This isn't the first time that I've heard about Purina cat food and the cats suddenly not liking it. I'm pretty sure they have changed it up. I had the same thing happen with my dog and Dog Chow, it was one of the few foods she could eat without issues and she has a lot, I tried so many believe me! OH and Purina reps swore up and down they changed nothing. Right?!

Actually, they say that canned it better for cats because of their urinary tract issues. Even the canned food has filler though, I think it's just for the urinary issues because it provides them with more moisture in their diet.

Hi Arkansas.
I'm having a hard time getting them to like any kind of dry food. With them not liking the Purina anymore, I can't introduce them to anything new gradually.
Right now I have little piles of different brands on the floor hoping they'll eat one that they like :-)

Are their teeth ok?

I agree--It's helpful if cats are willing to eat some dry because it can be left out all the time and then if you are gone for a long day or so, they have food.

Daisy eats Max cat dry. Not saying that will work for you tho'.

I know the pain...and I firmly believe that starting cats eating a non-dry diet is a bad idea (since then they typically refuse dry foods).
Who knows? they're cats...they're finicky (it's in the definition of cat I think)

I found that Sheba wet cat food has the least fillers and crappy meats of the supermarket brand. I give my cat Temptations treats and then he goes and eats his dry food. My cat is just the opposite. I gave him a little mineral oil in his wet food (which he took one lick and gave me the stink eye!) to help him to poop. So now her barely eats his wet food with his constipation medicine in it.

Are they trying to tell you something? I understand dry food is terrible for cats anyway - they simply cannot consume enough water to balance it out & can wind up w/ urinary tract issues & other health probs related to inadequate water.
& yeah, they could be having oral issues as well.

Dry food is likely not the best diet for cats, but not due to its being dry. Cats have excellent kidneys (until they get old enough to start develop renal problems) and can handle a low water diet well⦠that being said, extra water in the diet is always a good thing. However, it is the carbohydrate content of the dry food that is the primary issue with a cat's health. A cat is an obligate carnivore, so eating 25%, or more, carbs in the diet can have serious ramifications down the road. So far the cat food manufacturers have been unable to make a dry food low in carbs. Dry food is a cereal-like product, and therefore has to have cereals in it. All attempts, so far, to make a dry food low in carb has resulted in either the food turning to powder, or being completely unpalatable (usually both, from what I have been told). The lowest carbohydrate percentage for a dry food is about 25%⦠about 20% higher than what some feline experts are now saying should be the maximum allowed in a feline diet (some say it should even be lower). Carbs are bad for urinary health (both bladder and kidney), intestinal health (IBD commonly now blamed on carbs), pancreas health (diabetes is probably the most recognized illness caused by a high carb diet), obesity (closely related to the pancreatic problems), dental health (yes, dry food is WORSE for a cat's teeth than canned, surprisingly), coat health and allergies⦠and that probably covers about most of the cat's illnesses.

So be happy your cats have put themselves on a better diet. Just be careful, some canned foods are loaded with carbs, too (fillers) like gravy, grains, etc. Canned foods high in carbs are little better than dry food just soaked with water and not likely to be much of an improvement over dry foods.

Sorry, no help but it made me think of this.

Sorry to hear of this problem, Jasdip. It is always so hard to keep the kitties eating something healthy for them.

I'm giving Rocket Nutro Natural Choice Duck & Potato Grain Free dry food. He has that available almost all day (as long as I remember to check or he reminds me). He also gets a little bit of Natural Choice minced chicken canned food. It's for cats age 1 to 7, but even though Rocket is 13, he likes it and is doing very well. He gets maybe 1/2 teaspoon either twice or three times a day. He is doing really well on these two foods.

I like having both for him because if I went straight canned food, I'm afraid I would end up wasting too much because he likes to have little meals instead of eating a lot at one sitting.

Also he loves, loves, loves to have fresh water. He can be in another room, sleeping and if he hears me empty the water bowl and refill it, he comes running out!! LOL

I do like to feed both. The canned started as a treat for them, and they definitely want it in the morning.

Earlier I put some crunchies in the can of wet food to soften them, and to have them eat it and maybe get to like it. Smudge ate it up, Roxie ate around the nuggets and Bud didn't even come to get any.

They're used to getting canned in the morning and they don't know what to make of me offering them more. I don't want them to eat only canned, as Murraysmom said, it's far more convenient to have dry out for them all the time. Murraysmom, Smudge loves drinking out of the toilet! Nice and cold.

Jasdip, Rocket loves drinking out of the toilet as well, but he ruined one toilet seat so far and has a bit of a start on the replacement.

He hangs on the seat as he drinks and his nails have chipped the paint off. I guess I could get a plastic seat, but I like wood better.

So do I please my cat or myself???? LOL

Drinking from the toilet is a good way to get a bacterial infection.

murraysmom, have you thought of getting your cat a water fountain? They need a little care and maintenance, but my cats love the fountain part of it, and drink more water now. Maybe your kitty would take to one and leave the toilet water alone. Just a thought.

Sandyslopes, I know myself. I would not be a good enough caretaker to have a fountain. I've taken to keeping the lid down, so he can't get access. I give the dogs and cat fresh water several times a day.

Rocket has never had an illness from drinking from the toilet. I just don't like the thought nor the destruction to the seat.

I sprinkle the dry on top of my cat's wet food 2x/day. It helps "stretch" the wet food, which is pricier.

I buy "high-quality" dry (last time it was Merrick) but he will only eat Friskees shredded for wet.

stir fryi, isn't is amazing how finicky cats can be? I have to buy a variety of the Earthborn wet because they will refuse every flavor except the salmon and veggies for weeks or months, then suddenly don't want it and I have to offer another. Right now it's the shredded chicken that is the favorite for the stray. And it's so funny, he'll eat the salmon and veggies but leave the peas - whole. ha. I've started to smash the peas with a spoon before I serve it.

My cat will eat most of the flavors pretty regularly. Her favorite is the mackerel dinner, but she'll partake of the others too. Also- won't eat the peas unless smashed, i.e. hidden.

The Orijen dry states it has water content in some form, I forget now as I don't have a bag handy. I empty the bag into an air tight container to keep it fresh rather than keep it in the bag. The only thing I notice is that the kibble is very small, sometimes the cats gobble and drop it onto the floor around the bowl. The stray really enjoys it.

I have a good update!
After trying more brands, Merrick's being one, as it is reputed to be highly palatable. Well, not so with my kids. Sigh. The clerk was very surprised, when I returned the bag.

I was also told that to try a food that's good for urine infection/crystals.
Apparently it's tasty, as the cats have to eat it to help with their urinary tract. So I bought Purina Pro Plan. Again, they wouldn't touch it.

I finally decided to try a "MacDonald's" brand once again. Cat Chow. And they're eating! They're also nibbling at a couple of other ones that I have on the floor (a higher quality store brand food (President's Choice) and Whiskas). Their appetite for dry is coming back.

I do want to switch them over, eventually to a better food. I like the idea of Grain-free food, but I know that there isn't anything that's sweet tasting or palatable to them, so it will be a long transition.

As far as drinking out of the toilet, I don't have a problem with them doing it, Smudge does it the most. I've read often that the toilet bowl is cleaner than kitchen sinks!

Congratulations, Jasdip!! It's a huge victory just to find something, anything, those finicky cats will eat!!!