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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

what can I feed my cat?

11 replies

onemorecupofcoffeefortheroad · 21/12/2018 10:58

I love cats but didn't really want one - got dogs, too busy with work etc. however, my son and his girlfriend allegedly found an abandoned kitten in a box 2 and a half years ago and brought him home (I am not sure their story is true and think they may have actually bought said kitten from a friend - but that's a whole other story).

Kitten is now a large cat and of course muggins here has become its slave but he won't eat anything I give him for more than one meal.
The only thing he'll eat is 'naice' ham but I can't afford to feed him expensive ham all the time. I've tried every cat food brand there is, I've tried making home made food from cheapish mince (he liked this for two days but now won't eat it). We had a cat growing up - my mother gave her kitekat every meal and she ate it. But this cat is very different - I've tried all kinds of cat food, wet and dried food, food in jelly, food in gravy, pates, dog food, even cooked him white fish but this also gets expensive. Turns his nose up at everything after one meal.

I wouldn't care but he hounds me mercilessly until I've found him something to eat- I work from home and he will walk over my keyboard if he's with me, which changes the settings, deletes what I've written or sends weird messages to my colleagues, if I shut him out of the study he scratches the door and throws himself at the handle to be let in. I leave him in the kitchen with food and the back door open but he comes around the side of the house to the front door where my study is located - and cries to be let in. He's only happy and curls up contently when his belly is full but what he'll eat varies from hour to hour. I'll think I've found something then next time I give it to him he'll sniff at it, lick the jelly or gravy off then walk away in disgust.

I despair and am going off the cat which I don't want to do because he's lovely but I'm being driven mad - any ideas what I can feed him folks before I lose my mind (and my job!).

OP posts:
minkies11 · 21/12/2018 11:03

Mine are fussy so I make batches of food and feed in rotation. Buy salmon and pollack from the frozen aisle in lidl - chuck in a pot with pint of water and 'cook' on a low low heat til the fish is basically steamed. Then mash up a bit and chuck into tupperware and freeze. They can never resist it even when turning their noses up at chicken and mince (which are my other go-to meals). I have everything frozen as I just do not get time otherwise - save the cooking til the weekend and fill up the freezer.

HardAsSnails · 21/12/2018 11:07

My old boy has become like this the last 18 months or so. I have a mountain of cat food and every meal has to be something he thinks is new and exciting. I intersperse with raw, depending on what's on offer, chicken wings can keep him busy, turkey thigh mince is cheap. He also has decent dry food down all the time. I use a motion activated feeder as it means wet food can be left down longer without drying up (or attracting flies when it's hot) because sometimes he will go back to it.

onemorecupofcoffeefortheroad · 21/12/2018 11:15

Okay great suggestions thank you. I'll try the fish batch cooking and also the timed feeder. Thanks - I'm going to try both. You may have saved my sanity.

OP posts:
HardAsSnails · 21/12/2018 11:22

It's not a timed feeder, it's this motion activated feeder:
SureFeed Sealed Pet Bowl www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01C49GGC0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HYmhCbG3JHYE0?tag=mumsnetforum-21

minkies11 · 21/12/2018 11:32

Just a thought - he might be just pestering you for attention. If he's acted up in the past and you've responded and fed him maybe he thinks this is the way to get some fuss and the food is a kind of afterthought/consequence.

YesItsMeIDontCare · 21/12/2018 11:36

Leroy gets Felix As Good As It Looks Doubley Delicious.

Sometimes he decides he doesn't want it and pesters me for something else. I ignore him. He pesters. I ignore. It goes on.

I haven't lost yet 😉.

He always has biscuits available though, so he doesn't starve 😁.

onemorecupofcoffeefortheroad · 21/12/2018 11:55

It's not a timed feeder, it's this motion activated feeder

Ah yes I see - thanks for the link!

YesItsMeIDontCare
I try that too but he wears me down!! You are a stronger woman than I!

minkies11 that could be true too - will try and give him more attention too - poor fellow

OP posts:
onemorecupofcoffeefortheroad · 21/12/2018 11:58

SureFeed Sealed Pet Bowl ordered - arriving 22nd Dec! Now off to buy frozen fish, turkey thigh mince and Felix As Good As It Looks Doubley Delicious - wish me luck

OP posts:
DobbinsVeil · 21/12/2018 12:09

My cat growing up was very fussy. We used to buy frozen fish - Coley I think. Was quite cheap and we'd microwave the fish to cook it, so not too much hassle.

HardAsSnails · 21/12/2018 12:20

Good luck, I think there's normal levels of cat fussiness and then sometimes it's more of a worry. Mine is definitely more settled with a full belly and being old really needs to keep weight on. And I hated the smell of wet food lying around but also hated wasting it, the sealed feeder really helps.

SoupDragon · 21/12/2018 12:29

muggins here has become its slave

You have indeed 😂 good luck!

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