Hi!

We have 2 Bengal brothers, 3 months old. We feed them raw meals (minced meat, bone and organs) 3-4 times a day. We also leave out the kibble we got from the cattery (all day) because they just started eating raw 2 weeks ago and we don't want to upset their stomachs too much. (I know kibble and raw isn't good together, but we just want to give them time to adapt and we don't want them to under eat as kitten)
One of the brothers, Tonic, eats his meal completely and even licks out his plate! The problem is with the other one, Gin. He doesn't seem too interested in his food... Don't get me wrong, he loves the raw meat! It's not like he doesn't want to eat it... it's just that he prefers to play and cuddle with us while his food is ready for him to eat. We place the plates on the floor, he looks at it, his brother starts eating and then he walks over to us... I can get him to eat some of it (like 1/3 - 1/2 of his meal) when I distract him with dehydrated chicken snack. I take a snack; let him follow it and then I crumble it over his food. But after a while he gets distracted by e.g. his brother (who, of course, already finished ages ago) and wanders off again.

At first, I thought maybe he didn't like the raw meat. But I don't think that's the case. Up till now, they both ate every kind we offered them: chicken, beef, lamb, duck, pigeon. And he seems very happy when I come in with the plate, meowing and purring! And when I finally get him to eat, he does eat it. So I don't feel like this is 'picky eater' behavior...
Second thought, making sure the raw meat is always at body temperature, not cold. Seems like this doesn't really affect them though.
Then I thought, maybe we should play with them a while before their meals. We always do this now, but I think it makes Gin even more distracted...
Next possibility: the kibble. Maybe Gin eats more kibble than Tonic, right before his raw meal. I usually see him eating kibble while I'm preparing their raw dish. We slowly took the kibble away. Gin still doesn't go to his plate right away... and he still leaves quite a lot on his plate, even after bribing him with chicken snacks.
Then yesterday, I tried the last thing I could think of. I poured some hot water of the raw meat to get the smell and flavors out more. This also didn't work... But Tonic happily ate the leftovers

Can anyone help me with this? Any more ideas?

Sounds like he's gone off it to me. I had this a lot when mine were kittens. One minute they loved something and would scoff it down, licking their plates clean. Then there would be no enthusiasm whatsoever (usually when I'd just done a bulk order) and I'd have to find something else. The local cat rescue used to do very well out of it.

I have now found food that they both like and will eat enthusiastically. They have the same wet food but Hendrix needs a special dry food that Jagger won't touch so they have different dry food.

It's all a bit trial and error. Of course I could be wrong but he should at this age be scoffing his food down, he has a lot of growing to do so if he's really not interested in what you are putting down for him, you need to find a solution soon.

The only other thing I can think of is that maybe he likes to eat little and often which is how they eat in the wild. Jagger is a bit like that now - although again at the age your guys are at, he was a very competitive eater and would be growling while he ate! If you can determine if that is the case, you probably need to make sure Tonic isn't eating Gin's portion in the meantime! Mine have microchip feeders now so they can only access their own food. Hendrix otherwise will eat Jagger's dry food and end up with a bad stomach.

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

I agree with everything Tabitha said, basically. I think that either Gin is ill (could be as simple as a stuffed nose which prevents him from smelling his food), or he simply has taken a dislike to the raw food you are serving. Like Tabitha said, some cats are pickier than others and go on and off of different foods, and you need to sort of "keep up with them" in terms of their likes and dislikes. Once you've ruled out the illness thing (how is his activity level?), it's probably time to do some experimenting into what Gin will eat with enthusiasm. Whether that means experimenting with your raw food formulations, or commercial foods, or a combination of the two, I think you need to make sure he is getting something that he will eat with gusto, which may mean serving him something different than what Tonic is eating. And it seems that an older a cat gets, the pickier they tend to get!

With mine, Serafina eats a very narrow range of flavors and brands. There are a total of about a half dozen different canned foods that she will eat, and the list continues to change a little over time. Gaga only really shows enthusiasm for Rad Cat raw food plus they fortunately both like 2 or 3 different dry foods (1 really well, and 2 or 3 that they will grudgingly eat). In a way it makes it easy because they won't eat each other's food, but the downside of course is preparing and stocking different food for each picky cat.

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The little monsters 3

Katniss was on a raw food diet and she went off it pretty much overnight. She has never been a massive eater, I can't actually remember when she last finished her meal, but all of the sudden she just stopped eating the raw food. We gave her James Wellbeloved kitten wet food and she ate it straight away. If you do decide to change over, start with small portions, otherwise even though he may love it, it may upset his stomach.

P.S. Love the names Gin & Tonic

I have a grazer who takes an entire day to finish a bowl of food, it seems. Cats are quite finicky and you have two of them. They are individuals -- just like kids. One kid loves this, the other one hates it! The key is your kitties are kittens and need to be eating quite a bit of food. Since they are from the same litter, they should be growing at about the same rate, so you will be able to tell whether your kitty is eating enough! You need to feed your kitten the food it wants to eat, even if that means separate meals for them. I know it's a challenge and pain, but these little guys need to grow into beautiful, strong, healthy adult kitties.

Good news!

In the beginning of the week, I tried an other brand of mixed raw meat and Gin devoured his whole plate in less then a minute! The next day I tried the chicken variant of the previous brand, because I know he likes chicken a lot. He ate everything and begged for another portion. The next day I tried duck again in a tiny portion, certain he would only sniff it, but again: he ate everything and asked for more. The same thing for beef and the complete mix (beef, rabbit, duck, chicken, mackerel), 2 flavors that he refused to eat for 2 weeks!

Also: kibble-free since Sunday!

So happy with this progress They are both eating more than I can handle right now! I gave like 6 big portion yesterday + 3 chicken hearts each They are 4 months now. Tonic weighs 3kg and Gin 2,8kg