# My cats only eat the jelly/gravy from their food!



## sarahhh (Nov 8, 2014)

Hey 

Our cats will lick off the jelly/gravy and leave the chunks. I've tried mashing up the meat first but doesn't make a difference. They'll choose to eat biscuits over their meat. I've reduced their biscuit supply as I thought that if they're hungry they would eat it. Instead, they make me feel guilty and stare at the empty bowl!! 

I'm not sure what to try really, is it cruel to leave them without biscuits? Would it be an idea to completely remove them when I put their dinners out? 

Just don't want to deprive them! Aha.


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## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

What food is it? Have you tried any other textures of wet foods with them? Many cats prefer pate style, or flakes rather than chunks, or even the mousse sort.


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

Feed pate instead. It's better for them anyway, usually much lower in carbs than chunks and gravy styles.

And no it's not wrong of you to get rid of the dry. It's the best thing you can do for them! And yes, stop leaving dry down, ever. Take it up. Once you've got them eating enough wet, get it out of the house. Kibble addicts can smell it (it is sprayed with stuff to make it addictive) and will hold out for it. Get rid of it!


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## Britt (May 18, 2014)

Pooh never liked gravy. He prefers the texture of Miamor or Porta 21 for example. 

He used to eat dry only. Switching to good quality wet food was the best thing I could do for him.


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

Eliminating the biscuits should be your first move.

If mashing the food into the jelly doesn't work, try hand feeding the meat pieces until they get used to it. Just lie down next to the bowl as they are licking the jelly and nudge bits of meat into their jaws. It worked a treat for me when we first got our dry addict as a kitten.


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## Kimsey (Apr 6, 2014)

My cats are exactly the same and would only eat aldi or lidl pate but my vet said they were putting too much weight on. From excellent advice on here I have start giving them Smilla trial packs from Zooplus and they love it (they are not so keen on the Bozita as they will only eat the fish flavour) It's worth a try and much more reasonably priced when you think I was giving away about 20 tins of various foods a month they wouldn't eat. Another bonus is no litter stink lol x


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## Kathyvet (Aug 24, 2014)

Hi there,

All cats are different- some like wet food, some only like dry food. If you have tried lots of different types of meat and they are still more keen on their biscuits then it may just be that they like biscuits!! Don't beat yourself up about it, as long as they are on a good quality diet (and haven't had problems with cystitis in the past) then I wouldn't stress too much. The joys of cat ownership  They have us well trained!

Kathy


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## sarahhh (Nov 8, 2014)

Thank you for your replies! I have been looking at better food tbh, they're eating felix atm but after seeing how little meat content they have, I'm shocked! I've been looking on the zooplus website! Problem is, I've bought loads of it!! 

Although, we tried crushing one of those dreamies treats up and sprinkling it on and they completely finished the bowl! So maybe that's the way initially, then just slowly add less until they eat it alone? Although I think I'll still get the better stuff once they've finished this.

My dad has had cats for years and he usually gives biscuits in morning and meat in the evening so I initially wanted to do that. I know what you mean about the addiction of biscuits though!! 

:smile5:


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

Kathyvet said:


> Hi there,
> 
> All cats are different- some like wet food, some only like dry food. If you have tried lots of different types of meat and they are still more keen on their biscuits then it may just be that they like biscuits!! Don't beat yourself up about it, as long as they are on a good quality diet (and haven't had problems with cystitis in the past) then I wouldn't stress too much. The joys of cat ownership  They have us well trained!
> 
> Kathy


This is poor advice. Just because a cat "likes only biscuits" doesn't mean it is good for him. In fact a dry diet is the worst thing you can feed a cat, any cat.

Sometimes it takes a little work and effort, even stress, to take proper care of a cat.


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## Buttons1 (Sep 2, 2013)

I hope you manage to find something on zooplus that your cat likes. Some good ones to try are Catz, Grau and Feringa.

While you are doing your Zooplus order maybe order some Thrive chicken treats. They are really easy to crumble over food. It works really well if you have fussy cats. I find putting the wet food in the microwave for a few seconds helps too. Don't over face them with the new food. Try a little bit at a time. You can use the Felix to transition them over.

I'm sure your local cat shelter will be grateful for any unwanted pouches


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## MoggyBaby (Mar 8, 2011)

sarahhh said:


> Thank you for your replies! I have been looking at better food tbh, they're eating felix atm but after seeing how little meat content they have, I'm shocked! I've been looking on the zooplus website! Problem is, I've bought loads of it!!
> 
> *Although, we tried crushing one of those dreamies treats up and sprinkling it on and they completely finished the bowl! So maybe that's the way initially, then just slowly add less until they eat it alone?* Although I think I'll still get the better stuff once they've finished this.
> 
> ...


I was going to suggest trying this. I have to do this with one of my girls, over her raw food. I only do 2 kibbles a night so it's not a big deal. If you have to do this long-term, don't worry. A couple of kibbles crushed up won't cause major problems especially as this tiny bit of dry is being consumed with wet food.

You could also try adding a splash of hot water to heat the food up & make it smell stronger which makes their taste buds perk up a bit more than cold food.

It is worth persevering with the wet food as dry kibbles are the worst thing you can feed. Even if your cat doesn't have cystitis now, it could easily develop it in later life along with diabetes and kidney disease. 

.


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## Erenya (Jul 22, 2014)

Buttons1 said:


> Some good ones to try are Catz, Grau and Feringa.


i concur! mine love catz and feringa 

they also love cosma, but only as a little treat


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

lorilu said:


> This is poor advice. Just because a cat "likes only biscuits" doesn't mean it is good for him. In fact a dry diet is the worst thing you can feed a cat, any cat.
> 
> Sometimes it takes a little work and effort, even stress, to take proper care of a cat.


Have to agree with you. Of course I don't underestimate how difficult it is to get a cat on the right diet and I have nothing but sympathy for slaves who are battling stubborn cats; OH and I have shed some tears and torn out some hair on the road to getting ours on the diet of our choice. But I do believe it has to be our choice, not the cat's - within reason. Someone has to be the responsible adult.


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