Fresh or frozen water-based vegetables (green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, etc.).No-salt-added chicken or vegetable broth.Be sure to check with your veterinarian to determine if any of these suggestions are suitable for your cat, and to verify how much you can add in a day without risking weight gain. While relying only on human food for feline sustenance is not a good idea, there are some human food options that can increase the appeal of a cat's regular food and encourage consumption of the preferred nutrient profile. ![]() "There are some human food options that can increase the appeal of a cat's regular food and encourage consumption of the preferred nutrient profile." Also, there are currently no commercially prepared, validated mixtures of macro- and micro-nutrients for adding to homemade cat foods. Over time, taste preferences may emerge that lead to deficiencies of particular nutrients. It is actually quite difficult to balance a cat's long-term nutrition when feeding them homemade food. Once human food is given like this, it becomes much more difficult to transition back to balanced cat foods. One important consideration in dealing with a feline picky eater is to resist the temptation to begin feeding human food willy-nilly from the table. Some canned cat food has a gravy component that may be used as a way to increase the cat's interest in meal time. Yet another option is to utilize a preferred canned food formulation as a ‘top dressing’ on dry kibble. For a cat who is willing to eat dry, but just not all at once, it is reasonable to measure out the entire day's portion all at once in the morning. For the semi-moist and canned food eaters, offer very small amounts at any one time. For these cats, once you identify a texture, dry, canned, or semi-moist, that they will eat, stick with that formulation for consistency's sake. It may be that the cat really does prefer a particular texture or flavor of food. "It may be that the cat really does prefer a particular texture or flavor of food." As your cat starts eating more at each meal, you can try decreasing meal frequency. Offer frequent meals initially – at least 4-5 meals a day to avoid too little calorie consumption. To reduce waste, offer just a small amount of food per meal, gradually increasing to an appropriate meal size as the smaller volumes are eaten consistently. If you offer canned food, it is best to discard what is not eaten in order to prevent illness from spoiled food. This approach works best with dry kibble. At the next mealtime, offer the food again for 15-30 minutes. One approach is to offer food at a morning mealtime, leave it out for 15-30 minutes, then take it away until the next mealtime. ![]() If a cat has any predisposition at all, just a few days of not eating can cause a potentially fatal condition called hepatic lipidosis. Unlike dogs, however, we must be very careful about attempting to jump start a cat's eating by simply holding out to force them to eat what is offered. Most cats will not hold out very long before their survival instinct kicks in and they take your advice to eat what is offered. As long as a cat is not ill, either with a chronic illness such as inflammatory bowel disease, kidney disease, or with an acute illness such as a respiratory infection, she can actually survive for several days without eating. "Pet owners can actually help to create a fussy eater by taking advantage of the huge variety among cat foods."Ī cat who will eat one diet for a while, then lose interest may have a problem digesting the food so be sure to have that ruled out by a veterinarian before considering your cat to be a picky eater.
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