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Old January 4th, 2010, 08:43 PM
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How to teach the cat to eat wet food?

So it seems to me that Rupert does LIKE wet food.....he just doesn't actually know how to eat it. He licks it until it's packed down into a hard layer at the bottom of the dish. Then I have to fluff it back up with a fork so he is at least able to get a bit of it, but then it gets packed down again.

I'm using a wide, shallow dish and I also tried adding a bit of water to change the consistency but he just licks the moisture up.

Any help???
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Old January 4th, 2010, 08:52 PM
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Hmm...all mine lick their food. I serve it to them with a tablespoon, so it's sort of domed. I put it on the plate, then push it down a bit, and they lick it. They don't chomp it like they would dry food.
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Old January 4th, 2010, 08:55 PM
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Hmm...all mine lick their food. I serve it to them with a tablespoon, so it's sort of domed. I put it on the plate, then push it down a bit, and they lick it. They don't chomp it like they would dry food.
Hmmm....I don't understand why Rupert is only ingesting about a 1/4 of his food this way?

The poor boy was working on his food for over 30 minutes tonight and didn't get very far with it.
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Old January 4th, 2010, 08:57 PM
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mine do that too, but they go back to it again later and actually eat the food.

clm
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Old January 4th, 2010, 09:01 PM
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mine do that too, but they go back to it again later and actually eat the food.

clm
Rupert won't touch it once it gets even slightly crusty....anytime I have left it out after his initial attempt it just goes bad.
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Old January 4th, 2010, 09:02 PM
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Chinook did that with pate - not with chunks or shredded wet foods. So we switched to that, and he started eating properly then.
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Old January 4th, 2010, 09:06 PM
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i find aslan does that too with any kind that is pate-like...maybe its harder to actually pick up and he gets nowhere with just licking it. i now get him more of a morsel-type wet food with small chunks and he devours it
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Old January 4th, 2010, 09:06 PM
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Do you give him his food on a flat plate? Maybe a bowl with high sides is better. If he pushes the food to the side, he can make like a little pile on the wall and eat it.
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Old January 4th, 2010, 09:12 PM
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Chaser sounds like Rupert is finicky like mine were. What brand are you feeding? I found alot of times its the consistancy of the food. For example there is one I think its called Old Mother Hubbards or something like that and the one I bought was chicken pot pie. They liked it but they licked it until there was no liquid left and the chicken was sort of flaked and there were a few carrots and potato pieces left. I thought they had a problem eating it or something with their teeth.

As it turns out they will only eat the DVP natures Balance and I think because it is more a firm pate. In the beginning I added water just because they werent eating enough.

Now I have them up to about 5 different flavors but it is the ONLY BRAND out of I dont know how many I have tried!

The other thing is to maybe entice him with something on top the first few times. Dont worry I didnt think mine would ever transition over but now WOW they eat it!
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Old January 4th, 2010, 09:23 PM
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Crap...now I'm even more confused. Some like pate, some like morsels. Some eat on plates, others from bowls

From past attempts with Merricks and Wellness pouches I feel certain he prefers the pate. After licking up the sauce of the chunky ones he would just walk away. And even if he did like the chunky foods I'm trying to avoid all chicken right now for him which only leaves some pate-style wet foods anyway.

Tonight it was Nature's Variety Venison. I know he liked it, because he worked on it for over half an hour. Other foods he hasn't liked get less than five minutes of his attention. He simply couldn't seem to actually get the stuff in his mouth.

As far as his dish, it's sort of a half-plate/half-bowl. It's got enough of a side that he could use it to help him out but it isn't deep.

Oh this is beyond frustrating....I'll have to spoon feed him at this rate.
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Heidi - RIP my sweet baby girl
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Old January 4th, 2010, 09:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ancientgirl View Post
Hmm...all mine lick their food. I serve it to them with a tablespoon, so it's sort of domed. I put it on the plate, then push it down a bit, and they lick it. They don't chomp it like they would dry food.
You gave me a genius idea that actually worked!!!!

I decided to give Rupert a snack since he doesn't exactly have a rigid feeding schedule. I took a spoonful of food and then just sat the spoon in the dish! The food didn't move around so much on him and he finished almost all of the dinner that he couldn't seem to get in his mouth earlier!

There were a couple bits left behind still, but the dogs say they have no problem helping Rupert lick his dish clean

Tomorrow we'll see if he likes NV Rabbit as much as he does the Venison.
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Chase (Friendly Resident Wigglebum) - Border Collie/Lab/Shepherd X
Kailey (Misunderstood Gentle Beauty) - GSD & foster failure #1
Rupert (Gold-Medal Winner of the 3 a.m. Kitty Destruction Olympics )

Heidi - RIP my sweet baby girl
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Old January 4th, 2010, 11:53 PM
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welcome to the world of hard to please cats. what we don't do to make sure the little monsters eat.

clm
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Old January 5th, 2010, 12:28 AM
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welcome to the world of hard to please cats. what we don't do to make sure the little monsters eat.

clm
LOL
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Kailey (Misunderstood Gentle Beauty) - GSD & foster failure #1
Rupert (Gold-Medal Winner of the 3 a.m. Kitty Destruction Olympics )

Heidi - RIP my sweet baby girl
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Old January 5th, 2010, 05:16 AM
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thats awesome that he gobbled it up!
perhaps you could try a very small cat dish? maybe the dish/bowl itself is too big and it moves around a lot? they actuall sell quite tiny stainless steel pet food dishes at my local dollarama...then if it works, you can always buy a nicer/higher quality one later.
aslan seems to prefer a tiny dish too
finicky lil furbabies, arent they?
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Old January 5th, 2010, 08:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaser View Post
You gave me a genius idea that actually worked!!!!

I decided to give Rupert a snack since he doesn't exactly have a rigid feeding schedule. I took a spoonful of food and then just sat the spoon in the dish! The food didn't move around so much on him and he finished almost all of the dinner that he couldn't seem to get in his mouth earlier!

There were a couple bits left behind still, but the dogs say they have no problem helping Rupert lick his dish clean

Tomorrow we'll see if he likes NV Rabbit as much as he does the Venison.
Cool! They are a challenge sometimes when it comes to meal time. So many strange things we wind up doing just to get them to eat!
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Old January 7th, 2010, 11:30 AM
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I am happy that you found a solution to Rupert's eating dilema.
My little Ginger (RIP), had kind of a 'flatter little face, and struggled also. My Vet said to put her food on the FLOOR!. I found that a bit odd, but did get a mini plastic pet placemat for her that had sort of a ridge around it.
Anyways, I did find a better dish that worked, and Ginny
did ok after that.
This forum is excellent ,and all of the members are so helpful.
Again great news about Rupert!
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Old January 24th, 2010, 12:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaser View Post
So it seems to me that Rupert does LIKE wet food.....he just doesn't actually know how to eat it. He licks it until it's packed down into a hard layer at the bottom of the dish. Then I have to fluff it back up with a fork so he is at least able to get a bit of it, but then it gets packed down again.

I'm using a wide, shallow dish and I also tried adding a bit of water to change the consistency but he just licks the moisture up.

Any help???
When I gave my cat canned food at first the same thing happened, he would only lick away at it. This was fine for pate, but this meant he couldn't eat any other kinds, chunks, shredded etc (like you said, just the moisture would get eaten).. now after some patience and alot of time, he has learned to take bites of the food together with the licking, and eats everything in the dish.

It will not happen over night, or even in a week or two, however over time, the cat will slowly learn to eat any kind food, and just as normal right from the dish. Unfortunately, I don't know of any quick way to teach or train any cat to do this.
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