My cat refuses homemade food and commercial cat food. What to do?

The problem with feeding cats a homemade diet is that it is very difficult to get the correct balance of nutrients cats need. They are obligate carnivores, meaning they have to eat meat in order to survive, and their diet has to provide essential amino acids as their body cannot make them on it's own. I can put links below to websites that provide recipes for homemade diets for cats, and I would check that out if you want to try making a homemade diet for Orieo. I hope this helps! https://secure.balanceit.com https://www.petdiets.com

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Ron. I recommend feeding a well researched kitten food such Royal Canin, Purina ProPlan or Hill's Science Diet. If you do prefer to home cook his food, then you will need consult with a veterinary nutritionist. The website www.balanceit.com is a great resource. Ron is growing quickly at this stage and it is important to ensure he receives proper nutrition. I hope this information helps!

HI, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Ronnie! Ronnie should now be eating a balance commercial kitten food. Cats have special requirements for certain amino acids and vitamins that can not be provided in a human cooked diet with out the guidance of a Veterinarian. They can suffer intestinal and heart problems without these nutrients. I would recommend feeding her Purina kitten chow or any other commercial kitten food. Also too much oil (olive oil) can cause intestinal and pancreatic problems. Ronnie may also have intestinal parasites and should be dewormed. There are contagious viruses around also, even if she is indoors, that can make her sick. I recommend an exam by a Vet, starting her on a commercial kitten food, deworm her and give her vaccines when she is healthy enough. I hope this helps and I wish Ronnie a speedy recovery!

Wild cats are NOT domestic cats, and domesticated cats have very different nutritional needs. Wild cats also do not live as long and may have health issues related to poor nutrition. And while cats ARE obligate carnivores, they cannot get all their nutritional needs from only feeding one type of food (IE only chicken breast) as it doesn't provide a complete amino acid or nutritional profile for your cat. This is why many home-formulated diets require several ingredients and nutritional supplements to balance. It is important to feed your cat a balanced diet in order to prevent nutritional deficiencies, such as taurine deficiencies, which can lead to blindness, organ dysfunction or even death if not addressed. Commercial cat foods are best (and cheaper than formulating your own diet which may require several different ingredients and supplements to provide the right nutrient balance) as they provide your cat with the correctly formulated nutrients to prevent illness or deficiency. If you do want to feed a homemade diet, I highly recommend working with a veterinarian in person in order to formulate a diet for Meo's specific nutritional needs. Otherwise, feeding a commercial cat food will be the easiest, and least expensive option while still providing the right nutritional balance to keep him healthy.

I would recommend consulting a veterinary nutritionist or using a website like https://secure.balanceit.com/index.php which provides recipes for balanced diets for pets, as it can be difficult to provide balanced nutrition from homemade diets. This website provides recipes based on your pet's needs.

I hate to hear this is happening to Isabella. This situation can be both frustrating and scary. Cats can become finicky eaters for several reasons: https://www.petcoach.co/article/my-pet-is-a-finicky-eater/ Unfortunately, it's impossible to know if Isabella is sick and if this is the cause of the finicky eating without a veterinary exam. If she is sick, she may be selective about her foods. Think about when you don't feel well. Most people are more willing to eat a warm bowl of soup than a piece of plain dried toast. Pets can be the same way. If she is sick, there is not likely anything you can do to encourage her to eat other foods without addressing the underlying illness. Just like humans, pets can not feel well for many reasons and this could range from intestinal parasites to cancer. In my opinion, your best option is to have her examined by the veterinarian. I agree that the chicken and chicken franks is not nutritionally balanced but if she will not eat any cat food, you don't have any options other trying a homemade diet, canned cat food, freeze dried cat food or raw cat food. You can't force her eat dry cat food and if you can't try different foods, you really don't have any options unfortunately. I will caution you that feeding a home made diet and raw diet is not generally recommended. The vast majority of homemade diets are found to be unbalanced. Balanced homemade diets can be formulated but you will need the help of a veterinarian.Raw diets can contain harmful bacteria to both people and pets. These require special handling. You would want any raw or freeze dried diets to be formulated to meet AAFCO standards and it will say this on the bag. Cats especially need certain amino acids to maintain heart health. Here is some information regarding homemade diets: https://www.petcoach.co/article/homemade-diets/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/homemade-cat-food-recipes-lack-essential-nutrients-finds-new-stud/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/raw-and-homemade-diets-what-you-need-to-know/ If you want to feed a homemade diet, I recommend to connect with your local veterinary community for information regarding local resources. You are certainly welcome to try different types of kibble to see if you can find anything she will eat that is commercially available. Some cats like the food to be switched every few days. You may end up with a lot of cat food however than she will not eat but you don't know until you try. I hope this helps to provide some guidance. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

I would first make sure that she does not have a medical condition that is making her not want to eat; especially if this is a new behavior. If a vet has checked her and deemed her healthy, then there are a few good tips for getting her to eat normal cat food in the article at the link below. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/feline-picky-eaters I hope that helps and all is well with Kiki.