm weird but not that weird) but my cats like it a lot. as far as hill's science diet or iams, they may have changed the formula somewhat but my cats always found it too bland and refused to eat it. they like the iams dry food though. my vet suggested mixing some garlic powder in the bland ones, etc. i did that, didn't really work. after i put it through a food processor, they couldn't lick all the gravy off and leave the hunks but i think that's a little too demanding.

i mix mine up, because my cats get bored easily. pro-plan isn't the worst, it isn't the best. it's the low end of decent food. personally i don't think you should have to sell vital organs to afford your cat food, so buy what works. tbh, i think anything but the cheapest store brands or generic stuff in bins the mice can get in is probably fine. i had a siamese for 17 years, took him to the vet every year, he still had to have all his teeth pulled at 3 because of severe gum disease and it was genetic. purebred cats are prone to more hereditary diseases just like ethnicities that have remained isolated from the general gene pool. some people have good genes like george burns, smoke cigars and drink martinis and live to be 100, same thing for cats. living inside away from cars, big dogs and fighting tom cats is already a big step. i also had him tested for hyperthyroidism four times and they kept saying it was normal but i'm sure that's what killed him. he ate and ate but got skinnier and skinnier. it could have been some kind of cancer but it doesn't seem likely. anyway, he was very well taken care of and fed all the right things and still died a good five years before i expected, so do whatever makes you and the cat happiest. life is too short.