5 month old male kitten wants wet food, barely eats dry food anymore.?

Question

i have recently switch cat food brands from kitten chow to organic. i only give him wet food maybe twice a week. but during those periods he barely eats his dry food. and he is a little under weight for his age. he's not losing weight but, ... and in the morning sometimes he'll wake me by gently biting me and jumping on me because he knows when i wake up i give him fresh food. he acts crazy in the morning like he's starving! but when i put out the dry food he just sniffs eats a bite or two and goes away. sometimes when it's not wet food he'll nip at my feet as i walk through my apartment getting ready for work. what should i do? should i give in? would it be so bad if i did give him wet food everyday? sometimes i do mix the two, but by itself he doesn't like dry food.

Answer 1

I agree with letterst about the wet food. It doesn't have to be "kitten" food. You can use Natural Balance, Avoderm, Lick Your Chops, CA Natural, Nature's Variety Instinct, Evanger's etc. They are all healthy foods from high quality protein sources.

That's a much better diet for male cats who tend to get urinary problems from too much dry food.

If you go to http://www.littlebigcat.com Dr. Jean Hovfe has many good articles on cat nutrition there including easy home-made dietsfor cats, why cats need canned food, about dry food not "cleaning the teeth" etc.

Answer 2

Wet food is much better for cats than dry food. If anything, he should be getting wet food all the time supplemented with dry food when you know you will be gone for long periods. It's a myth about dry food being better for their teeth or things like that. Give him the wet. The article below should tell you everything you ever wanted to know about pet food and then some.

Answer 3

I had the exact problem with my male kitten. He is 1 yr old now and I mix a good, no grain, organic dry food with his wet food in the morning. Only about 1 TBLS of dry or he will spit the rest out.

Then at night he gets only wet food

If he is extra hungry, which seems to be often, I give him chicken or livers for his midday treat.

I do think it's important for cats to have a balanced diet of dry and canned.

Also, my kitten just stood in front of the refrigerator or climbed up on me to let me know he needs his canned food. I give him what he wants. He will never just eat dry food, so please incorporate both or just canned and let him feel satisfied.

I can't eat my eggs in the morning without my grainy toast.

Answer 4

Just keep trying different dry foods, the kitten knows you will return it to the wet food, and just because it's not eating it all the time, does not mean that he doesnt like it, just that he doesnt have to eat as much, especially if you switched to organic: WHICH IS GREAT! Mixing is a good tactic i tell all my customers to use. when you switched, hopefully you mixed the dry foods together because it will/can cause a digestive upset to switch so suddenly, also, there are more meats and good protiens in the premium foods, opposed to kitten chow, purina one, and iams, and less fillers making your kitten eat less(sorry if that statement was a little redundant). So continue with the dry kitten food, the wet is a treat, and if you notice that he's lookin a little on the thin side, see a vet, all cats/kitten should eat the dry, the wet is not good for their teeth and the longer you feed it to them the more picky they will get. animals are smart, they know you will give em what they want!

Answer 5

He probably doesn't like the dry food you've given him. I'd change it again, of course, mixing the old with the new one until he gets used to it. Till then, keep mixing the dry food with the wet one, because, at least he'll eat something.
Good luck!

Answer 6

These days vets seem to recommend the wet/canned foods over the dry foods... ask your vet.

It isn't harmful to put your cat on a diet of canned food, but you can still leave the dry food down for him to graze on. I think it's best to feed your cat two times a day... check the instructions on the can... and make sure you are giving KITTEN foods, not adult.... kitten food contains more calories and is prepared for the purposes of their nutritional needs up to about a year old.

take care.

Answer 7

LOL, join the club of spoiled kitties. I'm sure the dry is better for the strength of the growing teeth (even tho your feet might not think so after he nips at you) but I finally gave in, and just have my kitty on wet food. I couldn't bear the thoughts of him walking away from the dry and starving. But, as the "older" generation says "if they get hungry enough, they'll eat it" (dry). Maybe when you have time, stir a few bits in his wet food. Not sure that will do any good, but at least you'd feel like you were "trying" to make him eat the dry...LOL

Good luck, and welcome to the world where animals rule!!! tee-hee

Have a great day!

Answer 8

It is actually better if your cat is on a wet food based diet. I feed mine both. I feed them a little bit of wet food 3 times a day and leave dry food out for them to munch on. They don't eat too much and are not fat. I used to mix them, but I found this method more convenient as they'll still eat their dry food.

Answer 9

Despite popular belief, wet food is actually good for your cat. Your cat is a carnivore and it needs the meat inside the wet food because the dry food is zapped out of nutrients in the making.

Glad you are turning organic food. Not only is it good for humans, but also for animals. Be sure to get organic wet food too.

I feed my cat a Wellness wet food pouch every other day and she loves it. We want to switch her to wet food completely, but we need to wait till I get a job for that. It gets expensive!

Answer 10

Canned food is so much better for your kitty. Cats need meat, not the grains and other fillers you find in most dry foods.

I feed my cat canned but leave him just a small amount of dry (Evo, which is very low in carbs) to nibble on during the day.