What on earth can I feed this damn cat?

[LilyFeather]

She’s 12 and always been fussy. She’s about to undergo a few tests for potential kidney disease -she was always just a touch under 4kg and is now 3.2 so has lost some weight which I hadn’t really noticed until now

Apart from that, she’s well, active and has never had to see a vet before

but she’s getting fussier food wise. She will eat lik e lix and dreamies and a cube of cheese or piece of ham but she will absolutely not eat her food

I’ve tried everything. And I mean everything. Katkin, all the other fresh stuff, subscriptions, raw, every brand in the supermarket, soups, pates, mousses, high and, Arden grange, Cheshire garden, all the obscure ones. Cheap stuff.

the list goes on.

could anyone give me any suggestions at all please to tempt her to eat? She’s miaowing for food but only ever takes a few bites and I could do with her properly eating tbh

One of our previous cats was like that. She had kidney failure and ended up being on medication for it, as well as stuff for an overactive thyroid. I wasted such a lot of time and money on cat foods. I ended up giving her freshly-cooked chicken or turkey (I used to portion it up and freeze it). She lived to be 18.

I have a super fussy kitty; you could try freshly cooked chicken, High-life freeze dried chicken (these work a treat usually), chicken powder over wet food, Felix soup? There is also an immune booster that is like a meaty gravy that I mix with wet food.
My kitty is tiny and she doesn’t each much at all, but I have some success, most days with one or two of the above!

I'd be trying her on a little home cooked fish and chicken, not at the same time, different meals. Minced up small.

Could she have dental problems?

Or possibly be eating elsewhere?

Agree - try freshly cooked chicken. We used to boil / poach it to try and keep it tender. Our older lady cat used to have this when she got older.

My cat went off food and lost weight. We discovered it was a tumour blocking his bowel and making eating and passing poo painful. I didn’t realise for a long time as he was old and a bit skinny anyway, and cats do mask their pain. I hope this isn’t the case for your cat but I’d recommend a vet exam.

Mine will only eat freshly cooked chicken and a complete kibble for the taurine.

And she had started to have problems with her teeth from around 12 or 13 years old and have extractions. She was half siamese (and half who knows what), and apparently teeth problems are common in siamese.

Is her food by her water our cats hated that ?

My old cat didn’t like chicken but loved fresh turkey and turkey wet food. The wet food I had to buy a 6 pack for just 2 sachets she would eat

Mine is 19 and has only ever eaten proplan biscuits but now only eats tinned tuna in spring water and not much of that . Try human food as others have suggested or tinned fish but only in spring water not brine .

Have you tried warming it up? Sometimes that helps, both the temperature and increased smell.
Our cats seem to love Untamed, if you haven't tried their tinned food.

She has no dental issues - her teeth were checked today. They’re a little’plaque-y’ but perfectly in keeping with a day of her age. She certainly has no mouth pain and can crunch with no problems

her water fountain is by her food but it always has been? She drinks from it just fine so I don’t think it could be that

I’ll try cooking her up some white fish and chicken over the next few days and will try her with that , one at a time

thanks all!

She will eat lik e lix and dreamies and a cube of cheese or piece of ham

Well yes. Of course she's happy living off the good stuff. Have you tried giving ordinary biscuits in the same way you feed her the dreamies? And chicken as well as cheese and ham, again in little pieces like it's all a treat. One of ours will not eat chicken cut up and presented on a plate - he will only eat it in very small pieces which are chucked at him, or placed on his body. Same for tuna.

Examined today by the vet and she’s all fine thankfully. She’s had cystitis hence the reason for basically her first ever visit and the vet is thinking perhaps kidney disease, so the blood test will check for this

she’s always been very very fussy but it’s a bit silly now

I’ll try warning her food up a little too. Not done that before

My cat with kidney disease was like that, only thing he would eat was Sheba Domes (Chicken or Turkey not Tuna.).

Got to the point I would let him eat anything and if that meant half a packet of Dreamies then so be it, he was on his last legs by that point.

@CrimeBoyIDontKnow oh yeah - I’ve offered her hand fed kibble - she just looks at me as if to say ‘do you think I’m stupid?’

I only give her the treats when she’s not eaten at all. And because I’m soft of course

She’s annoying.

My cat is like this as well he’s 5 years old and has always been on the slim side he’s just under 4kg himself have tried all kinds of food currently on untamned for him.
i think he’s just a grazer eats very small amounts snacks though he would eat non stop but when it comes to food hardly touches it and it’s driving me insane with worry about his weight.

@FunkyMonks try not to worry - his weight is just fine and cats - generally speaking - fare better if they’re kept at a lower weight than you may think. They’re supposed to be lithe and slim

what they’re not supposed to be is in a situation of dropping weight for no discernible reason. So honestly, don’t worry - it’s the longer term picture that matters

We have a fussy boy and the trick seems to be consistent dry food (which he prefers) but regularly switching the wet food up. I think he gets bored.

I get quite anxious about it because our last cat would eat every single mouthful straight up - even the day before she was pts aged ten because of cancer in her stomach, she cleaned her plate - but he’s just more of a grazer. Over the weekend he was a bit off his food because he’d had his worming tablet, but I still caught him with his whole head in the roasting tray at a chicken we’d had for dinner, cooling on the side for risotto the next day…

Could you try raw food?

Id stop treats and snacks
Mine will wait out for biscuits if he can. But he will eat it thats all there is. Its good food! He just prefers biscuits. Abd would of course live off dreamies if he could.
He can't.