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Monday, August 27, 2012

PICKY! PICKY! PICKY!


Nothing says frustration more than opening three different cans of food and having your cat stare at you with an expression of “and just what the heck is this? This is not what I ordered!”. It’s great to feel like a rejected chef isn’t it? Today they love what I gave them. Tonight may be a different story with no good reason whatsoever. It would be so much easier if they could just raise their paw, put it on the can they want and say “this one”. Gone are the days of kitten-hood when they eagerly chowed down on anything and everything I put in front of them. I miss those days so much.

Now they will not longer eat out of a 5.5 oz can. It has to be a 3 oz. can so there is nothing left over and it’s fresh. What they loved yesterday, they may stick their tongue out at today and walk away. When that happens, I usually take some Purebites dehydrated treats and crumble them up on top of their food, the love it. Or I’ll sprinkle a little of the Eaglepack Holistic Transitions probiotics on their food. It’s chicken flavored and as long as I don’t overdo it, they can use a little healthy bacterial flora now and then. I keep that in the refrigerator for freshness as instructed on the bottle.

There are times when they may not like a new food I’m trying out and no food topper in the world will work. They love the Soulistic brand food but unless it’s fed first thing in the morning when they’re starving, they’ll leave too many strands of chicken in the plate. I refuse to throw it away so I mix it with something else like Nature’s Variety venison or even some grain free Fancy Feast chicken or beef. They are getting pickier as they get older and I’ve had to make certain concessions and improvise. Food toppers are a great way of dealing with pickiness and I’ve found it works more often than not. Even using freeze dried foods are a great topper when crumbled! They did like Stella & Chewy’s freeze-dried for about a month. I bought it again and it was a no go. 

Lacey is more adventurous than Finney so she usually tries new things whereas he turns his nose up at a lot and walks away. Other times I don’t necessarily change what I feed them but when I feed it. Why they will suddenly decide they don’t want a particular food in the morning but its fine at night is beyond me. But again, it would be easier if they could just point to which food they want. I’d even give them a menu to read if I thought it would help, LOL. They both also know how to get my attention when they’re hungry and to say they are demanding is putting it mildly. Lacey has a big mouth and will meow at the top of her lungs over by her food dish until I stop what I’m doing and feed her; mostly out of sheer aggravation. Finnegan likes to tease me by coming over to the computer and clawing my furniture until I yell “stop it!” and chase him into the kitchen. It’s a fun game for him; for me it’s funny but sickening after two or three times. But again, they know how to get my attention. This does not mean however that I feed them whenever they want.  I don't need another obese cat and will never have one as far as I'm concerned.

I’m often asked how to tell the difference between when a cat is just being picky or if it’s really sick. Being picky is a normal cat trait and you get used to it; what choice do we have? Pickiness from being sick is a whole other ball game and when that happens, pay attention because there is a reason. Could be digestive issues, could be a toothache, could be an infection, it could be anything. When a pet is being beyond picky, there are other signs besides them burning a hole through your head with glare; Lethargy, depression, vomiting, feverish, lying in the meatloaf position (paws in, eyes puffy and closed, and back hunched up). Instead of sitting at the food dish demanding you open another can, kitty will be in the corner or somewhere else, with no interest whatsoever. There are certainly days when they could just have an upset stomach, sometimes a hairball can cause this. But keep an eye on this, if it goes on longer than 24 hours, call the vet. You don’t want to risk hepatic lipidosis so don’t let them go longer than that without eating, it’s dangerous: http://www.ibdkitties.net/fattyliver.html.

As for my two healthy but picky connoisseurs, they leave me no choice but to be their slave, at their beck and call, wracking my brains figuring out new and improved ways of getting them to eat every last drop of whatever I put in front of them. Apparently that’s what I’m here for, as I am only the mom.

29 comments:

Evangeline said...

You know once you sprinkle Purebytes on their food, there is no coming back. You know that right? MOL
I also have two connoisseurs. I have to assume their taste buds are superior to mine cause they are CATS and I am a mere human/slave.
But as long as they are happy....*sigh*

Mietz n Timo said...

Of course we are here to serve them, LOL. I wonder if they're anything like us. Today I love a chicken salad, tomorrow I want a hearty meat loaf. I gave up serving too many different foods. They just get two brands that they like and if they don't like it, the food will stay there in their bowl and they usually help themselves around midnight or so. I have one cat that eats anything. She's good at cleaning up the leftovers from the other but it doesn't do anything for her waist line. Another one is very picky. She'll eat a little, then tries to bury her food. I have to watch out that the other cat doesn't eat all her left over food, because Miss Picky will come back about an hour later wondering: hey, where's my food? I left it right here.

She'll come back and eat a good portion of it. Why didn't she eat right away? That's her secret. I like the idea of offering them menus to choose from. Breakfast a la card.

IBDKitties said...

I know, you'd think they'd want the Purebites all the time but it's been okay only doing it a couple of times per week. MOL, I like that. Breakfast a la cart.

Tully said...

Picky, picky, that's me! I've got my Mom trained to sprinkle Halo Liv-a-Little chicken treats on top of everything! We find that rotating different flavors around often sometimes helps the finicky factor. Please note, I said "sometimes." MOL!

IBDKitties said...

Ooh I forgot about the Halo ones! Thanks for reminding me, I might pick some up next week for something different. I am constantly trying to please them. They have me SO under their paws. MOL

pcat said...

Seems we are all in the same boat, sometimes I am at my witts end trying to figure out what they want. what a guessing game for sure.

Yes we are all the slaves of our cats! I only get the small cans, bigger cans are a waste for me..I will have to try the toppers.

annette said...

My kitties are all spoiled as well! At 5 am, they all start on me, all three of them. Roxie taps my face, Solomon meows at the top of his lungs at the door, and Tom scratches at the bottom bed frame.
Then, they all usually have different tastes. Roxie will usually refuse one out of three foods, Tom will finish it all, and Solly is easy and not a big eater. Roxie usually walks away, and lays on the floor with her back to me..lol.
so yes, I can surely relate. I need to try those food toppers!

Carol said...

Picky, picky, that's me and Colette, 'cept she can't eat anything else and I can, MOL! Wellness deVour helps for me and so do Halo's Liv-a-Little Liver treats, and Country Naturals Chicken and Venison Jerkey treats.

Tigger Tales said...

My Tigger is ultra-picky! I have to rotate his brands and flavors all the time, and he only likes the pate style. I think I've tried most all the major premium brands on him--Wellness, Innova Evo, Blue Buffalo, etc., but he likes Fancy Feast the best. He prefers poultry flavors and does not like "wild" flavors like duck or venison. He doesn't even care for fish or seafood flavors that much. It's essential that he eats enough, and regularly, as he has Chronic Renal Failure and is nearly twenty years old. Right now it's Fancy Feast, who knows what he will like next?

IBDKitties said...

Having sick kitties doesn't make it easier, that's for sure. Picky is being nice when it comes to that! LOL Annette! Lacey bangs on my door so hard you'd think her paws were bleeding and she was dying with her pathetic meow! Finney tries to meow loud and it won't come out that way, LOL. He's a big boy with a soft meow but BIG paws to bang on my door. Lacey taught him that. sigh.

Purrcy's mumma said...

I'm trying to feed the two new boys a raw diet..hooo boy! they are picky already!!
have ordered raw rabbit and turkey as well as dietary supplements...sheesh only 3 months and ordering take-out MOL!!

IBDKitties said...

HAHAHA! Well it's great you are TRYING to start them out right. I can tell already they are going to be big mumma's boys. Did you really think Purrcy would send you some easy ones? MOL.

Kristi said...

Oh, do I know picky! Sally Maria was the QUEEN of picky eaters! When she decided she didn't want something, she let me know in no uncertain terms that she wouldn't eat that nasty stuff, even if she was starving. Now I just have to deal with a picky pug (tell me that isn't an oxymoron!) Pugs are supposed to be food motivated, but apparently I have the only one on the planet who isn't. I just make sure, whenever I buy her food, I check with the store to see what their return policy is - good hint for anyone else dealing with a picky eater. I always try to save the food that they will eat no matter what for emergencies, to keep it special so I can always count on them eating it.

Lacey and Finney are just trying to keep life interesting for you, mom! Without their shenanigans, what would you have to write and talk about?? :)

IBDKitties said...

IS THAT WHY???? MOL! YEESH! Interesting is the word for it. I can probably think of a few others as well, MOL. That's a great tip about the return policies Kristi!

Laurie said...

I must have the easiest kitties in the world! Well - it took a while to figure out what style of canned food they liked (pate with water added LOL) to get them off the kibble, but once we got that down, they became gobble monsters. (I wonder if all of them being feral rescues has to do with a lack of pickiness?????)

Don't get me wrong... I'm still here to serve them! ;}

Angel said...

For my IDB girl I have found frozen dried duck treats (duck is all she can have) and I crush them all in a food processors so its just powder and I use that to sprinkle over her food when she gets picky. It works every time.

IBDKitties said...

Laurie don't rub it in! LOL. Angel that's an excellent idea!!!

Becky said...

I have 4 boys to feed, and they are each picky about something different, so I am sure to displease some cat! To make matters worse, they change their minds constantly as, of course, they have the natural right to do. They eat canned in the morning, mostly displeases Blackberry, and get 2 raw meals later in the day which displeases Chaucer who seems now to prefer canned, unless I'm serving whole prey quail chicks, which then displeases Shade and Smudge. Smudge hates bison and sometimes beef. Shade won't eat anything too large, unless I hold it for him to chew apart. Blackberry inhales his raw and then tries to steal everyone else’s, which sometimes makes him throw up because he's stuffed.

They all decided they hated EVO 95% meat varieties a bit more than a year ago, now they've started to eat the beef and venison again, expect for when I served it a day ago. Mostly they love the NV Instinct, but now they don't much like the venison. Another favorite, until last week, is the Dave's Turkey, which they snubbed when my DH gave it to them Saturday morning, but they get upset when he feeds them breakfast instead of me. Weird!

And, despite my best attempts to never feed them anything with grain, I have had to resort to giving Blackberry his daily Atopica pill in chicken flavored Pill Pockets. Of course, when he gets his pill, everyone has to get a treat so that he doesn't get smacked in the face by the 2 big boys.

So, I'm with all of you in the pickiness boat! It's good to be a slave to creatures that purr though! :)

Heather S. said...

Teebo and Rose will eat just about anything. We occassionally will have them decide they don't want a particular flavor, but will eat it the next day.

Callie is an entirely different story. She is super picky when it comes to her moist. The ONLY thing she will eat is tuna. Seriously, that's it. Nothing mixed in, nothing added - just tuna. Anything else, she'll just sit and look at it like she can't understand why there's no tuna on her plate.

IBDKitties said...

Becky you sound like you have your hands full! that's funny that it has to be YOU that feeds them breakfast. LOL.

IBDKitties said...

That stinks! All that tuna is certainly not good for her but what can you do!!!? I had a kitty like that and even though she mostly ate all tuna, she lived to be 20 years old before finally succumbing to CRF. so I guess you never know.

Meezer's Mews & Terrieristical Woofs said...

Hi!
WE try not to do the toppers, cause years ago a doggy furbling got those, and it went as far as that he only would eat when there was toppers,and sometimes the toppers would be eaten and the main course rejected, MOL!
Since at this point we are healthy, no toppers fur us...maybe there should be a food called 'toppers'...MOL!

IBDKitties said...

That would be neat, maybe that would trick all the kitties into thinking it's really a treat! MOL. I don't put toppers on their food very often, it's probably a couple of times per week.

Mietz n Timo said...

Mietzi here: I sent Mom to the Pet store at the other end of the metro area to investigate what 'toppers' are. I am so tired of eating Blue Buffalo and Avoderm. OMC, I got Blue Buffaloes coming out of my ears! I tried to tell Mom that I NEED something different and she finally listened. She came home with a whole bag full of different canned food.

I ate two little cans of food all by myself for supper! OMC, it is sooo good. Usually I just pick at my food. I got Natural Balance Cats-serole (tuna & chicken) and Canyon Creek Ranch chicken & Brown Rice. This last one is kitten food that Mom got by mistake. Wow, kitten food is so yummy. Mom said I'm too skinny anyway, so it's OK for me to eat. We also got to sample the Purebites, so good. Mom got some cat milk, maybe we'll open that tomorrow.

Alex, I love you for writing this blog
xoxoxo Mietzi

IBDKitties said...

MOL!! you don't need milk for anything Mietzi, kitties are usually lactose intolerant so I don't know why your meowmy bought you milk. Glad you got some new food and the Purebites! Sounds like you are in heaven!

Mietz n Timo said...

Alex, I love milk but I usually don't get any. When I steal it, it makes me puke. This is special milk that is lactose free. I'm not spoiled at all. I'm off to run zoomies to celebrate. I think Mom needs to make a food run once a week at this new heavenly pet store.

Stacy Mitchum said...

Norman likes the WHOLELIFE deVOUR sprinkles, I can add some on his food that he just got too full to finish and most of the time he will finish it later, he likes their freeze dried dehydrated chicken treats too.

IBDKitties said...

Oooh I forgot about Wholelife! That's a great brand! A little more expensive but worth it. Huge pieces and the bag lasts a lot longer.

Timmy Tomcat said...

We boys, and yes our lady Fitz too, are going to only Pops home made chicken this weekend. I am a bit hesitant as is Toby. We may follow the lady Fitz, Rumpy, Buddy and the Boy B but we shall see. I mean really. Finicky is the cats prerogative.