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Knowing your cat needs a change in their diet is one thing, but knowing how to make that change is something else! Cats are creatures of habit, so it’s not uncommon for them to prefer their current food to anything new. Change disrupts their routine, which can impact their behavior and their digestion.
Thankfully, when the time has come to change your cat’s diet, a little planning and preparation goes a long way toward making the transition easier for them (and for you).
The following tips will help you change your cat’s diet and successfully transition your cat to a new food:
There are lots of reasons to consider changing your cat’s food — maybe you have a new kitten to wean, a kitten who’s all grown up now or an adult cat entering their senior years. In addition to normal aging, advice from the vet is a common reason to change what you’re feeding your cat. Cats that need help reducing their weight or managing excessive hairballs might need the support of a new food designed with those needs in mind. Whatever your reason for changing your cat’s diet, make sure the new food will suit their needs. That way you only have to make the transition once, and can avoid upsetting their stomach by changing the routine too often.
Going slow is paws down the most successful way to ease your cat into a different diet. Start by mixing 25% new food with 75% familiar food. Slowly change the proportions over the next three days or so by gradually increasing the amount of new food and decreasing the amount of their familiar food. Think of it as a kind of weaning — at the end of this process, you should be feeding (and your cat should be eating) just the new food.
Your cat may choose to eat only the familiar food, or not eat at all … at first. But a healthy cat can miss meals for a day or two without causing health problems. Slow, steady and consistent wins this race!
How would you feel if someone tried to force you to eat strange food you didn’t want?
Aggressively dumping the new food into your cat’s dish and declaring that your cat had better eat it might inspire your cat to do anything besides eat!
A little gentleness in your approach goes a long way. Try using a pleasant tone of voice and encouraging your cat to taste the new food. Even if they don’t go for it at first, a gentle approach still goes over much better than an aggressive one.
Cats train us as much as we train them. Giving in to their demands reinforces that their refusal to eat the new food is acceptable, which makes transitioning to the new diet even more challenging in the long run.
So don’t give up! Don’t be tempted to revert back to your cat’s familiar foods, and don’t give your cat treats or table scraps during the initial three-day period.
This is the toughest dietary transition of them all, but there are a few ways to make the process easier. If your cat resists eating dry food for more than a few meals, try mixing a little warm water with it and maybe even warming the moistened food in the microwave for a few seconds.
If you mix dry food with water, remember to discard any uneaten leftovers after 20 minutes to prevent spoilage. (The same rule applies for wet food.) After your cat is used to the moistened dry food, you can gradually transition to serving the same food dry.
Changing your cat’s diet is sometimes necessary to help them live a happy, healthy life. The process of switching what, how or how often you feed your cat can be a little bumpy, but you can do it! By going slowly, staying patient and encouraging, sticking to the plan and making the transition as easy as possible, you’ll be giving your cat what they need and helping them adjust as comfortably as possible.
Understanding and learning how to decipher kitten food product codes will help you choose the right kitten food. While selecting the right ingredients is important, making sure those ingredients are fresh is just as vital to your young cat. Learn how to read the product codes of kitten food packages and cans with our handy guide.
A product code is a series of numbers and letters printed on the outer package of each product a manufacturer produces. This code provides information about when and where the kitten food was made.
As part of the product code, IAMS™ products include a “Best Used By” date, or the date at which the product is no longer considered fresh and should no longer be sold. This date is expressed in “ddmmyy” and “ddmmmyy” formats.
The second line of the product code represents company internal information for use in traceability and inventory control.
Line 1: (ddmmyy) (ddmmmyy)
Example: 040220 04FEB20
Line 2: 60351111## QQQQQQQ
This product should be used before February 4, 2020.
Depending on the production line, pouch products* may have code date information in a single or double line. By recognizing and understanding these codes, customers can make sure they are receiving a fresh product.
Shelf life is the duration, measured in months, during which a properly stored kitten food product maintains its freshness. This means if a product has a 16-month shelf life, it is fresh for up to 16 months from the date of manufacture.
The shelf life for IAMS dry kitten foods is 16 months. All canned formulas have a shelf life of 24 months.
Unopened dry kitten food products are best stored off the floor in a cool, dry place. Open bags of kitten food should be stored in a clean, dry container with a tight seal. Dry kitten food products may also be frozen without loss of nutrients.
Opened wet kitten food products are best kept refrigerated in tightly sealed containers for no more than three days after the container has been opened. Wet products should not be frozen in unopened cans. However, wet kitten foods can be frozen if removed from the container, packed in freezer containers and frozen immediately.
*IAMS has no kitten pouch products at this time.
