Help! My kitten will only eat tuna out of a tin!

CheeseCat

A good food to try is the big hi-life tins (I say 'big' I mean regular tin size not the tiny cat food size tins you get in some brands)

Theyre pretty cheapish considering they are 70% fish, alot cheaper than applaws (lovely food but I cant afford to feed that to four cats!)

I know our local Pets at Home sold it about a year ago, might be worth a look there. Its not in a multipack but the tins are pretty cheap each for the amount you get. Have a look with the other single tins (I think it used to be near the small tins etc)

adouglasmhor

samhuzz wrote: »

He is 8 weeks old approx, he was born on 4 July. We've now found something else he will eat, cheese and ham from a Dairylea Lunchable! My son had one yesterday and Benji wouldn't leave him alone, I think he had more of the cheese and ham than James did! Still no further forward on the eating cat food thing, I've tried mixing the canned tuna with the cat food but he eats around the cat food! He won't touch the kitten biscuits either, but Ruby prefers them to her own adult cat biscuits!

Why don't you just give the kitten a bowl of salt. You might as well with dairylea lunchables with ham.

Feed him nothing but proper kitten food and don't give in to his winging.

~Chameleon~

samhuzz wrote: »

He is 8 weeks old approx, he was born on 4 July. We've now found something else he will eat, cheese and ham from a Dairylea Lunchable! My son had one yesterday and Benji wouldn't leave him alone, I think he had more of the cheese and ham than James did! Still no further forward on the eating cat food thing, I've tried mixing the canned tuna with the cat food but he eats around the cat food! He won't touch the kitten biscuits either, but Ruby prefers them to her own adult cat biscuits!

I'm afraid you're going to cause this kitten severe health problems if you continue to feed him "human" food. You really must start feeding him proper kitten food. What were the original owners feeding him on? Stick to the same food for now and gradually change over to one you prefer a little at a time.

You must stop giving him tinned tuna and dairylea lunchables!! His kidneys cannot cope with food so high in salt, not to mention the complete lack of nutrients a growing kitten needs. He could end up with bone deformities, heart problems and eventually go blind.

paddypaws101

Ok....so he wants to eat what you are eating....so pretend to eat cat food!I know someone on another site whose kittens came to her hooked on crisps. So she put dry food in a crisp packet and pretended to eat it, all with full on acting and yum yum noises. Kittens wanted ahat she had in that crisp packet and ate the cat food.
Also, cats are very social eaters so putting wet food on your finger and letting the cat sniff then lick it is a good idea, I have been known to dab the food gently on the kitten's nose so it has to lick it off. I have even gently put a blob of food right in the kitten's mouth with my finger.

morg_monster

Following on from the post about hilife - I bought some from Wilkos today. It was the tuna stuff, I tried it on our cats this morning and tbh it is almost indistinguishable from tinned tuna, just a bit more mushed up.
Also very similar is the Purely tuna tin from Pets at home. (My husband can vouch for the similarity in taste of Purely tuna to Sainsbury's tinned tuna...)

Yes agree with the others, you do need to be hardhearted about this - cruel to be kind. I'm afraid you've got to show the kitten who's in charge here or you will be sowing all kinds of problems for the future!

LittleTinker

samhuzz wrote: »

He is 8 weeks old approx, he was born on 4 July. We've now found something else he will eat, cheese and ham from a Dairylea Lunchable! My son had one yesterday and Benji wouldn't leave him alone, I think he had more of the cheese and ham than James did! Still no further forward on the eating cat food thing, I've tried mixing the canned tuna with the cat food but he eats around the cat food! He won't touch the kitten biscuits either, but Ruby prefers them to her own adult cat biscuits!

Stop feeding this kitten other foods!!! You are going to give her serious problems.

She needs kitten food.....proper kitten food.

If she is of an age to have just left her Mum then she will eat kitten food.....she might prefer fishy ones to meaty ones or vice versa......but dont feed her anything else.
She will eat the kitten food when she is hungry.

rita-rabbit

You do need 2 b v firm. Kittens get v hungry so he will not allow himself 2 starve. Note: if you really want to save money you can feed good quality stuff but do not feed any more human food - to help him along maybe hand feed kibble to get him interested.

JoneSmith_2

Initially, your kitten will eat at least four meals a day. This provides a steady source of fuel throughout the day. If you are unable to accommodate this feeding regime, feed three times a day but also leave a little dry food out as a snack for the day.

As kittens get older, gradually reduce their feeding to three meals a day and then, by six months old, to two meals a day.

Cats are natural 'grazers'. They do not adapt well to eating just one meal a day, as some dogs do.

Cats prefer food that is fed at room temperature, so it's better not to feed wet food direct from the fridge. Leave it to warm up a bit before serving.

rita-rabbit

Some cats are greedy & cannot be allowed to graze.

Some cats will happily eat fridge wet food - personally I find cat wet food at room temperatures horribly smelly & only ever do mine get this when I am opening a tin or carton!

Most pets will adapt to the (good) environment that you provide - pander alot from the start & expect more & varying demands as time goes on!