My cat doesnt eat meat, only the fluids on it?

Question

hi,

i dont know why but my can doesnt want to eat meat, it only likes the juices that come from the box. She licks all that and leaves the meat behind. Next day, when there's lots of dry meat left, she starts miawing like she's hungry. I have tried many different cat meats.
I always make sure she has plenty of water and dry catfood, she eats that no problem.

What should i do? Should i give her no meat at all? In the end it will just be ruined. Is there a special cat food thats only liquid?

Answer 1

hi martin t,

i'd reccommend trying a food called "wellness" if it's available in your area. meat is the main ingredient and they use only human-grade ingredients. if you do try it, get the wet food and make sure the can is marked "grain free" because that doesn't have all the extra carbohydrates in it that kitties don't need. good luck and i hope you find something that works!

Answer 2

If she can fit the palm of your hand she is not ready to eat and needs kitten formula. You can buy this at a pet store or Walmart along with kitten bottles. This kitten will need to be fed every 2 or 3 hours around the clock until you get it to the vet. The kitten may be too young to maintain it's own body heat so wrap it loosely in a soft cloth and hold it next to your body. You can also set a heating pad on warm only for the kitten to rest on. Never leave a heating pad unattended. She is crying due to missing mom cat, litter mates and because of hunger. Start the kitten on the formula and see how mush it calms down. Make sure the kitten is able to urinate and have a bowel movement. If it cannot move it's bowels, take a warm damp cloth and rub it across the rectum to promote movement. You will need to get the formula right away as a kitten can starve and dehydrate very quickly. Thank you so much for rescuing this kitten, Enjoy the many years that you will have together.

Answer 3

My cat does that to, but I think it's because she's so small. People thnk she's a kitten tho she's 8 yrs old, and very active. We've always tried to "bulk her up since until about a year ago, she only weighed 6 lbs. She's up to 7 lbs now.

She licks the juice up, then eats her dry food, but keeps coming back to nibble on the meat (or fish) until it's gone, which might take a few hours.

In her case, I think she just has a very small stomach.

Answer 4

My cat will only drink the juices from canned food. We add extra water to the canned food and she drinks it most times. She's very fussy about canned food, so sometimes its hard for her to drink. I don't care much that she doesn't eat the meat because I really just want her to get the extra water in the food.

If you are talking about canned food, just feed a little of it, like a teaspoon or two and add some extra water to it. That way one can should last like a week so it won't cost you so much in food if she doesn't even eat it.

Answer 5

My cats do that, too, sometimes with a certain kind of cat food. The chunks left have no smell after they licked the juice so they don't want them.
Try to buy a dryer type, like paté or terrines. And give her some dry crispy food. They need that too.

Answer 6

My cat eats the food, but she does tend to enjoy the juice a lot better. She will lick up every bit of juice before she even considers eating the meat.

Answer 7

Don't blame the cat...

Your question should be:

"Is there actual meat in the canned cat food?"

I saw a question like your's twice now, and I'm starting to doubt whether they use actual meat or just meat juice in them.

Answer 8

My cats do that with some kinds of canned food too. Try different brands/flavors and see if that helps. Also,some cats that are used to dry kibbles will not bite directly into a solid mass of soft food so try cutting the canned food lump into smaller,bite sized pieces until he gets used to the texture.

Answer 9

~It's just a matter of preference. Our cat won't eat soft canned cat food, but he will have only "bites" of human food. He has plenty of crunchies all the time, he loves that.
I would say quit buying it, we did.~

Answer 10

have you tried the premium kitty foods that are made of fish?

mix the food before giving it to kitty--stir it up so it is all the same. my kitten used to do that--he stopped when i found the kind he likes the best.kitties do need the nutrients in the wet food--without it, their coats become sdtiff and brittle instead of soft and silky.my kitty likes the wet foods that hae fish and greens--and some egg.
fancy feast has some of those--try them and see what your kitty does--and mix well before letting kitty have the food!

good luck with kitty