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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.
Every kitten food has protein, but here are some important facts about the different types of protein to help you choose the right food for your kitten. It is important to remember that the source of protein is vitally important to kittens because one of the principle nutritional philosophies is that kittens are best fed as carnivores.
Some pertinent facts when listening to the claims and advertising of various manufacturers:
1. Recommended kitten food protein levels are established by nutrition experts from around the world and published as NRCs (Nutrient Reference Charts). These protein requirement levels are determined by meeting the animal’s need for essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein; and by monitoring/calculating the nitrogen balance (a comparison between the intake of nitrogen in the diet and the losses through urine, feces, and evaporation from the skin and mouth). Nitrogen balance has been the recognized method of determining protein requirements for many decades. Variations in levels from what has been established for many years should be validated by convincing research. If the change in level isn’t backed by supporting evidence of a tangible benefit, then there may be hazards. Studies in several species have found a link between diets with high protein levels (greater than 40% protein), bone loss, and urinary tract stones.
2. Protein from plant sources may elevate the amount of protein, but may not be as beneficial as animal-based sources of protein in kitten food because of lower digestibility, effects on muscle-to-fat body composition ratio, and the range of amino acids they provide.
3. There are only three sources of energy in any kitten food diet–fat, protein, and carbohydrate (starch). If the amount of one element is raised, the amount of one or two of the others must be lowered to maintain a proper energy level in the food for your kitten’s life stage and lifestyle. A balance of nutrients is important to your kitten because each of the nutrient groups supplies something very specific for the kitten’s body. Excess protein above your kitten’s actual needs cannot be stored for future use and will be converted into fat.
