Question:
Three years ago, three feral kittens showed up, begging and crying at our campsite. The only thing I had to feed them was bread. They choked it down, and for two days, I fed them bread and milk. The next time we went there, I fed them hot dogs and bread. Winter was coming, and they were terribly thin. Only the orange tabby showed up on the last trip. I took him home and went to the store and bought a sack of dry cat food. He has been doing very well on that. He was treated for worms, checked for feline leukemia, and given his shots.
The problem is that he will almost exclusively only eat the dry food, with the exception of mashed cantaloupe. He does get a tablespoon of canned cat food, but only eats a small amount of that if it is mashed with water. I would like to switch him over to a diet you recommend, but he will eat none of those things.
A.K., New Brighton, MN Feb 27, 2011
Answer:
Feeding wild-born kittens that are often dumped by irresponsible cat owners is a feel-good response, but unless they are caught, neutered, wormed and given good nutrition and found good homes, that response simply prolongs their lives and suffering. Those cats and their offspring who do survive will breed and multiply, which means more suffering and in many areas a significant loss of wildlife when the adult cats hunt and kill birds and small mammals in order to survive.
Good for you for eventually rescuing at least one of these feral survivors. Ideally, you should have caught all three when they were young and taken them home with you or to an animal shelter. The longer kittens stay out in the wild, the more difficult it is for them to lose their fear of people and adapt to living indoors.
Breaking cats of their addiction to dry cat food can be challenging. There are a few good dry cat foods, such as Evo, Wellness and Organix, but most others are high-cereal-byproduct junk food. Try to transition your cat onto a quality cat food, as per the list at my website. Also be sure your cat drinks plenty of water or try moistening the dry food. Visit www.feline-nutrition.org for more information. Encourage him to eat canned cat food such as Wellness chicken and herring and if he likes it mashed with water, that's fine.
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