Won't eat canned food but gobbles up tuna...

[emo]

Help!
My vet wants me to fatten up my cat, Clyde by adding tuna & oil (olive oil or oil from tuna) to his food. The only problem is that he'll eat the tuna but won't eat his food. He's on Royal Canin Green Peas & Duck Limited Ingredient canned food to control his IBD.

I know that he can't live on tuna alone...even though he would disagree with me! Any suggestions?

It doesn't look like Royal Canin has any seafood Limited Ingredient foods. The vet had me stop the dry food and he is doing much better and is a lot less gassy!

He's been doing much better about pooping in the box but still misses every once and awhile. The new vet has us keep him in his "room" when we can't directly supervise him. At least when he poops outside the box now it's just on tile so it's quick and easy to clean up!

[happylabs]

Have you tried mixing the tuna in with his other food and just the oil from the tuna? I know cats can be way finicky! My guys will eat their canned Friskies one night and then the next night they will just lick the gravy off! It is very frustrating, isn't it.

[emo]

I sure have! Mixing it doesn't do much...he'll just eat the parts with tuna and leave the rest. His food is so expensive anyway that I hate to waste it. I was giving him half a can in AM and the other half in PM but now I'm down to 1/4 can each time and he's still barely eating it.

It sucks too because he was eating his food pretty good before I started giving him the tuna. It's like now that he knows that there is better tasting food for him he doesn't need the other stuff.

I know that when I try to give him just his food if I don't put Olive Oil on it he won't even touch it. The vet told me to try bacon drippings too since he jumps on the counter looking for it. I gave him some the other day and then he threw up right away so that's why I'm sticking with the tuna.

Do you think I should try a different flavor of cat food like the Green Pea & Venison? I just worry about switching his food sometimes. Actually since they are both Limited Ingredient I should be fine right? Or do I need to mix the new and old?

AHH...I love Clyde so much but he is a very high maintenance cat. He's going to be 9 in October and I've had him for 1 year the beginning of August. I'm his 3rd owner and his most patient one!! I'm not giving up on him!

[happylabs]

I would try another flavor and mix them at first. I wonder if there is anything else you could sprinkle on his food that he would be allowed to eat and he would like. I am not as experienced at this as some of the other PT people here so maybe someone else will have some good suggestions. I know what you mean, about loving him. I love all of my guys so much too and worry about them as well when they are not feeling well or won't eat.

[emo]

I saw that Halo has some food additive sprinkles in Salmon, chicken, & beef flavor that are all natural but I just don't know. I'm so surprised that the new vet recommended that I give him "people" food. He just said to do one thing at a time and if upsets his system to stop and wait till it gets back to normal then try something else.

I do appreciate your input though...this website has been a lifesaver!! I've gotten so much good advice especially with some rocky times with Clyde. He did not adjust well to us moving in with my bf but he seems to be doing better now. I think that he still misses my apt!

Thanks!

[Sundance]

One of our cats has problems digesting cat food (severe diarrhea) so our vet recommended that we give her boneless chicken breast. I have to add 1/8 tsp of bone meal (available at the drug store) twice a day and 1/2 of a Felo-form vitamin (available at the vet's office) once a day. I just crush the vitamin and mix it right in with the food. She's been on this diet for almost a year now and is doing well, despite being 14 years old, diabetic, and hyperthyroid. Good luck with your kitty!

[columbine]

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance now has a Salmon & Green Pea flavor that my little fishaholic quite enjoys! He even prefers it to chicken, and he's usually OK with chicken.

Love, Columbine

[Catty1]

I also wonder - if Clyde is getting a lot of benefit from the tuna and oil, he might be really wolfing it down because his body needs it to balance out. I wonder if his appetite for it will slow down a bit when he recovers some more?

Glad to hear he is getting so shiny and gaining weight!

[emo]

So I picked up some Royal Canin Green Peas and Venison canned food last night to try it out. He loved it!! He gobbled it up faster than tuna!! I guess he was just bored with the Duck version. I suppose that I would get tired of eating the same food every day too.

I'm going to have him eat that exclusively for a little while before I try giving him tuna again. Yes the tuna is cheaper but I don't necessarily think it has all the nutrients he needs. What do you think? Should I do tuna as a treat instead? Sort of a bedtime in your room bribe?

I'm so relieved that a flavor change worked! It's taken me quite a while to get him gi system better with diet that I hated to have to start all over again with the food trials. Since the Venison is the same formula of Limited Ingredients as the Duck all I had to do was mix them together.

Thanks for all the tips and keep them coming! I'm always happy to get advice from fellow cat lovers!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I've read that feeding cats real tuna is very bad for their health because it's high in polyunsaturated fat which cats have trouble metabolizing. Tuna can rob a cat's body of vitamin E, leading to a painful disease called steatitis, or Yellow Fat Disease, in which the skin becomes unbearably tender. I copied this from a book that I have about cats. My parents learned the hard way because they fed their cat real tuna and also real chicken liver every day because she was a very picky eater. She didn't live as long as she could have.

If your vet thinks that your cat needs the extra oils then I'd just supplement his diet with some omega 3 fish oil instead. Good luck.

[emo]

I've read that feeding cats real tuna is very bad for their health because it's high in polyunsaturated fat which cats have trouble metabolizing. Tuna can rob a cat's body of vitamin E, leading to a painful disease called steatitis, or Yellow Fat Disease, in which the skin becomes unbearably tender. I copied this from a book that I have about cats. My parents learned the hard way because they fed their cat real tuna and also real chicken liver every day because she was a very picky eater. She didn't live as long as she could have.

If your vet thinks that your cat needs the extra oils then I'd just supplement his diet with some omega 3 fish oil instead. Good luck.

Thanks for that info... I knew there was some reason for it but I couldn't remember the details. The reason he wanted me to give him tuna in oil or some meats in his food is to fatten him up since he had lost some weight. I've been trying to give him extra treats too!!

[Catty1]

Woohoo! Now that he is gobbling up his new food, he'll put on a bit more weight yet!

After he is off the tuna, if that happens - I wonder if some canned salmon would be ok? It comes packed in water, and is a very oily fish anyway.

Or there is Omega 3-6 oil in a pump form for dogs. I use it for my two cats as capsules every morning would be a hassle. But you could use half a pump mixed in with some wet food. See what your vet thinks.

[columbine]

Solid Gold makes a "tuna for cats" that's got supplements to make up for the nutrients that straight tuna robs from a cat's body.

Wish you lived near me! Smudge was crazy for Venison & Green Pea and then decided he hated it. I had to drop it off at the shelter (he's getting the salmon now).

If you're using the limited-ingredients because of allergies, Solid Gold also makes a dry food called Indigo Moon (grain-free) that Smudge absolutely loves. It's chicken-based, but he'll gobble it before he'll even sniff his "paté."

Love, Columbine (personal chef to a floofball)