How I'm Getting More Wet Food Into My Cat (eating, smells, drinks)

[lottamoxie]

My cat is going on 5 yrs old. I've had her since she was almost 6 weeks old (mother cat abandoned her & 2 siblings).

Anyway, she's always been finicky when it comes to eating wet/canned food, though she has shown enthusiasm for the worst quality brands. Sigh... I want her eating high quality wet food.

She likes kibble and I have non-grain kibble for her, but I always want her to eat more wet food. And now I've gotten her to eat far more wet food than ever, and the high quality stuff too (which I rotate).


Here's what I do:

I use non-grain, turkey or chicken formulas like Wellness Core or Dave's or Evo 95%. Sometimes I mix a couple of them. My cat doesn't like fish so I stick with fowl-based foods.

Then:

- First I put 1/3 cup water in a bullet blender glass
- Then I add the wet food (6 to 12 oz).
- I also add 1/4 tsp of probiotic powder and
- 1 tbsp of organic coconut oil for her skin & coat

I blend it all together into the consistency of soup. Sometimes I have to add a little more water, depending if the mixture is still too thick.

Some of purred food I freeze into little ice cubes in a tray. The rest of the mixture, about 3 days worth, I keep in the fridge. I give my cat about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of the food mixture per day, usually in 2 servings. And... she likes it! She eats about 98% of it.

Once the refrigerated mixture is gone I then start using the nuggets of frozen food. I put 5 to 7 little cubes on a plate and as they defrost she'll eat them. I'll do that once or twice a day, depending on her appetite. The food stays fresh all day. She likes the just melted food cubes.



On her kibble, which yes, she still gets, but eats much less of, I sprinkle some Vetasyl, which is a high fiber food additive for dogs & cats. That's just to make sure she's getting enough fiber in her diet, which the vet advised. She drinks water as well...actually she plays with her water & then drinks it, but she's getting enough.

Happy cat (relatively-speaking) and Happy owner!

This food mixture regimen is what finally works for us. She doesn't like the consistency of any other kind of wet food be it shredded or chunks or pate. Nope. This is easy peasy and she can lap it up and it's full of good nutrition. It lets me get the high quality stuff in her along with some extra probiotics and coconut oil. Her coat is like silk.

My vet probably thinks I'm crazy but then again, I'm owned by a cat, so crazy is really part of the job description.

Anyway, just an idea in case there are others who don't know what else to try. I've been using this method for about 18 months or so and it's really made feeding the cat a lot less stressful. Maybe it will work for your cat too. Nothing ventured...

[Meemur]

I'll try this.

Mine is a gravy licker! I'm not sure how or why they pick up that habit.

[lottamoxie]

If something smells good and tastes good they'll eat it. Licking up some liquid is easy for a cat. What I particularly like about my method is:

1. I get additional water into my cat, because I add it into the wet food and she eats it. So less worry about her staying fully hydrated in case she does munch on some kibble and

2. By freezing little ice cube size nuggets of food, I don't waste the pricy wet food.

[Orion2]

The guys were the same way, they liked only the cheap stuff and then only the pate if you please. Jeez. I thought they'd never switch. And it wasn't a choice for Orion, he had dental issues and couldn't eat dry food for a couple of months.

I tried all sorts of canned food, the most expensive to the cheapest. I blended it with water but they'd barely touch it. I kept at it switching foods and varieties and at some point they started eating more wet than dry.

Now if I'm late with the canned food they act as if the world is coming to an end. I've noticed I purchase dry food about 1/4 as frequently as I did when that was all they were eating, although 'eating' is relative, Orion takes the food out of the dish so about 1/3 of it ends up in the trash.