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After reading up on a lot of forums about how cats need wet food, I have tried to feed my cat wet food from about November until recently (February). I don't try every day, more like every once in a while when I go to the store, I try a different brand and have even tried one or two off Amazon. I've tried just a small dollop in his normal food, I've tried just wet food without his food, and I've tried a mixture of both evenly and nothing worked. He hasn't touched wet food any time that I've tried this. When I mix he will leave the whole thing, and when I put dried food on top he will eat it off and around the wet food but not touch the wet food at all.

I should mention I have a scheduled feeding time and amount and I have only tried an evening time for the wet food. I keep him on poultry for the most part but with the wet food I've tried even branching to salmon as a 4th ingredient. His dry food is chicken and turkey based and he eats fine.

He drinks a decent amount of water when I am home. Sometimes I'll hear him drinking randomly in the evening, and every morning after I shower he jumps in right after I get out and licks the floor of the shower for a little bit. I could shower right after he drinks from his bowl and this will still happen so it's not like he is dying of dehydration (from what I can tell). His coat is really nice, and I'm taking him on a checkup soon.

I am wondering if this is a problem? Should I keep trying different wet foods or should I give up? Is there a specific process to transition? Is there a specific temperature or way to serve the food that makes a difference?

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  • We had a cat like this, always refused wet food and would only eat biscuits/kibble. At the time we were very uninformed so just kept feeding her what she liked - noticed she was drinking quite a lot of water of the years, but other than that she seemed like she was in really good health (especially for her age); and then one day she just out of the blue got really (noticeably) ill; took her to the Vet and she had kidney failure, we were told it was the worst they had ever seen and unfortunately we had to put her down :( If we were more informed we could have prevented this; it's good you...
    – Brett
    Jan 14, 2020 at 20:28
  • ... are feeding your cat other things other than kibble such as chicken; but in our situation she was only having kibble.... this was very bad for her kidneys and we should have known that drinking so much water was a tell-tale sign of kidney problems. You mention your cat is drinking a lot of water, I don't mean to alarm you, but I would definitely mention this to the Vet at your next checkup just to be on the safe side. Good luck! :)
    – Brett
    Jan 14, 2020 at 20:30

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Some cats may never enjoy wet food, sadly. It's always good to introduce new types of foods when young.

Cats' taste depend on a few things, most importantly texture and smell. The smellier the better!

Some cats like chunks and gravy type of wet food while others would prefer the pate texture.

Smell is factor #1: they don't have a very good sense of taste like us so they rely more on how smelly it is. Warming up his food in the microwave will help with enhancing the smell. Be sure to mix it well and that it's not too hot.

To get more water into him if he refuses wet food, add water to his dry (remove food after 1 hour to prevent mold and bacterial growth) and buy a kitty water fountain. Cats prefer running water, so a fountain is handy, though not all cats like it.

Our go-to food for fussy can eaters at the clinic is Purina Veterinary Diet Essential Care, for whatever reason cats go nuts for it. It's a running joke for it to be called "kitty crack".

I hope this helps a little. I'll add more things if I think of any.

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  • i should mention that according to the previous owner my cat is about 2
    – Ian
    Feb 15, 2017 at 23:38
  • ill try the warming thing though and see if i can pick up some of that food to see if it works. I have steered clear of purina because of the dog scandal but id be willing to give them another shot. I would rather not add water to dry food but ill use that as a last resort
    – Ian
    Feb 15, 2017 at 23:44
  • The veterinary formulas from Purina are not made in the same facility as the Purina you see in the pet stores or grocery store. It's not monitored the same or have the same staffing, sadly the only reason Purina makes the low quality foods is because it sells more than the vet industry. Easier on people's wallets but doesn't have the same science or ingredient quality. Good luck :)
    – Rebecca RVT
    Feb 15, 2017 at 23:48
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    So I looked briefly for the veterinary diet you mentioned but it wasn't at any store and I couldn't find the same type online (although I might have just looked in the wrong place). I can relook for the food. I asked my vet about it when my cat got a checkup and she said that some cats just don't like wet food. She said my cat had a wet nose and didn't seem dehydrated so it isn't a huge issue but if I was really worried to try one can per week and maybe split it over a say or two or so. That is what I've been doing generally. He eats once in a blue moon and I get excited then never eats more.
    – Ian
    Jun 26, 2017 at 16:39
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    I will probably re look for the vet diet again though eventually but at this point I think my cat doesn't like the texture of the food and only eats when he is really hungry
    – Ian
    Jun 26, 2017 at 16:43
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Consider bringing your cat chicken or turky with gravy. And make it the same brand her dry food is. My cat doesn't really like things that have salmon or fish in them but when they contain chicken or turky she flips all over them.

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  • Let me know if you get results please
    – toothless199
    Jun 21, 2017 at 1:07

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