Cat will only eat junk food

[FutureMarchionessOfVidal]

Yes know, the obvious question- how did the cat acquire a taste for junk food in the first place?

Basically, earlier this year he was refusing food. The vet said there was no physical issue behind it- looking back, I suspect it was just the weather (very hot).

But I tried various foods in order to get him to eat- the only one he accepted was a very cheap but highly smelling one (wet food, not dried) which has roughly 18% meat, with the main ingredient seeming to be ‘various sugars’ (his poor teeth!)

If sprinkled with chicken flakes he will devour it.

This is marked as a complete food, so in theory he could live on it. But I want to wean him off it and onto a food with less sugar (preferably no sugar) and a higher meat %.

This is not going well. He simply refuses other foods.

At the moment I’m offering half the sugary food, & half another tinned wet food (a better quality one) at each meal- sprinkled with chicken flakes. He only eats the sugary food and is getting thinner again.

Should I just persist? Or is there anything anyone can recommend? Is there any better quality wet food that is generally well accepted? (I have tried a lot.)

Could you try putting 'treats' in the one you want him to eat. Dreamies, chicken, bacon (small amount) tinned tuna?

I've never known anyone win a "fight" with cat tbh, and if he's still refusing and loosing weight when you are doing mixed then i would suggest giving up and letting him eat the wet food and finding other routes for his teeth etc. To help clean them try a handful of biscuits, or try a toothbrush/paste recommended for cats (yeah, right!), but we went down the route of rubbish wet food but decent quality dry biscuits. The cat accepted that compromise, she's healthy and has good teeth for her age.

I’d withdraw the crap food completely and keep offering the decent stuff in v small portions. Our cats love the Purizon brand dried cat food so you could try a small bag to tempt him?

He will eat the decent stuff when there’s no other option although, be wary of him visiting the neighbours and telling them he’s being starved.

What brand is this food that he insists on eating? I’ve never seen a cat food that has ‘various sugars’ as its main ingredient.

I’d withdraw the crap food completely

Be aware that some cats will refuse to eat and would rather starve to death than eat something they really don't like. It's a myth they will give in and since you only have 3 to 4 days of non-eating before their organs are affected it is a very risky way to enforce a change. What food are they happily eating?

Thanks so much for this. So much useful information. As a first step I will try mixing treats into the target food and offering both for a while.

I am horrified to learn this about organs shutting down so soon! Will definitely have this at the forefront of my mind.

I don’t think I should disclose the identity of the current food as I fear referring to it as ‘junk food’ might enrage the manufacturer! It is after all marketed as a complete food…. I guess cats like us are susceptible to the lure of sugar.

Definitely suspect him of pretending to neighbours he is starving! I rather suspect he may have a harem of devoted ladies. Typical man.

To be honest it surprised me too. I only found out when my cat was being fussy and I was trying to be firm with her, even the vet said it would be fine if she didn't eat 😱 I would rather have a cat eating junk with a decent extra (like biscuits etc ) than the alternative .

After around two to seven days of not eating, your cat’s body will start to break down fat reserves for energy. The broken-down fat will then start to accumulate in the liver and prevent it from working properly. This is a dangerous condition called hepatic lipidosis, also known as fatty liver syndrome. This is a potentially fatal liver disease if not treated quickly.

https://www.cats.org.uk/cats-blog/how-long-can-cats-go-without-food

I really, really wouldn't worry. Just feed him what he likes.

Cats have survived for years and years on supermarket food, the odd bit of meat from our plates and whatever they catch while out hunting. It seems to be a very recent trend to buy all this fancy food and to make people feel guilty for not spending hundreds of pounds on their cats.

As for PP saying they won't starve - cats absolutely will starve themselves and it doesn't take long for them to do permanent damage to their livers.

One of my cats has never ate cat food. Plenty of people told us to just starve her and she would eat. We tried every food possible including the most expensive brands. She wouldn't touch them.

She eats cooked chicken, cheese triangles, easy singles cheese and ham. We give her a taurine supplement which she loves and she also has water and milk with added taurine.

She sees the vet once a year for her boosters and he is perfectly happy with her health and appearance.

I would just feed your cat the food he likes.

I’m puzzled about OP stating that the food her cat is fed on is mainly ‘various sugars’. Pet food is strictly regulated in the UK and any product that calls itself a complete cat food has to follow nutritional guidelines. A food that is mainly sugars will not meet these guidelines and is therefore illegal. I am also puzzled as to why OP refuses to tell us what brand this food is.

FWIW, my cat is fed on inexpensive supermarket own-brand sachets of wet food. My view is that most of the claims made by more pricey premium brands are marketing BS.

If he likes cheap food, have you tried him on Butcher's Classic tins? They're grain and sugars free.

Does he eat dry food at all?

I wouldn’t bother changing it, my cat would rather starve to death than eat a different brand of food! She held out 3 days before I cracked last time 🙈😂

One of my cats is like this. I can often get around it by feeding a higher quality food with a slight topping of the junk food mixed in. But if he has decided he doesn't want something, he is very stubborn and simply will not. He also will not seem to eat any food for an extended period, I suppose he gets bored.

My cat only eats Felix as good as it looks .... anything else she licks off the jelly/gravy and leaves the meat/fish

Our boy would prefer to eat only Go Cat, but we have an agreement that he does eat some wet food (either Sheba or Purina pate) and 50% of his biscuits are Royal Canin. He’d been on Whiskas at Cats Protection which we stuck with for the first couple of weeks, but he obviously didn’t love the wet food. He loves Lick-E-Lix, and drinks water - our vet is totally happy with him. Her take on it is that (like babies) fed is best.

We adopted him when we lost our previous girl to cancer and I was so, so worried by his fussy eating. Him - stray kitten, living in a shed, turns his nose up at all the fancy food we can offer. Her - pampered princess from a tiny kitten, wolfed every scrap of any food and left no dish un-licked.

He loves human food and when we got him he would frequently break into the kitchen waste caddy overnight. I think his favourite day is Sunday when he gets a bit of my bacon sandwich.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses adorable picture. That face! 😂

We have had cats for 40 years @FutureMarchionessOfVidal. They all lived on whatever supermarket brand they choose to a ripe old age. Apart from one who mum had to buy off cuts of cooked meat from the butcher!
My current cat gets diet food from pets at home cos she's a pudding but won't eat the vets £££ diet food.

I honestly think this whole idea of “junk” and “good”food for cats is the latest marketing/guilt inducing trap. I’d love to see some proper research!
Give him the cat food he likes to eat. Unless he has specific health issues he’ll be fine. Don’t be conned by Big Feline.

He looks slightly cross eyed there actually - he’s just FOCUSSED!