1st time cat owner

[stauros 1]

I have become owner of 7yr old cat. I am constantly having to change his food every other day. He wasn't like this when he first chose to live with me. He is now on to cat treats and gobbles them up like no tomorrow, but I know that will only last couple of days and then I'll have to try something else. Thought I'd cracked it with baked salmon, but no. After 3 days started refusing that too. I've always had dogs who ate same food all their lives and if they refused I'd pick food up and give it later. I know cats are different but really wondering if this is normal behaviour. Really have no experience of cats, but got to say he is a lovely gentle little creature who never leaves my back garden and always uses his litter box in the house. Be grateful for any insight on this.

[Mollycat]

First of all what foods are you giving? Are you giving pet foods or meals liked salmon, chicken etc? Because although cats often love fish and meats, those do not have have all the nutrients a cat needs on their own to keep a cat alive let alone healthy long term. You can make home made food for them but there is a whole lot more to it than putting a slab of cooked meat in front of them. Treats are not nutritionally complete either, so even if he carried on eating them that would not be an answer.

The easiest and safest especially for a new cat owner (welcome to the club by the way) is a commercially available prepared food. You might have to try several and it's a good idea to have a few that a cat likes and rotate them. Sometimes a cat's preference changes for no reason or the manufacturer changes their recipe and you need the option to go to something else the cat will eat. If each food only lasts a couple of days, buy half a dozen very different kinds - pate, jelly, gravy, different flavours, brands and textures - and give one of a different one every day in rotation then start again from the beginning.

It is normal for cats to be finnicky about their food though, especially once they realise human will pander to their every whim. Has your boy been health checked by the vet? Dogs are different as you say, they are mostly scavengers and will eat food that isn't as fresh. Also they can have one or two meals a day, finish it up and that's it until the next mealtime. Cats are obligate carnivores and kill their own food and eat it fresh, small prey many times a day.

A warning - do not do what some misguided people suggest and refuse to give anything else until the cat eats. A cat can become seriously ill in a matter of a few days if they don't eat. A good use for dry food is to leave some down at all times so that if they don't want the wet food you put down that day they won't starve themselves and store up potential problems. Plus food doesn't become a daily battle of wills.

[Kay]

sound advice there as always from Mollycat

I'd just add that you might find feeding half a portion at a time means more will get eaten, and less wasted

[fjm]

It does rather sound as if he has you very well trained! Assuming there is no underlying health issue, there are several things you can try once you have stocked up on a range of complete foods as Mollycat advises. My Tilly-cat has CKD and I was really struggling to get her to eat enough until I changed how I fed her, as well as what I fed her:
Use a saucer or very shallow bowl - some cats don't like to squash their whiskers against the side of a deep bowl.
Serve very small portions at room temperature - running the dish under the hot tap before putting in food cold from the fridge warms it just enough.
Add a smear of Lick-e-lix to the food for a while, just to get him started.
Try putting food out overnight - cats tend to hunt in twilight and around dawn, and often seem to prefer to eat at those times.
Feed in a place where he will be undisturbed, possibly well up off the floor.

And a bowl of a good dry food is a very good stand by.

The other thing that sometimes worked for Tilly was "accidentally" leaving suitable food on the kitchen bench - she will turn her nose up at it in her bowl, but steal the same food with gusto! Fortunately she eventually regained the eating habit, and will now even come and tell me when she is hungry.

[Mollycat]

The other thing that sometimes worked for Tilly was "accidentally" leaving suitable food on the kitchen bench - she will turn her nose up at it in her bowl, but steal the same food with gusto! Fortunately she eventually regained the eating habit, and will now even come and tell me when she is hungry.

Love this! So typical of how we have to "think cat" to have a chance of beating them at their own games!
Molly loves ice cream, butter and yoghurt from my fingers but put them in a bowl and it gets the snooty nose treatment.
And won't take anything from anyone she doesn't trust to give her treats, no matter how delicious.

[stauros 1]

Thank you so much Mollycat and fjm. Your replies have been very helpful. I have tried every brand of cat food that I can think of. He wasn't like this when he first came as he ate whiskas with go cat nibbles quite happily for couple of months. Stopped go cat as vet said very little nutritional value and went to whiskas nibbles. Think that was when it all started really. I am now back to go cat nibbles, but he gets fed up with them too now after a few days. I wonder as you said fjm if he is manipulating me
Didn't think cats would do that. Yes, if I am eating he will take some from my hand, but if I put it in his dish he doesn't want it. I tried a different bowl today and warmed it first. Put a small amount of felix in and he ate about 3 quarters of it., so will persevere with that. I also used new packet not from fridge. Another topic. He never goes out of my back garden. It's got 6 foot fence all round but seen other cats on fence so pretty sure he could get out if he wanted to. I don't let him out front door as it leads to a quiet road and is en route to a dog walker's area. Is this normal behaviour. Staying only in my back garden? It is large with trees and bushes, but thought cats were explorers. I have dogs either side and he loves lying on grass looking at them through the slats in fence while they bark at him. Is that normal? Could you also advise me on the best wormer and flea treatment to get. Thanks again for your help I really appreciate it.

[Mollycat]

Was he was a stray before he came to you? He might just be really happy to have his very own secure garden and the opportunity to wind up the dogs. Cats are curious by nature and kittens are usually very adventurous, but a 7 year old who hasn't always had it easy can go either way, a happily becoming a home lover jus chillin watching the world go by is perfectly normal too. He sounds like the perfect first time cat owner's cat, actually! Well, except for having you tearing your hair out over his food of course.

I can't comment on flea and worm treatments though as mine are indoor and don't have these things on a regular basis. I have never kept to any schedule and only given them on a need basis, simply because I don't like giving them any more chemicals than needed. But for a cat that mixes with others, with dogs next door, and the potential to hunt as well, you are in a very different situation than I am.

[fjm]

I freeze excess food in ice cube trays, and decant the cubes into freezer bags. That way it stays fresh and is ready portioned into mouse size meals. I got fed up with throwing away so many part used cans and sachets!

[Ruth B]

Congratulations on the new addition.

Cats are manipulative and I've heard of several cats that were once strays and would eat anything put in front of them for a few weeks, but once they learn't that food appeared regularly they soon became fussy eaters and tried it on with their owner to see if they could get something better. As Mollycat says, it can be dangerous to starve them, but it is also a balancing act to not starve them but not to keep offering loads of options to see if they will eat one. My Mother one time ended up with four half tins of cat food open in the fridge (only small 85g tins) because one morning her cat was constantly taking a mouthful and leaving the rest. She had had cats all her life so experience doesn't always help.

A lot of cat food comes in 100g or 85g pouches or tins, but a few do 55g pouches, Gourmet and Sheba are two I can think of, it might be worth trying those as while they may be more expensive you would hopefully end up throwing less away. Small tins can also be kept in the fridge for a day or two covered with clingfilm, just let them get to room temperature before giving him that food.

i have 3 cats and normally have 4 different brands of wet cat food in the house, and often a range of jelly, sauce or pate spread through out each of those brands, rotating through the options depending on what they seem to be enjoying at the time. As far as dried goes, it is freely available for them to snack on when they want. Mine have Purina One dried food, and refuse to eat anything else. In the end if he will eat Go Cat dried then it is better than nothing.

Any deflea or dewormer you get from your vets will be far better than any you can buy off the shelf. I use Stronghold which deals with fleas, ear mites, some types of worms and lice. It should be applied once a month, but I only do it about every 3 months or when we notice signs of fleas etc. It is one of the more expensive options but it does seem to work well, I've tried others and always returned to Stronghold, but it's always worth asking your vet about options.