anyone else have a cat who's a picky eater?

[sdkitty]

my boy scarfs down almost any canned food I serve. but my little girl is picky. I'll give her something and she seems to like it - doesn't often eat the whole portion but eats some. then I'll give her the same food a week later and she won't touch it. people food isn't the answer. I try to give her treats of sliced turkey and she can't get it into her mouth. won't take food from my hand and can't seem to get it off the floor or her bowl. thankfully she does like her dry food but I like to give them some canned in the evening.
I've tried commercial like 9 lives and more premium/grain free. sometimes she'll go for 9 lives or fancy feast.

anyone else have this problem?
it's not that terrible; jack eats her food but I feel kinda bad for her

 

[CanuckBagLover]

my boy scarfs down almost any canned food I serve. but my little girl is picky. I'll give her something and she seems to like it - doesn't often eat the whole portion but eats some. then I'll give her the same food a week later and she won't touch it. people food isn't the answer. I try to give her treats of sliced turkey and she can't get it into her mouth. won't take food from my hand and can't seem to get it off the floor or her bowl. thankfully she does like her dry food but I like to give them some canned in the evening.
I've tried commercial like 9 lives and more premium/grain free. sometimes she'll go for 9 lives or fancy feast.

anyone else have this problem?
it's not that terrible; jack eats her food but I feel kinda bad for her

Have you talked to your vet? My cat is a bit picky - she'll canned food and dry food I put down for her, but won't take treats, will only eat where her food/water bowl is set up, won't eat from my hand. She doesn't like cooked chicken or turkey, which is simply unheard of with my experience in having cats.

I think as long as she is getting enough food, not losing weight, she should be ok. But I would consider checking with the vet to see if they can make any recommendations and to rule out any other medical causes. Be cautious about letting Jack eat her food - it might set a bad pattern - him getting to her food before she can - also I had two cats and one was picky but other one wasn't and he used to do the same thing, eat the other's left overs and he got really obsese. So its not a behaviour I would let go on.

Good luck, your kitties are so cute.

 

[pjhm]

Have Vet check her teeth-could have an absess or a little broken tooth which is stopping her from eating.

 

[sdkitty]

Have Vet check her teeth-could have an absess or a little broken tooth which is stopping her from eating.

she eats her kibble just fine and that's harder than canned food. I think one part of the problem is she wants to take some and maybe then go back, which works fine for the dry food but not for canned. as far as "people food" both of these cats are pickier than ones I've had in the past. He will take turkey but has rejected things like steak. My other cats would take any meat or fish very happily

 

[sdkitty]

Have you talked to your vet? My cat is a bit picky - she'll canned food and dry food I put down for her, but won't take treats, will only eat where her food/water bowl is set up, won't eat from my hand. She doesn't like cooked chicken or turkey, which is simply unheard of with my experience in having cats.

I think as long as she is getting enough food, not losing weight, she should be ok. But I would consider checking with the vet to see if they can make any recommendations and to rule out any other medical causes. Be cautious about letting Jack eat her food - it might set a bad pattern - him getting to her food before she can - also I had two cats and one was picky but other one wasn't and he used to do the same thing, eat the other's left overs and he got really obsese. So its not a behaviour I would let go on.

Good luck, your kitties are so cute.

I think they're both healthy. She can eat the hard kibble so her teeth are ok. As far as Jack getting fat, I only feed them about 3 oz of canned food at night so even if he eats all of it, that's not so much. He's actually more muscular and she is rounder, just the luck of the female

 

[Evia]

I wouldn’t worry too much, she sounds healthy and content.
My elderly cat still eats like a horse (he has wet and dry food) but I worried he was getting dehydrated because he was taking a long time going to the loo. So I put a little warm water from the kettle onto his wet food and mix it in. It makes a gravy and enhances the meaty aroma of his dinner. He loves it and it’s helped sort his toilet trouble. I think smell is important in stimulating a cats appetite so it might be worth a try with your girl, and wouldn’t do any harm.

 

[lolakitten]

My Pasha is the same way.
For a while he was enjoying the mousse texture food, then he stopped eatting it, I tried a bunch of others and he’ll have a few bites, or lap up the juice but leave the food. I tried baking him chicken and for a while he loved that, not so much anymore.
He does eat his dry and the vet said the primary concern for wet food is hydration, so as long as he’s finishing the juice and drinking, he’s ok, but it seems like a waste and I want him to enjoy his food!
Just the other day I found a new brand of food and it’s super wet and smells like human food... so far he’s been enjoying that, but for how long? We shall see.
Could be that he’s still growing and his tastes are maturing? I don’t know.
But he’s healthy, so... *shrug*

 

[bunnycat]

my boy scarfs down almost any canned food I serve. but my little girl is picky. I'll give her something and she seems to like it - doesn't often eat the whole portion but eats some. then I'll give her the same food a week later and she won't touch it. people food isn't the answer. I try to give her treats of sliced turkey and she can't get it into her mouth. won't take food from my hand and can't seem to get it off the floor or her bowl. thankfully she does like her dry food but I like to give them some canned in the evening.
I've tried commercial like 9 lives and more premium/grain free. sometimes she'll go for 9 lives or fancy feast.

anyone else have this problem?
it's not that terrible; jack eats her food but I feel kinda bad for her

Definitely have the vet check her mouth over well for tooth or gum issues or inflammation. My oldest cat (Bunny) has always had mouth problems and problems eating dry food, and last month got diagnosed with oral cancer. (She's on chemo drugs now.) It's better to rule something out than just guess. if no issues, then some cats are natural grazers (I have several of them.)

Several of my cats are both picky and also snackers.

Finnegan is just picky. He is hungry when he is hungry and not before. So I let him eat what he wants, then put his plate aside and see if he wants a snack an hour or so later. He usually lets me know when he does.

Fiona is also a snacker/grazer plus she prefers to eat alone (after everyone else finishes) so I do the same thing. I give her a small meal, then put aside what she doesn't finish for a bit and see if she comes back for it. (Usually with her I have to put whatever her favorite treat is in with the food. Right now that is Catnip Greenies.... )

I don't mind snacking them when they want as they are in pretty good control of their eating and don't overeat. But I don't leave the leftovers down because I also have one that is a bit out of control in the eating department, so he only gets food at the specific mealtimes for everyone.


Good luck!

 

[sdkitty]

Definitely have the vet check her mouth over well for tooth or gum issues or inflammation. My oldest cat (Bunny) has always had mouth problems and problems eating dry food, and last month got diagnosed with oral cancer. (She's on chemo drugs now.) It's better to rule something out than just guess. if no issues, then some cats are natural grazers (I have several of them.)

Several of my cats are both picky and also snackers.

Finnegan is just picky. He is hungry when he is hungry and not before. So I let him eat what he wants, then put his plate aside and see if he wants a snack an hour or so later. He usually lets me know when he does.

Fiona is also a snacker/grazer plus she prefers to eat alone (after everyone else finishes) so I do the same thing. I give her a small meal, then put aside what she doesn't finish for a bit and see if she comes back for it. (Usually with her I have to put whatever her favorite treat is in with the food. Right now that is Catnip Greenies.... )

I don't mind snacking them when they want as they are in pretty good control of their eating and don't overeat. But I don't leave the leftovers down because I also have one that is a bit out of control in the eating department, so he only gets food at the specific mealtimes for everyone.


Good luck!

my girl likes to snack and likes the dry food....boy will eat dry food but won't scarft it all up like he does the canned