5 Best Wet Cat Food For Picky Eaters

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Picky cats enjoy fresh smelling warm wet foods high in animal protein.

Choose a texture your cat enjoys. Variety helps prevent boredom.

Here’s our 5 best wet cat foods for picky eaters. We’ve tested all of them.

1. Wellness Core Tiny Tasters | Best Overall
2. Fancy Feast Savory Centers | Runner Up
3. Meat Mates Dinner | Best for Older Cats
4. Sheba Perfect Portions | Best Value
5. Royal Canin Kitten | Best for Kittens

Do you have a picky cat that refuses to eat?

It’s a gamble finding food fussy cats enjoy. Lots of money gets wasted when your cat won’t budge.

In this article, I’ll help you stop wasting money of uneaten cat food. I’ve put down my top picks based on testing with our cats, and also include a buying guide to help you.

But what makes a food best for a picky cat? Why are these darn cats so fussy anyway?

Find out more by reading on…

I am not a veterinarian and I recommend seeking the advice of a vet for any further questions. This article is not intended as medical advice.

BUYING GUIDE

Choose wet cat food high in protein.

In the wild cats are strict carnivores, who thrive off animal-based foods.

Cats eat meats, not sweets.

Research agrees:

In a 2016 study, 39 cats tested four different foods prepared with different macro ratios. Served together, cats showed a preference for a diet with

• 52% protein
• 36% fat
• 11% carbohydrate

Adding flavors to the food didn’t change the dietary preference.

Cats enjoy the following foods most:

• Liver
• Blood
• Red meat
• Fish

Ew, blood! Darn vampire cats.

Cats also have less preference for non-essential protein sources (e.g. collagen). Some budget cat foods might put cats off, if they load up on lower quality meat sources.

I’ve gone into great depth about why cats don’t prefer carbohydrate in this guide.

Here are some other things to consider:

Switch It up With Some Variety

Nobody wants to eat the same thing every day…and neither does your cat.

If limited to one flavor, cats start rejecting meals. This is an evolved strategy to avoid nutrient imbalances.

The technical term for this is neophobia.

The simple solution is to change it up. Pretty simple right?

Sure:

Problem is, cats need time adjusting to new things. So mix in new flavors slowly.

Research suggests cats need two tries to get used to new food.

Many cat foods have generic flavors like chicken. Don’t be afraid to venture out and try things like duck, lamb, or turkey.

Feed Your Cat What They Got as a Kitten

Cats build food preferences as kittens.

If a kitten eats a wide variety of different meats they are less likely to wind up picky adult cats.

Taste preferences are also passed via the milk of a kittens mother. So look at the mother cats diet.

Boost The Fat Content

When given a choice, cats prefer a higher fat diet.

Animal fats like salmon oil increase your cat’s liking of canned food.

Why is salmon is a cat favorite? Cats have strong odor senses, so they may pick up on the smell of salmon.

Cats are averse to medium-chain triglycerides. Coconut and palm oil are two foods high in medium-chain triglycerides.

A cat doesn’t need plant based fat in their diet, since they can’t utilize

5 Best Wet Cat Food For Picky Eaters

5. Royal Canin Kitten

Best Wet Cat Food for Picky Kittens

Summary

Our big cat Oscar loved Royal Canin Kitten and made quite a mess.

This cat food is also low in carbs and higher in meat than many other kitten foods.

On the other hand it is a little pricey, especially if you have a lot of mouths to feed.

Learn More: Royal Canin Kitten Food Review

How Did I Choose These Products?

I filtered my cat food database to find the best foods for picky cats.

This was based on key criteria.

Of most importance is cats enjoyed the food when tested.

Based on research, cats prefer a higher protein and lower carb diet. I chose to limit choices to foods with less than 10% carbohydrate dry matter basis.

Read my article on why cats prefer low carb diets.

Here is a comparison table of our top picks for key criteria:

Best wet cat food for picky eaters	Price	Protein*	Carbs	Taste	Lifestage
Sheba Perfect Portions	$	45%	7%	9.5	All
Fancy Feast Savory Centers	$	45%	1%	9.5	Adults
Wellness Core Tiny Tasters	$$$	47%	4%	9.5	Adults
Meat Mates Lamb Dinner	$$$	42%	9%	9	All
Royal Canin Kitten	$$	55%	2%	9	Kittens

the essential fatty acids in them. So it’s best to give foods with these ingredients a miss.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why Are Cats Picky Eaters?

Cats are strict carnivores that evolved to eat a high protein diet.

Whilst cats don’t have as many taste buds as other animals including dogs, they have a superior sense of smell.

Cats tend to smell their food before deciding it’s worth eating.

This makes sense given cats are carnivores and need specific nutrients only found in animal-based foods.

For example, cats cannot convert beta-carotene (plant-based Vitamin A) into the active retinol form of Vitamin A found in animal foods.

Unlike humans, cats don’t rely on nutrition gurus or YouTube videos to tell them what to eat. Cats can only rely on their senses which tell them whether food is safe and healthful.

It’s these finely tuned senses that cats evolved to rely on, and what you’ll have to consider as a cat owner.

Many cat food companies try to increase the smell and taste of food with added flavor enhancers.

In a 2019 study on hairball control diets, some cats rejected a dry cat food diet.

The researchers improved adherence by added artificial flavors, but one cat still refused to eat the food and got removed from the study. This suggests some cats are pickier than others.

Persisting with a diet that doesn’t support your cat’s health may lead to recurring health problems. In one case study, an owner continued to feed their cat a natural ingredient vegan diet despite frequent urethral obstruction and hospital admissions.

It’s clear that your feline friend will want to eat foods that improve their health and not harm them.

A fussy eater is fussy for a reason.

Bottom Line: Cats use their sense of smell to decide whether food is worth eating.

What Will A Picky Cat Eat?

Cats hunt and eat small prey for nutrition.

This means they will consume a lot of warm animal foods in their natural habitat.

Let’s look at some things which support the idea that cats prefer a protein-rich animal-based diet.

Warm Foods

In the wild, cats hunt and eat small prey such as mice, birds, and rabbits. A freshly consumed kill is warm.

Cat’s don’t like to consume dead or dying animals. They are averse to decomposed flesh which contains monophosphate nucleotides.

Cat’s also prefer a food temperature at around 37 degrees Celsius. This seems to decrease unpleasant smells and tastes, whilst improving the meat taste.

Putting your cat food in the microwave for a short period to help picky eaters.

Also try adding warm water to wet cat food (results may vary).

Meat by-products may be less palatable than high-quality parts due to added collagen (which doesn’t contain essential amino acids).

Bottom Line: Cats prefer warm food between 15-50 degrees Celsius.

What Cat Food Ingredients Should I Avoid?

Cat’s are intolerant to many foods.

This is because cats have fewer liver enzymes needed to detoxify many plant-based chemicals.

This is another reason why cats are averse to many foods. Bitter food suggests something toxic, so cats tend to give foods with this taste a miss.

Here is a list of foods to avoid:

• Avocado
• Chocolate
• Apples
• Pears
• Grapes
• Unripened tomato
• Nuts
• Garlic
• Onions
• Raw eggs
• Citrus fruits

Check out this article here to learn more about why these foods are toxic.

How Do I Introduce A New Wet Cat Food?

Always give your cat time to adjust to new wet cat food.

Start by adding a small amount to your cat’s regular food and increase the amount over the course of one week. When giving your cat new food, also make sure to warm it before serving.

Cats have strong smell receptors. Allow your cat to learn and accept the new smell.

Older cats may need more time to adjust to new foods. Aging results in a loss of olfactory receptors which reduces the sense of smell.

This means a senior cat has a harder time detecting the quality of food given to it and will stick to familiar food.

Bottom Line: Start by adding a small amount of new food to old food. Make sure to warm food for best results.

Is Wet Food Better For Cats?

Yes, most of the time.

Most dry cat food uses low-cost plant-based foods. The foods are then flavored to enhance taste and palatability.

Although these foods have added vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids the long-term effect on feline health are less optimal on dry food.

Kidney disease may result from a lack of moisture in the diet, from consuming too much dry food.

Check out my best cat food for kidney disease to learn more.

Bottom Line: Wet food is a better choice most of the time due to having more animal protein and moisture.

How Do I Make Food More Appealing To My Cat?

Heating wet cat food to a warm temperature is more appealing to cats.

Keep your cat’s food warm before serving and add warm water if your cat prefers increased moisture.

Adding a topper with quality ingredients (e.g. salmon, liver) might also help increase food intake. Another idea is to add a delicious chicken broth to the meal.

Also, think about how you are serving your cat’s food. Picky cats may prefer a clean and shallow plate to eat off, as this doesn’t cause friction on the whiskers.

Check out my article on cat whiskers for more awesome whisker facts.

Bottom Line: Heat wet cat food to a warm temperature and add a topper to help improve the taste.

What If My Cat Refuses To Eat?

If your cat is not eating any food, it may have a health condition.

There are many health conditions that reduce appetite (e.g. gastroenteritis) and stop your cat from eating. Sometimes a fussy cat is an unwell cat.

If your cat hasn’t been eating for over 24 hours, or you notice any other symptoms (e.g. cat stops grooming, low activity) then speak with a vet.

Bottom Line: If your cat refuses to eat, see a vet.

CONCLUSION

In this article, I’ve looked at the best wet cat food for picky eaters.

Having a picky eater is a frustrating situation, but there are many proactive things you can do to solve the problem.

Cats prefer warm, fresh-smelling wet meat with a lot of animal protein. They don’t like off-smelling meat as they associate this with a dead carcass (i.e. not good to eat).

A wet cat food low in carbohydrates is usually a good choice for picky cats. Giving your cat a variety of foods helps to cut boredom.

Our Best Cat Food for Picky Eaters: Wellness Core Tiny Tasters