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I know this is an old thread...but my three cats have virtually stopped eating F Feast as well after years of loving it. All three--I'm thinking it must be change in the food.
After several years of being owned by cats, I have noticed this behavior off and on. It was never due to the food, rather cats being cats, mysterious little creatures they are. My two recently started refusing one canned brand so we switched to another. They do this every few years. And neither one will eat a "chunky" type, it must be a pate.
Every once in a while I get "flocks" of fruit flies in my pantry where I feed the cats. Not sure why nor where they come from. To get rid of them I'm constantly cleaning up crumbs, washing plates, cleaning the litter box that's also in there ... and swatting flies. Eventually they're gone.
It may be purely coincidental that when fruit flies appear, the cats stop eating FF. Or it may be related.
I do know that when I was buying a case of shrink-wrapped FF at a big box pet store about a month ago, at the check out I saw flies flitting around under the plastic. Naturally I did not buy that case, but I wonder if I unknowingly buy flies? If so, I have no idea if they come from the FF manufacturing plant, the FF shipping department, enroute to the stores, or at the store.
BUT the fly situation doesn't explain why the two cats who get fed upstairs also stop eating FF unless there are fruit flies up there, too, and I never see them since the space is not as confining as the pantry.
My cat has just begun doing this during the last couple of days. She had eaten several cans from the same FF carton. Now she sniffs what I put in the dish and walks away. These cans are from the same carton, they come 12 to a pack. I tried FF of another more expensive kind the Tuscany Collection which she is crazy about and she ate more of that.
She is still eating her Nutro kibble with no trouble so I know it isn't any kind of health problem. It's hot and I think that's put her off her feed but I don't think she is going to go back to the regular FF I had been giving her.
Also, she shows a preference for shredded over sliced or plain. My previous cat didn't care what you put in front of her. She would eat anything. I was so spoiled.
This recently happened to me as well. All three cats stopped eating Fancy Feast classics. They were still eating dry food, just not the wet. I bought new brands and tried those, with limited success. Finally, after about two weeks, they all three started eating wet food, including Fancy Feast, with enthusiasm, just like before.
In my situation, I have a theory. I recently found out they had hookworms. Two cats got the dewormer at the vet. I put the pills for the third in his food. I think he may have been upset about that and told the other two the food was compromised.
Alternative theories are it was a bad batch of food, I've been gone a lot this summer (disrupting their schedule), or they were acting weird for no reason.
In summary, they may need some new food in the rotation, or may need time to start eating it again.
Don't know what has happened to Fancy Feast Appetizer but if the container says new, 4 out of 4 cats in our household walk away. This used to be a sure winner, with every morsel consumed.
The old container of Fancy Feast Appetizer did not state that it was 100% nutritionally complete, whereas the new one does. I suspect new vitamins & minerals have been added that can be detected by the cats. That would be great, but not if they won't eat it.
Last edited by Sandramc; 08-24-2015 at 09:45 AM..
Reason: Additional information.
Don't know what has happened to Fancy Feast Appetizer but if the container says new, 4 out of 4 cats in our household walk away. This used to be a sure winner, with every morsel consumed.
The old container of Fancy Feast Appetizer did not state that it was 100% nutritionally complete, whereas the new one does. I suspect new vitamins & minerals have been added that can be detected by the cats. That would be great, but not if they won't eat it.
Another example of changes & marketing designed to impress humans, rather than what might appeal to, or be best for, the cat.
Every once in a while I get "flocks" of fruit flies in my pantry where I feed the cats. Not sure why nor where they come from. To get rid of them I'm constantly cleaning up crumbs, washing plates, cleaning the litter box that's also in there ... and swatting flies. Eventually they're gone.
Fruit flies live in and around fresh and/or rotting produce. They're not going to infest a shrink-wrapped case of cans. They must be some other kind of fly.
As for Fancy Feast, my cats gave up on that ages ago. Right now they're eating Dave's brand canned food. Which costs a ton and is stocked at only one pet store in a 20-mile radius. Sigh ... It's a good thing I love my cats! LOL
I think there are two problems. 1. The cats get bored with the same food. The other is the "batch" that you get. Cat food cannot be consistent because of the food its made from. The cat food companies use whatever is available and that can mean more herring in the current batch. More liver at another time. Salmon, another etc. If I'm going to buy several cans of one food, I try to get different serial numbers because there is a good chance that they won't eat one of them. By the same token, what one will reject another will gobble up.
Like people, cats don't eat as much when the weather gets hot.
Another idea is to warm it SLIGHTLY.
Finally, a lot of cat leave something on their plates. I think of it as saving it for later! A natural instinct that would have occurred in bad weather when hunting would have been poor.
If your cats are healthy, content and not losing weight don't worry. They will eat when they are hungry. In the meantime, just give them half a can at a time.
I think there are two problems. 1. The cats get bored with the same food. The other is the "batch" that you get. Cat food cannot be consistent because of the food its made from. The cat food companies use whatever is available and that can mean more herring in the current batch. More liver at another time. Salmon, another etc. If I'm going to buy several cans of one food, I try to get different serial numbers because there is a good chance that they won't eat one of them. By the same token, what one will reject another will gobble up.
Like people, cats don't eat as much when the weather gets hot.
Another idea is to warm it SLIGHTLY.
Finally, a lot of cat leave something on their plates. I think of it as saving it for later! A natural instinct that would have occurred in bad weather when hunting would have been poor.
If your cats are healthy, content and not losing weight don't worry. They will eat when they are hungry. In the meantime, just give them half a can at a time.
You make a good point about the food's consistency, it's probably not always going to be the same. I also know for a fact that my cats' 'favorite' tends to change on a regular basis, even though I try not to feed the same flavor every day. I can usually tell when they are getting tired of a 'favorite', as they will gradually eat less of it and more of something else. There have been a few times however, that they abruptly refuse to eat something that they really liked after I had bought a fresh supply. When that happens I assume it's a problem with that batch & I usually dump it. Better to be safe than sorry.
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New fancy feast formula change
