Just need some advice/thoughts from DUer's .

[Fla Dem]

Never had any furry pets because of allergies until this tiny kitten was laying dehydrated in the driveway next to my house. Vet said she was about 3-4 months old. Well that kitten will be 16 years old in March.

Here's my issue. She's been on dry cat food all of her life. Brand recommended by the vet when I first took her in. I would occasionally, as she got older, treat her to some tuna which of course she gobbled up.

I began to notice in the past year she appeared to have some difficulty chewing her kibble and not eating as much as before. So I started her on canned cat food. She loves it, sometimes. There are times she will turn her nose up and not touch it. Other times she gobbles it up.

I've had to throw whole cans of cat food out because she loved the flavor last week, but this week it's aaagh. She won't touch it. Or I'll put out a spoonful of food and all she'll do is lick the liquid off it and leave the solid. Sometimes she'll come back to finish it, other times nope, I have to toss what's left in her dish and put out a fresh spoonful.

I just get frustrated because I want to give her what she'll eat, but I'm also wasting a lot of cat food. Threw out almost a whole can the other day. She does still eat a bit of her dry food each day. So just wondering if this is normal behavior for older cats and do you have any advice.

[PJMcK]

1. Here's our story

One of our cats was really old. She was 23 years old. She had always had a healthy appetite. But when she got older, she got very finicky. We tried lots of different wet foods, starting with the expensive ones like Fancy Feast, etc.

It turned out that she LOVED the cheap store brand! It was often on sale for 3 or 4 cans for $1. She ate that crap for several years before she moved on.

Good luck.

[imaginary girl]

5. Good point!

One of our old kitties preferred that type, too.

[tblue37]

2. Try adding a bit of water to soften her kibble. Another trick, soften the kibble, then mix it with

a bit of wet catfood. Refrigerate unused wet food, then warm it up with a bit of hot water and add to kibble.

My 16-year-old also doesn't eat as much as she used to. Old cats tend to do that, and to get skinny. I do work at encouraging her to eat.

[Ocelot II]

3. Try human baby food (turkey, chicken or beef; be sure there are no onions in it);

most cats just love it. If she likes it mix in some good-quality canned cat food to be sure she gets the nutrients she needs. Older cats do seem to get picky, maybe because they can't taste or smell as well as they used to.

[demigoddess]

11. we got a cat that had been running loose, and she likes human food the best.

meat of various kinds. Thought maybe she got used to eating out of trash cans. We've had her for 10 years now. Cans of tuna might not be a good idea, I heard they have too much lead in the tuna(for cats).

[imaginary girl]

4. Two thoughts

1. Has a vet checked her teeth/gums?
2. Consider having a couple cans open at once and putting a small spoonful from each on a plate for her to select from. You can keep leftovers in the fridge for a couple days to use as choices.

Bonus thought: Have you tried cutting up the wet food? I do this with the pate style wet food we feed our senior cat. He eats some dry, too, but definitely wants his wet food broken up.

[padfun]

6. I'm feeding 17 cats right now.

12 in back yard, 4 in the garage and one in the back bedroom.
The main house is taken up by my wife's 2 cats. So we have 19 we are caring for right now.

Cats can be finicky. I would waste a lot of food but by putting the dish outside, it will get gobbled up. I just fed the 4 cats in the garage 4 cans of fancy feast and they ate almost none of it and then all went outside. There are two plates sitting in the garage full of food.

As long as the cat isnt losing weight then you should be OK. If she is losing weight, then you need her to see the vet.
You will waste some food but if she is healthy, then just accept that as part of having an older cat. 16 is getting old for cats.

[Fla Dem]

14. OMG, what a wonderful person you are. Caring for 19 cats. Amazing!

[slightlv]

26. Hats off to you, padfun!

I could have done that when I was younger, but not now. I salute you -- 17 cats are not easy or cheap.

And my hubby thought I was nuts for the first few years of our marriage. Thank goodness he finally mellowed!!!! (LOL)

[lark]

7. Older cats, as a rule it seems, get finicky.

I order from Chewey because of that. When the cat quits eating a certain brand, and I have a case(s) of it here, I call them for a refund. They refund my account and I used to give the unwanted food to my neighbor who feeds ferals. Now that we are feeding 8 ferals, I give them the unwanted (by my old cat) soft food along with hard food.

[bamagal62]

8. Cats go through weird food stages.

They are also imprint feeders. They are not going to eat something they don't know. If you want to introduce a new flavor, then put it up there with the old one for a while. I have a very finicky eater and sometimes she just won't eat. I know that if she at least eats once in a day, when she's going through her weird food stage, I know she'll be fine. Another thing I do that sometimes helps is when they are refusing to eat, put out some STAGE ONE baby food. It has to be stage one so that nothing is added! Beechnut stage one baby food is perfect. Check the ingredients carefully as some baby foods have garlic in them and cats can't eat garlic. It should say: chicken, chicken broth or beef, beef broth. It helps mine to get through a food slump. But, remember, baby food doesn't have taurine in it and cats must have taurine in their diet. So, don't go more than a day or 2 on baby food. BTW, I throw out a lot of cat food! You also might want the vet to check her teeth as that could also be an issue. I'm sure others will have advice as well.

[Bayard]

9. I'd say get her teeth checked by the vet

Does her breath knock you over?

I would probably have him do a general physical and run some labs as well. Older cats start getting any number of issues, like kidneys or diabetes.

[Fla Dem]

15. Breath is fine. Teeth checked at last annual. But things could have changed. Will have them checked.

Thanks!

[wnylib]

18. Could be something besides the teeth.

Animals, like people, can develop problems as they age. A blocked intestine (fatal if not unblocked) can cause a cat to lose its appetite. Kidney infections and other disorders are also possible. Trouble is, those things can get overlooked because cats are known to be finicky sometimes about food. I'd be alert for any other changes in habits or behavior, like an increase in drinking, a decrease in bowel movements. When in doubt, I always make a vet appointment to be sure.

[Upthevibe]

10. I'd have her checked out by a vet in case there's

a teeth/gum issue.

The expression "finicky cats" is literal. They really can be.

Also, our cat here in the apt. (she's actually my roommates cat but she hangs with me and the other roommate too) looks at me and runs from me sometimes as though I'm a serial killer! That can be typical cat behavior. She's been with us for four years but she's still not sure that she can trust me!

If you're able to have her checked out and if all is okay, maybe you could just put out 1/4 of can initially and see if she's into it at the time.....

[Siwsan]

12. Have you tried tuna or sardines? Also, highly agree with the baby food suggestion

Sophie went through a stage where all she would eat was Sheba brand pate. Fortunately, I could get it at a good price at a local discount store. I really stocked up and after she died, I gave it to my brother for his friends elderly cat.

Sardines and tuna really seem to trigger a cat's appetite. And if you get the tuna in oil, it's even better for them. Just not a whole lot. Maybe mix it into the wet food.

[TexasBushwhacker]

24. You have to be careful with that though

Human grade tuna and sardines usually have added salt that cats do not need. Conversely, tuna cat food is made from the dark, funky belly meat of the tuna and includes some ground bones. I think part of the reason older cats get finicky is that their sense of smell gets less acute. So try feeding them the basic Friskiest canned tuna. The smellier the better.

[Siwsan]

25. Good to know

I used to let Sophie lick the empty tuna can with just a few flakes left in it. I'm determined to keep the boys on just kitten/cat food, except for some occasional fresh cooked, unseasoned chicken.

[Ziggysmom]

13. I recall my vet telling me that an older cat's senses of taste and smell decline. Watching their

weight is important. As others suggested, having teeth checked is a good idea. My kids are 2 and 6 years old and even they go through stages of finicky eating. I always warm their canned food a little bit in the microwave and that seems to help.

One other trick is adding a few bonito flakes as a topper on their food. I buy the human grade ones on Amazon. It is also known as Katsuobushi, Japanese simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna. It's used to make dashi, a fish stock soup.

[Fla Dem]

16. Wow! Many great suggestions and comments. Expected maybe a few and got a lot!! Thank you.

Well one thing pretty much everyone agrees on, an older cat can be a finicky eater. That reduces my anxiety level as I was afraid it was just my BG (Baby Girl) and there was something wrong.

Also She does see the vet regularly, both for an annual check up, shots and whenever needed. At one point the vet thought her jaw line was a bit irritated, but then later said it was alright. But will definitely have her checked out.

I stopped feeding her tuna when I read it was not good for cats as they could get mercury poisoning from a regular diet of tuna.

I will be trying all your wonderful suggestions as far as making her feeding more tempting.

I do wet the leftover in her dish to entice her to eat it. Sometimes it works and sometimes she just slurps up the water. At that point I throw the remainder away. I also mash up any flaked food so it's more of a mush.

I'll try the Kibble in her wet food idea. That sounds like something she would react well to.

Will try the baby food idea.

Again, thank you all! Baby Girl thanks you all too!

[niyad]

20. Baby Girl is a precious little beauty.

[Fla Dem]

23. Thanks Niyad, I think she's pretty special too!

[Karadeniz]

17. She needs to have a dental....at her age, the vet will want to do a blood test beforehand to make

sure she'll handle the anaesthesia.

[slightlv]

19. I Have a 23-24 year old

who is anything but finicky, but who has had those spells throughout her life, as has all my babies. I've had up to 12 at one time, as those I can't place find their furever home with me. Drives me and hubby nuts. Tuna is doled out as special treat once in a great while. Fancy Feast is food of the day around here.

BUT... as Micki (the elder) has grown older, her appetite has really seemed to increase, instead of decrease. We feed her lots of little meals throughout the day. One thing she really enjoys -- to the point she insists by 7:30 at night on having is Pure Balance Classic Starters High Protein Shredded Chicken and Beef in Broth. They do have other flavors, but this is Micki's favorite, and she fights for it. Laps up every bit of it. The chicken and beef are shredded in such a way that even with missing teeth, she can easily chew it, as long as Mom keeps moving it around into a "pyramid." (Cats do NOT like moving their food around with their nose!) A box of 5 of these packets cost $3.50 retail. Sometimes I've had issues finding them at the stores, but I've not yet had to look them up online. I'd recommend trying them for your fussy eater. I pull them out, and have to start immediately telling my younger cats, "No, you're not old enough yet for these!" (LOL) I do have a 21 year old Japanese bobtail I will also allow to indulge in these, but she literally inhales them.

They do sell these packets singly, so you don't have to invest in a whole box to find out if your fussy eater will turn up her nose. But I can tell you out of a house of 10 cats currently, there's not one who doesn't scarf it down around here if I let them. Oh... and I discovered accidentally the dog LOVES it, too! (LOL)

[Fla Dem]

22. Great information. All the best to your senior super cat.

Thank you for caring for all those cats. You and your wife are super special. 🤗

[niyad]

21. One of my girls LOVED sauteed chicken liver. Not the cat food stuff, but sauted in butter

and mashed up with a bit of cream.

Always warm up the food. Cats don't like cold food, in part because they cannot smell it.


It was my malamute who loved cat food.

[Duppers]

27. I have a 2yo rescued female

That won't eat anything in cans but the gravy in her gourmet Fancy Feast, Gravy Lovers -chicken feast. Like your baby, she licks it dry but leaves the meat. (She loves her crunchy food.)

Our dogs were cleaning up her leftovers but we had to have our last pup, a 13+yo, put down New Year's Day.
So, i'm now leaving her leftovers on the deck for the neighborhood fox.*



*I love foxes.