That's the hard part. Like children, cats often resist what is best for them. The two most common comments we hear from people when we're trying to convince them to give their cats a healthier diet are: "My cat doesn't eat canned food" and "But my cat likes her dry food." Kids like potato chips and ice cream, but that doesn't mean these foods represent optimal nutrition.
The transition process often involves much more than just throwing in a new food. Time, patience and tricks are often required.
One reason cats like to eat dry food so much is that pet food manufacturers do not operate fairly when producing this subpar food. They coat the dry food with extremely tempting digestive sprays that are very pleasant for cats and make low-quality food very desirable to the target animal.
In addition to the already mentioned coating of dry food with animal digestive products, another problem is the 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 dry food is the right way to go, here are some tips on how you can do it.
The most important thing is that you proceed slowly and patiently, using various tricks for stubborn cats.
The most important thing is that you actually make the transition, not how quickly you do it.
I have to say that my cats tested all my patience during the transition from dry food to canned food over a period of more than 3 months. They had only been fed dry food their entire lives and did not recognize canned food as food. My cats were between 2 and 10 years old at the time of the change.
The biggest mistake I see again and again is that the cat doesn't touch the new food and then panics and fills the bowl with dry food. In many cases it is not that easy to free cats from dry food.
There are two categories of cats - those who eat canned food and those who are extremely reluctant to eat anything other than dry food. If your cat falls into the first category, you're in luck. These cats will accept it with the attitude of “finally getting a species-appropriate diet.” If your cat has only ever eaten dry food or only gets canned food as an occasional "treat," you should start feeding canned food in larger and larger quantities. Reduce the amount of dry food gradually and only switch the cat completely to 100% canned food after about a week.
Some cats' stools may become softer during the transition. I don't worry when this happens and tend to "ride it out". If changing food causes diarrhea, you will either need to experiment with different types of canned food or make the change more slowly and over a period of several weeks.
An average cat should consume around 180 to 220 calories per day, contained in 130-400 grams of canned food. (Depending on the quality of the canned food)
However, keep in mind that foods high in protein, fat, and carbohydrates are very low in calories, so you will have to feed much more than this amount, which can be quite expensive.
The necessary daily calorie intake should be divided into 3-4 meals/day (or simply free fed if they are not overweight).
When determining how much to feed your cat after switching to canned food, keep it simple. Too fat? Feed less. Too thin? Feed more.
If you're unlucky like me and your cat doesn't realize that he's a carnivore and would be healthier on canned (or homemade) food, you've got some work to do. Some cats who have been fed dry food their entire lives are quite resistant to the change in diet and may need several weeks or longer to transition to a healthier diet.
For "change-resistant" cats, you need to use normal hunger to make the transition easier. For this reason, it is very important to stop feeding dry food freely. This is the first and very important step. You have to establish fixed meal times. They won't try anything new if their bowl of junk food is in front of them 24/7.
Cats don't need to have food available all the time.
It's really okay if they feel a hunger pang! Still, I found it very difficult to listen to my cats beg for food, even though I firmly believed that I was leading them in the best direction for optimal health. It was really a trying time for me and for her. I think it was even more tiring for me!
This is where many people fail and simply give in and fill the food bowl with dry food. A few times I had to call my "sponsor" and was told to "just leave the house if you can't stand looking into those eyes!" I left the house. Those pitiful little cries of "I haven't eaten in two WHOLE hours!" were difficult to bear. But lo and behold, when I returned, they were fine. Not a single cat starved to death.
On the other hand, you shouldn't try to withhold food from your cat for a long period of time (more than 24 hours) in the hope that it will choose the new food. You have to "convince" them that a high-quality canned food is actually good for them, rather than trying to starve them - which doesn't work anyway. Leaving a cat without feeding for a long period of time (more than 48 hours) can be very dangerous and lead to hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) - especially in overweight cats.
Hepatic lipidosis can also develop if a cat consumes 50% or less of its daily calorie needs for many days. The definition of "many" varies from cat to cat. For this reason, it's important to know how many calories from canned and dry food your cat is consuming each day as you transition to canned food.
I have never seen a cat develop hepatic lipidosis while consuming at least 15 calories per pound per day. This number refers to lean body weight, not fat weight.
If your cat weighs 9kg but should weigh 6kg, you should make sure he eats ~180 calories per day. (6kg lean body mass X 30 calories/kg/day = ~180 calories/day)
In reality, the cat in the example above would probably be completely safe on just 150 calories per day.
If you have a small female cat that weighs only 10 pounds, please make sure she consumes at least 135 calories per day.
Canned food never lists the calorie content on the can, but many dry foods have this information on the bag. A rough guideline for the calorie content of most canned foods, which consist of 78% moisture, is around 30 calories per 30g, but can also be between 20 and 40 calories per 30g.
Most cats lose some weight during the transition to canned food. Since a very high percentage of cats are overweight to begin with, this is a positive result of changing their diet - as long as they don't lose too much weight too quickly. A cat should never lose more than 1-2% of its body weight per week.
I recommend that all cat carers weigh their cats regularly, especially if they are over 10 years old. This helps ensure a safe transition to a healthier diet and, in general, weight loss is often the first sign of poor health, regardless of the cause. I make it a point to weigh my cats at least once a month, especially if they are over 10 years old.
Accept that sometimes you will be very frustrated and that you will waste canned food because they turn their noses up at it. You should also immediately switch your cat to a dry food that contains fewer calories from carbohydrates than most dry foods.
The low-carbohydrate types of dry food contain a lot of fat and are therefore very high in calories. The portioning of these types of food must be controlled, otherwise your cat will gain weight.
The average cat's calorie needs are between 150 and 250 calories per day, depending on their body weight and activity level.
The low-carbohydrate dry foods also contain a lot of phosphorus. This is particularly harmful to cats with impaired kidney function.
And of course, like all dry foods, these low-carb dry foods contain too little water, putting your cat at risk for serious urinary tract problems. They are also cooked at very high temperatures to dry them out.
For the reasons mentioned above, I do not recommend this dry food for long-term feeding. Please only use it as a transitional food.
Make sure you stay away from any “light” varieties as they are very high in carbohydrates.
Here are some tricks for the stubborn ones.
Remember that different tricks work for different cats:
If your cat has been eating free-choice dry food, pick up the food and set a schedule to feed it 2-3 times a day. I prefer twice daily feeding when I'm trying to transition her. A normal, healthy feeling of hunger after 12 hours is very helpful in convincing them to try something new. If you want to make the transition very slowly, you can feed the amount your cat normally eats in a 24-hour period - split into two feedings to get her used to meals. However, many people are unsure how much their outdoor cat really eats. So I would first determine the amount of calories your cat needs to maintain its weight when it doesn't need to lose weight.
Let the dry food stand for 20 minutes and then remove the uneaten portion. Repeat the process in 8-12 hours, depending on whether you feed 2 or 3 times a day. In the first few days of transitioning to a regular schedule, you can offer canned food during dry food meals or between meals. However, stubborn cats won't touch it. Don't despair - all cats will eventually eat canned food if their caregiver is determined, methodical, and patient enough. Once your cat is on a consistent schedule, you'll find that he becomes more enthusiastic about the food at the right meal times and is much more willing to try something new.
The same applies here: Most cats only need 150-250 calories per day. The dry food package should state how many calories are in a cup, but if not, you can call the manufacturer.
Once the cat is transitioned to canned food, I prefer to either free feed him (if he is not too fat) or give him a meal 3-4 times a day. Small cats in the wild eat 8-10 small meals a day. I don't worry if I leave the canned food outside for up to 12 hours at a time. Remember that a lion will not eat all of its prey immediately. Once you've established regular meal times, you'll probably need to start eating a little less at each meal to work the normal feeling of hunger in your favor. Again, we try to use the normal feeling of hunger to help us. We don't try to starve the cat so that it changes its diet. Once your cat has eaten a meal, you can try feeding him only canned food. If she doesn't want to eat it - and the very stubborn ones don't - try not to get frustrated and don't put out dry food. Try some of the other tips listed below. If he still doesn't want to eat the canned food, let him get a little hungrier. Offer the canned food again in a few hours - or just leave it out. Some cats are more willing to try something new if they constantly walk by it and see or smell it. Try a different brand/flavor or “trick.” If the cat hasn't eaten for about 18 hours, give it just a small amount of its dry food - keep an eye on its daily calorie intake. Remember to be patient. Exercising your cat with a tassel toy before feeding can also stimulate his appetite.
Cats' noses are much more sensitive than ours. You can smell the dry food in the cupboards. I suggest either putting it in the fridge or putting it in a tightly sealed container. If they can smell it, they will endure it. Some recommend getting it out of the house entirely, but that's not possible if you're dealing with a very stubborn cat that needs a bit of time and patience to make the adjustment.
The following worked for my cats: Sprinkle a small amount of tuna - or another favorite treat (some cats don't like fish and prefer cooked chicken) - over the canned food, then as soon as they eat it, start adding it to the new food press. (The "light" tuna is better than the fancy white tuna because it smells stronger. Or Trader Joe's offers cat tuna, which is very smelly.) Be sure to reduce the amount of fish as quickly as possible. A diet that consists primarily of fish can lead to health problems. You also don't want your cat to only eat food that contains a lot of fish. Make sure refrigerated canned food is warmed up a bit. Cats prefer their food at “mouse body temperature”.
Try offering some cooked (or raw - whole meat, well rinsed or partially baked) chicken or meat baby food. One of the goals is to get your cat used to eating food that doesn't crunch. She has to get used to a different texture. Plus, chicken is a good source of protein to transition them to a high-protein, low-carb diet. If he eats the chicken, he might switch to canned food right away. Then again... maybe he doesn't.
Try sprinkling some Parmesan cheese over the canned food. Most cats love Parmesan and this trick has worked really well for me. Try a product called FortiFlora - the cat version. There are plenty of freeze-dried meat treats on the market that you can also sprinkle over canned food. Halo's Liv A Littles is a popular choice. Speaking of texture: A common question is: “Can I just soak the dry food in water?” I'm more than a little skeptical about this question. Dry food often has a very high bacterial content. Mold is also often found in dry food. Both organisms thrive in a moist environment. There have been many deaths in dogs and cats due to the consumption of mold mycotoxins, vomitoxins and aflatoxins, which often contaminate the grains in dry food. If you want to try the trick of moistening the dry food to change the consistency, please only leave it for 20-30 minutes and then throw it away. Try dipping some kibble pieces into the canned juice. Some cats refuse to eat if the dry food even touches the canned food. But if she wants to eat it with a little canned food, try the "chip and dip" trick. Scoop a small piece of canned food onto the piece of dry food. Place them on a separate plate next to his small portion of dry food. Some cats eat their small portion of dry food and then go looking for the dry food with a tiny piece of canned food on it. If you take it a step further, you can also add a few small pieces of canned food to the small portion of dry food. Your cat may dig around in the canned food, but he'll get used to the smell - and the texture - even if he doesn't eat any pieces of the new food. Chop up some dry food and sprinkle it on top of the canned food. If you don't think it will upset your cat, you can also try rubbing a bit of canned food or juice on the cat's gums to get them interested in the taste and texture of the new food - but do it carefully. You don't want the situation to become too stressful and cause her to develop an aversion to the food. (This trick is often used to introduce newly weaned kittens to canned food). If you don't think it bothers your cat, you can use your finger to place a small piece of canned food or juice on its paw so it can lick it off. This didn't work on the two cats I tried it on, but it's another idea. Be careful not to stress your cat. The same applies here: You don't want to create an aversion to the food. If you have a household with multiple cats, some cats like to eat alone in a less stressful environment. Therefore, you may need to put these cats in a separate, quiet room to let them think about their mistake - their addiction to carbohydrates and dry food. Once in a quiet environment, away from the other cats, two of my cats ate canned food/tuna balls by hand. But not from a bowl, just from my hand. I'm not sure who was trained here. After a few hand feedings, they finally started eating from a bowl.
Try different brands and flavors of canned food. The first goal is to get your cat used to eating canned food rather than dry food. And remember what I said above.
Feeding with a syringe is also an option, but must be done with great sensitivity and patience to avoid food aversion. If you choose to syringe feed, your goal is not to give him a whole meal. Sometimes it is enough to inject your cat with 1-2 ml so that it eats the canned food - maybe not the first time, but at least this way it gets to know the taste of the new food and a foreign consistency. The best way to syringe feed is to kneel on the floor and place your cat between your legs so that it is facing you. Then you stick a small syringe (1 ml/TB) into the side of your cat's mouth and give him about 1/2 ml at a time. He may spit it out, but you just want to get him used to the taste and consistency and don't stress him out. Few canned foods make it through the tip of a syringe, but human meat baby food works well for this trick. You can also dilute it a little if necessary.
If you want to use canned cat food instead of baby food, you will need to cut off the end of the syringe so that the opening is the same size as the barrel. Make sure the tip is smooth. If you don't want to cut off the tip of the syringe, you'll need to puree it in a pate-like fashion (as opposed to chunky). I puree wellness for this purpose. I run it through the blender with a small amount of water (about 3-4 tablespoons). Then I strain it to remove anything that might be clogging the small tip of the syringe. Wellness is also a balanced diet - in contrast to human baby food.
Even though human baby food is not a balanced diet for long-term use, it is a great tool for getting a cat used to a texture that they are not used to.
