I have 2 cats that are 15 and 17. They have eaten Meow Mix their whole lives. They get tuna as a treat once a week, and one loves "people food" tidbits. I have tried so many times to get them to switch to something healthier and they just refuse. My question for all of you pet owners out there - have you had trouble getting your pets to eat or switch to nutritious food? If your pet has had specific problems such as hairballs, obesity, diabetes, etc. did you see an improvement in their health by purchasing products touting specific treatments such as weight loss or senior formulas? Just curious. Any strategy for getting a pet to change its food?

If they don't have medical problems at their age, sticking with Meow Mix might be fine. Just cut out the tuna- my understanding is that it's not good for kitties- and give them a low-fat canned cat food "treat" instead.

Some vets think that canned food can be better than kibble for older cats, many of whom suffer urinary tract problems in advanced age.

If you do switch kibble, try going slowly- mix a little of the new into the old, then progressively more new and less old, making the switch over a couple of weeks. Sudden changes in diet can sometimes cause problems.

See, now that's someone who knows what she's talking about.

Oh man, cats are so much easier. :-) Not as rewarding as a kid, maybe, and unlikely to dote on you in your old age...

I think a lot of kids are probably unlikely to dote on you in your old age too. ;)

I have been really lucky that my cats are still going strong, but when you start realizing that at best, you have maybe 3 years left with them, you want to do what you can. It's a balance - do I make them eat food they don't like to keep them with me longer or let them die happy? And does the food really help them feel better or live longer or does it just cost more and taste crappy to them?

i've heard that tuna is bad for them, so they just get a little taste. next to being petted, it's their #1 joy in life! and, they totally dote on me. however, i am not old. just them.

Our 15-year-old indoor cat loves dry food (we feed him Science Diet). He has had diabetes for more than 5 years. We were able to drastically lower his insulin dosage by coverting half his food intake to canned food. We give him dry kibbles after he's eaten the canned food and received his insulin. The canned food he currently likes best is Petco's "Authority" Ocean Fish. We used to feed him Friskies canned food, but weaned him off during the Chinese by-products scare. Sometimes I pour tuna water on canned foods he snubs.

I agree with the strategy of mixing the old with the new and changing proportion over time until you have switched over completely. (It has worked with our 8 year old cat).

If your cat *really* hates it (and is somewhat skilled), it will pick out the food it likes from the food it doesn't like. If that persist I believe it should be good indication that the switch is not a good thing for your cat (after all you want it to be healthy and happy, not nourished and miserable). Our cat did that at first but over time got over it and adopted the new food and now it loves it.

livlab - oh, they are skilled! and persnickety. the 17 year old was given white albacore tuna once, and after that refused to eat regular old tuna.

We had our kitties on Kitten Chow when they were little and had the HARDEST time switching them over to adult food (kitten food has more fat in it to plump up little babies so it is much tastier than adult food). Our littlest was the hardest to change. We started out mixing the kitten food with Iams Hairball but she would just pick out the kitten food and leave the rest! Eventually we just put the adult food in the bowl and she decided to fast for several days, she's quite stubborn and never did eat that food. Come to find out she just hated that particular food and we later discovered that she was diabetic and her high blood-sugar levels killed off any appetite she did have. Anyways, we switched them to Science Diet Indoor Adult formula and she LOVED it. Now she's on Prescription Diet M/D for her diabetes which she also likes (although you do have to have an actual written prescription from your vet to purchase their food). However, being that your cats are elderly, you might just stick to the Meow Mix as changing foods can be very upsetting and stressful to cats that love a routine. If you do switch them to canned food, I'd get a recommendation from your vet as a lot of canned food is very high in sugars/carbs and relatively low in nutritional value which can be unhealthy for older cats. Especially if they develop diabetes or kidney problems. Prescription Diet and Science Diet have a line of canned food that is generally better than the run-of-the-mill grocery store variety but I'd still just run it by your vet.

My cat *refused* to eat anything other than Fancy Feast (and only the Salmon varieties) her entire life. I tried many times to gradually introduce Science Diet, Iams or Eucanuba, to no avail. She simply went on a hunger strike until I caved and popped that can of Fancy Feast. She lived to be 20 years old! My advice- the brand is not as important as the main ingredient. Go with fish whenever possible. Chicken and beef are pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones. Not good for people, not good for pets. Salmon is loaded with Omega 3 oils and is an excellent source of protein.

I have two cats, ages 3 and 2. I used to solely feed them Iams original (in the orange bag). Since noticing a change in Iams ingredients (from real meat, to meal and meat-by-products) I decided switch them to a diet incorporating some wet food along with the dry. My decision was confirmed in a nutritional sense by Jake Page's book "Do Cats Hear with Their Feet?" In the wild, cats would never eat anything dry like kibble. The animal descends from the African wild cat, a pure carnivore. Cats, when given the choice, eat meat. Why restrict them to dry kibble, which has been heated so long that whatever meat is in there has lost most of its nutritional value? Cats also get (ideally) most of their water intake from food. If the food is dry, they're losing out on water. Having a bowl of it will not suffice, they will never drink enough as they expend vast amounts of water grooming themselves. But they will get proper water if they eat foods closer to their natural diet (e.g. meat-based, wet cat food).

As for the switching brands, every cat is unique. A gradual approach works best, but some are fine with a sudden and complete change. Just make sure the food contains high-quality ingredients (i.e. corn should never be the first or second ingredient).