My healthy cat is picky. How do I get her to eat her dry food?

In this type of situation where the pet is holding out for wet food and going on hunger strikes, it is actually more harmful to try and force Gambino to eat the dry food; than to just give her what she wants. Yes dry food does help with the teeth, but so does daily brushing and/or dental treats (Greenies work extremely well for my cats and come in all flavors). The benefits of wet food is far superior in my opinion because it helps keep the kidneys and bladder happy and healthy, which in grand scheme of things is a lot harder to correct once they start to malfunction than periodontal disease. So I would say stick with the wet food, because even though it is more costly at least you are not wasting money on dry food that you will have to toss anyway because she refuses to eat it, and you can't make her because quite frankly she's a cat, but it will lead to an overall healthier cat with potentially fewer medical visits dealing with urinary and/or kidney problems in the future.

It's possible they could be picky eaters, however a complete checkup with your vet is a good first step to make sure there aren't issues such as GI upset, allergies, parasites, illness, etc that could be causing them to not eat as much. If they check out healthy, removing all extra snacks and treats between meals and only offering their food may encourage them to eat. You can moisten the food or add in a little bland boiled chicken to make it more enticing as needed. Cats also tend to be drawn to things that are smelly, so warming up the food to make it smellier may encourage them to check it out as well.

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.

She may have a tooth ache or ulcers or other painful conditions in her mouth. Get some Fancy Feast canned food for her and feed her that until you can take her to a veterinarian (preferably today) for an exam. She is obviously hungry, so there is a chance that eating hurts her or the food is spoiled (sometimes that is not obvious) or the formulation changed significantly.

Hello, Cats can be very finicky eaters. Most truly healthy cats with no dental disease will not starve themselves of kibble if left with only that option. However, cats can seriously damage their liver if they go too long without eating, and some cats are both very finicky and very strong willed. You may just have to make your cat his special texture food. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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.

First, you'll want to make sure to do a gradual change over 7-9 days, slowly adding in more new food and less old food, otherwise Shiro can get an upset stomach which may be why she doesn't want to eat the new food. If the food is a dry food, you can wet it with a little water and warm it up in the microwave for 3-5 seconds. If the food is a wet food, you can just warm it up as it is. Cats are driven by smell, and so a smelly, warm food is likely to entice them to eat. If Shiro still doesn't want to eat the new food, I would return to the old food for a bit, and then try again (slowly). A vet visit to rule out any issues such as stomach upset, illness, etc, is also a good idea if you see any other problems.