Kibble help! Where are the X's?

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Raindog

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 1, 2009
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355
Location
Chicagoland area
So Luna is still not happy with any kibble except for the Purina Cat Chow. They are thin round kibbles, like tiny pancakes. Natural Balance, which she came with and was eating at one point, are hockey pucks shaped. I thought maybe it was the shape, Natural Balance is pretty big and she is little. So I went looking for different shaped kibbles. I thought I will try Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul, that is X's, right? WRONG! Hockey pucks. Smaller than Natural Balance but still hockey pucks. Luna did not approve. Then I notice I got Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul LIGHT. So I tried the regular. It is supposed to be X's. I open it up.... HOCKEY PUCKS! I cannot get away from them.

Anyone know of a thin pancake kibble like the Chow or a good X shaped kibble? I would rather have a good recommendation then just buying random food. I have not had good luck looking for samples so far. I got 2 samples of Fromms, both she rejected, later I found out those were pretty much the worst flavors. I have emailed some companies and have gotten nowhere good with them. Maybe I will try again and say I have many picky cats instead of 1 picky hedgehog. I just desperately want to get her off this kibble.
 
I'm having the same issue. I need X shapes.
this is as close as I've gotten but Chester doesn't like it.
Simply Nourish turkey oatmeal. it is three prongs. I got it at petsmart. trying to send some pics for you
 
Tractor Supply's brand 4 Health in the black bag (grain free) is Xs. My kitchen floor is covered with them, thanks to our cats. The food is made primarily of fish meal and potato starch, so Idk if hedgies are safe on that or not but it *is* the right shape. :) Same brand but the regular formula with barley and rice + chicken and turkey are hockey pucks, so that sounds like it's out.
 
Yeah, CSCLS changed from X's to pucks. My quill kid, who used to loooove CSCLS, absolutely rejected those pucks.

Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken is still X-shaped.
 
Thanks for your replies. I will be checking into these foods. I was able to get a sample of Natural Balance Small Breed Dog food. Sweet potato and Chicken flavor. The size and shape are similar to the Cat Chow. I have not tried it yet because I don't know if it would be good for her. I have read that dog food is fine and then I read that it might hurt their teeth. It is 21% protein and 10% fat. Do you think I should try it?
 
I have a similar understanding about the dog vs cat kibble that you do. Generally, the pieces are bigger, so it's a non-starter from the get-go with just about every brand out there. Then, if you do find one that has smaller pieces, the way it's constructed can be problematic - usually there's less protein than you find in cat kibble (and is generally thought to be too low for hedgies) and it's harder to chomp through and can cause early tooth wear.

I'd see if I could find the right shape in cat kibble first. If I already had the sample of the dog kibble in hand, I might set out a couple pieces of it to see if Luna's even interested in it. I'd also watch her chomp through it to gauge how difficult it is. But with the 21% protein and likely hardness/tooth wear issues, I don't think I'd make it a staple... just a small portion if she's really not eating anything else. Or... in desperation, I might include as a staple, but moisten it every night and then make sure to feed another protein-rich source.
 
I gave Luna one of the dog food kibbles and she took it, bit it and spit it out whole. Way to hard for her. I got the Katz n Flocken and again she ate one in front of me and that was it. She just continues eating around them. Since she actually ate one, which is more than any other food I tried should I continue offering it to her? For the past 5 days I give her a couple of KnF kibbles in her bowl and a couple in her bed. Should I continue this even if she is not eating them?

I am keeping a list of other foods, in the next couple of days I am going to try for samples again. I can't keep buying all this food.

Also, I have a question for the future. Right now she gets about 50 kibble in her bowl and 30 in her bed. She sometimes eats out of her bowl but always eats the food in her bed. In the future, after she gets settled and healthy, is the food in the bed something that I should stop or limit in any way? I would prefer her to eat out of her bowl, but if she prefers the room service that is fine, as long as it is ok for her.

On the plus side, I have seen a noticeable change in her for the better. Hopefully the vet visit at the end of the month will be positive.
 
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I found this thread on hedgehog central http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/forums/12-diet-nutrition/10403-kibble-sizes.html . It may be outdated at the beginning like the chicken soup pieces and it's not complete but it has a few x, triangle, and heart shape pieces plus very small pieces listed. Next time we buy food I should put our 3 on there which is actually 4 shapes cause blue buffalo has 2 different shapes in it.
 
Awesome find on the free sample site!

Since you have the KnF, I'd go ahead and keep offering them. It won't do any harm. She may decide that maybe... just maybe... they're worthy of her attention.

As she's getting better, I'd move her food away from her bed and back to the original position. Just change the proportion toward less and less in bed and more and more into the bowl in its regular place. I like to save the food in bed strategy for when things are going wrong. Though she may be the type to prefer eating food when it's hidden... you might try putting her regular dish in an igloo. That way it's in an area that feels safe to her, but it's not right there in bed.
 
Well Luna snubbed her food yesterday. I don't know if it is from the KnF being in there or something else, but the last time she did that I was trying to get her to eat the CSCLS. I gave her a handful of the Chow and she was crunching away when I put her to bed. I don't want to experiment so I just gave her the Chow tonight, she hasn't put on enough weight yet to risk not eating 2 days in a row. (she is still on the carnivore care and is licking the bowl clean every time, so she is eating something.) I have no idea what to do. Tomorrow is cage cleaning day so I will try the food in the igloo.

Still looking for something she might like. Flavor wise is chicken and turkey more commonly preferred over fish? I heard back from some of the food companies and they are sending me different coupons. Thought I might poke around the pet store with the coupons I have.

Thanks for the kibble size and shape thread. Very interesting and helpful. After this is all over, I will put pictures of the 8 million different kibbles I will most likely have. ;)
 
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