10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

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kbc2021
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10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

Post by kbc2021 »

Hello all. I am a new owner of a 10 week old kitten and I hope I can seek some advice here (apologies if posted in the wrong section).

I am trying to get my kitten to eat its wet food but with some difficulties. He is a BSH and weighs about 1.1kg. He seems to be quite active running about but I rarely see him drink much water or focus on eating.

I used to keep dry food out all the time for him to graze as I thought it isn't good to leave him without access to food. He has in the past eaten his wet food consisting of cooked chicken, mixed with can food. However all he does is just lick the liquid and water (I mix in) and doesn't even touch the solids. He only wants the dried food. He was not like this before, although he was never a big eater.

Should I be removing the dry food so he can regain his appetite on the wet food?
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fjm
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Re: 10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

Post by fjm »

I would not remove the dry food - it is important that he keeps eating something - but I would try changing the wet food. Cats tend to like variety, and it is a good idea to get them used to eating different foods when young to avoid supply problems down the line. Perhaps different flavours of the food you already feed, or a different high quality kitten food. The usual advice is to transition slowly to a new food in case of stomach upsets, but trying a very small quantity at first should work just as well. If he is licking off the gravy mashing or blending the food into a pate consistency might also do the trick.

Kittens tend to have fluctuating appetites - ravenous in growth spurts, a bit meh about food in between. As long as he is growing steadily you can be pretty sure that he is eating enough.
kbc2021
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Re: 10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

Post by kbc2021 »

Hi fjm, thanks for the advice. I also mashed up some of his preferred dried food into the wet food and it seems without hesitation he cleaned the bowl.

I tried to give him a second helping thinking he wanted more but he just walked away to play. Any way to tell if a kitten is full or doesn't like the food?

I'd like to see him bulk up a bit. A typical 160g can of wet food would last for days. He'd eat about 2-3 heaped teaspoons of wet food and would stop. Reading recommendations on the amount a 10 week kitten "would normally eat" seems to dwarf the amount my kitten consumes!
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Re: 10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

Post by Mollycat »

Ideally at such a young age this is a perfect time to get him used to a wide variety of different textures and flavours. As well as making up for any minor nutritional variations in different perfectly good foods, if one manufacturer changes their recipe or you run out and have to buy some junk food once in a while just to tide you over, a cat that will accept different foods is a godsend.

I would not be adding water to his wet food at this stage, while there isn't a medical reason for it. You've probably read that male cats can suffer with cystitis and the assumption is the more water the better, but this is not true. Although a cat on dry food is getting much less, because the thirst drive is very poor, a wet food is about 80% water which is already similar to natural prey food or even a bit higher. Too much water means dilute urine, and cats are desert animals who don't drink much because they don't need to. Their urine is acidic and strong enough to kill most urinary tract bacteria. Diluting it too much may cause problems if it's not strong enough to kill bacteria.

I would try different brands of foods, different textures like pate, flakes and terrines, and some chunks in jelly or gravy. A lot of cats leave the chunks, mine included, so she gets flakes and pate foods. She also has dry available. You can't force a cat to eat something it doesn't like by giving nothing else, in a surprisingly short time they can become seriously ill if it doesn't eat and it's not a risk worth taking.
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fjm
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Re: 10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

Post by fjm »

2-3 teaspoonfuls is more than enough to fill a kitten's stomach - at that age it is about the size of a large walnut. I would try feeding 4-5 times a day, small meals each time, and with dry food and fresh water available all the time. A cat's normal preference is for lots of mouse sized meals spread through the day and night, unlike dogs who will gorge while the going is good!
kbc2021
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Re: 10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

Post by kbc2021 »

Thanks for the reply Mollycat. Ok I guess wet food has enough moisture. So won't overdo it with the water.

Thanks fjm. Ok good to know that I shouldn't worry too much.

I've been trying to make sure that I set out a regular routine and I realise that my kitten is definitely a grazer. Takes 2 bites of the wet food then plays and then repeats but should I be leaving it out that long since he does it but at his pace and in very small quantities.

Should I be waking him up for food too? As he sleeps a lot!
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Re: 10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

Post by Mollycat »

I've never woken up a kitten for food but then it's been many years since I last had a kitten. My cats have always been free fed and regulated their own weight by grazing, only exception was Molly who turned out to be ill, and now she is cured she is a nice self-regulated weight too. She even walks away from treats and titbits if she doesn't fancy them right now.

For grazing cats especially as the warmer weather comes around, you might want to look into microchip feeders. At around £90-100 they are a significant outlay but wet food stays fresh from one meal to the next, flies bugs and other pets can't get into it, and there are single bowls or split for wet and dry, in plastic or stainless steel. Or covered dishes that open when the cat passes through the sensor or steps on the lip, or anything like that. Personally I can't stand the yelling the house down and hovering for an hour or more before mealtimes, or being a slave to mealtimes, so it's important to me to that I can put down extra and be as late as I need to. Remember a cat can live 15 years or more, our lives can change, the more adaptable a kitten is brought up to be, the easier life will be for everyone.
kbc2021
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Re: 10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

Post by kbc2021 »

Will take note of that.

Just an update... he is eating his wet food now on the basis I mix in some dried food. Couldn't quite get away from this unfortunately but will gradually try to reduce.

He is still not a very focused eater. He takes a few bites of the food then drifts off. I have to take the bowl to him for him to resume, takes a few gos too!
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Re: 10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

Post by Kay »

I would suggest you weigh him regularly - once a fortnight as he's so young - that will show you if he is gaining weight and as long as he is you can stop fretting over how much, or how little, he eats
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Re: 10 week Kitten does not like his wet food

Post by Miss Tee »

I have an 11 week old kitten who wouldn't eat any cat food, only fresh chicken, I tried every kitten and adult food, eventually I've dropped on some kitten food that she will eat, it's a bit expensive, but all natural with the added vitamins and minerals a kitten needs, it's called Applaws, I got the adult pouches at pets at home, £1.09 per 70g pouch, then looked on amazon and found they do a kitten food, tuna, she loves it, as does my older cat, I have a cupboard full of cat and kitten food, but she'll only eat the Applaws, adult or kitten, and will eat the whiskas kitten biscuits. I wish you luck, I was frantic when she was only eating the chicken breast that I was poaching for her, but she loves the Applaws.

Good luck
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