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As many of you know, I've been trying to transition my guys to an all wet food diet for about a month and a half. Or more? It seems like more. It seems like freakin forever!!
I buy canned Wellness and Innova Evo. They'll reluctantly eat about 1/2 oz only per meal if there is dry present and separate (dry = Wysong or Evo).
(They don't like Nature's Variety wet.)
I throw away so much wet, and they don't even seem happy to be getting it.............
Should I be looking for a different wet?
From the good wet list, I've seen Innova and Newman's Own,...plus a couple others but those ones have had recalls, and particularly since we're buying stuff that has been imported to Japan, we're afraid to buy them.
Patience is a virtue Mooch but if there is dry food always available the you are going to have a hard time with all that candy sitting in front of them. Have you read on catinfo.org how she transitioned her cats to wet?
Yes, I must have read that article 20 times, and I plan to read it again LOL.
I'm no longer free-feeding dry.
If I only put out wet, they don't eat.
Now I'm putting out their wet food + 1 tbsp of dry......they eat their dry and about 1/2 oz of wet, leaving a bunch of wet. I leave it out for a few hours. Sometimes they'll snack on it, but I'll still end up having to throw a ton. I do this 3 meals a day. (I've tried doing 2 meals, leaving the right amount of wet + 1.5 tbsp of dry, and they'll leave the dry AND wet.)
For the next meal, I'll put out a different wet. It's a no go until I put out another tbsp of dry.
Urgh, patience! Patience!
So you don't think I should look for other wet food? I should stick with this program a while longer and just give less and less dry? (I did do that before and the less dry I give, the less wet they eat LOL. But maybe I need to go even slower?)
Or should I break out my Nature's Variety medallions and see if they ADORE it?
Patience.........
I'm going to re-read that article again tonight LOL.
If you want to try and find a food that they love, why not? It's worth a try right? You're already wasting food, so what's another can? My opinion is to try and find something they love..... if it never happens then you can try to push what you want them to eat. If you do find a good food they love you will be HAPPY!
here are my thoughts on your problem. How much switching around are you doing on food? Sometimes it takes a while for cats to get used to one food, as we can be naturally suspicious of food changes. I'd say stick to the same food as you are switching them to wet, and then add variety by giving them different brands if you feel like they need it.
I'm also thinking that since wet food is nutritionally more packed with protein, your kitties might not need as much as you are putting out, especially as they are maturing, and might be slowing down in their level of activity. Try using the quantity they're eating now as a guideline, put just that amount out, and see what happens. Remember too, that if they went through the food at a reduced dose and were left hungry for a couple of hours, it won't be the end of the world. It will just motivate them to eat more at the next meal, and eat their food right away so you decide to give them more.
Oh, and if I recall one of your previous posts, keep tabs on your mom. Is it possible she might be feeding your cats dry on the sly because she is worried they are not eating? This would de-motivate the cats to eat wet, if your mom will offer dry eventually. If you suspect this is the case, have a frank conversation with her. Explain how the "I'll just give them a little dry, what's the harm" is actually counterproductive, and how the cats will eat wet faster if they know there is no dry bailout coming.
Honestly? Some cats will eat just about anything, as long as they are convinced it's all they can get. I am pretty finicky, but mom has heard tales of cats who eat french fries, yogurt, and post it notes just because. I think you want to work your way to a happy medium, don't you?
And you know what? I eat mostly dry, wet for some variety and drink water from a fountain. I'm a pretty happy cat, and mom sees two to three largish "blocks" of pee while scooping the litter box twice a day, regardless of whether I had all dry or a combo dry/wet that day. Ultimately, that means I'm doing well moisture wise, and so mom will let things be as they are until that changes.
P.S. - Yesterday I was really busy exploring the house I am staying in (it's so much bigger than home!) and it made me pretty hungry, so I ate all my wet food within 2 hours for the first time in my life. So yes, hunger is the best motivator sometimes.
Here's another tip for you to try. Since you are still feeding them a bit of dry anyway, crush it up into crumbs and then sprinkle it on top of their wet food. This way they will have to eat both foods and they will be able to taste the dry food they love and still eat wet.
I dunno if it'll work, but it's worth a try.
Have you tried Fancy Feast? I know, I know......it's a questionable food, but a lot of cats really like it. There are some varieties that are wheat gluten free. Here's the List
If you find they like it, at least they are eating wet food, and in time you could slooowly switch them to something else by mixing the FF with another brand.
Thank you all so much for putting time into responding to me. I really do appreciate it. After reading your responses, I spent the last hour researching Fancy Feast here LOL.
RASHA -
>You're already wasting food, so what's another can?
LMAO! That's not helping me!
>My opinion is to try and find something they love.
I sure do feel the drive to do that. Oddly enough, they were fairly happy to eat their breakfast this morning - 1.5 tbsp of Evo dry, and about 2 tbsp of Evo wet. Over about an hour, they both finished their portions off!
Sure, sure, finish stuff off for the first time now that I'm getting long responses on Catster, you little stinkers! LOL.
BORIS - Thank you for such a detailed post. You hit a lot of interesting points for me.
>How much switching around are you doing on food?
I'm actually not switching around. The only "newish" food right now is Wellness wet, but I introduced it to them about a month ago and did it by mixing it little by little into their Evo wet over a couple weeks (they've eaten Evo since they came to live with me when they were 2 months old).
But they've never been super hot on Wellness, and that's when I started to wonder if I should be looking for yet a different wet. (They don't like Nature's Variety wet, except for the duck one.)
>Remember too, that if they went through the food at a reduced dose and were left hungry for a couple of hours, it won't be the end of the world. It will just motivate them to eat more at the next meal, and eat their food right away so you decide to give them more.
I think this is really the important one for me.
I'm maybe too concerned about this -- for their weight (girls = 9pds, boys = 11pds) I calculated their caloric need as being far more than what they're consuming. Even when I calculate their caloric needs as being "couch potato" they eat less than what they are supposedly "requiring." However, I have no idea what their "ideal" weights are. I guess I'll find out in August when I go to get their 1-yr shots.
It's not that my guys won't eat wet. They do eat it. They just won't eat enough of it. And they usually only eat it if there's a side order of dry accompanying it. (I say usually because a couple of them do eat some wet alone if it's left out during the day.)
I think your idea is good - to give a bit less food and see how that goes - maybe hunger will inspire them to finish off the wet I give them.
I guess I've been feeling that if for whatever particular meal they look like they'll eat more wet food, I want to be armed and ready to give it to them,...which means having room-temp wet food handy LOL.
>Oh, and if I recall one of your previous posts, keep tabs on your mom ...If you suspect this is the case, have a frank conversation with her.
Yes, you recall correctly, urgh. I try to keep tabs on that daily, as much as it drives me nuts. But she doesn't ever feed my two guys, and because her boy has a little meowling issue, her two often spend the day to dinner at my place (we live in the same building).
>mom has heard tales of cats who eat french fries, yogurt, and post it notes
LMAO!!
>Yesterday I was really busy exploring the house I am staying in (it's so much bigger than home!) and it made me pretty hungry, so I ate all my wet food within 2 hours for the first time in my life. So yes, hunger is the best motivator sometimes.
Oooh, fun! Lucky you! I think I read about your parents' concerns about your being out of your usual home in a different thread. I'm glad to hear you're having some good fun...and such a good appetite! Yay!
Actually, last night was our 1 year birthday, so we had a celebration. Mom gave us 4 dinner a little earlier than usual - a special dinner treat of steamed chicken breast (which she mixed with a prepackaged seafood-flavored steamed chicken breast cat snack that we love -- we don't like plain ol' chicken breast, much to Mom's dismay).
Anyway, since they ate sort of early last night, this morning they were really hungry! Mooch came to meow to me to get up to give him breakfast - first time in his life! It was nice for me to see them both so enthusiastic for breakfast.
Both Mooch and Cham each had about 1.5 tbsp of Evo dry, and maybe 2 tbsp of Evo wet. YAY!
So when I read your post about the hunger thing and not worrying so much about "required" portions and......well, it's making me write a monster response LOL!
Again, thank you so much. I'm going to try not to let the "required" calories be such a major concern (I know the risks about not starving them).
Hmm. Maybe I should switch to 2 meals a day to get that hunger working. Maybe that would inspire them to eat up what's in their dishes.
MORGAN - I've heard yummy things about Fancy Feast! Thank you! I'm doing some research on it right away.
BANDIT - Thank you so much for the link to a list of good Fancy Feast. I hadn't thought to try it. I know on the cat nutrition site it's recommended that ANY wet food over dry is better, as a transition to raw.
I have never looked for that brand here in Japan. I'm going to look into it to see if the higher choice variety are available, should I try that route.
>Since you are still feeding them a bit of dry anyway, crush it up into crumbs and then sprinkle it on top of their wet food.
Thanks for that tip. Their Royal Hinies don't like it when anything is mixed into their wet or their dry. When I tried sprinkling their favorite dry crushed over their wet, they looked at me like "Now why on earth did you go and do that? You've ruined both the dry AND the wet."
Okay. Thanks to your responses, I think I've got a good idea how to do this.
1) Trying a switch to 2 meals a day, hoping that hunger will inspire them to finish off the wet I put down (with some dry for now, which I'll verrrry slowly give less and less of).
2) Not worry about the calorie intake, since they ARE eating, and they aren't begging (much) for food at other times, which is probably an indication that they aren't starving.
3) Slowly wean the dry down and if they still aren't eating more wet by then, try out the better (no gluten etc) flavors Fancy Feast.
Good. I feel a little re-inspired. Now if only Nature's Variety would write me back to tell me if it's safe to try out their raw while still feeding dry. LOL.
THE GOOD NEWS - I fed all 4 their dinner tonight - 1 tbsp of Evo dry and split a 3oz can of Wellness between the 4 of them. And everyone gobbled up! Just a few pieces of kibble and a mouthful of wet left after Mooch finished up as much extras as he wanted LOL. I have just 1 teaspoon of wet to throw tonight! (Unless someone eats it before I go to sleep.)
THE NOT SO GOOD NEWS - Mom took Yoyo and Lulu home after dinner, and as usual called me half an hour later to tell me that Yoyo was doing his meowling scheme again, and she was going nuts. She told me she thought they were hungry, and I told her that they had just finished having dinner here moments before (though a small dinner). I suggested to her that if she thought they were hungry, to give just a teaspoon or two of dry ----- and she told me she didn't have any left. I gave her enough to last a week just two days ago.
But I know, I know, I really shouldn't be pushing my belief of feeding onto Mom, so I'm going to just let her feed her two as she thinks best. I'll supply her with a new bag of Innova Evo dry and maybe Orijen dry to mix things up (or else she'll buy some cr*p at the convenience store). She'll also have Wellness and Evo wet. I can't and shouldn't fight her on this. Besides, at least they'll be grain-free.
Huh. I feel better.
I'm still going to continue though! In fact, Cham just came to tell me she's still hungry, so I gave her some Evo wet ONLY heheh, and she ate about 1 tbsp of it sans dry!
I know the concern for getting enough calories must be on the back of your mind, but as you're transitioning them, let them dictate their pace. Mom tries to be as exact as possible with my food, but sometimes I just need a little bit more. She felt really guilty about feeding me a bit extra food the past week or so, but now she feels silly because it was maybe 1/8 of a cup extra of dry per day, and I've started eating at my normal level again yesterday. No begging or pleading even. Mom says she just has to trust that I know how to self regulate, and that balance has been achieved (who knows, she might have forgotten to load one of my meals, even though she's pretty good at it, and my begging for extra food might have been my way to let her know that she didn't load the feeder properly recently, and that she needed to make it up to me
That Cham told you "Hey, I'm still hungry", and ate her wet is a good sign. She's starting to get the idea that the wet is here to stay! . You know your mom best, but mom says she would also have given your mom a can of wet food for Yoyo, and
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I gave her enough to last a week just two days ago. 