Kitten won't eat canned food

Discuss ways to improve the quality of your cat's life and longevity through proper nutrition; a place for all of your questions and answers about feeding your kitty!

Please keep discussions fun, friendly, and helpful at all times. Non-informative posts criticizing a particular brand or another poster's choice of food are not allowed in this Forum. References to any brand of food as "junk," "garbage," or other harsh names will be removed.

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Ryder & Jack

1234516

Purred: Tue Feb 21, '12 9:10am PST


	I had another thread about trying to get my kittens to eat a healthier food. One of my babies, Jack, will eat anything. Ryder, however, won't. I've tried everything and he just won't eat it. He is tiny for his age anyway - he is only about 4 1/2 pounds. I took him to the vet a few weeks ago and they didn't seem worried about that and said he was healthy. My question is this. He will eat Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys canned food. He loves that one and won't touch anything else I am giving him. Should I just feed him this since it is the only canned food he will eat, even though it is not a very good canned food? And it is not really for kittens? I also supplement him with dry and he eats Natural Balance. Update: I just remembered that he will also eat Purina Pro Plan Kitten, so that is better than Fancy Feast, but i was hoping to get him away from the Purina Products Edited by author Tue Feb 21, '12 3:56pm PST

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Beatrice

The very Beast- of all

moderator

Purred: Tue Feb 21, '12 9:10pm PST


	Have you tried mixing higher quality canned with the Fancy Feast? If you can get him to eat the combination, you could slowly increase the ratio of the new food until he's off the FF.

Ambassador at- the Kitty U.N.

Purred: Wed Feb 22, '12 4:36am PST


	I would do what Beatrice suggested. Even if you have to start out with 95% FF and even if it takes a month or two to slowly increase the other food. There's no rush and it will make your life easier in the long run to have them both on the same diet.

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Amber

I didn't do it!

Purred: Wed Feb 22, '12 5:57am PST


	I agree with everyone who has posted. I would also like to add that the Eagle Pack probiotic blend is useful in getting cats to try something new; it contains animal digest which most cats love the taste of so it is really good for transitioning cats from one food to another. Which formulas of each food will he eat? Different formulas have different ingredients, so we need specifics before making suggestions. Fancy Feast is a Purina product, so it should be avoided if you are uncomfortable feeding Purina foods.

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Ryder & Jack

1234516

Purred: Wed Feb 22, '12 9:13am PST


	The only reason that I thought that I would try some better foods is because I heard that all Purina products, including Fancy Feast, is junk. Even the Pro Plan kind. He likes the Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys Florentine - all flavors. I have tried mixing it and he will not eat it that way either. He manages to pick around the new food. I guess i can keep at it and hope that he will eat it one day. I have never head of Eagle Pack. I'll have to give that a try.

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Pandora

go getter kitter

Purred: Thu Feb 23, '12 6:49am PST


	Actually, there will be disagreement for sure, but FF and canned Friskies are good quality foods. The pate styles are even grain free if that is a big concern to you. I also have some picky cats and I mix some canned FF kitten food into their Whiskas and other 'in sauce' foods that they love (The Whiskas "Purrfectly" styles of food are pretty good also although they have a lot of sauce so you have to feed more) When had less cats I worked at getting them to 'upgrade' their food preferences, never had much success even mixing it in, finally gave up. i don't have the money to throw away and the more I research the less I think that the holistic, natural, whatever foods are any better than whhat I already feed. I now feed some raw, to those that will eat it, but we also go thru a lot of Friskies and FF here. Personally I cannot tell the difference in the cats that get no FF and those that do, and the couple that prefer the raw. (our best show cat refuses to touch ANY raw or pate style food, must have his chunks, and is magnificent condition)

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Amber

I didn't do it!

Purred: Thu Feb 23, '12 10:42pm PST


	Pandora, I respectfully disagree. Even the varieties that are grain free contain "by-products" which can be things like beaks, feet, and cancerous tumors or other meat not deemed fit for human consumption, and most if not all of them contain unnamed meat sources, which can be anything from roadkill to rendered euthanized animals from zoos, shelters, and vets offices. The ones I have seen also contain BHT, BHA, and ethoxyquin, all of which are proven carcinogens and banned in human foods (I believe ethoxyquin is allowed in extremely small amounts in things like spices). Purina has also had a lot of trouble with its food, both in the past and recently; there are many reports of the food making pets sick (too many to ignore) and Purina is taking the denial route and doing nothing about it, endangering many pets. Edited by author Thu Feb 23, '12 10:43pm PST

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'Bitz

1203386

Purred: Sat Feb 25, '12 8:59pm PST


	While I tend to agree with much of what has been said, I will throw in my nickle While I advocate a majority percentage of wet to dry in kitty's diet, an all dry diet is not necessarily a "bad" thing. In spite of what others think. Yes, an all wet diet is the ideal diet for meezers but what are you to do if the cat refuses any kind of wet? Kibble is calorie and carb dense so there are a lot of risk factors to consider. Obesity for one which can lead to feline diabetes. If the kitty does not drink enough water to hydrate themselves, all types of issues, including UTIs can occur. There is probably nothing "wrong" with the diet your cat is on. You seem to want a better quality wet to try to transition him to. All the cool cats in this household thrive on Nutro Natural Choice and Nutro Max wet and dry food. For wet, other premium brands are given as well for a different texture and flavor treat for the kitties. Try mixing one of the gravy wet foods in with some of the kibble to see what happens. Also try to mix some of the premium in with the FF and see if he will eat it. Don't give up after one try either. As we all know it takes the patience of a saint sometimes to cater to the felines ruling the household. Feel free to PM me and I'll see if I can help more if you need it. Good luck and keep us posted

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Bumpurr

RESPECT The- Star!

Purred: Sun Feb 26, '12 5:55am PST


	This is Bump's 3 cents, he gets 1 cent more, cause he is bigger, mol. You might want to reconsider feeding any Purina products, which is purina kitten chow, FF and Friskies, as well as the pro plans. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/ralston.html I tried the FF route, kittens threw it up, earned me a $400 vet bill. Try Blue Wilderness. Just buy one can and see if he will eat it. Or buy a small bag and see if he will eat it. If he won't eat it, you can take it back to Petsmart, with the receipt, and they will give you your money back. Blue Wilderness, is the only food, Bump will eat. He is another one, that will not, at all, eat any wet, period. He gets 1 teaspoon Gerber baby food, chicken or turkey ONLY, mixed with water, so its like a broth, twice a day, to keep him flushed out.

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Member Since
03/28/2012

Purred: Wed Mar 28, '12 5:24pm PST


	You could be speaking about my Mika except she's 10 and since Jan 2012, she won't eat canned food except a freshly opened one and the first serving only - about a teaspoon. I've tried everything you all have (as well as other suggestions) and give her grain free/all natural canned food (Wellness). Have tried Blue Wilderness and Weruva - she only likes pate texture. Lucky she eats pumpkin (only ED Smith, of course) so it keeps her BM's moving and moist. She has one chipped tooth since she was a kitten but it hasn't changed and there are issues with her gums. She loves her dry food and chews it as well as the occasional dry treat. When she had a kidney problem and wouldn't eat (2010), I fed her baby food (chicken), it was the only thing she would eat (not even her dry). She's basically healthy and monitored regularly by Vet for her borderline high blood pressure. I don't think she's getting enough calories and I will not increase her dry food because it's not good for her. I've also noticed she sleeps more now that's she's older. Is it ok to substitute baby food for canned cat food?