Are My Kittens On A Food Strike?

[eli1126]

We changed Beau & Belle's food to Science Diet kitten because Belle has a temperamental digestive system complete with a punky behind odor. We did have them on the Iams to begin with when we noticed the odor and the Vet reccommended either Science Diet or Eukanuba, but clearly said to stay off the Purina Kitten Chow. So DH goes to buy the food and what did he get? The Kitten Chow :rolleyes: They loved the Purina (seems to be like the equivilant of McDonald's) and Belle's punky odor seemed to be better, but she vommited while that was their food, twice. So we switched to the Science Diet and they eat it grudgingly. With the kitten chow I could put the full day's amount in the dish and they did self regulate (meaning they didn't eat it all up at once, they ate throughout the day) but there wouldn't be any food left in the dish the next morning when it was time to put that day's supply in. With the Science Diet they pick and in the morning the dish is still pretty full. It seems like it takes them almost 2 days to eat 1 day's supply! What should I do? They are gaining weight because we were just at the Vet last week and they seemed pleased with the kitten's growth. However, I can't imagine they will continue to gain like they should being so persnickity about their food! Help!

Beth

[kagbsc7]

I am hoping you slowly mixed in the new food so their tummies could adjust to the new food...
Day 1-old food
Day 2-75% old & 25% new
Day 3-50/50

you get the idea---this will help them with the transition...

PS Kitten Chow made my cat stink horribly!!

[eli1126]

Unfortunately we didn't mix as well as that :( We did mix for about 3 days, but there was only a little kitten chow left so we did this: 1 scoop of new with 2 scoops old 1st day, 2 scoops new 1 scoop old 2nd day, and what was left of chow 3rd day with 2 scoops new. That was 2 weeks ago though :confused: So now I don't know if I should just continue the Science Diet or switch back to kitten chow.

Beth

[tlew12778]

Kitten Chow is also not as nutritious as Science Diet so they need to eat more to feel as full.

Try switching brands. Mine don't like Science Diet either. I give them Royal Canin or Purina Premium something... sorry the name is slipping me right now. You need to experiment with their likes and dislikes just like with humans. Mine also won't eat Nutro for instance. And they won't touch wet food with a 10 ft pole.

See if your pet store offers samples. Mine does. That's how I can taste test with my cats for free. Otherwise I'd go broke buying $15-$20 bags of food for nothing.

[greenbunny]

Some high-quality food I have been recommended:

Wellness
Innova
Felidae
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul


Iams is marketed well, but it isn't very good quality. Eukanuba is made by Iams. They have also been caught doing inhumane testing.

I have heard that Nutro isn't high quality, so it looks like we have differing info on that.

[imagirliegirl]

My cat doesn't like Science Diet either. In fact, it made her sick. I feed her Nutro Natural Choice and she really likes it. Nutro came really highly recommended from my vet (even though they sell Science Diet go figure). I also believe there was a WC thread I found awhile back where quite a few girls recommended Nutro.

Do you have Petsmart near where you live? If you buy the food there and they don't like it, you can return the opened bag. That's what I did until I found something my kitty liked. This way you aren't going broke trying to please your cats and you can still keep a little behind to mix after you return it. :)

[eli1126]

Thanks for the help! DH always teases me when I have questions about the babies and run here :rolleyes: I didn't realize you could bring back the food! Now that I know it will be going back.

Beth

[Rico'sAlice]

I'm not sure what my mom's cat ate before, one of the "grocery store premium" brands- dry kibble, but it made her stinky too. I switched her over to raw and now she smells much better and has better BMs. Switching was long and difficult. She was so addicted to her kibble. It was really tough to find a meat she liked. She mostly eats rabbit. But once she got into that we could get her to eat chicken necks, sushi grade tuna, lamb, organs (esp hearts for taurine) etc. She also has pots of cat grass around. She has gotten much better at regulating her own feeding with this and has lost fat while adding some muscle tone. Also improvements in fur glossiness, and somehow (can't prove this is related) but at the same time her moods got much better (perhaps due to end of sugar highs from carbs) and she also stopped throwing up hairballs.

[Daniel's Kitty]

I feed my cat IAMS since he likes it. He likes it. If he doesn't he eats too fast knowing it will make him throw up. Then he tries to make it to the dog food dish or some other place that is really mean to throw up. I am also very envious of everybody who can mix food. My cat will pick out the old food and not eat the new.

[Freckles]

My cat LOVES this food:
http://www.petsmart.com/media/ps/images/products/detail/large/i/inP0/inP037444large_fb47.jpg

My vet suggested it when my cat was sick and had lost his appetite. My vet said that it is healthy & yet it's like "kitty crack" :D So, they will definitely eat it. And my kitty is an indoor long-hair {Ragdoll} with a sensitive stomach and he never pukes this food up. A bag lasts about 3 weeks.

Royal Canin Special Formula is formulated for the unique needs of adult cats who have sensitive stomachs. Contains human-grade chicken protein, along with chicory extract to encourage better digestion. It also contains three unique kibble shapes to enhance palatability and acceptace by finicky eaters.