cat diet questions
 

I have learned a ton from this forum in the short time I have been here, and now would like some more "expert" advice on cat food :)

I am currently leaning towards a raw food diet for my two cats, but am "trying" other foods first, to try to find a happy medium between two very different eaters:

Sherman: 4 year old male, horribly fussy, hates wet food
Spud: 1.5 year old male, eats anything, urinary tract issues, compromised immunity due to feline leukemia

Can I please have your opinions on Wellness, Go! and Now! brands? These are the ones I am trying right now. So far Spud likes it all and Sherman hates it all.... I would love to have them both on a similar diet but separate diets are fine if needed.... Does anyone have a quality brand they reccommend for picky eaters?

Thanks!

[QUOTE=cats+horse;969238]Does anyone have a quality brand they reccommend for picky eaters?
[/QUOTE]

I think when attempting to switch a kibble addict to wet food, the brand doesn't necessarily have to be top quality right away. Compare it to a kid that's always eaten McDonald's and suddenly you want him to start eating plain steamed broccoli. Might not go over so well. So if you were to pour cheese sauce all over the broccoli, maybe he'd be more interested, at least until he develops a taste for broccoli. Likewise with cats, sometimes you need to do a gradual transition using foods that may not be the best of the best. Which is where something like Fancy Feast comes in. Some FF flavours are healthier than others (read the labels and watch out for wheat gluten), but lots of cats like it while they shun the better stuff. Then you can ever so slowly start mixing in something like Wellness or Go or whatever.

Another trick is to top-dress the canned food with things like pulverized kibble, freeze-dried meat treats, parmesan cheese, tuna juice, etc.

Some kibble addict kitties can be quite the challenge, that's for sure!

Sprinkling his kibble on top of the canned is a great idea. Pile the canned food up in a pile then gently press some kibble slightly into the canned so that only half the kibble is sticking out, then some pulverized kibble on top of that. Another thing I have found is the hungrier they are, the more apt they are at eating something different. No different than children ;), so patience and perseverance may be key to a successful transition.

Good luck!