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My cat prefers wet food. How can I get them to eat dry kibble?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered | 3 months and 15 days old | 9 lbs

Oliver doesn't like dry food. I'm feeding him wet food in the morning and I left the dry food out for all day at mid day. When I came back home from school, he doesn't even touch it. I take him to the vet but he was very fine. I can't afford only wet food because it's too expensive. I don't want to mix wet and dry food because i want to make him satisfied that dry food alone is edible. I've tried to put some chicken broth, etc, and he eat it but only just a few bites. What should I do?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on February 15th, 2018

This is a tricky situation. Some cats just have very strong preferences. You can try mixing the wet and dry and slowly fading out the wet over the course of 1-2 weeks. You can also try adding some hot water to the dry food and letting it sit for 10 minutes before offering it to Oliver (I will warn you that not many cats are fooled by this, but worth a try). Another idea is to experiment with different dry foods - he may just not like the one you have. Finally, you may have to wait for him to grow out of this. He's still very young. If none of the ideas above work, use coupons and big box stores to get wet food and keep trying with the dry every 2 weeks. Good luck!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on August 4th, 2018
Hello, most cats are very finicky about food and will only eat what they prefer. One think you can try is to cook home-made meals using similar ingredients as the food. However, if Alex only wants to eat dry cat food, then this is also acceptable for cats and they usually live a normal life like this.

Alternatively, you may mix the homemade food with his dry food to see if he finds this more appealing. Hope this helps and best of luck.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Maria DVM
Veterinarian
Published on February 17th, 2018
I would give him wet food for a little longer. He is only 3 months old and may not be able to chew the food enough with how small he is. I would still leave dry food available but if a month he will hopefully take to the dry food and you can start removing the wet food.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Ana M, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on April 20th, 2018
Thank you for submitting your question regarding Oliver. First, I would have him seen by his veterinarian to ensure he does not have a medical problem. Abdominal pain can result in a poor appetite. Is he having trouble with constipation? Vomiting or diarrhea? Based on his age, he is likely teething. His mouth may be sore making him prefer soft food. You can try a couple of things. Adding warm water to dry kibble may help. You can see how much water he likes. Some cats will eat it soupy and other like it better if all the water is absorbed. The other option is to mix a tablespoon of Fancy Feast with the dry kibble. I hope this information helps you!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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