Raw food almost odorless kitten isn't as interested... Ideas?

[Nsarno87]

I transitioned Nylah from her canned food to raw food and now that she is on 100% raw she is not nearly as interested in the food/excited to eat it when we first put it down.

I have noticed that the recipe I used (Deborah's chicken recipe she posted) is nearly odorless and obviously canned food smells very strong.

I experimented and put 100% raw food down for her to eat today and she only took a couple bites of it and walked away so I picked up the plate again and put it back down and she ran over and smelled it and walked away. I then put a little sliver of canned food on it and she ate most of it.

Her next feeding I put just raw food and she eventually ate it all but just slowly ate some and then came back for more later.

I have noticed that her appetite is not as big as we've added more raw but I just thought it filled her more than the canned stuff and she really did seem to love the raw and ate it before the canned food as we transitioned but now that the smell isn't there she isn't as interested.

Thoughts?

 

[Marissa]

Cats can smell things we can't, keep in mind.. She may just be picky (some prefer canned), mine do it also but they eventually eat. They def wont starve themselves. I'd keep going with it, maybe mixing the canned like your doing then Keep adding less and less.

 

[scorpius]

Don't know if this helps... Shango my F2 did not want to eat raw, meaning ground chicken with gizzards, when we first got him (@13 weeks). He did not have much appetite at first as well. But he would eat cooked chicken like crazy, so we fed him this for the first 1-2 weeks. Next transitioned him back to raw and he had no issues with it. He eats it like crazy now (@18 weeks). dj

 

[Sunny]

I think of it like broccoli. The first time you put it in front of your kids, they are either going to tear it down or they might fidget and get picky so you coat it with cheese or garlic butter or something to spruce it up and they will down it.

My working theory is that if you fast a kitten for 12 hours for surgery, titters, travel whatever you set down is going to get devoured. I have two raw breasts thawed in the fridge ready the moment I get home with Isis, but I'm going to experiment first and go cold turkey.

Scooping out mystery paste is definitely not the same and what I think breeders fear the most. A premium grain free canned like Weruva is a better substitute for sure. If it's balanced, and they aren't forced to eat it, you ease into the transition but the "what if" scenario is they immediately take to a new food and like it. What better way to try that is when they are ready to eat anything and clean their plate, lick their chops, and make that first connection to you. When you bring it out a second time, they know exactly what to do! Never know until you try.

 

[John Popp]

For whatever reason my cats don't like gizzards. In one of my grand experiments I added some extra gizzards and that didn't play out well. There also doesn't seem to be a lot of good data on them, although being a good source of protein while high in cholesterol. I might some day try again, but it will be at far less than the 10% I tried the first time.

 

[Jacq]

I always mix a bit of canned food into my cats' raw chicken. That way I can change the flavor at will so they don't get bored, and give them added nutrients from other protein sources such as beef or fish.

 

[WitchyWoman]

My magic bullet is Feline Instincts Chicken Liver Powder. It's like kitty crack around my house. I sprinkle a teensy bit on the food for my picky eater and use it to introduce new foods. Adding a bit of canned as others have suggested is a good idea too. And she may be eating less simply because the raw has far more nutrient punch than canned and other commercial cat foods.

 

[Angie Panczak]

I am not too sure if you put cooked egg whites in, but the minute I did that, my cat won't eat the raw, so sometimes it's one ingredient that can cause it.
Angie

 

[Dantes]

she is not nearly as interested in the food/excited to eat it when we first put it down.

Thoughts?

My thought of the moment is that anything that is exciting to eat is probably bad for you.

Think a kid with a piece of candy or ice cream.

I'd rather they eat it (somewhat) casually than scarf it down.

 

[Nsarno87]

Thank you all for the input. I'm going to just keep experimenting with her... Another thing I was thinking is that previously it was more of a smell/hearing/visual thing for her because we would take the can out take out the portion of food and chop the canned food into pieces on her ceramic plate making a clink clink clink noise. She would hear this noise and meow very loudly in excitement. Then I would enter the room and as soon as she smelled it she would meow even louder... Now that there is no canned there is no clinking to get her excited because the raw just flops off of the spoon and not as strong of a smell (even though as Marissa said of course their sense of smell is much better than ours) for her next feeding I'm going to clink the spoon on the plate and see if she gets excited. Seems silly but who knows, right? Worth a try!

For those that mentioned the broccoli/ice cream analogies/the ingredients like cooked egg the only thing weird about it is that when I was 25% raw-75% raw as I transitioned her off of the canned food she ALWAYS ate the raw first gobbled it right up and then made her way to the canned stuff... so that throws me off and made me think it was the smell of the canned food she was into but the taste of the raw that she liked.

I always mix a bit of canned food into my cats' raw chicken. That way I can change the flavor at will so they don't get bored, and give them added nutrients from other protein sources such as beef or fish.

Do you just scoop a little out at each feeding or mix it in as part of the raw recipe? I was thinking of doing this (mixing it all up when I make the food) but didn't know if that would be okay.

My magic bullet is Feline Instincts Chicken Liver Powder. It's like kitty crack around my house. I sprinkle a teensy bit on the food for my picky eater and use it to introduce new foods. Adding a bit of canned as others have suggested is a good idea too. And she may be eating less simply because the raw has far more nutrient punch than canned and other commercial cat foods.

I will look into this Deborah, thanks. I definitely concur on the amount of food she is eating it must be because it's better for her, etc.