"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2006-03-23, Christina Websell penned:


You are not a "cat-starver." There was food there if Oscar had
deigned to eat it. My cats have tried to play this one on me and I
have called their bluff. If they turn their nose up because "we
don't want the lamb flavour today" it's removed. There is nothing
until the next meal (2x/day) It's surprising how they have suddenly
decided they like what I give them. I do not play the food game
with them any more when I used to try and find more yummy food that
they might like better. They eat what I provide or go without. It
works.

Yes, but your cats do have the option to hunt for themselves (well,
Boyfie might hunt for KFC, lately, it sounds like).

Well, yes, that is true although I didn't notice more than the normal amount
of hunting going on during the time I was calling their bluff over their
pickiness.
Kitty would always prefer to eat collared doves over any cat food, anyway
but Boyfie rarely eats anything himself that he catches, he brings in into
the kitchen and leaves it for KFC. Two young rats this week that she
apparently did not fancy and which I stepped on first thing in the
morning...

If I fed Oscar
food that was somehow contaminated, she would have no options.


Do you suspect that this food might have been contaminated in any way?


Also, how long did it take for them to break down and eat the food you
provided?

To eat everything I provided, with gusto, about 10 days. They didn't starve
in the meantime, they did pick at the food and it was there for several
hours after each mealtime.
I don't mind at all if they take several hours to eat their meal, I think
this is normal for a cat, but mine were beginning to take the p, forcing me,
almost, to get really expensive stuff all the time and continually changing
their minds over what was the favourite of the day.
It's a pity really as I was shopping today and saw a tin of pink salmon for
32p. I wanted to get it to treat them, but treating them was how this whole
food game started, so I didn't.

Oscar got noticably skinnier; enough so that I could feel
her hip bones and her backbone was more prominent to the touch than I
would like. True, she was behaving normally, so it probably isn't as
bad as it sounds ... but still scary. It honestly seemed like she
would rather starve than eat that food. We went through most of a
case (20? 24? cans) of this flavor before I caved.

I can't imagine that a cat would allow itself to starve when food (even if
of the not-preferred flavour) was available. This would be the ultimate in
manipulative behaviour ;-)
Maybe there was something wrong with the food.

Fortunately, I can go back to the pet store and trade the unused cans
for a flavor she will like.

Good.

DH also says that if she's really hungry, she'll eat. But she got
skinny enough that I was afraid to call her bluff.

He's right, she will, but unless you can rule out for definite that the food
was bad you have done the right thing to get her something else.
I don't buy cases of food any more, just in case of this very thing.

Tweed