Getting Dry Food Addicted Cats To Try Wet Food
Keep in mind that the best time to implement a diet change is when the cat is healthy. Trying to get an ill cat to embrace a new type of food can be problematic and a cat that is not feeling well may even develop a food aversion if they associate the new food with their discomfort.
Sick cats are often not consuming enough calories as it is so if your cat has a decreased appetite due to illness, this is not the time to push a diet change with too much intensity.
For patients with urinary tract problems, it is extremely important for them to increase their water intake. However, because cystitis (inflammation of the bladder wall) is thought to be linked to stress – and implementing a diet change can be stressful - we need to be mindful of this and go slowly. While you are working toward getting your cat to eat wet food, you can increase their water intake by using flavored waters such as tuna water, beef or chicken broth, clam juice, lactose-free cat milk, etc.
You can make your own tuna water by adding 3 cups of water to a can of tuna. Mash it up and let it sit for ~15 minutes then pour the water into covered (to help maintain freshness) ice cube trays. 3 cups of water will fill two 16-cube trays. The ice cube trays can be used for other flavored liquids as well. Prior to using, heat the ice cubes to ‘mouse body’ temperature and then add 1-2 TBS per meal of wet food in addition to putting some in a bowl as a separate drink of water.
The transition process involves much more than just plunking down a new food item. Time, patience, and tricks are often required as well.
The key is to do it slowly and with patience and incorporate various tricks for the stubborn cats. The most important issue is actually making the change, not how fast you accomplish it.
Here are some various tricks for the stubborn dry food addicts. Do also keep in mind that different tricks work on different cats:
• If your cat has been eating dry food on a free-feeding basis, take away the food and establish a schedule of two - three times per day feedings. A normal, healthy hunger response after 12 hours goes a long way to
convince them to try something new.
Once the cat has transitioned to wet food, you can either free-feed them (if they are not too fat) or to put out a meal three times per day. Small cats in the wild eat 8-10 small meals per day. Keep in mind that a lion is not going to eat his entire prey immediately.
If you want to take the transition very slowly, you can feed the amount that your cat normally consumes in a 24 hour period - split up into two feedings to get him used to meal feeding. Most cats only need 150-250 calories/day. This means that, roughly, the AM and PM feedings should be about 100 calories each. The dry food bag should tell you how many calories are in a cup of food.
Leave the dry food down for 30 - 40 minutes, and then remove any uneaten portion. Repeat in 8 -12 hours depending on if you are feeding 2 or 3 times per day. During the first few days of transitioning to a set schedule, you can offer wet food during the dry food meals, or in-between meals. The stubborn ones, however, will not touch it. Do not despair - all cats will eventually eat wet food if their owner is determined, methodical, and patient enough. Once your cat is on a schedule you will notice that he is more enthusiastic about food during his proper mealtimes and will be much more inclined to try something new.
• Once you have established scheduled mealtimes, you will most likely need to start feeding a bit less at each mealtime in order to get the normal sensation of hunger to work in your favor. Again, we are trying to use the normal sensation of hunger to help us out. We are not trying to starve the cat into the diet change.
• Once your cat is on a schedule of meal-feeding instead of free-feeding, try feeding a meal of wet food only. If he will not eat it - and the very stubborn ones won't - try not to get frustrated - and do not put down dry food. Try some of the other tips listed below. If he still will not eat the wet food, let him get a bit hungrier. Offer the wet food again in a couple of hours – or just leave it out. Some cats will be more apt to try something new if they keep walking by it and seeing/smelling it. Try a different brand/flavor or a different 'trick'. Once it has been ~18 hours since he has eaten anything, give him just a small amount of his dry food – keeping track of his daily calorie intake.
• Remember to be patient. You do not have to accomplish this in a day…or a week…or even in a month.
• Exercising your cat with a tassel toy before feeding can also help stimulate his appetite.
• Instead of putting the dry food portion in his bowl, turn it into a game. Throw the dry food, one or two pieces at a time across the room so that he has to run back and forth and ‘hunt’ for it. Playing the ‘toss the dry food portion’ game will help your cat burn off calories and should stimulate his appetite so that he may be more inclined to try wet food. It is also a great way to interact with your cat which helps to relieve the stress/boredom that many indoor cats experience.
• Cats' noses are much more sensitive than ours. They can smell the dry food even if its in a cupboard. We suggest putting it in the refrigerator (preferable to keep the fats from getting rancid) or at least putting it in a tightly sealed container. If they can smell it, they will hold out for it. Some people recommend getting it out of your house completely, but this is not possible when you are dealing with a very stubborn cat that needs a bit of time and patience to make the transition happen.
• Pet your cat while he is in front of the food bowl. Some cats will be stimulated to eat when being petted.
• Make sure that any refrigerated wet food is warmed up a bit. Cats prefer their food at 'mouse body’ temperature.
• Try offering some cooked (or freeze dried/raw – whole meats, rinsed well or parboiled) chicken or meat baby food or deli-meat (‘cold-cuts’). One of the goals is to get your cat used to eating food that does not crunch. He needs to get used to a different texture. Also, chicken is a great source of protein to point him in the proper direction toward a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. If he eats the chicken, he may head right into eating wet food. Then again....he may not.
• Try sprinkling some parmesan cheese on the wet food. Most cats love parmesan cheese and this trick has been very successful for some.
• There are numerous freeze dried treats on the market that you can also sprinkle on top of the wet food.
• Speaking of texture, a common question is "can I just soak the dry food in water?" Dry food often has a high bacterial content. Mold is also often found in dry food. There have been many deaths of dogs and cats secondary to eating mold mycotoxins, vomitoxins and aflatoxins which often contaminate the grains found in dry food. If you want to try the trick of wetting down the dry food to alter the texture, please leave it out for only 20-30 minutes then discard it. Bacteria and mold thrive in moisture.
• Try dipping some dry food pieces in the juice from the wet food. Some cats may refuse to eat it if the dry food even touches the wet food. But if he will eat it with a bit of canned juice on it, try the 'chip and dip' trick. Scoop up a tiny bit of canned food onto the piece of dry food. Put them on a separate plate from his small portion of dry food. Some cats will eat their small portion of dry and then go investigate the dry food with a tiny bit of wet food on it.
• Crush some dry food and sprinkle it on the top of the canned food.
• If you have a multiple cat household, some cats like to eat alone in a less stressful environment, so you may need to take these cats into a separate, quiet room to think about the error of their ways – their dry food addiction.
• Try various brands and flavors of wet foods. Many cats love the foods that are all by-products and turn up their noses at the ‘higher end’ foods. You can worry about feeding a higher quality wet food later and you can always mix different types of food together. The initial goal now is just to get your cat used to eating wet food.
• Lastly, don't give up.
These are just a few tricks that you can try. Different tricks work on different cats. The key is to be patient. Remember, it can take as long as 3 months to get your cats to try wet food. Most cats, however, will not take this long :)