help me out /aq/ cat wont eat anything but meow mix She won't

Why is that such a bad thing?
Let the cat eat meow mix.

>>2392698
You would never know if chemicals that create dependency are in animal food. My cat won't eat any fresh food, just the cheapest cat food in the store. It's fucking annoying and a huge waste to offer anything else.

How long will she go without eating if you don't offer meow mix?

I wonder. If you're trying to convert to a wet diet, would it help to moisten/mush up the dry meow mix and gradually mix in increasing amounts of canned?

Have you tried actual canned food yet? There is a canned variety of meowmix you should try. If not, try a variety of wet foods. They don't have to be the expensive ones.

Regardless, whatever your cat will eat, get it for her. It's not poison.

>>2392799
>it's not poison

I can't Google ingredients: The post.

>>2392802
I was expecting someone to complain about that. Good job, /an/.

There are better foods. But meowmix is better than the cat starving to death.

>>2392698
I've just been through this myself. You have to put up with the hunger strikes. My cats refused to eat for nearly a week. Another thing is you need to stay consistent. If you keep changing food they won't want to eat the new shit. Cats are autistic like that. First try putting some meow mix in the canned until they eat it, then slowly stop adding the dry food to it.

>>2392806
>My cats refused to eat for nearly a week
Wouldn't push it that hard, especially in obese cats. Hepatic lipidosis is a scary, real threat: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/digestive-system/hepatic-disease-in-small-animals/feline-hepatic-lipidosis

My vet prescribes an appetite stimulant for sick cats that won't eat for three or more days.

>>2392781
i'd rather avoid the kidney and urinary issues along with not wanting my cats to eat shit

>>2392795
>How long will she go without eating if you don't offer meow mix?

she wont eat at all but ive only gone as long as 4 days. Ive tried moistening it too and adding it the other foods and she still picks around it or plain wont touch it

>>2392799
I have tried it. Both of my cats left it in the bowl long enough that it completely dried out. That was helped by me living in a deserty area but still neither of them had so much as a taste and my other cat isnt nearly as picky

>>2392806
exactly how long did you have to wait? 5 days? 6 days? I'm kind of worried about that since she's already underweight

>>2392830
Don't let your cat starve. Many people will tell you dry food is dangerous. It's not ideal, but your cat will be fine.

Water intake is important. Have multiple water dishes. I forget what they're called in English, but the filtering kind of bowls. Cats tend to drink more from those.

There are also treats, gels, etc. you can try giving her. Supplements to prevent urinary crystals. Look for potassium citrate. Best thing to do really is talk to veterenarians.

Sometimes cats on wet-only diets get U.T.I.s, too. It's not a guaranteed preventive.

>>2392846
It's only slightly dangerous, but your cat will happily overdose the fucking shit out of itself every day with quite dangerous b vitamins.

There have to be feeding guides on every bag because you will poison your animal or fuck up it's liver with those chemicals.

Oh, they do this to humans too. Side effects list is 50 items strong, before "muh vitamins" guy comes in defending this blatantly obvious poisoning of humans and animals.

Try actual food and don't be a "they HAVE to eat rat block!" guy. Cats only need the taurine supplements.

>>2392858
I'm not sure what you're saying. Yes, cats should be fed per the guidelines the bag says. I also think OP should continue trying various better food. The potassium citrate is a nice addition to any food for cat.

No matter what food they eat, cats should get regular vet care. As I said, even on wet only diet the cats can get crystals or other problems.

But to OP, really, your best sources of advice will be from vets. Ask more than one for advice.

>>2392830
Vet here. To help keep renal health in cats, hydration is key. Of course most cats will develop renal disease in their lifetimes-- it is not something you can entirely prevent as the etiology of it is typically unknown. Make sure to keep lilies out of the home.
>>2392846 is partially correct. The best thing to do is get fountains for you cats- they prefer moving water. If you want to feed wet foods- heating them up can entice a cat to eat as they are very scent oriented (heated food smells stronger). Please keep your cat eating- signs of inappetance should be noted as a cat can develop hepatic lipidosis which has to be managed intensively (e-tube, fluids, anti-emetics etc)
Wet foods are not shown to increase instances of UTIs.

Both wet and dry foods have their pros and cons.
>>2392869
No... Usually feeding the guidelines on the bag can cause your animal to become overweight as most foods compensate for "all life stages"--> ie pregnancy, growing animals, intact animals.

Use 70x (BW ^.75) for kcals/day and multiply that number by 1.6 if cat is intact for their intake.

>>2392830
That is fucking frustrating. You're doing everything right and trying to do right by your cat, she's unfortunately just one of the more extreme cases of pickiness. Never thought I'd feel lucky that mine are fanged garbage disposals that will eagerly swat mashed potatoes off your spoon halfway to your mouth.

Honestly, it's not ideal, but in your shoes I'd keep feeding the meow mix for now until she's at a normal weight. The stuff is absolute garbage, to be sure, but another 6-12 months on the stuff isn't going to kill her. My cats growing up ate dry, shitty science diet exclusively for 13 years with no issues before their kidneys started fucking up.

When you try the switch again, I'd shoot for meow mix -> higher quality dry -> canned rather than straight shitmix -> canned. The more similarities to old food the better.

I've heard play sessions before meals can stimulate the appetite. This site had a few good tips: http://consciouscat.net/2013/07/03/how-to-get-finicky-cats-to-eat/

Good luck, anon.