Help - my 2 bengals (both are nearly 3 years old) have a mixture of dry food and wet food and as a treat they occasionally have some fresh tuna or chicken. They normally devour Royal Canin Intense Beauty Wet Food but have suddenly gone off it. They just sniff at it and walk away. I thought it might just be one batch so I tried another box but they still reacted the same way. I have checked with Royal Canin to see if they have changed their ingredients, which they say they haven't.

I don't understand why this is so I tried them with 2 other varieties and they won't eat them either . Can anyone advise as to why my cats have become so fussy and what else I can try them on please?

Here's some good reading that might help you:

http://www.knowyourcat.info/info/notofavourite.htm

Cats can be fussy about their food and you say both of your bengals have decided not to like the food they used to enjoy. This tells me there is something wrong with that particular food. Even though the manufacturer says they have not changed their way of making the food doesn't mean that something is amiss with a certain "lot" of food. Try a different manufacturer of the same type of wet food you were giving them. Usually, cats will eat because they are hungry. Are they still liking the dry food? It's important cats do not go more than two to three days without eating as it brings on liver problems which can be fatal. There are so many types and manufacturers of wet cat food that you may just have to purchase a few cans of different types and give that a try. I'm sure you'll find something they will like. If this continues, I'd take them to the vet to make sure there isn't a parasite that they have contracted somehow that is causing digestive problems (pain, etc.)

I think you kind of answered your own question, by stating that your cats went up to the food, sniffed it, and walked away. With cats it's mostly about smell (they have way better smell, and way worse sense of taste than we do), and they don't like what they smell. So game-over. Maybe it's a change to the food, maybe it's how the bowl smells, or maybe there are some other smells in the vicinity that are interfering. Who knows.

I don't think it's productive to dwell on the "why" of it too much though because your cats are going to (hopefully) be with you for many more years, and they will both go on and off different foods, plus other calamities will happen (manufacturer's discontinuing brands, retailers no longer carrying them, recalls, corporate mergers etc), so it really does pay to not only have a "plan b", but also "plan c, d, and e". Plus, in my experience, cats do get pickier and pickier about food as they get older. So to counter-act that I'm perpetually on the lookout for new foods to add to the rotation, once I know that they like something and tolerate it.

For wet food, try wet foods that aren't mashed into an unsightly "glob" of food (i.e., pate style). My cats each have very specific likes and dislikes as far as flavors and brands, but one commonality seems to be that they like food that is shredded or diced a lot better than formed into a pate (so in the US, brands like Weruva, Earthborn Holistic, Tiki Cat, Against The Grain, etc) as opposed to brands like Wellness, Blue Buffalo, and Royal Canin.

Your mileage will no doubt vary though. As soon as you think you've figured out cats, you can expect a curve ball to be thrown at your head.

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The little monsters 3

My cats will love a particular food until one day the alpha cat walks away. Then the other cat stps eating it too. Luckily my cats enjoy food a lot and they are far less picky than my last cat who was very thin and refused to eat any nutritionally sound food. Currently they are loving Maouri venison wet food. I have only found it at a local family run pet store, but it is very popular with their customers. I have a case of small cans on order every two weeks. My cats still twirl in circles at feeding time and it has been about four months since they started eating it.

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The little monsters 3

HAHA Brian. I wonder when that is going to happen every time I pick up a new case of food.

Raiden definitely prefers shredded food. I'd tried pates and bits, but he turned his nose up at them. He prefers much tinier pieces. I alternate between chicken, turkey and beef. He has his days when I will open a can and he won't touch it. The raccoons get all the leftovers. Brian is right about the smell. Maybe there is something else going on around that feeding area.

Sherry - that's an interesting link.

However, Ada has never met a bowl of cat food that she didn't fall head over heels in love with.

I fed a stray who would eat any type of food. So easy to buy for and a lot of variety in his diet. When he disappeared, I had lots of cans left and Raiden didn't really care for any of them. I gave it all away to my pet sitter who has 9 cats and had to start over in finding something Raiden would eat. He's really particular. To this day, I still will pick up something new for him and he will turn his nose up at it. I've paid $1.59 for a 3 oz can of food and he would not touch it!

Thanks everyone for your advice.

I decided to give it one last try mixing the Intense Beauty Wet Food with the Exigent 42 dry food and thankfully Lennon and Tabitha have eaten it all!

Is seems bizarre that they both became so fussy for a week but now are back to devouring their mixture of dry and wet food!

I am so relieved because since they have been eating the Intense Beauty their coats are silky smooth and Lennon's dry Bengal nose has cleared up.

Who can understand cats! LOL. Just happy they are eating again.

My Cat Enjoy Food. It's important to know what type of cat food is good and also cats do not go more than two to three days without eating as it brings on liver problems which can be fatal.