healthy food for fussy cats

Found some Wellness at the Petco, and will try that. *They don't seem to
have any "with giblets or liver" flavors - that's what Meep prefers, she
likes innards g.

You might try mixing the Wellness with the Fancy Feast, very slowly
adding a bit more Wellness each day. Make it so gradual that she might
not notice. You're right in that FF isn't the best, but even not-so-
good canned food is better than any dry.

Some cats really like Innova Evo, but it's higher in calories (don't
know if that's a concern for Meep).

jmc wrote:
Suddenly, without warning, Jean B. exclaimed (7/16/2008 3:33 PM):

Unfortunately, Mingy prefers kibbles, although I have found the
aforementioned foods that he will at least lick at a bit.

Last time I feared Mingy was blocked, the vet seemed to indicate that
his eating half prescription food was a decent goal, so I try to do
that with his kibbles. And he does love the Royal Canin SO and the
Triumph, which are in his rotation all the time too.

Complicating factors (here, anyway), a

Mingy did not urinate frequently. (Now he sprays--ugh--but from the
urine retention standpoint...)

Mingy is a very anxious cat, and I have read that can be correlated
with struvite crystals....


Sounds like Meep. I had her eating 100% canned for a while but started
feeding her some dry because dry is so much easier to deal with when
traveling, and it was a good bet she'd get no canned while in the
airlines' care. Now I am trying to get her back on canned again, but
not much luck.

Meep is also a very anxious cat, that didn't drink much water for most
of her life. I now feed her "stew" rather than straight canned - a
small can gets a tablespoon or two of water - and this has helped a lot.
Now she drinks plenty, not just the liquid from her food but also from
her gravity waterer. Now instead of getting near-blockages, she just
gets the "I gotta pee even if there's nothing there" attacks, which,
while I'd prefer no attacks at all, is better than the alternative.

If you haven't, you might try a Drinkwell fountain. Some cats love
them. Had one for a while till the motor seized (high mineral water,
even filtered), but she wasn't using it much so I haven't replaced the
motor yet.

jmc

Yup to all (except the traveling). And Mingy loves his Drinkwell
fountain! he didn't like the other one at all. (The name
eludes me.)

--
Jean B.

Lynne wrote:
Jean B. wrote:

I was pretty diligent after blockage number one. I think, though,
reading here, that it's frequently a matter of how mu7ch liquid a cat
takes in--and that is aided by the cat's eating canned food.
Unfortunately, Mingy prefers kibbles, although I have found the
aforementioned foods that he will at least lick at a bit.

Last time I feared Mingy was blocked, the vet seemed to indicate that
his eating half prescription food was a decent goal, so I try to do
that with his kibbles. And he does love the Royal Canin SO and the
Triumph, which are in his rotation all the time too.

Complicating factors (here, anyway), a

Mingy did not urinate frequently. (Now he sprays--ugh--but from the
urine retention standpoint...)

Mingy is a very anxious cat, and I have read that can be correlated
with struvite crystals....

Levi can be a very anxious cat, too, and I am certain it was stress that
brought about the conditions which led to crystals. He was also eating
a mixture of dry and wet food at that time. He will never have dry
again, though, and I am looking for the best long term wet food for him
(and my other cat) to eat. I don't know if my other cat will accept
rotating food, though, he's very finicky. He loves this Hill's stuff
though, he doesn't leave a spec in the bowl. I've never seen him enjoy
meals quite this much!

By the way, Jean, my finicky cat (Rudy) used to prefer dry. It was all
he ever had for the first years of his life. It took me a good long
while to get him switched over, but obviously he has accepted it. It is
definitely better for all cats in the long run to eat wet food. Perhaps
you should try with again with Mingy?

The worst thing I ever did was switch Ming from wet food to dry
food when he was a fairly young cat. That was mainly for MY
convenience, and because I also thought it was good for him to
graze. WRONG!

Mingy's consumption of wet food has increased though, and he also
really likes to drink from the cup I have out for him in my bedroom.

Now, if he just weren't so anxious, that would help.

--
Jean B.