Fussy cat - I win!

[SueDonim]

We keep a jar of biscuit treats - used for rewards and bribes. I had the effrontery to buy a new brand and Mr Fussy wouldn't eat them. Annoying because I'd taken the trouble to make sure they were meat-based and not just grain. Mmmm. 

I figured that the problem wasn't that he didn't like them, rather that it smelled wrong and he didn't recognise them as food. Mixing them up with the old biscuits didn't work. He also refused the "contaminated" old biscuits.

So, I very slowly introduced them with his meal foods. First a ground up sprinkle mixed in, then a whole biscuit wrapped in meat, then two.... and so on. A few false starts when I did too many too soon and got the "what's going on here?" look. I kept a count - one to me every time he ate one, one to him for every one left in the dish. We were about even for a couple of weeks then I started making headway. And now four weeks later, he's happy eating the dry biscuits on their own.

And the brand that caused all this fuss - Fussy Cat.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

If he is anything like our lot, without warning he will reject them on sight...

Gotta love these superior life forms.

[C_T_Russell]

They are not stupid.
I try and give my cat variety and not give the same biscuits all the time, but occassionally there is the odd flavour he doesnt like.
Sometimes I can bribe him by just putting more food in the dish and he ends up eating it, or just dont give in and he will eventually finish whats in the dish when he knows thats all he is getting.
Its funny how he wont eat anything in the dish at times, but i just sprinkle a little extra in the dish and he will go and eat it!

[SueDonim]

Update 4 weeks on - the new biscuits are now his favourite! Another flavour he wasn't sure about at first is raw duck. I had found some old frozen pieces in the freezer and minced them up into portions to go in his main meal. I got a bit of "what's this?" at first but now he's happy as with that too.

I think cats have an inbuilt safety mechanism to take care with eating unfamiliar things, but can be won around if they are introduced properly. Like most animals they are far smarter than we realise.

[Zurdo]

My cat is normal - she's fussy. Dry food in the morning, wet food at night. The Whiskers dry food has round brown pellets, and slightly larger lighter coloured rectangular ones...she picks out the rectangular ones. So I spent up large for some Purina as a change - NOPE ! Changed from Chef to Whiskers wet food - Woosh ! Gone. The slightly smaller serving size helps.

[Kenj]

Why can't cats eating habits be like a dog who will eat almost anything. Especially Labradors and Corgis. It would save a lot of hassle.

[Zurdo]

It's all about control...and the controlled.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Surprisingly enough, a hungry cat isn't picky. And though I have shared my life with lots and lots of cats, I have never seen one of them starve to death when there is food in the bowl. Get very irritated, yes. But starve, no.

The control lies with us. We just need to remember that when we see their fluffy little bum stalking away from us in disgust.

[piroska]

Surprisingly enough, a hungry cat isn't picky. And though I have shared my life with lots and lots of cats, I have never seen one of them starve to death when there is food in the bowl. Get very irritated, yes. But starve, no.

The control lies with us. We just need to remember that when we see their fluffy little bum stalking away from us in disgust.

For sure. The eat like starved wolves strays I have had over the years.
But then we'd be the same.

Our current cat happily eats her Jimbos. He chosen food. Except when she has decided she's bored with it and wants a certain brand of catfood. Then she decides she's bored with that and....

Imagine having the same meal every day, I'd be a bit disinclined too.