# Kitten hisses at (gourmet!) food



## Linz27 (Dec 1, 2014)

I'm hoping someone can help......

My 7 month old ragdoll is hissing at his food - mostly wet but also dry and even his treats!
He has never been the biggest lover of wet food, but eats it with a few treats on top or mixed with dry (or if hand fed when I have to get it down him!!)
I sneaked a piece of thrive (75% chicken breast and usually his fave) into a bowl of dry and when he saw it he growled and then hissed at it!

I know I shouldn't hand feed but sometimes this is the only way he eats enough (before anyone says, I know if I stop he will eat from the bowl eventually but the food goes off and I just want to clear it all up there and then) and he has even been growling/hissing at this.

Since the hissing started, I have fed him dry food only which doesn't seem to upset him as much but I don't want him on dry food only.

What is making him so angry at his food and how can I get him eating wet food happily (ish) again?

His food is all top quality and expensive premium food so should not be because of being fussy.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

He could be teething but I would get his mouth checked in case it's something more serious. He might have a sore mouth for some reason or he may just associate the wet food with injuring his mouth on something.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi there and welcome to Pet Forums.

When a cat hisses it is as a warning, either to another cat, or to a human. The warning means e.g. "leave me alone", or "stop bothering me", or "back off". That kind of thing!

Even if you are not trying to hand feed him you are evidently near him when he's eating (as you hear him hissing) and he doesn't like it.

So the first thing when you serve his meals to him is to put the dish on the floor (or wherever he likes to eat) and then leave the room, allowing him to get on with it. He will be much more co-operative that way.

As far as weaning him off dry food, the best way is to serve the wet food and the dry food in two separate dishes, placed side by side. Start off with more dry than wet, and then slowly and gradually decrease the dry and increase the wet. The secret is perseverance, and staying calm, so kitty does not sense you are anxious about it.

Do NOT mix the wet and dry food together, as that does not work as well.

For the moment choose a wet food that you know he will eat. If you have to start with a wet food that's not particularly good quality, such as Felix AGAIL (which most cats seem to like), then don't worry. Once you have him on a mainly wet diet you can try introducing another couple of better quality foods.

It is best to choose a dry food that's grain free, of which there are a number on the market e.g. Lily's Kitchen, Applaws, Orijen, Porta21, Wainwrights, JWB, etc

Another thing you can do with his wet food is to sprinkle a little Fortiflora on top if you find he needs an added incentive. Fortiflora is a probiotic for pets and most cats love the meaty taste of it. It is not cheap but a box lasts a while if you just use a small amount from a sachet every day.

FortiFlora Feline Nutritional Complement for Cats and Kittens: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

Also, you can give him a few pieces of cooked chicken with his wet food, as long as it is cooked without salt or other seasonings.

Have you thought about offering him some raw meat? You could try him with some very fresh beef, lamb or pork chunks from the supermarket to start with 
to see what he makes of raw meat.

Good Luck! You'll get there, just have to be patient, firm and consistent. 

EDIT: I agree with Lyn -definitely ensure first that his mouth, teeth or gums are not sore or injured.


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## Linz27 (Dec 1, 2014)

Thanks both, the advice helps.

He had to go to the vets last week for having a few coughing attacks and they looked in his throat, I would think if he had a sore mouth, this would have been picked up then but it does make me wonder when it has only just come on.

He got all his adult teeth (or it appears that he has) in December so I think teething should not be a problem for him now.

I have always been near him when he feeds, he follows me if I leave him but I will of course try this method and also the FortiFlora.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Did the vet have an idea what might be causing the coughing episodes? I am thinking there is just a possibility that your kitty might have a food sensitivity to something he's eating, as this might possibly cause the coughing. 

If he has got a food allergy he could have a sore mouth, e.g. an eosinophilic ulcer on his tongue or lip perhaps...... Or maybe nothing to do with food allergies he could have a sore tooth or sore gums (tho a bit too young to have gingivitis probably)

Sorry, I may have misunderstood your original post and thought the eating problem had been going on for some time, and was to do with him only wanting dry food. But if it's something that only recently developed I would suspect a mouth problem more as being the cause. 

There IS a chance he could be hissing when he eats because he is in pain, and he is blaming you because you're near by. Cats at great at redirecting their annoyance on to someone else! 

To put your mind at rest (and mine too) I think it would be worth getting the vet to have another thorough look in his mouth, and inspect his teeth, just so it could be ruled out as a possible cause of the food refusal.


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## Linz27 (Dec 1, 2014)

No, she thought it may be asthma but his chest sounded fine.
He has had 3 serious coughs in 3 weeks and funnily enough we've been saying his lip looks swollen for a few weeks too.

I'm definitely taking him back now!

As you seem to know heaps of stuff, perhaps you could guide me in the direction of what food could be giving him the possible allergy as I mix it a bit for variety so I know which ones to eliminate first (I will probs start with Iams as this definitely has grains):

Bozita, Royal Canin, Thrive, Lily's Kitchen, JWB, Iams 

Thanks again


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Glad you're going to take him to the vets for another check. 

With regard to food allergies (or food intolerances) unfortunately it is not an easy thing to resolve as the culprit (or culprits) could be one or more meat proteins in his food, or grains, or additives. It can be rather a journey finding all the answers, as I can vouch, having been through it 3 times with my current cats (two of whom [brothers] have IBD, and one who has skin problems.)

It is certainly worth making a start by cutting out grains, as you plan to do. Grains are not easy for cats to digest as they don't produce the enzyme amylase in their saliva that omnivores do, which is needed to break down carbohydrates efficiently. A diet high in carbs can in some cases cause inflammation of the digestive tract in cats.

The meat proteins that most commonly cause allergies or food intolerances in cats are beef, fish and chicken in that order. So you could start by e.g. removing beef and fish from his diet, as IME it is easier to find cat foods that don't contain these, than foods that have no chicken in them.

It would mean avoiding foods such as Bozita which contains a lot of beef. 
But Thrive Complete would be OK, as would some of the Lily's Kitchen flavours (some contain beef or fish). When my cats were kittens I fed them Hilife Natures Essentials, poultry flavours, and also some foods that are suitable for all stages of development, e.g. Catz Fine Food and Feringa.

If excluding certain foods does not make any difference, then you would need to consider doing an elimination diet, which is the scientific method of identifying food sensitivities. You put the kitty on a strict novel protein diet for 6 weeks. Novel proteins for kitties in the UK are : kangaroo, horsemeat, goat, reindeer, ostrich, and maybe venison. You pick one of those and feed that and nothing else except water. At the end of the 6 weeks if all is fine you can start reintroducing foods one at a time every 3 weeks, but they must be single protein foods. (ZP sells some, as does The Happy Kitty Co). 
You'd also keep a daily log so as to note any new symptoms.

I have done the elimination diet with all 3 of my cats who have food sensitivities and it was well worth it, as I was able to identify all the protein culprits. It is less difficult to do than it may sound, and once you get going, it is straight forward.


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