Fussy eaters / Supplements?

I'm after some advice if possible please ... the 3 kits are becoming very fussy eaters ... they much prefer Tigger's food to theirs :sad1: They refuse point blank to eat Bozita, Alamo Daily Menu etc & are even going off Schesir Tuna now (they've loved it since they arrived here), they also flatly refuse to eat anything that contains chicken. They seem to prefer Tigger's Sheba, Felix, Friskies and the Purina wet foods. They still have a variety of good biscuits, but I try and make sure that they have a good mix of wet and dry. It's a nitemare, I'm chucking away soo much food at the moment. Does anybody have any other ideas please? And do you think it's a good idea to give some kind of supplement?

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Originally Posted by Puzzles

I'm after some advice if possible please ... the 3 kits are becoming very fussy eaters ... they much prefer Tigger's food to theirs :sad1: They refuse point blank to eat Bozita, Alamo Daily Menu etc & are even going off Schesir Tuna now (they've loved it since they arrived here), they also flatly refuse to eat anything that contains chicken. They seem to prefer Tigger's Sheba, Felix, Friskies and the Purina wet foods. They still have a variety of good biscuits, but I try and make sure that they have a good mix of wet and dry. It's a nitemare, I'm chucking away soo much food at the moment. Does anybody have any other ideas please? And do you think it's a good idea to give some kind of supplement?

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As mine are fed mostly the Felix I use a gel supplement to start with & by the time they are around 6 to 7 months I go onto a powder called SF-50 & continue with that until they are about 2.5yrs old & the growth rate seems to slow down a bit then I stop that as well,I always keep some though as I find it good to use if they have been poorly,just seems to help build them up a bit again unless their name happens to be Bruce but thats a different story.....

Thanks so much for your replies :smile: They are not pigs at all ... in fact quite the opposite really, especially Finn, sometimes I have to take him to the food! Tess is the only one who will clear up after everybody else -but only if she approves of my offering! Sometimes I feed Tigs away from the kits so that he has time to actually have a good go at his food before somebody barges in wanting to taste it too - but I'll often feed them together now - it's quite amusing to watch, they all try and make sure that they have a taste of all the dishes - even when it's all the same food! I can't remember the last time the plates were totally cleared - they all seem to prefer 'grazing' as opposed to eating a huge amount at one sitting.They're growing OK I think, so perhaps it's just me being a worrying Mum :stressed:

I'll see if I can find the SF-50 powder anywhere, or is it just available at the vets please?

Sometimes I wish they would make pigs of themselves, at least I wouldn't be worried that they're not getting enough!! Litter bills here are virtually non-existent as they all much prefer to 'go' outside now (hopefully not famous last words!) - but like you the food bills are horrendous! I spend about €50 (about $65) per week at the supermarket and then approx another $160 roughly every 3 weeks at Zooplus! I think we need to win the lotto asap :smile:

Noooo - not quite that much!!
I typed that then worked it out ... wish I hadn't really :sad2: It worked out at approx $2000 for the last 6 months - so that's $333 per month .... arrrrgh, better not tell the OH!!

You are right, it's very expensive in Europe now. We've noticed a big difference during the last few years. I do make sure that we've always got a fairly full 'cat cupboard' and of course there are tins and cartons of stuff that nobody will touch hiding away at the back :stressed:

I totally agree, it's an horrendous amount of money. We do throw a lot of food away and I hate doing it - but we also have a bit of a problem with Tigs. Being elderly he's getting really quite skinny around his haunches and we try to make sure that he is fed on demand, sometimes he'll eat the lot & other times he'll only have a very little bit ... I've tried covering it and saving it for later, but all 4 of them turn their noses up - 'Just what is this rubbish you're trying to feed us Mum??'!!

It'll be interesting to see how your food bills work out now that Sasha is eating for America! I'm hoping that ours will start to level out ... it's been all over the place for the 6 months I checked ... I never thought that the little monsters would cost us this much in food ... ah well they're worth it :LOL:

When Ben was still with us he and Tigs just had the normal pouches / tinned food. Ben in particular loved kibble, but I think that Tigs has a job chewing it sometimes - although he does really enjoy it occasionally. Sadly eating a lot of kibble didn't prolong Ben's life :numb: I agree, it would be very interesting to see if anybody has done a study on kibble v wet food and long life.

Tigs actually eats more than the kits I think - and he's tiny compared to them!

The kits seem to prefer Hill's Natures Best, Call of the Wild, Orijen, Bozita & Purina kibbles, plus I give them kibbles specially for young neutered cats. When I can I buy small (400g) packs just in case they go off it and the rest gets wasted! Not the most cost effective way of doing it I know, but at least it saves it going off and then into the bin... that has happened a couple of times so far!

A little off topic here so please don't hate me if you already know... Just want to remind everyone to please donate your unused and disliked kitten/cat food to your local shelters. We switched food to help our MC's digestive system and I donated all the leftover food. The shelter was very appreciative and I felt so much better for doing so instead of throwing the stuff out or letting it go bad. Shelters will even take used toys, cleaning products, etc. Some may even be able to take any unused medicines. In the States the shelters will take medicine if they a vet that visits.

Not off topic CatsMom, just a really excellent reminder.
I wish we had a cat's shelter near us because I would gladly give them whatever I could ... the nearest one to us is approx 3 hours away :sad2: Earlier in the year they had an open day / sale and I was able to give boxes and boxes of stuff, books, clothes etc etc. Also gave them all the cat food that our fussy little monsters refused. It was lucky that one of the volunteers was coming to our area and had a big estate car, so she was able to collect it all - we would never have managed to get it all in our car!

If the shelter was nearer I would love to be a volunteer - although I suspect that I would probably end up with millions of cats!!!

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I'll see if I can find the SF-50 powder anywhere, or is it just available at the vets please?[/QUOTE]

No you can just google it & buy it off line it worked out cheaper than being able to get it through work...! I used to know it as SA37 & was upset when it went out of production but once again this forum came up trumps for me someone told me about the equivalent now available,what a relief.....

Thanks Jackie - that's my next job then :smile: What do vets have to say about it - I've found a couple of comments on-line, one of them says that it's primarily for sick cats? That doesn't seem to be quite correct?

It is used for a lot of animals that are "sick" & is good in cases of stress but just seems to be a good all rounder with the supplements in,it was the one we sold most of as SA37 but just do a bit of homework & use whatever you feel happiest about there are lots out there.....!

Thanks again Jackie - I think that recommendation is the best way forward & I've found a couple of sites that will deliver here, so I'll get some ordered :smile:

I had same problem to start with ,mixing in a different dry food to wean and she would pick out what she wanted ,also tried wetting it down and mixing it which didnt go down to well ,thankfully when i switched to an all wet diet she loved felix ,but over last week i have got her totally onto bozita but i have used a boiled chicken thigh a day (she doesnt seem to like chicken brest that much) and devided it into her meals and have also used forti-flora for the first few days mixed in with it, which she goes dull for , a sachet split between meals ,and thanks to jackies advice have been using nutri plus gel everyday ,i can definately see a lot of improvements in her coat & personality & she is having text book poo's on bozita only half the ammount she was doing before on other brands and with a lot less smell in fact i have to physically look in the litter tray to see if she has been or not ,i would highly recommend bozita from results im getting it is well worth persevering with if you can puzzles & is going to work out a lot more cost effective than a lot of the other brands ive come across:)

Jackie thanks for your help - SF50 ordered and should be here this week :smile: Could I just ask please - do you give your furry family SF50 every day or less frequently?
I used to use Vetvits for our lovely Ben - he suffered from arthritis and we found that a daily dose helped him - but I've never given supplements like SF50 before.

Elmo77 - thanks for that info, next time I place an order I'll try some Bozita fish ... the beef they totally refuse to eat!

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Originally Posted by Puzzles

Jackie thanks for your help - SF50 ordered and should be here this week :smile: Could I just ask please - do you give your furry family SF50 every day or less frequently?
I used to use Vetvits for our lovely Ben - he suffered from arthritis and we found that a daily dose helped him - but I've never given supplements like SF50 before.

Elmo77 - thanks for that info, next time I place an order I'll try some Bozita fish ... the beef they totally refuse to eat!

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I use it for them daily up until they are about 2yrs to 2.5yrs depending on how much they are still growing,once the big spurt has slowed down I reduce to 2 - 3 times a week for a while & then stop altogether but use it as a pick me up if they have been poorly or off food. Seems strange starting off again with Ruby,she is on the nutra gel plus at the moment but it won't be long before the tub comes down for her ...!

Brilliant, thanks :smile: Wish I had known about nutra-gel when the kits were younger, I think it would have helped (up to what age do you give that?) ... in fact wish I had found this forum ages ago!

Ruby is totally stunning, a truly beautiful girl, and it sounds as though she is settling in very nicely indeed :smile:

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Originally Posted by Puzzles

Brilliant, thanks :smile: Wish I had known about nutra-gel when the kits were younger, I think it would have helped (up to what age do you give that?) ... in fact wish I had found this forum ages ago!

Ruby is totally stunning, a truly beautiful girl, and it sounds as though she is settling in very nicely indeed :smile:

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The breeder always sends a tube of nutra gel in their goody bag & I find by the time I have used that I can move onto the powder so looking at 5 to 6 months,all depends on how many times I forgot to give it.....! It seems as if they really luv the taste & are quite happy to lick it off your finger but then with the appetites they have at 6 months I find it a lot easier just to put the powder in part of their daily wet food quota.
Can't believe how a certain little girl has come on today....x

Too late for nutra gel then! Everything crossed that they like the powder ... think I will have to be devious and mix it in well!

More pics please of Ruby - what has been happening today??