How you can Change Your Cat’s Meals in 10 Easy Steps

Melina Grin / Cats.com

Altering your cat’s meals requires cautious consideration and planning. Having lived with a number of cats at totally different life levels and with various well being circumstances, I’ve needed to alter my cats’ diets previously, which concerned many trials and changes.

Cats are naturally cautious creatures, so any deviation from their common atmosphere or weight loss plan can set off suspicion and trigger them to keep away from novel meals. New meals smells and flavors set off their survival instincts to keep away from poisonous substances within the wild.

Irrespective of your particular motive for altering your cat’s meals, you possibly can comply with some easy steps to make sure a clean and secure transition to your feline companion.

Meals for Life Phases and Situations

Correct cat diet is essential to your cat’s well-being and longevity. There are a variety of the reason why altering your cat’s meals is perhaps helpful or vital.

A cat’s dietary necessities change as they transition via life levels. A cat’s weight loss plan, subsequently, wants to vary based mostly on their age and power wants. Cat diet is totally different for kittens, adults, and seniors, in addition to when cats are pregnant or lactating.

Sure medical circumstances, resembling urinary tract an infection, diabetes, inflammatory bowel illness, hyperthyroidism, dental sickness, or kidney or liver illness, may additionally name for a particular weight loss plan. Your veterinarian will counsel a therapeutic or prescription weight loss plan for a selected length or lifelong if the situation is power.

Treating Meals Allergy symptoms or Intolerance

Like people and canines, cats can develop meals allergy symptoms. Signs embody itching, rashes, vomiting, and diarrhea. Widespread triggers are particular proteins (beef, rooster, eggs, pork, fish, and dairy merchandise) or components present in meals.

In keeping with two research, ^{[1] [2]} meals allergy symptoms can happen at any age and with any breed or combine, however Siamese cats and their crosses is perhaps at a better danger. Seek the advice of together with your vet about altering your cat’s weight loss plan to an alternate protein, hypoallergenic weight loss plan, or balanced home-cooked weight loss plan for a two-month trial interval to deal with allergy symptoms or intolerances.

Supporting a Wholesome Weight

Puzzle feeders present psychological stimulation and make mealtime extra partaking to your cat. Melina Grin / Cats.com

All through your cat’s life, their weight might fluctuate between supreme, underweight, and chubby. Weight problems is probably the most prevalent nutrition-related dysfunction in companion animals. A number of research determine weight problems ^[3] because the second most typical well being situation in home cats, after dental illness. This situation is a major motive why cat house owners change their cat’s meals.

To assist your cat shed extra pounds, go for a weight loss plan excessive in lean protein, reasonable in fats, and low in carbs. Meals greater in dietary fiber may also assist cats really feel fuller. You possibly can additionally change from free-feeding to measured meals, and it might assist to vary from dry kibble to a canned meals with excessive moisture. Encourage train via play, resembling with wand toys and puzzle feeders. For those who’re not sure in case your cat is the correct weight, or how a lot try to be feeding them, converse to your veterinarian for recommendation.

Cats—particularly seniors—are additionally identified to be choosy eaters. Any disturbing occasion or sickness can have an effect on their want to eat. You may must tempt your cat to eat by serving canned meals at room temperature or warming the meals to extend its scent and enchantment. Providing quite a lot of moist and dry meals may also entice them again to the plate.

Adapting to Way of life Adjustments

Way of life adjustments, resembling a shift in family members or private funds, might have you ever wanting into new forms of meals. When adopting a brand new kitten or grownup cat, retaining them on the identical weight loss plan for a couple of weeks is finest to keep away from tummy points brought on by the anxiousness of fixing houses. But when the present weight loss plan isn’t appropriate or if the cat turns into sick or refuses to eat, you may want to modify to a special sort of meals. We needed to change our kitten’s meals from dry to moist when Sienna acquired sick and misplaced her style as a consequence of calicivirus. Fortunately, she recovered absolutely.

Lately, the price of dwelling has additionally been throwing pet dad and mom for a loop. In america, solely 3% of pet house owners have pet insurance coverage, and one in 4 pet house owners fear concerning the excessive value of vet care. Some cat house owners face difficulties paying for enough diet. To alleviate monetary pressures, you possibly can change your cat’s meals to dry, make balanced home made meals, purchase in bulk on-line, or go for cheaper meals choices that meet their dietary wants.

How you can Change Your Cat’s Meals

Altering your cat’s meals abruptly could cause them issues, resembling tummy upsets or meals aversions. For the smoothest transition, comply with these 10 easy steps:

1. Seek the advice of Your Veterinarian

Although all kittens must convert to grownup meals, and senior cats develop into able to transition to a weight loss plan formulated for older cats, it’s finest to speak to your veterinarian to evaluate your cat’s present dietary necessities based mostly on their historical past, weight, physique, and muscle situation rating.

2. Select the New Cat Meals

When switching meals, select a complete-and-balanced cat meals with related elements, texture, and evaluation to make sure the identical high quality and advantages. For those who’re altering to a brand new model as a consequence of a well being situation, it’s finest to hunt dietary recommendation out of your vet.

3. Evaluation the Pet Meals Model’s Web site and Feeding Information

For a clean transition to your cat’s new weight loss plan, assessment the model’s web site and feeding information, which is able to give particular suggestions for the transition and feeding quantities.

4. Plan the Change

It’s finest to introduce new diets to your cat when they’re wholesome, since a sick cat won’t settle for a brand new meals sort and may develop a meals aversion. Put together and analysis totally to make sure a clean transition that meets your cat’s dietary necessities over a gradual interval.

Veterinarian Dr. Joanna Woodnutt advises to keep away from altering your cat’s weight loss plan once they’re concerned in a really disturbing state of affairs, resembling once they’re hospitalized.

“If compelled to eat meals once they really feel anxious or nauseous, cats can develop an aversion which could be very exhausting to beat,” she mentioned. “Even when a weight loss plan is required for a medical motive, it’s often finest to vary the meals at house as soon as the acute medical drawback is over.”

5. Guarantee a Gradual Transition

Transition your cat’s meals progressively over 10 to 14 days. Start by inserting a small quantity of the brand new meals subsequent to the previous meals on the identical plate to introduce your cat to the novel scent and texture.

Progressively improve the quantity of recent meals whereas lowering the quantity of the previous meals till your cat is solely consuming the brand new weight loss plan. Don’t combine the meals, and don’t worry in case your cat doesn’t eat the brand new delicacies instantly.

Right here’s an instance of how one can transition to a brand new sort of meals:

• Day 1 to 4: 75% previous meals + 25% new meals
• Day 5 to 7: 50% previous meals + 50% new meals
• Day 8 to 10: 25% previous meals + 75% new meals
• Day 11 to 14: 100% new meals

“Cats may be finicky about their meals—they’ve developed to be suspicious of recent issues, and so might flip down a brand new taste or texture of meals,” Dr. Woodnutt mentioned. “This implies it’s essential to go gradual when altering a cat’s weight loss plan. It doesn’t matter if it takes a couple of weeks!”

6. Reinforce Constructive Associations With New Meals

Place a small quantity of the brand new meals subsequent to the previous meals to introduce your cat to the novel scent and texture. Melina Grin / Cats.com

Encourage your cat to eat the novel meals by providing it throughout common feeding occasions and eradicating any uneaten meals after an inexpensive period of time.

Supply the brand new meals in small portions as a deal with and reward your cat once they eat it to create a optimistic affiliation with the newest nourishment. Feeding your cat inside a relaxed atmosphere may also assist them really feel extra snug making an attempt new meals.

7. Observe Your Cat on the New Food plan

Take note of your cat’s gastrointestinal well being, particularly regarding litter field habits. Usually verify your cat’s poop and be looking out for softness, uncommon stool scent, constipation, or diarrhea. For those who discover any blood or extreme mucus within the poop, it’s finest to hunt veterinary steering.

Furthermore, observe adjustments in your cat’s habits, resembling lethargy, lack of urge for food, hiding, or sleeping.

8. Deal with Challenges Throughout Transition

Monitor your cat’s response to the brand new meals. In case your cat throws up or has softer stools, cease feeding the novel weight loss plan and change again to their common model for a couple of days earlier than making an attempt once more. See a veterinarian in case your cat experiences power diarrhea or signs of meals allergy symptoms.

Cats may develop into sick or refuse to eat once they endure a dietary change. If a cat goes as little as 24 hours with out meals, they will develop into severely unwell and require veterinary care.

9. Be Affected person

Give your cat ample time to regulate to a brand new weight loss plan, primarily if they’ve been consuming the identical factor as kibble for a very long time.

Serafina, my feminine cat, examined my persistence through the transition; it took her six months to modify from dry to canned meals. That’s an excessive case, however it reminds us that some cats want extra time than others to regulate to a brand new dietary regime.

10. Full the Meals Changeover

As soon as your cat consumes 100% of the brand new meals, full the transition if no antagonistic reactions happen.