We have two senior cats, one of whom recently lost a lot of weight. Among other diagnostic and therapeutic avenues, the vet suggested we add some wet food to their diet, which had previously been only kibble. They eat a prescription food because the cat we’re currently worried about has allergies, so we tried the canned version of the same food. The cat we’re not worried about took to it with gusto and happily eats her dinner each night. The cat we’re worried about (her name is Pilar) shows no interest in wet food, though. I’ve tried all three flavors of the prescription food, as well as Gerber chicken baby food since I remember you said cats all love that. But she just sniffs the food to appease me and then wanders back to the bowl of kibble. Because of her allergies, trying all sorts of different foods until we find one she likes isn’t a safe option. Is there anything I can do to make this food more appealing to a picky cat? Thanks in advance. I trust your opinion since you’ve known and raised so many cats.
Heidi said: I know this was directed to Robyn, but if I could just chime in… I have had some success with sprinkling FortiFlora on top of wet food. It is actually a probiotic powder, but can also be used to entice reluctant wet food eaters. You can get it at Chewy.com and other places.
Random Felines said: If she doesn’t have a fish allergy, try bonito flakes.
Forti-Flora is a good suggestion – Sugarbutt used to just lick the powder straight off a plate – and so are Bonito flakes. I would also try (if you can, depending on her allergies) something like the juice from a can of tuna drizzled over the canned food – the smell might entice her. Also, you might want to try Liqui-Tinic. I don’t know that it would help stimulate her appetite, but it might, and would be worth a try (some cats like the taste, some hate it. So I’d buy the smallest possible bottle to start with.) I always recommend (or try to recommend when I remember to) Liqui-Tinic because back in 2013 Spanky wasn’t doing well. The vet suggested we give it a try, and in the course of about a month, Spanky perked back up, started eating more, and just generally looked more “there.” I highly recommend giving it a try.
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It looks like maybe Alejandro’s eyes will be grey. Or is that just the lighting?
I don’t know that they’ll ultimately be gray, but at the moment they’re definitely gray, almost exactly match his fur. That happens with nearly every gray kitten we have, there’s a point where their eyes exactly match their fur, and I always think it is so very neat. (I’m going to be curious to see if Pablo’s eyes go through that gray stage or not – they’re much lighter than I remember seeing before, so maybe he’ll skip the gray stage.)
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Could you share the pro-biotic you use for the kittens?
I’m using Jarrow Saccharomyces Boulardii + MOS at the moment because it’s what I have on hand, but I’ve used (and like) Proviable.
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The grey boy with the white toe and tail tip, I don’t want to say a name and be wrong, lol, is he the same one with the differently colored whisker humps/muzzle? I swear, when he gets adopted you’re going to have to make his new people sign a contract to show us grown up pictures of him because I wanna know what all that is going to look like later! I mean, his tail light is almost gone now, isn’t it? and I can’t tell where the toe is. I hope his face markings get more prominent because it’s adorable!
No, they’re two different kittens – Alejandro has the differently colored muzzle, Pablo has the (very tiny, very hard to see) tail light and white toe. I would love to see what they look like when they’re full grown, in fact I love seeing what all the fosters look like when they’re grown!
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Are you hearing growlies when Diego walks around with his poof ball?
I’ve only heard one or two growls from Diego; is it wrong that I encourage him to tell his siblings that the toy is HIS and they CANNOT TOUCH? I love a little growly kitten.
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Is it me, or does Alejandro look like he’s wearing blush?
His muzzle has been brownish, but in recent days it’s started to look more silvery to me. I’m going to be interested to see what he ultimately looks like.
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Can you tell which one is Carmelita and which is Diego? Carmelita’s on the left and Diego’s on the right. They look strikingly similar, but Carmelita’s head is kind of narrow and tall, and Diego’s is more square. It’s always easier to tell them apart when they’re next to each other, though (or when I can see their collars.)
Alejandro’s got the zoomies.
Alejandro’s little smiling face – seriously, couldn’t you just?
Carmelita and Javier, playing slappy paws.
Javier playing with a rat in a sweater. As you do. (That Ikea rat is wearing a sweater because Fred crocheted a sweater in hopes that it would fit a kitten But he didn’t take into account that kittens have skinny little necks, but they’ve got BIG round heads. That sweater didn’t come anywhere close to sliding over a kitten’s head. Fred was going to toss it, and I thought of how TKU Market on Facebook sells Ikea rats in adorable sweaters, so I tried it on an Ikea rat to see if it fit, and while it’s not the best fitting sweater ever, it works well enough. And no, I can’t convince Fred to make sweaters for the rats, so what we have here is a one of a kind situation.)
Pablo’s little face cracks me up.
Grumpy little faces.
Speaking of Fred and crocheting, we talked about how he should crochet a hat with a big floppy brim, so he freehand made this hat and it looks nothing like what we were talking about, but it’s adorable all the same. (I’m not sure Pablo agrees.)
Talk about covered in kittens!
“You can’t see me, lady.”
Alejandro and Diego give me the Precious Moments eyes.
Paws UP, y’all! Pablo commands it!
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Dewey exiting the catnip pot.
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Previously
2019: Caroline in the middle of a pile of kittens, looking like she’s not any bigger than they are.
2018: What would Brian Boitano do if he were here right now? He’d “HEY GUYS LOOK I HAVE AN EXTRA THUMB, CHECK IT OUT!” that’s what Brian Boitano’d do.
2017: Meet the Cajuns!
2016: Oops, I booped him again.
2015: Seriously. I can’t even, with these kittens. How dare they?
2014: Of course, this brings me to my favorite two duck pictures.
2013: In cuter and fuzzier news…
2012: And Razzie’s all “Hey, I’m tiny TOO! Tell her!”
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: Wild thang!
2008: No entry.
2007: It was, and it squawked and flapped when the light from the flashlight hit it, and again I screamed and levitated across the room, followed by an amazing number of cats.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Fred just needs to add an extra stitch or two in each stitch of Th e last two rows and the hat will get floppy (and frilly).
Backseat crocheting is totally a thing. What?
Regarding the case of the cat with allergies, Almo wet food has very limited ingredients (it doesn’t even add taurine or most of the other usual suspects). Most cans only have one or two ingredients (e.g., chicken, chicken and pumpkin). If you have some sense of what the allergies are to and you can get Almo where you live, I would recommend it. It is pretty low calorie, though
I’ll look around, thanks for the suggestion! I haven’t heard of Almo before.
Artists can be so temperamental!
I love that Fred takes his craft so seriously and refuses to make anything that does not spark joy or inspire him — such integrity! 😀
The trick I use on my finicky girl I do in a small room I’ve closed off to the other critters. I lay the saucer down, she sniffs it then goes to the door. I then rub a smidge of the wet on one of her paws. While the outrage fades, she licks the evil… grotesque… wait a minute, this is kind of tasty… While I pretend to read, just over here minding my own business, she goes back to the saucer and eats it all. Sometimes I don’t have to do the same thing the next day, but I think she likes the game. I don’t care, so long as she eats.
Haha, that’s very clever and tricky! I’ll try to remember to try that next time she turns up her nose.
I just can’t handle how cute these guys are.
I love how Carmelita is doing her take on that Flashdance iconic scene all over her mamma. xDDD
Something else to try for the finicky kitty, heat the wet food up in the microwave- not so much it gets hot but just warm enough that it becomes more aromatic. My mom has to do that for one of her cats. I will add a can of hot water to the wet food- stir it up into a soup/stew consistency. My two love that. I was worried they weren’t getting enough water AND sometimes they ate the canned food so fast, they would hork it back up. Adding the water slows them down and makes me feel better about their hydration levels. Good luck.
Thank you for the suggestions! We can’t use the microwave for the cat food, but the hot water sounds very smart. I might even try that for the other kitty, whom I never see drinking.
You MUST get audio of kitten growlies … we rely on you. 🙂