Five Tips On Dealing With A Finicky Eating Cat
Cats are one of the best cats to adopt and make a part of your family. For starters, cats are furry and adorable. Second, they are very independent. Unlike dogs, cats don’t need to be walked and taken outside every day. They will go in their litter box and all you need to do is scoop it every day or two. Also, cats don’t need to be bathed often or go to the groomer. Cats instinctively bathe themselves. Finally, they make excellent companions and they love to cuddle up and snuggle with you. Unfortunately, not all cats are as easy as you would like them to be. There are some cats that are very finicky that make meal times difficult. If you have a finicky cat, there are a few tips that you should know.
The Bowls Are Important
The bowl that you feed your cat out of can make him not want to eat. Cats don’t like bowls that are too deep or too narrow. This is because they don’t like when their sensitive whiskers touch the sides of the bowl. You might also want to avoid using plastic bowls. Many cats don’t like the smell of plastic, therefore, he might not want to eat out of a plastic bowl. Also, plastic bowls can cause chin rashes on cats with sensitive skin.
Keep the Dishes Clean
Cats like to drink out of clean dishes. If the edges of the dish are coated with dried up saliva, crusted on food, or stuck on dust, the cat might not want to eat out of the dish. You also need to be careful about the way that you clean the dish. If the cat smells detergent on the dish that wasn’t rinsed off thoroughly, he won’t want to eat it.
Let Him Choose, Wet or Dry
If you are feeding your cat dry food, try to put out a dish of cat food and see if he likes it better. If your cat is eating wet food, try dry food. If you are going to be feeding your cat wet food, you cannot leave it in a dish all day. You should put a bowl of food out one or two times a day.
Don’t Mix Your Cat’s Medication With His Food
If your cat needs to take medication, it seems easy to just put it in his food. This is a mistake. While the medication will be hidden well in food, he will be able to taste it. If he was already finicky, putting his medication in his food will make him even more finicky. He might even stop eating the food that he was finally getting used to. It is best to give him a small amount of a food that he has never tried and use it for medication purposes only.
Entice Him
If you have tried everything listed above and you still cannot get your cat to eat, you should make sure that isn’t a medical issue. If the vet clears your cat, it is up to you to entice him to eat. There are a few things that you can add to his food to get him to want to eat.
- Tuna juice or clam juice
- Small pieces of cooked meat
- Powered Parmesan cheese
- Nutritional yeast
- Meat-based baby food
Finicky cats can be difficult to feed. It is important that your cat gets enough food each day to keep his weight up and to give him the nutrition that he needs to remain healthy. If you know how to get your finicky cat to start eating, you can be sure that he will remain happy and healthy.