My cat will only eat cat biscuits (dry food) not wet food

Is that normal? or does she just not like the food I'm offering?

I always thought cats needed both?

We recently adopted a kitten so I've been reading up on what to feed cats. The advice I got was that cats are often reluctant to drink water so it is wise to give them at least some wet food, either commercial cat food or raw meat, or they will get used to being slightly dehydrated and that is not good for them long term.

At the animal shelter's advice we started our kitten with kitten food out of a sachet plus unlimited access to kitten biscuits. Now that he is six months we feed him raw beef once a day, soft kitten food once a day and a daily allocation of biscuits. He goes for the raw beef first, then the biscuits, and will often leave some of the soft food.

Have you tried your cat on raw meat?

Ours eat royal canin biscuits and hunt and eat rabbits, mice, rats etc.

For 10y we offered raw pet food as well as biscuits -- minced rabbit, hare, possum,etc. They loved it, but we moved and it was no longer convenient to buy. Where we moved to they get the real thing though, at no cost to us and much benefit to everyone. When I've got leftover raw beef scraps from making dinner I offer it to the cats.. two of them love it and one tries to bury the plate.

We've always had cats, and none have ever been interested in commercial wet food, except as tiny kittens. Our vets have never thought this was a problem.

I can't find written anywhere how much food, wet or dry should be fed daily to a cat. Ours is 4 years old, but next week I'm adopting a rescue cat.
I don't want to over feed either cats but want to give them plenty to eat.
Any ideas ?

I've always given our cats free access to dry food and water. Out of the many cats we've owned over the years, only one has tended toward overeating, but not to a huge degree. Perhaps see how it goes for a few weeks with the new cat? If it starts to put on weight, you can look at adjusting quantities, otherwise it may just eat as needed. If you'd prefer not to do that, I'm sure a call to a vet would be able to give you a guide on how much to portion out.

our 4yr old cat has dry biscuits & water kept available for him but my DH spoils him & he loves chicken.
Dennis (the cat) will eat raw chicken but prefers cooked - as in from a lunch roll or roast.
Understandably I'm not too keen to reinforce any of this esp if I do have little sinewy pieces from beef for example when I am making a casserole & the darned cat sniffs his nose up & walks away.
We also have a range of wild life - in various bits - brought in for us to admire.
Me thinks he is rather spoiled, so if there is a life to come back to in any form, this cat has it.

My two are ex-SPCA fosters (we couldn't bear to give them back) and they only eat dry Hill's Science Diet which is what they gave them at the SPCA. I tried them on wet kitten food when they were small but they didn't touch it. They do have a water fountain which they love. Ideally I would be feeding them a raw mixed diet with roughage added in (not just muscle meat), but they wouldn't be interested - not having been fed any treats they don't even come into the kitchen if fish or meat is in the offing. I have my doubts about the healthiness of dry cat food, but on the other hand I've had cats all my life and all of them have made it past 18 so it can't be that bad.

I’m off the subject, sorry, but the kitten we adopted on Tuesday hasn’t appeared for food or anything. She’s hiding in a wardrobe, under couch or bed. Not coming out at all and if she does runs like mad when she sees me. The good part is she found the litter tray which she’s used twice.
I’m wondering how long this will go on for and if she will accept her new home.
We have a 2 week time to return her but don’t want to do that of course. What can we do as we’ve never had this happen before.

valralph, my mother got a cat who was supremely shy from the Cats' Protection League. It took her two long weeks to finally venture out from under the bed, but today she's incredibly happy and loving (to my mother, that us - after several years I've still only glimpsed her once or twice!).

My beautiful old Burmese, Jynx, had to be put down 2 days before his 18th birthday in 2016 and I wasn't going to get another cat immediately. However, about a month later, I saw a mouse run across the lounge floor. That was it! Look for another cat. Not a kitten - I didn't want all that hassle and as I'm into my 70's it made sense to have an older cat, one needing a loving, new home. So off to the SPCA and I picked up a beautiful black, gold and silver tortie female (see pic attached). She snuggled into my neck and purred loudly. Trick worked. Got her home and it was a shock. She had previously obviously been very badly treated. I couldn't get near her for about a week till she realised her new life was not like the old one. Gradually she became used to me, and while I still cannot get her to sit on my lap, she sleeps on the end of my bed. She is still very wary of anyone, including me, wearing shoes coming near her, and a hand stretched down to touch her from the front evokes a scared look and withdrawal to a safe distance. Stroke her from behind and she loves it. 19 months later, she has relaxed a lot and is almost normal, allowing some visitors to stroke her, but that's all.

Anyway, at the SPCA she was fed Purina One Chicken dried cat food. Wouldn't you know it- it was withdrawn from the market and replaced by something Minty wouldn't even look at, much less eat! So I bought a couple of different varieties of Purina One and found that she would eat the Hairball Formula one. As far as wet food was concerned, it depended on what it was like
consistency-wise. Tinned food of any kind was definitely a no-no. I didn't try fresh meat as Jynx (the old cat) would only eat Jimbo Veal, the most expensive stuff on the market. I wasn't going to go there! Pouch food was OK, but she licked the gravy away and left the 'rubber bullets'. Then one day someone gave me a pouch of Whiskas in jelly. I hit on the idea of whizzing the 'bullets' with my hand blender and it worked. She now has 70 grams of Purina One measured out every morning and at around 4 O'clock she comes in and 'demands' her pouch of Whiskers, either beef, tuna or chicken flavours, all in jelly (NOT gravy). And she loves her small bowl of water that she seems to drink mostly overnight. Result is one happy cat who loves me in her own way by licking my toes and 'shouting' for me every time she comes in her cat door. And I love her in my way, sometimes demanding that she sit on my lap for just a minute or two. Oh happy life! So endeth my story.

Don't be alarmed if your new cat or kitten hides under the bed. This is their way of having a safe hideaway while they get used to the new environment. This can last for up to 3 weeks. Just put their food and water and litter tray in the same room.

All the cats I've had have just been fed a high quality complete and balanced dry food. This is perfect for feeding ad lib as it can be left out without attracting flies or going off. Cats fed on dry food will just naturally drink more water.

I do supplement my boy cat's food with wet food to try and keep the urine more dilute because male cats can easily get blocked bladders from urinary crystals or inflammation. For wet food, I've found that my cats will actually eat (instead of just licking the gravy) the casserole ones with larger chunks like Pam's and Chef.

Be careful of feeding beef because it's a common allergen for many cats and dogs if they haven't had it from a young age. I've come across many pets who have been vomiting regularly but stop vomiting once the owner stops feeding foods that contain beef. I tell the owner to read the ingredients list and avoid the ones that say beef or meat (if it just says meat, that might include beef). If you are buying a supermarket food, read the ingredients list every time you but a new bag, because those ingredients can change with each batch.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2018 05:50AM by DK.

We use Purina, and offer the cats tuna in water, which they love. Buiscuits and water always available.