Kitten wont eat cat food

[Ellaraine]

We re homed two kittens,sisters,from the same litter three weeks ago. They have settled in great and have brought so much happiness to our home. My only issue is one of them will not touch any type of cat food. I've tried them all including the very expensive ones from the vet. Vet told me that she would have to get used to it and dont feed her anything else. I tried this for a day and kitten would not touch the food,was hungry and miaowing so I caved and gave her some cooked chicken which she devoured. I've tried heating cat food,mixing cat food with chicken, pouring some meat juices on top,nothing,she won't touch it. Ive been cooking her own little meals of mince,chicken,turkey with some vegetables . She eats them. I'm going to get her some vitamins too when she's a little older.

Will she be OK not eating cat food but cooked meats and vegetables with some vitamins. She is healthy, active,very loving and affectionate.

Cats absolutely need taurine in their diet. Cats who don't get enough taurine will eventually go into organ failure. They can get some from a cooked meat diet but you have no way of knowing it's enough, and taurine deficiency often doesn't show until the cat is already unwell.

vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/taurine-in-cats

Unfortunately, a lot of vets don't have a huge amount of nutritional expertise. They promote foods full of carbohydrates because they have deals with the company. It's like going to your GP instead of a nutritionist. Although I am SHOCKED your vet said your kitten didn't need taurine...that is a case for negligence in my opinion. I would pop over to the mumsnet litter tray for some more expert advice, but cooked meats are absolutely not nutritionally complete and very dangerous to feed that alone.

Should I just get a taurine supplement?

@Ellaraine I would keep trying with the cat food as if you get into the habit of cooked meats, they will be incredibly stubborn and refuse anything else forever.
Sheba is often used by shelters for fussy cats. Poultry fine flakes is good.
As I mentioned upthread, Thrive chicken tins are shredded chicken breast with the added vitamins needed. So probably perfect for your little one...

BUT, if all that fails, I would definitely get a taurine supplement. Do some research and get some advice over at Litter Tray on amounts etc.

Good luck!
My two boys caused so much worry when I first got them, I thought they would starve, but we finally found a food they would eat.

@Indoorcatmum, thank you. I tried Thrive yesterday and honestly thought when I opened the tin that she would eat it as its pure chicken,doesn't look like cat food but she wouldn't touch it. Her sister loves Sheba so we have tried that.

I'm just so worried and conflicted after speaking to vet today.

I will check out taurine and amounts.

One of our kittens is fussy like this and keeps meowing for home cooked bits. But he's accepting Encore tins (especially the smelly sardine one). He also likes Lily's Kitchen dry kitten food and Hills Science Kitten food. Everything else, he licks for a taste and then walks away.

@ItsRainingTacos, if my little one would even try a bite of cat food I would be thrilled. I would pay anything for her just to eat something she likes and is good for her.

My two cheeky faces.They like to tuck themselves under my duvet when I bring the kids to school.

They're gorgeous! Have you been on Zooplus? They have a large range of kitten-specific food from good quality brands. Lots of them also do small trial packs or mixed flavour packs, so it's often not too expensive to order lots of different ones.

Mine swear by Bozita, btw.

@MarisPiper92, yeh I've checked zooplus out. I feel like she will just never eat cat food. I was so surprised she didn't even try Thrive,it's basically shredded chicken.

Raw if you're happy to feed it
Mine loves Purrform or this
https://hearmeraw.co.uk

@pawpaws2022,will check it out,Thank you.

Luckily there's no real evidence that cats can have too much taurine but you do need to make sure they get enough.

Have you tried all the different textures? What about a pate style food?

@fairylightsandwaxmelts, we have tried everything.Her sister is enjoying all the different food though.

I can recommend Untamed too, and Encore. Both just shredded chicken. Untamed chicken in jelly is a complementary food but the chicken in gravy has all the vitamins etc. I'm not sure why. Good luck. I hope you find a solution, but home cooked is not complete enough.

If you wanted to see if they would like raw then try just a bit of raw chicken breast or whatever you have. Mine loves turkey mince little thief

Google search claims that shellfish and raw meats are high in taurine so I'm wondering if that's the reason why your vet doesn't seem too concerned 🤷🏽‍♀️. Are you feeding raw and cooked?

Just a quick one… is it the bowls? Mine hate metal bowls, a shallow dish or plate that doesn’t interfere with whiskers is the cat dream- mine won’t use the mason and cash cat food bowls but will happily eat off a kids plastic IKEA plate 🙄 also slightly warm the food perhaps. Sympathies though, I have one that won’t entertain wet food other than felix gravy lover 🥴

@coldandverytired

Just a quick one… is it the bowls? Mine hate metal bowls, a shallow dish or plate that doesn’t interfere with whiskers is the cat dream- mine won’t use the mason and cash cat food bowls but will happily eat off a kids plastic IKEA plate 🙄 also slightly warm the food perhaps. Sympathies though, I have one that won’t entertain wet food other than felix gravy lover 🥴

I was going to say the same 2 things.