Jason & Belle (GA)
Member Since 2010
Hey all,
First I'd like to send my best to those of you struggling with kitty health issues, and those of you grieving a recent loss. I'm always here checking in and saying prayers for you all, even if you don't see me around.
As for finicky eaters, I've found something interesting with my two. You all know Gracie, my recently OTJ cat. When she was diabetic, she ate everything in sight, without hesitation. Once in remission, she stopped eating everything she was eating, and I've had difficulty finding anything, other than dry, that she'll eat. I also have Samantha, a mild CRF, IBD 15-17yo cat that used to eat anything before dx, but now likes very little. I have literally bought everything on Tanya's CRF list and Janet and Binky's. I also bought a ton of stuff from Petco and Petsmart that seemed decent. No kidding, at any given time, I have 20-30 different kinds of food in the house for just those two.
Since I sit with them when they eat, I noticed that they moved their food around a lot in the bowl, pushing it with their tongue, sort of licking. They wouldn't actually eat it, but they didn't turn up their noses. I decided to see if pureeing the food would get that licking motion to lead to ingesting. Turned out the same food they refused to eat out of the can got the bowls licked clean when pureed. Same exact food, no additives other than a little water. I used to spend hours trying to get them to eat, sprinkling all kinds of stuff on the food. Pureed, they eat that same food without hesitation. Now I just buy one can of each food I want to try, and if they show any interest in it, I puree it and try again. So far, I've probably tried this with 10 foods, and it's worked with 8 or so. We all know how much our cats like gravy, so maybe they think this is a whole bowl full of it!
I hope this helps some of you out there. I struggled for two years to get Samantha to eat consistently, and for the last few months to get Gracie to eat low carb, non-dry food. Not only are they eating a proper diet for their conditions, it saves me a ton of time trying to get them to eat. I have one of those little rocket blenders, and it does the trick. It works for pate and chunky foods. Good luck!
Jason
First I'd like to send my best to those of you struggling with kitty health issues, and those of you grieving a recent loss. I'm always here checking in and saying prayers for you all, even if you don't see me around.
As for finicky eaters, I've found something interesting with my two. You all know Gracie, my recently OTJ cat. When she was diabetic, she ate everything in sight, without hesitation. Once in remission, she stopped eating everything she was eating, and I've had difficulty finding anything, other than dry, that she'll eat. I also have Samantha, a mild CRF, IBD 15-17yo cat that used to eat anything before dx, but now likes very little. I have literally bought everything on Tanya's CRF list and Janet and Binky's. I also bought a ton of stuff from Petco and Petsmart that seemed decent. No kidding, at any given time, I have 20-30 different kinds of food in the house for just those two.
Since I sit with them when they eat, I noticed that they moved their food around a lot in the bowl, pushing it with their tongue, sort of licking. They wouldn't actually eat it, but they didn't turn up their noses. I decided to see if pureeing the food would get that licking motion to lead to ingesting. Turned out the same food they refused to eat out of the can got the bowls licked clean when pureed. Same exact food, no additives other than a little water. I used to spend hours trying to get them to eat, sprinkling all kinds of stuff on the food. Pureed, they eat that same food without hesitation. Now I just buy one can of each food I want to try, and if they show any interest in it, I puree it and try again. So far, I've probably tried this with 10 foods, and it's worked with 8 or so. We all know how much our cats like gravy, so maybe they think this is a whole bowl full of it!
I hope this helps some of you out there. I struggled for two years to get Samantha to eat consistently, and for the last few months to get Gracie to eat low carb, non-dry food. Not only are they eating a proper diet for their conditions, it saves me a ton of time trying to get them to eat. I have one of those little rocket blenders, and it does the trick. It works for pate and chunky foods. Good luck!
Jason
So far with the pureeing, I haven't had to resort to any dust or flavor enhancers.