Finicky Cats

I'm sure all cat owners have been through the "finicky cat" scenario, and some dog owners too. The cat is apparently hungry: curling around your legs meowing and whining, trying to get your attention in all the pesky ways they develop. One of my childhood cats mastered a technique where he would run from under the couch and veer my course from wherever I was going towards the kitchen by throwing his body against my legs in the direction of the kitchen. This ended in several bruised knees and at least one bruised tail that I remember.

So, the cat is hungry. You dutifully pull out the food, fill the bowl and present the culinary delights only to find her throwing her nose in the air and walking away, uninterested. I even had a cat once that would smell the food, and then scratch around the food as if he was covering up poo in the litterbox. Talk about an insult!

Some cat owners find they have trouble switching their finicky cats from commercial pet food to natural, or just to any new diet. Other times, the cat may be sick and losing weight from lack of appetite.

Here are some helpful hints: add bonito flakes, aka kitty kaviar, to the food. These stinky dried fish shreds can be purchased in any health food stores that have a macrobiotic section, or an Asian grocer, or specialty pet shops under the kitty kaviar moniker.

Some owners have luck adding tuna to the cat's food, but beware of allowing the cat to eat tuna as its main protein - not a good move.

A trick I have learned that works for both cats and dogs is to add some oil, like a teaspoon of olive oil right on top of the food, don't even mix it up, just dump it on top. They seem to like that and its good for them.

In general, any funky, stinky, fishy rotting food would "enhance" the appeal of regular pet food for your cat or dog. Gross stuff is far more attractive to them than delicious steaks and fresh burgers actually.

One more tip, is if you are adding vitamins to the food, try holding off for a meal or two and introduce them back slowly. Vitamins in specific are bitter and smell terrible to cats and some dogs.

Lastly, I cannot emphasize enough that its okay if your cat or dog goes without food for a day or even two, due to rejection. Place the food down, and if they don't eat it, remove it after 20 minutes and repeat at the next mealtime. I guarantee by meal 4 or 5, they'll be eating that food right away!
Good luck!