You've decided your cat would be better off eating a high-quality canned food to prevent feline diabetes, obesity, bladder infections, kidney problems, and other health problems associated with commercial dry food. But she turns her nose up at it! How do you get her to eat it? Your kitty is a creature of habit, and she doesn't like changes, especially in what she eats. She's used to the crunchy texture of dry food. If she's never eaten canned food before, she may not even recognize the stuff sitting in her dish as something edible.
Pet food manufacturers coat dry food with meat "digests," a tasty blend of fermented animal entrails. This is what makes a cereal-based dry food attractive to an animal that is designed to eat meat, not grains. It's similar to sugar-coating breakfast cereals to make them more attractive to children. And like a child, your buddy may resist eating a diet that's healthier for her, since she really does like the taste of dry food.
Be patient, as it may take a couple of months to switch her over.
To make the transition from dry to canned, the first step is to stop leaving dry food out. You need to establish a routine of set mealtimes. If you're like most cat owners, you're in the habit of leaving food in a feeder all the time so your buddy can have a nibble any time she wants. Contrary to popular opinion, your feline friend does not need food available 24/7. Feeding her twice a day is fine.
Yes, she'll be pitiful, and she'll try to convince you she's going to expire from hunger right in front of you. But don't fall for it. You have her best interests at heart, although she may not think so! Remember, your objective isn't to starve her into eating a new food, but you do need her to be ready to eat at mealtimes so she's more likely to try something new.
Once she's used to eating twice a day, try giving her a little canned food along with the dry. Over the course of a week or so, increase the amount of canned and decrease the amount of dry until she's eating only canned food. It may not be that easy, though, as some kitties are pretty set in their ways. In this case, try giving her only canned food at one feeding. If she doesn't eat it, wait a couple of hours and try again. You may want to try a different flavor or another brand. Whatever you do, don't cave in and give her dry food just yet.
If she hasn't eaten anything in 18 hours, give her about one-quarter cup of dry food. Don't let your cat go more than 24 hours without eating, especially if she's overweight, as she could develop hepatic lipidosis, a potentially fatal condition.
You need to be sure she's eating at least 15 calories per pound of body weight every day. You don't know how much she weighs? Weigh yourself, then pick up your buddy and weigh both of you together. Subtract your weight from the combined weight of you and your kitty, and you'll have a ballpark figure. If she weighs about 18 pounds, but should weigh 12, she needs 180 calories a day, which is 12 pounds times 15 calories. If she doesn't need to lose any weight, the formula is the kitty's weight in pounds times 13.6 plus 70. So if she weighs 12 pounds, 12 times 13.6 plus 70 is 233, the number of calories needed to maintain her body weight.
Canned food labels don't list the calorie content, but canned food with about 78 percent moisture averages about 30 calories per ounce. It can vary from 20 to 40 calories, so you may need to contact the pet food manufacturer to get this information.
Most kitties do lose weight when they're transitioned to canned food. This is usually a good thing, as feline obesity is a huge problem. Your cat shouldn't lose more than one to two percent of her body weight per week. If she weighs 20 pounds, 20 times 16 ounces is 320 ounces. One percent of 320 is 3.2 ounces per week, which is less than 1/4 pound. With care and patience, you can train your kitty to eat a healthier diet, and help her lose weight in the process.
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