I Love My Cat

cat experts,vet techs-my cat refuses wet food-suggestions?

i recently adopted a 4 year old maine coon male.he must have been raised on dry food only.he refuses wet food no matter what i do.hes a neutered male.im afraid he will get urinary infections or blockages from the dry food,but even if i mix the wet and dry,he walks away.he wont touch the dry food if its near the wet.am i worried for nothing?any suggestions to help?i had a male with blockages along time ago,i want to help prevent this cat from this problem if i can.
ps-ive had him about 2 months now.

You’re quite right to want to get him on wet food. So don’t give up just yet! I have several suggestions, some of which you may not have tried yet.

Another tip is that even if you have literally tried everything, wait a while and try again. In the beginning my girls were somewhat fussy eaters but these days they’re much more easygoing. I think that may be partly due to the fact that they’ve gotten used to eating different foods and so they’re more accepting now.

1. Buy the best. See http://www.catinfo.org/commercialcannedfoods.htm for suggestions, and also see my blog on identifying good foods http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-ytgWjlI5er8IWP.paz_7JTvgf_5D?p=59. Although you don’t want to feed fishy foods more than 2-3 times per week (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whyfishisd… ), you might want to get a few. The stronger smell may be more appealing, and perhaps you could use it as a topping on other foods as well.

2. Buy as many varieties as you can. Get different brands and different flavors. Also try different textures – some prefer mushy food, others prefer ones that are chunkier. You just never know what’s going to appeal to a cat.

3. Offer a teaspoonful or so of the new food in a separate bowl at feeding time. Do this at every meal. The idea is that kitty will finally realize it’s food and will give it a shot. By offering just a small amount, you’ll avoid digestive upsets should he or she be willing to give it a try.

4. If he tries any, note which brand/flavor it was. You may then want to focus on that brand or that flavor in other brands. But don’t be fooled. The cat may eat it all up but then never want to eat it again. So before buying a case of a food that he seems to like, make sure he’s going to continue going for it.

5. You can try putting a smear of food on his nose or mouth. That’ll cause him to lick it. If he likes it, he may try more.

6. Bribes. Crush some kibble and sprinkle it over the top. Try fish or liver flakes, parmesan cheese, a drop of soy sauce, meaty baby food (with no added onion or garlic), whatever it takes. CATNIP! If your cat doesn’t seem to go for any of these bribes, try dried catnip flakes. Some have had success doing this.

NOTE: You can also try mixing dry and wet together, but if you do you should not leave the mixture down for longer than 1/2 hour or so. The same is true if you’re sprinkling the food with crushed kibble. That’s because when kibble gets wet it can turn into a bowl o’ bacteria. It’s safe if eaten right away though.

7. You can run the food (in a container of course) under hot or warm water or even nuke it for a few seconds to bring it to “mouse body temperature.” This may also release the scent and that may draw the cat in.

8. Don’t try starving the cat into submission. That could ultimately be fatal. You may want to cut back a bit on the regular food so that hunger may encourage him to eat, but don’t force the issue. As he starts eating more canned, you will decrease the amount of kibble he’s getting. But just be sure that he gets enough to eat every day.

Realize that you will waste food and money. Be patient and persistent. The results will be worth it!

I’ve Raised & I’ve Rescued. But I couldn’t save BUDDHA.(My #1Kitty RIP-Buddha)

Smartcat Elevated Shallow Food Dish 5 oz Wet Food Bowl Blue …