"Yoj" wrote in message
...
I'm at a loss what to do. Skeeter almost never eats anything but dry
food. Lindy eats (or has eaten in the past) both wet and dry food.
Lindy gets very picky at times, and at one time I kept a record of
everything I fed her and how much of it she ate, so I could be sure to
buy the kinds of food she likes. Now she doesn't seem to like any of
it.

Since Skeeter is now on KD, they are both eating that - the dry kind.
Lately, Lindy has not been eating the canned food at all. The dry food
is down all the time, and I try to feed Lindy the wet food at around
6:00. Every day she starts pestering me about 5:00, and keeps pestering
until I go out and put the dishes on the floor.

I'm getting tired of spending the money on food she doesn't eat,
especially since KD is so much more expensive than Friskies. I'm
tempted to stop putting down the canned food, but that would probably
mean she would keep pestering me until bedtime.

Any suggestions?

Joy



I suggest that you stop free-feeding and begin a scheduled feeding,
preferably with canned food. Since you are feeding KD, I assume that one of
your cats has kidney problems. It particularly important to monitor that
cat's eating habits. I noticed that you expressed concern (in an earlier
response) about shifting cats that are happy with their current eating
habits to another system. I had the same concerns. My cat, Holly, is a
little more than 8 years old. She is very healthy, but she had put on an
extra pound of weight over the past year -- so, after 7 years of optimum
weight, I could now see the possibilities of her becoming overweight. At
about that same time, I adopted Duffy. He is blind and was in a shelter for
several months prior to adoption. He was much too thin at that time and
clearly needed better nutrition. His estimated age is 5 years. Both cats
were used to free-feeding on dry food. After doing a lot of reading about
the subject and talking with some Internet friends, I decided that I should
feed premium canned food to try to achieve a healthier diet.

I faced one of the dilemmas you described -- that is, both cats clearly
preferred dry food, and I felt cruel for trying to force them to adapt to a
different diet. At the same time, I felt that it would be much healthier.
I didn't try to do it "cold turkey." Instead, I made the transition over a
period of two or three weeks. However, I did remove the unlimited amount of
dry food that had previously been available to them and began to put out
appropriate portions, along with their canned food. My cats now eat
Wellness canned and Felidae canned foods. Each cat receives 1/3 can of food
twice a day (I use the small 5.5 or 6 oz. cans because I only have two
cats). I schedule their feedings for 12 hours apart, or as close to that as
possible. I originally just fed "morning and evening," but the cats often
seemed hungry and would beg for food. Switching to a 12-hour schedule --
which is still morning and evening but on a much more regular basis -- had a
remarkably positive effect. Suddenly, the cats seemed satisfied with their
meals and no longer beg for food in-between meals. Their coats look
beautiful, they have energy, and they are now at optimal weights. Oddly,
Holly lost her extra weight and Duffy gained his; but now they both hold
constant, steady weights. (I did use Innova canned for Duffy for the first
month because he was much too thin, then switched to the diet I just
described.) Much to my surprise, they also have fewer furballs!!
Approximately every 3 days, I put out 2/3 cup of Wellness dry food as a
"treat" and just leave it until it is gone (1/3 cup in each of two separate
bowls, although either cat will eat out of each bowl). They now take
occasional nibbles of the dry food, and it usually lasts for 2 or 3 days.

I have found that this diet is not as costly as it sounds because the cats
consume less of this food than they did of "cheaper" food, yet they are
satisfied and their weight is good. It does take some time to complete the
transformation, and that period is when I went through such guilt pangs. I
love my cats and wanted the best for them, and I certainly wanted them to be
happy. Well, that transition period is very short; and I think a healthier
life for them was well worth the effort. If your cat has kidney problems
(as I suspect from the KD), then that is something else that needs to be
carefully considered in your choices. It would be a good idea to completely
eliminate dry food under these circumstances.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly (pictorial history of my blind cat Duffy's
integration into our household):
Duffy, Part I: The Introduction -- http://tinyurl.com/8y54
Duffy, Part II: Life at Home -- http://tinyurl.com/8y56