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Spoiled Stubborn Cats -Food Help

Sirens Sphynx

Lairian
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Jul 28, 2025
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24
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As a preface: 12 yr old male stubborn devon rex with stomach issues, 2 (almost) yr female sphynx who is picky and turns her nose up to treats.

For unimportant and long winded reasons that dont really matter, we have had to start budgeting what we feed our babies. they still get the right amount of food ( i would go hungry before i ever let them) and the proper type and quality of food. However, we are not always able to have the 10-12 different options we once had.

it used to work that if they turned they noses up, we would switch out the food and they would get something else( we created the little monsters). now we can only get 3-4 options at a time and cannot just switch out food willy-nilly.

they cannot have grains, dry kibble. the male has ongoing pancreatic issues. the female doesnt like sardines, liver, chicken. they cannot be fed different foods bc the male will refuse to eat his food, sometimes for days, if the bowls are different. every meal time he inspects both bowls before he eats. ( i have been in his life approx 2 years. my partner says this has been a lifelong thing for the cat).if we try to feed them separately, he screams at the barrier(door) where the female is until either: she is done or he gets so worked up he throws up.

they get 4 small meals a day, wet food (due to male cat issues). we have been able to slowly re introduce wet kibble in 1 meal a day. its soaked in car friendly broth over night and mixed in to their bedtime meal.

but if he doesnt want to eat whats in the bowl, it will sit there all day. the male will lick the floor, the stove, the sink, the counters, if he thinks there might be food, but he wont even entertain eatng his food. the worst part is he might eat the food 1 day and then turn his nose up for a few days.

i have tried the following, with random success: boiled egg yolks ( neither will eat scrambled or the white part), baked chicken ( breast/thigh, no seasonings), raw food ( they arent big fans, sphynx always gets upset tummy after), mixing chunky fish wet food into the pate type for different textures, adding little treats under the food, pumpkin( not a lot, but both cats love pumpkin).


does anyone have any ideas, options, tips, tricks, additions. im at my wits end. anything that could help spark his interest in food and keep them healthy. im worried that they ( him especially) will start declining if a solution isnt found soon

the devon rex hasnt lost any weight yet, but he is acting like he is starved. he goes to the vet every
month for check ups due to health and age. the sphynx is healthy and a proper gremlin.


also so sorry about thr length, i wanted to cover as many bases or possible follow up questions
 

Annejo12

V.I.P Lairian
V.I.P Lairian
Joined
Aug 8, 2017
Messages
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My kitty will turn her nose up at one of her wet foods unless I mix in her probiotic powder. It must add to the flavour! Good luck, these guys are all royalty, or so they think!
 

Yoda mom

Moderator
Staff member
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Apr 23, 2012
Messages
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@Sirens Sphynx , awh hugs.. btw, would love to see pics of your sweet senior and baby girl. I know the food struggle. I did find Weruva press your lunch mixed with a little water put in a raised bowl was a game changer. It is lower sodium, phosphorus than many rx foods. I donated so many different cat foods before finding this one. My Macie Mae's girls blood work actually improved eating it even though she was CKD for 5 yrs and hated the k/d foods.

My beloved Tobylove loved the weruva press your lunch too mixed with a little water. ( I got a 3 oz can to try from a local pet store, later ordered 10 oz cans on chewy) in his later months, I actually fed him in bed with in a little stainless low profile bowl on a necoichi raised slanted cat dish(chewy site, amazon etc has different brands sizes0 has slanted raised dishes) ontop of a face cloth while he was tucked in his blankie. spoiled... now my Claire Bare will only eat wet food the same way, breakfast , dinner wet food in bed. they both clean the bowls.

raised bowls made a difference for my crew. I got the 2 buck shallow small stainless bowls at walmart (never rusted even with daily washing and in dishwasher too). I put their dry and wet food in the shallow bowls. then I put the stainless bowl on top of ceramic tilted necoichi raised dishes for the win with all paws here.

members will surely chime in. please keep us updated. hugs n head smooches, please keep us updated

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