Kitten question - fussy eater

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zoon

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Not sure where to put this as no appropriate board, so it's going here.

My kitten was taken in by vets as a 5 or 6 week old stray. I took him on a few weeks later already happily eating Felix kitten food with a clean bill of health. A few weeks after that he suddenly stopped eating it. So tried him on whiskers kitten food, which he was happy with. But same thing happened and it has been like that ever since. He is now 7 or 8 months old and we've pretty much run out of options. Sticking with the same food and just leaving it hoping he'll eat when he's hungry doesn't work - he loses weight as he doesn't eat. He has 2 sachets of food a day and kitten biscuits (expensive vet brand food, cant remember name). nibbles on the biscuits, but is bored of them too. Throughout this he is happy to eat my other cats tinned food (which we don't let him, but he tries his hardest to steal it)

Can we just wean him on to adult food? Or do I really have to wait until a year? One thing we haven't tried is tinned kitten food, as cant find in any local shops. He eats the jelly in the sachets, but the meat chunks seem to be very hard in all brand we've tried, but tinned food is much softer.
 
If he was a feral cat, he wouldn't be eating anything different to the adults in the colony, so I'd go with introducing adult food.

Other than that, sudden boredom of one food is par for the course for cats, lol! I don't suppose you've considered BARF as a diet/partial diet for him?
 
He was a domesticated cat we guessed as very friendly, well handled and cared for. Possibility that the person who handed him in after they had "found" him was infact the owner of mum.

I've never had a fussy cat before, they always just eaten whatever they are given!

Can I ask what barf is? Lol, because it doesn't sound nice to me!
 
zoon said:
He was a domesticated cat we guessed as very friendly, well handled and cared for. Possibility that the person who handed him in after they had "found" him was infact the owner of mum.

I've never had a fussy cat before, they always just eaten whatever they are given!

Can I ask what barf is? Lol, because it doesn't sound nice to me!
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I meant that kitten food at 7-8 months is a debatable topic. Wild animals simply introduce adult food as and when the young want it, rather than adhering to guidelines. If your kitten wants adult food, let him have some. :D

BARF is bones and raw food. Takes a lot of effort, as it's not a case of simply opening a tin/sachet, but many cats and dogs thrive on it.
 
I've just taken in an abandoned kitten too about 6 or 7 months. She'd been dumped along with another one which a neighbour kindly took in and only weighed just over a kilo.

She is also very picky with food, but when we first got her she went mad for pizza, crisps and chips - I can only assume she'd only ever been offered rubbish human food :(

I buy an assortment of foods and regularly alternate them, although there are some that she won't touch at all even if starving, scrambled egg and cooked chicken seems to go down well though. She is slowly getting better, but I think she'll always be picky.

If yours is eating tinned then I'd let him, mine isn't offered kitten food as I've had her spayed and don't want her getting fat. Years ago there was no such thing as kitten food and all the cats seemed to thrive with no ill effects.
 
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My kittens just have adult food, and are thriving (were feral farm kittens).
Why wouodnt you let her just eat adult food?
As our vet said all this kitten/puppy food is the biggest scam going!
Ours get whiskas kitten biscuits only because the pieces are smaller but eventually I'll just give adult.
Ours seem to be bottomless pits!!
 
Perhaps he would prefer a raw diet. It is much more natural and better for them than traditional cat food that Is stuffed full of cereal and sugars they can't digest (read the ingredients label on cat food and you'll be shocked). All mine are raw fed and look amazing on it. Natural Instincts do an excellent prepared raw. Also Google Lisa Pearson raw cat food. Her website is excellent and explains it very well
 
You may already have tried it, but have you tried James Wellbeloved Kitten kibble? It's the only one my two kittens (6 and 7 months old respectively) really enjoy and which doesn't upset their stomachs either. As mine are indoor cats I notice VERY quickly if they eat something that doesn't agree with them. If they steal some of the older outdoor cat's kibble I soon know. :rolleyes:

As for persisting with feeding a 'Kitten' product; I actually think that by 6-7 months old the average moggy has done the majority of its growing. Sure, they will fill out and bulk up more as they become fully adult, but whether they still need a kitten product is debatable. IMO I genuinely think not.

What I would do if I were the OP is find something that suits the cat in question, something it finds palatable (whether kibble or tinned) and which agrees with him (no 'runny botty') and stick with that regardless. At this stage in his development its important he's eating regularly and consuming enough energy to finish maturing. I wouldn't particularly worry at this stage if it was a kitten or adult cat product.

:)
 
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Have you tried purina one biscuits - mine love it. I found them when they were tiny and 3 months later they still wolf it down (having tried a few other brands that didn't agree with them). My cat has the adult version too although she tends to find her own food a lot of the time.
 
Ours is two & always been a picky eater. Only dry food she eats is the go cat complete. Meat wise she'll eat asdas home brand sachets & pates, gourmet gold & the other tiny tins (the expensive ones). Farm cat that is semi feral is not a picky eater, however clearly prefers kitecat & asdas homebrand tins. And will just scoff dry food if you put out whiskas.
 
I started my two kittens on adult food when they were about six months old. They are picky and go off their food so I constantly alternate between Felix and Whiskas and for the dried food Purina and JamesWellBeloved. If food does get left I put it in the fridge and take it for the stable cat who eats anything. My husband despairs and says I spoil them and when they are hungry enough they'll eat it but I'm a bit soft.
 
ah the old "mmm, that foood is lovely today" and then the very next day "urgh, what is the poison you are serving me today" trick. Welcome to the world of cats :D

Move on to adult food, I second the Jameswellbegood food, my cat loves it, but I still alternate between foods as she does the "yum" and "poison!" reaction. She has me well trained.
 
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