Cat food questions - merged

darich

Cats should be fed proper cat food because their body cannot produce taurine which is added to cat food.
Lack of taurine can lead to blindness, hair loss and tooth decay. It can also affect the heart.
It's all very well saying "I know my cat is getting pure cooked chicken" but without the taurine, they'll slowly become ill and eventually die if their heart is affected.

poe.tuesday

I have 4 cats and they do not seem to like any type of food I buy them even though they always used to eat anything and everything

I have always varied their food, changing brands and flavours etc but they still don't seem to like their food any more

I buy tinned food (not the poshetts) and they have Iams and munchies - anything really to vary their diet and they turn their noses up at the lot of it - they liked the Iams for about 3 days and now won't touch it, the only thing they do like is to lick the jellly or gravy off the tinned food

I have been to waitroses today and got some of their own brand and again, they have just licked off the gravy

So, what has changed in the cat food for all 4 off them to go off it or is it something in the air maybe ? They are all old cats and I have never had any problems with them so what's changed now and has anyone else noticed this?

Maybe the cat food people have made tinned food so horrid so that we go and buy the poshettes at 3 times the price :eek:

Milford_Cubicle

Are they outdoor cats? I suspect they're getting fed elsewhere because it's not like cats just to stop eating what's offered to them at home, plus manufacturers don't tend to just randomly change recipes as there is the chance sales will plummet if cats stop eating it (therefore people stop buying it).

If they're indoor cats, then if they've taken to curling up and not doing much now the weather has become cooler, they may not be hungry and take to eating once per day as they won't be burning it off. Also consider worming them if they've not been done recently.

Otherwise, I don't know!

poe.tuesday

they are indoor cats (with access to outside) - they eat loads and stand at their bowls meowing at me but in front of them are munchies, Iams, tinned food (various types), water etc - all fresh too - and they still turn their noses up - they have all been wormed and we live in the middle of nowhere so they are not getting fed elsehwere

I thought it maybe because of the weather but my big boy cat is still as active as ever and is begging for food but not eating what I am giving him - maybe I should just leave them to catch mice and stop sodding about worrying about their food intake

lowis

unless a cat is ill it won't starve itself...i suspect they know you will keep up offering different foods are are now being fussy.

stick to one food and place it down for them to eat in the morning...lift it if they haven't eaten it after an hour, then at tea-time place more food down again...if they are hungry they will eat.

good luck!

MrsTinks

I hate to break this to you but they're spoilt
You're giving them way too much choice! You can leave out dry food but stick to one wet food and only feed it once or twice a day - if after 20 minutes it's not gone remove it and DON'T put it back down again until evening. It might be a battle of wills but in a few days they'll come round to eating what they're given

poe.tuesday

I can't take the wet food away as they all eat at different times and one cat will not come down to eat if the others are about

I know I am spoiling them and I will just leave the food out now instead of leaving it all day and then throwing it away

MrsTinks

Try feeding them in slightlyl different areas if they won't eat together but still leave it down only for a short period of time...

poe.tuesday

what difference does it make if it's down for a short period, if they won't touch it in the first place?

I cna't be feeding them all over the house either, kids, dogs, cats is enough already without having to move their food about - like you said - they are spoilt already I don't want to start taking their food to them ;-)

MrsTinks

I don't mean all over the house... each room has 4 corners
The purpose of feeding them and taking it away is that they eat what and when you decide. It's not "taking their food to them" it's setting a routine and being in control. At the moment THEY rule your house - I have 2 of them - one of them is a fussy eater but she eats what she's given because she knows that if she doesn't then there isn't any more till dinner time. More to the point leaving wet food out makes it go off very quickly and in summer in particular it will attract flies who will leave their eggs on the food and then you have a new set of problems to worry about...
If you don't want to try it then by all means don't - you asked for advice and I gave you mine - what you do with it is entirely up to you
I can only tell you what works with my cats and the many foster cats and kittens that have come through my home through the years Mine get dry food twice a day and wet pouches maybe once a week - they're a treat rather than a staple. Instead I feed them a good quality dry food (arden grange in my case, but burns and james welbeloved are great too and should work out cheaper in the long run especially if you replace the wet food with it and it's great for their teeth)