My picky cat won't eat cat food, only human tuna. What to do?

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.

It is ok to feed human food as long as you make sure the diet is balance and safe. You could use a website called balance-it to devise a recipe that is balance for a cat. After the recipe is picked you have to buy a supplement that they make to balance your recipe. https://secure.balanceit.com/index.php

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If Wilkie is not wanting to eat, there could be medical reasons behind this behavior such as dental disease or a tooth or oral infection. Other possibilities may include something infectious, organ dysfunction, an endocrine disorder, or other causes. If all medical conditions have been entirely ruled out by a veterinarian, then my best advice is to just stick with one brand of food and try not to change the food or add other food items to it to entice him to eat as this will allow him to become a very picky eater. Try giving him only one type of food-if he is healthy and well, he will not starve himself! He will eventually learn to eat what is given to him. I hope this helps and thank you for posting!

She looks like a healthy little kitten, so I think she's probably OK and just being picky. If possible, I would contact the former caregiver and see what they were feeding. Sometimes they reject food that they are not familiar with. If you've done that already, or it is not possible, then try to feed a few different foods. She is old enough that she can eat 100% kitten food, so you can buy a few different cans of food at the pet store. Fancy feast is always a favorite. Don't feed too much at one time though, or she could develop vomiting/diarrhea. They also stop eating sometimes when they are feeling sick. If you notice some eye or nose discharge, or anything else concerning, then you may need to get her to a vet for evaluation. I hope that helps.

If there are only two available foods for kittens in your geographic region I would feed the one that your cat is most likely to consume without problems. If for some reason your cat begins to have issues with that type of food I would feed the other one but consider adding something like chicken broth or tuna juice to it. Hope this helps!

Feeding tuna alone is not a balanced diet for Muffin, and could result in a variety of health problems from vitamin and mineral deficiencies. In order to get Muffin to eat cat food, you can try mixing the canned tuna with cat food. Then gradually decrease the amount of tuna being offered while increasing the amount of cat food over the course of a week. Canned cat food may be easier to mix with the canned tuna since Muffin is more likely to be able to pick the tuna pieces out of dry food. Since he seems to have a preference for tuna, try to find seafood based foods. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

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.