The Savannah Signal Final Issue 2011
There are few things in life more frustrating than dealing with a finicky cat. The members of this species can be incredibly ‘set in their ways’ when it comes to their dietary preferences. Cats, like children, often resist what is best for them. The two most frequent comments that I hear from people when trying to con- vince them to feed their cats a healthier diet are "my cat won't eat canned food" and "but my cat really likes his dry food." Chil- dren really like potato chips and ice cream but that certainly does not mean those food items constitute optimal nutrition.
The most important issue is actuallymaking the change, not how fast you accomplish it.
The transition process often involves much more than just plunking down a new food item. Time, patience, and tricks are often required.
One reason that cats like dry food so much is because the pet food companies do not play fair when manufacturing this sub- optimal food source. They coat the kibble with extremely entic- ing animal digest sprays which are very pleasing to a cat -mak- ing a poor quality diet very desirable to the target animal.
In addition to the aforementioned coating of dry food with ani- mal digests, another issue is one of a crunchy texture which is very different from canned food. Cats are very resistant to such a drastic change in the texture of their food.
If you are convinced that getting your cat off of dry food is the way to go, read on for some tips on how to accomplish this.
The key is to do it slowly and with patience and incorporate various tricks for the stubborn cats. The most important issue is actuallymaking the change, not how fast you accomplish it. I must say that my cats tested every ounce of patience I had over a 3 + month period of time during their transition from dry to canned food. They had been on dry food their entire lives and did not recognize canned food as food. My cats ranged in age from 2 years to 10 years at the time of the transition.
The single biggest mistake I see people make time and again is to say that their cat "won't touch" the new food and then panic and fill up the bowl with dry food. In many cases, it is simply not that easy to get cats off of dry food. (See Molly's story at
catinfo.org – Feline Obesity page - for a look at one very stub- born cat.)
There are two categories of cats - those that will eat canned food and those that will be extremely resistant to eating any- thing other than dry food. If your cat falls into the first category, lucky you. These cats will take to it with the attitude of “finally – an appropriate diet for my species.” In this case, if your cat
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has been on all dry food, or only receives canned food as an occasional 'treat', start by feeding canned food in increasing amounts.
Gradually decrease the dry, taking about a week to fully switch the cat over to 100 percent canned food.
Some cats may experience softer stools during the transition. I do not worry if this happens and tend to 'ride it out'. If diarrhea results from the diet change you will either need to experiment with different canned foods or slow the transition down and do it over a period of several weeks.
The average cat should eat 4-6 ounces of canned food per day split between 2-3 meals but this is just a general guideline. When determining how much you should be feeding your cat once transitioned to canned food, keep it simple. Too fat? Feed less. Too thin? Feed more.
They are not going to try anything new if their bowl of junk food is in front of them 24/7.
Now....for the stubborn cats......
If you are unlucky like I was, and your cat does not recognize the fact that he is a carnivore and would live a healthier life if eating canned food, (or a home-prepared diet) then you will have some work to do. Some cats that have been on dry food for their entire life will be quite resistant to the diet change and may take several weeks or longer to make the transition to a healthier diet.
For 'resistant-to-change' cats, you will need to use the normal sensation of hunger to help with the transition.
For this reason, it is very important to stop free-feeding dry food. This is the first, and very critical, step. You need to estab- lish set mealtimes. They are not going to try anything new if their bowl of junk food is in front of them 24/7.
Cats do not need food available at all times. It really is okay for them to experience a hunger pain! That said, it was very hard for me to listen to my cats begging for food even though I was strong in my conviction that I was heading them in the best direction for optimal health. It truly was a stressful time for me and them. Actually, I think it was harder on me! This is where many people fail and just give in and fill up the dry food bowl. There were a few times when I had to call my 'sponsor' and was instructed to "just leave the house if you can't take looking into those eyes!" I left the house. Those pitiful little cries of "I have not had food for two WHOLE hours!" were hard to take. But, lo and behold, they were just fine when I returned. Not one cat had died from hunger.
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