Take the food with the gravy and 'flakes' and mash it up first so it is mixed well (flakes and gravy). I find many cats don't like those flat flake shapes as they are hard to pick up for one thing if they stick flat to the bowel and the gravy is easy to lick up first and tastier apparently. Mash it all really well so there are no more flakes and stir it to fluff it up. Add a very tiny bit of water to it all as well to increase moisture. Your cat likes the taste of the food, it is a consistency problem IMO. Also, put a smaller amount in the bowl the first time. You don't want to pour gravy piles around which get licked up right away. You want that nice gravy to enhance the other part of the food, but smash the crap out of it all to get rid of the 'flakes' and make them mush that is lickable. I suggest you try Natural Balance Duck and Pea or the Shrimp and Tuna, or other flavors. You can buy the (3 ounce size) of a couple of flavors to try it. I did that when I was switching over food and my cats go for the Duck and Pea and the Shrimp/Tuna like crazy, even one of my former confirmed 'dry only' eaters. In the past, before I upgraded my cat food, my cats loved Friskies Ocean Whitefish and I didn't switch it. Some cats don't like change and get finicky about it and turn their noses, but you can win them over most times with changes to consistency or tricking them with what they like the best dribbled on top a bit. Cats like to lick up their food as opposed to inhaling it like a dog would, or having to excessively 'chew' it, so flat flake food gets licked clean of it's gravy, but they have trouble picking up and chewing the flakes, so they leave it and cry for more gravy as they are hungry. Mush those flakes into oblivian so your cat can lick it up with the gravy mixed in. The taste they like will still be there, and the consistency will be lickable. Also, if all else fails buy a small jar of baby food chicken or turkey (no onion) but single ingredient first food and try putting a tiny blob of that near a blob of the mashed up regular food and see what they eat first. If they go for the baby food first and eat it, then next time, put some of that baby food in with the regular food, which has been mashed up, with a tiny pure drop of the baby food on top. They will smell the baby food and begin to eat and often times will continue to eat into the regular food. Before you know it, they have settled down with the nose upturning. Those big rubbery flakes really suck for many cats. Can't say I blame them. Ther is a difference in some 'flaked food' and those gravy covered 'slabs'.

I'm unclear on exactly when the puking resumed. Did it coincide with your starting to feed kibble again? If so, then the kibble would seem to be the culprit. BTW, "a few handfuls" is a LOT of kibble! Most of my cats get two meals a day - one kibble and one raw prey model (or canned, depending on the cat). The kibble meal is only 1/8 c (2 tbs) per cat. If I fed "a few handfuls" of kibble, my cats would blow up like balloons! What does the morning puke look like? Is there food (digested or undigested) in it, or is it just liquid? If it's liquid with little or no food in it, then Figgy is probably producing an abundance of stomach acid overnight that is upsetting his stomach. Try feeding him immediately before you go to bed and again as soon as you wake up. If that doesn't stop the puking, try giving him 1/4 of a Pepcid AC (regular strength) at bedtime. That will help control stomach acid overnight so that it doesn't build up and cause GI upset. Laurie

We don't feed dry, but do keep some on hand for bribes or treats-a 5# sack of kibble for treats lasts a while and is much cheaper than buying the junk marketed as treats. So I won't use the start system but will point out some things to help you narrow your choices. 1. Ocean whitefish, aka Whitefish, aka Fish, aka Omega-3 fatty acid (which, for cat foods, is derived from the cheapest source possible-ocean whitefish): they're all the same, a cheap, high-quality protein used as filler in fish-flavoured foods. The group of fish is linked with cystitis in cats. Good to avoid, especially if you feed no wet foods at all. It isn't guaranteed that it will cause cystitis but if there's a potential problem why not just avoid it? 2. Carbohydrates: Since cats are obligate carnivores, why would we even think of feeding them what amounts to cattle food? Substantial carbohydrates are needed in the making of kibbled food-carbs are the 'glue' that hold the kibble together. Without that carb glue, there would be gritty powder in the sack instead of kibbles. Look for the lowest carb load. You might want to avoid grains, too, which may cause or contribute to food sensitivities. Watch out for corn (and all its derivatives), wheat, soy, oats and rice. Those first three are the biggies in the anti-grain movement. Oats and rice haven't yet been linked with problems although it seems that some cats cannot tolerate them any better than they can corn, wheat or soy. It appears that you're already trying to avoid some undesirable ingredients. Read the labels. I've provided a link to a pet food seller. I do not represent the seller in any way but have ordered from them. You can look up ingredient listings for the foods listed and make a decision based on that. It's less awkward than trying to draw comparisons in the store. Oh, and the dry food that my cats know as Very Special Treats? Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Duck & Pea. It's a high-carb food, higher than some dry, but since it isn't a staple then I'm not so worried. Sorry to not contribute to the start system, and I hope this helps a little bit. Here is a link that might be useful: Cat foods

First of all, kittens should NOT be weaned before eight weeks of age. Twelve weeks is even better. Put the mother back in with her babies for at least three more weeks before even beginning to wean them again. Nursing mothers require a huge number of calories in order to produce milk and support their own bodies. Six kittens is a large litter, so your female will need a lot of supplemental nutrition. Feed the mother as much as she wants to eat of a very high quality kitten food (higher in nutrients than adult cat food), along with a vitamin/mineral supplement (you can get a suitable supplement from your vet or a pet store). Queens can become very protective of their kittens, which probably explains the mother's aggressiveness toward your other cats. Keep her and her litter in a separate room together so that she doesn't feel the need to defend her babies from the other animals. Laurie