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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.

At my wit's end with feeding my cats!

35 replies

EmptyTheFrickingBins · 14/04/2024 12:42

I have three cats - one seven, one a year ish, and one who is five months old.

They've been getting Felix as Good as it Looks, older one on 7+, kittens on the kitten variety. Getting up to four packs each a day, plus dry food down.

I was made redundant very recently, with no redundancy pay because I hadn't worked there long enough. Have a current fixed income of 800 a month from UC and decided to try them on a more affordable food. I'm also sick of throwing so much plastic away so bought tinned wet food for them.

I bought a big bag of decent kitten dry food (scumbles) with the aim of this being their main food. Switched it over gradually (from Puriena one). They won't eat it.

Won't eat the dry, won't even try the wet despite it also being switched gradually. I'm using up the last bits of the Felix but it'll be gone tomorrow and there's no way I can afford to keep paying for it until I get another job.

(this isn't a begging post, I promise - I don't want anyone's money)

Have a kitten currently biting me because she's starving apparently when there's a plate of wet food and a bowl of dry down. How can't I get them to eat the food?

Please don't suggest rehoming - I've already spoken to CPL, RSPCA and a couple of local charities and they can't help.

OP posts:
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 15/04/2024 07:19

Can you add boiling water to the dry to soften it and make a bit of gravy? Obviously check it's not too hot beforehand. Or mix the wet in with the dry?

notanothernana · 15/04/2024 07:32

Smartiepants79 · 14/04/2024 12:48

You have to wait them out.
Our cat does this, refuses food sporadically because she is being a sod.
There isn’t anything else though so she just has to get on with it.
She caves eventually.
4 packs a day is a lot in my opinion. We only give 2 and dry food.
If they are leaving it so it goes dry and yucky only put down half a pack at a time.

My 3.5kg cat eats 2.5 a day.

DeathMetalMum · 15/04/2024 07:35

I'd certainly reduce the wet food. Our two cats get a pouch shared between them morning and evening and dry food available. That's enough as they will often leave some of the wet food in the bowl. Sometimes the will lick the bowl clean.

It will take some time to train them into their new routine, but a pouch each morning and evening should be plenty and half the amount the are having now.

Potentialmadcatlady · 15/04/2024 07:46

I’m on a v tight budget with many cats. I buy all of their food from Amazon on subscribe and save and it is so much cheaper. I get a 6kg bag of purina one from there half the price it is in shops and I stock up once a month on wet food from there too. It saves a lot of money.
Dry down all the time and wet twice a day ( half a sachet each per feed/one sachet each per day)

Smartiepants79 · 15/04/2024 09:38

My cat is over 4kg. Young and active.
She gets 2 packs a day and dry.
The vet recently told us to take care as she was getting towards being overweight!

Toddlerteaplease · 15/04/2024 09:55

My cats liked a rumbles but struggled to eat it because the kibble was too small for them to manage. Could that be the problem?

Toddlerteaplease · 15/04/2024 09:56

Is stick with the Purina.

Canthave2manycats · 15/04/2024 21:16

4 pouches each a day??? Maybe I've misunderstood but that is a lot! My three get two a day, plus Purina for 2 of them and Scrumbles for stinky poo boy.

Blueemeraldagain · 15/04/2024 21:23

12 pouches a day! Yikes! That really is too much OP. My four probably eat 1.5 a day each (with tinned tuna, biscuits and dreamies) and they get a little chubby over winter when less active…

emm142 · 15/04/2024 22:00

Hey, I'm not sure where you're based but there might be other support available. I'm in the Cambridgeshire area and Wood Green animal charity can provide temporary support with food when people have a change of circumstance (I'd also be very happy to swap you some scrumbles for some of what I have in my cupboard if you did happen to be local!)

I'd imagine there are similar charities with similar support elsewhere. Please do reach out to them if so. This must be so stressful for you, I'm sorry.

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