Don't you hate this?

**David_M** · 06-18-2002, 08:01 PM

Don't you hate it when your cats are picky about the food you feed them? I absolutely hate this behavior. I feed my cat, Midnight, cans of "9 lives" sometimes. One time, I fed her a can of it when she was very hungry during the night. She ate it all up. The next morning, I fed her the same exact type of can, and she wouldn't eat one bit of it. She left it out to rot in the sun!!! I can not stand it when she will only eat what I give her if she wants too. Do you have any solutions for this kind of behavior? Sometimes all I have is "9 lives", and she usually won't eat it. What do I do? Stop buying it? My kitten loves it, and I usually buy it for her. But sometimes all I have left is "9 lives"! Please help!

-David_M

**Fuzzy317** · 06-18-2002, 09:51 PM

Do you feed canned food all the time? Someone that has more knowledge will speak up, but I think canned food all the time is not always good. Dry food helps to clean their teeth. We free feed our four cats Nutro Max Cat dry, and we give canned food as a treat at times.

**lynnestankard** · 06-19-2002, 08:59 AM

Same here David_M - I feed them on dried food and it doesn't come to any harm sitting in the bowls. In fact the three of them 'graze' all day!! Whenever their peckish the food is ready for them. A couple of mouthfuls and their off - games to play, people to annoy(!) and sleep to sleep!!
Try yours on dried food and see if Midnight wants to be a grazer instead of a two meal a day pus!!

Lynne

**yumyum6970** · 06-19-2002, 10:44 AM

I give YumYum dry food most of the time and give her canned food once a week as a treat. Well, I think it was 9 lives that I had bought last time and she had the first can of it but after that she doesn't sit and eat it all in one setting. I guess she doesn't like it as well as the other canned food.

**yorkster** · 06-19-2002, 02:18 PM

Cats can be so funny about their food!
I feed my 2 mostly dry Iams (hairball formula). ONCE-in-awhile they will get canned as a treat. When I took them off their canned stuff, they did not like it at first, but adjusted after a couple weeks

Sometimes we have people-food I think they will like as treats.
Last night we had FRESH shrimp, so I called both of them and gave them one each. You know What? They both sniffed at it, then looked at me like "yuck!...........what are you giving me this for?"
But if I get the hotdogs out, they go nuts!

**tuxluvr** · 06-19-2002, 03:49 PM

We've never fed Ritz anything but Iams (first kitten then regular cat) dry food and don't feed any table scraps (ok, a few fall on the floor during preparation occasionally and can be fair game)....she has never shown a finicky side regarding food (but then again, she considers flies a delicacy)

**maxx's mom** · 06-19-2002, 06:44 PM

Maxx is extremely picky and will only eat Friskies turkey and cheese canned food, and generic kibble from Save-On-Foods. I gave up the fight long ago and now I only buy her what she will eat. She's got me trained!

**aly** · 06-19-2002, 06:49 PM

Shiloh eats Nutro Max dry also and I free fed her. Occasionally I'll give her some Nutro Max canned food and she acts like she's can't contain herself while I am opening the can, but then she just licks it a little bit and leaves it for later

**moosmom** · 06-20-2002, 12:10 PM

I stopped giving my cats canned food because half the time they would eat a tiny bit then leave the rest. It was a waste of money. They get it only as a treat and one can is split between 6 cats. They have Science Diet anytime they want. I have found that before when I'd feed them canned food morning and night, they would get picky after a while. It's like us eating the same food day in and day out. They get bored with it.

Canned food has no nutritional value at all from what I've been told. And it causes tartar build up on their teeth. So I only do it as a treat or when it's one of their birthdays.

06-20-2002, 12:47 PM

same problem here !!! surely about wet food!!
Sydney gets dry food twice a day . I used to give him wet food at lunch , but he is sooooo difficult that sometimes he makes me nuts !!! Same as your kitty !!! One day he loves it --> makes me buy a supply of it --> next day he refuses it and lets it rotten !!!!
So now , I only give it to him when he "asks" !!! How does he do that ??? He goes and sits on top of the cabinet where all his wet food is , and looks at me with that "LOOK" ......... !
Well , up to now , we seem to "understand" each other !!! Great funny Sydney !!!!!!!

http://community.webshots.com/user/sydneybilliepets

Former User · 06-20-2002, 01:05 PM

We stopped bying tins of cat food, as mostly, some of it went to the bin as rotten. Now we buy those little bags (100g.). Casper and Kitty get half of it in the morning, and rest in the evening. During the daytime, they have dry food available. Ever since we started byuing those bags, not a tiny piece has been left to the dish, and sometimes they even beg for more. But nope, we're not giving. And by changing into those bags, we have reduced the amount of wet food we give them. We still will give it, but will also make sure they get their teeth done. Luckily they both like dry food a lot, and few of the snaks we have for them, are hard as well.

**Beeftink** · 06-20-2002, 01:43 PM

I've got a pride of 8 furbabies, so I know food is an important issue! It's funny, sometimes everyone wants the canned food, and sometimes it just sits and rots - even if it's the same flavor. So, we decided to focus on the dry food, and supplement with wet food here & there. We pour a large amount of dry food - usually Science Diet - onto a turkey serving platter, and let them munch on the "carcass" whenever they want. (They LOVE eating together!) Then, usuaslly twice per week, we'll open 3 of the smaller cans of wet food, and put it out onto lots of dishes. For some reason, it seems to taste better if it comes from "that plate over there, and there, and over there"!

**catland** · 06-20-2002, 03:11 PM

Our four get a tower feeder of Iam's (the one in the orange bag). We also give them canned food as a treat. Typically, both Jan and Joxer go running into the kitchen each morning for their "breakfast" (its the one trick they know). If Sid or Quincy decide to show up, they get a spoonful also. Except of course, for Sid, you have to smash the wet food onto the plate because he likes to lick it instead of eat it - no, there is nothing wrong with his teeth because he eats the dry stuff with no complaint - it's just his little quirk.

The same routine happens in the afternoon when we return home from work. Jan is our little gleaner - she patrol's the rest of the plates for leftovers, so we rarely have any wet food that is out too long to get spoiled.

Anyway, I've also witnessed the "nose in the air"routine, especially from Quincy, who is the least interested in wet food. Fortunately, because Jan will eat what ever he leaves, it doesn't cause a problem.

So, David_M - I'd just recommend having the wet food be a "treat", and try to get your cat used to the dry stuff so that you don't have to let food stay out and get spoiled. Good luck.

**Beeftink** · 06-20-2002, 03:24 PM

It sounds like dry food may be the way to go, with wet food only being used as a treat. And besides the wet food "spoiling" factor, how's about all that GAS !

My cats eat that wet food & look out, they can clear the room! Stinky fuzzybutts!

**Uabassoon** · 06-20-2002, 04:39 PM

I feed my cats mostly science diet dry, but my two share one 3 oz. can of wet food a day. I used to only feed them dry food until Corkscrew started getting a little chubby. My vet said that cats who only eat dry food tend to me a little heavier because kibble has a lot of carbohydrates. Since each only gets 1.5 oz of canned food a day they are still eating mostly dry food to help keep their teeth healthy, and the little bit of wet food they get serves as a filler and they aren't eating as much kibble as thy used to. Corkscrew has lost a little wieght since I started adding canned fod.