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Feline finickiness: What if you change foods and your cat won’t cooperate?
By Gina Spadafori
April 17, 2007
In her role as pet-care columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site, SFGate.com, our Christie Keith (hey, we had her first!) writes about the problems with getting a cat to switch foods:
Let’s say your cat has a health problem requiring a diet change. Or maybe your pet’s regular food has been discontinued or it was recalled in last month’s massive pet food recall. Or maybe you’re just a masochist. Whatever the reason, you want to change your cat’s diet, but you’re sure your cat has other plans.
Dog owners reading this are probably wondering what the big deal is. Dogs, of course, will almost always eat whatever you put in front of them and even things you thought were safely out of reach on top of the refrigerator.
Cats can be a different story, although getting them to make the switch from one diet to another is not usually as hard as people fear. Many cats will happily eat a wide variety of foods, particularly those who have been exposed to different types, textures and tastes in their food bowl since kittenhood. Still, getting some cats to change what they eat can be a challenge.
Read the rest.
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HELP! Finally an article on how to switch a cat’s diet & I’ve tried several times to “Read the Rest”, but it won’t connect to that site. Any suggestions?
Comment by laura S — April 17, 2007 @ 12:43 pm
My sons kitties came to live with me while he was in transition moving into a new apartment. I had three in my front bedroom, all set up with a large window and plenty of fresh air and I thought they would do fine.
Mostly, they hid under the bed, which took days for them to come out and visit. Finally, they ventured out. For about three days no one ate, not even the wet, and it was all gluten free thank goodness as I did not buy the best on purpose, just happened to turn out that way (before the recall began), but they did begin to eat the dry first and then the wet.
I love kitties and miss them but they were very happy to be back with my son and away from so many woofs woofs.
Linda MS
Comment by Linda — April 17, 2007 @ 12:43 pm
SFGate.com appears to be down … keep trying!
Comment by Christie Keith — April 17, 2007 @ 12:54 pm
I switched to Canidae/Felidae dry only because they have nothing to do with Menu and use American products. My 2 year old Dobe and 15 year old cat did fine, however 3 year old cat threw a tissy, only ate when no one was looking, begged, jumped on the table/counter, you name it. I just ignored it and after about 3 weeks she eats the Felidae fine. And because of everything that was going on, I switched cold-turkey. Under different circumstances I would have made the change over 10 days or so. One thing that I would suggest if the food you are going to does not have probiotics in it, then get some for the change-over. Canned pumpkin also works well for keeping dogs from getting upset.
Comment by Robin — April 17, 2007 @ 1:48 pm
Speaking of Finicky on the way back from the store I saw a billboard for a local restaurant that said.
Didn’t order antibiotics for lunch?
We understand
Comment by Steve — April 17, 2007 @ 2:19 pm
My experience is that while dogs will pretty much eat what you put in front of them, they often get ‘GI disturbances’ for the first few days…
Our cats, on the other hand, seem to be really enjoying the variety as we are trying new and more healthy foods. Every new flavor they like gets shop-vacced for about 3 or 4 cans before it becomes mundane, and they are not having GI problems.
Raw did not cut it - we got that ‘you have made a terrible mistake’ look, and they walked away… after waiting to see if we were making an April Fools joke…
While one should be on a Kidney diet, thanks to Menu Foods, this is not a favorite flavor and it is more important that she eat something for now, anything, just eat…
It is my hope to find enough foods from good sources that we can keep the apparent interest up by rotation of flavors… At least the variety should make up for any nutritional deficiencies from any one product over time…
Comment by steve a — April 17, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
Our ferrel cat that we named Crunchy, lived for years outdoors. We used to watch him patrol the fence line for rodents and other fresh kill. We actually thought he belonged to a nearby family, but two years ago when ice and snow covered the ground for weeks, he became dangerously thin. Clearly, by then no one was caring for him, so we set some food out for him so he wouldn’t suffer. When he was hungry, he wasn’t too picky. Bread, cheese, a bit of bacon, cereal, raw meat or whatever was around the house suited him just just fine.
Over the next days and weeks he became a daily visitor as he made his rounds. He was not keen on coming indoors, nor coming too close. It was fifteen degrees outside though and as he became more trusting, he soon spent some time indoors visiting us to warm up. He would stay only long enough to warm up and then he demanded to back go out where he felt more at home. He returned to warm up frequently as soon as he became chilled. He had a beautiful thick fur coat and an amazing spirt. Photo of our best friend:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2uhpyz7
When he was indoors, he showed signs of knowing all the workings of a house. Right off the bat, he used the litter box. Crunchy also explored every nook, but he knew not to jump up on counter tops even when he knew food was up there. He opened cabinet doors, explored the toilet even when he had fresh water and knew how door lever handles worked. We watched him jump up and operate levers to get closed doors open and frequently he was successful. He knew which side of a door was hinged and which edge he should pry on with his paws. I would think that not many ferrel cats know these things right away. It turns out he was not a ferrel cat at all, but an abused and discarded but very proud independent and confident gent.
Crunchy showed signs of abuse, because if someones foot was anywhere near him, he went on the attack. He could be quite viscious in attacking anyones foot that was not flat on the floor. Did I mention he has sharp teeth and claws? He was very hand shy. He allowed absolutely no hand touch except on his head where his teeth were nearby to defend. I think an animal shelter would have discarded this wonderful friend because of his behavioral issues.
Over time, we corrected his manners. We punished each episode of bad behavior with a firm “NO!” followed by setting him outside in the cold for fifteen minutes. He was a fast learner too. He could be on the attack with the other ferrel cat we sheltered at the time, and by yelling “NO!” he would immediately retreat. For some time, we had two enemy male ferrel cats kept apart in our house, because it was bitter cold outside during the most severe winter of recent years. We only had to tell Crunchy “go upstairs” and he knew he could go upstairs to stay out of trouble where he was safe. Greybear, the other ferrel cat, knew that upstairs was off-limits. Crunchy obediantly marched up the stairs when instructed, even if he was commanded during one of these confrontations with Greybear.
Crunchy showed a strong preference to eat hard cat food. He would eat the hard food and then an overwhelming sense of well being overcame him as he layed down in a lump and purred. He would flip into his kitten fantasy as he kneaded with his front paws. This stuff might as well have cocaine in it, to watch his reaction. After a while, no other food would do for him, even if hungry. He had some gum problems at first too. He worked out an assembly line process of putting a bit of his kibble in his water dish to soak just long enough to soften and then he would eat it.
After eating his dry food, later he would go out and hunt down fresh mice again. After all, a cat needs a balanced diet, and kibble was just desert, the equivalent of a side of fries. I think he knew what was best for him. We didn’t like it because it kept him struggling with ear mites and whatnot. But he was health then compared with now, despite the bugs that annoyed him.
We have been trying to switch him back to a “cat-food-free” diet because we don’t think a mono-diet of corn meal and “animal digest” is any safer than feeding your child big-macs, fries and cocoa puffs. AAFCO is like Ronald McDonald advising parents on matters of nutrition. I’ve been trying to change Crunchy back to a better diet for a year because I am concerned about feline diabetes. He became overweight in the pattern of fat distribution common to diabetics, so I was trying to switch him back to a better diet even before this toxic stuff was common news. So far Crunchy has shown opposition to the plan, though he would still go outside and hunt down fresh prey.
Crunchy became ill in August with FLUTD. He quickly recovered after IV fluid treatment, but he has deteriorated ever since. He’s lost interest in toys, grooming himself and whatnot. Previously, he was well kept, not a hair out of place, and he ran around the house attacking his toys like a young kitten. He would gallop around the house at 3AM with his toys. Now he mostly lays around. He was so particular in August, that if you pet him, he would go spend ten minutes grooming himself afterwards.
I’ve been reading about raw food cat diets, but I’ve not read anywhere how to switch the cat back to this safer food. Our vet is against it, explaining the “AAFCO nutritional guarantee of completeness” and difficulties meeting cat nutritional needs. I’m unsure what the MDR of melamine, aflatoxin and fungus is for a cat. When posed with the question “why did he do well on the obligate carnivore” diet that he hunted as a ferrel cat, there was no explanation. I don’t think corn meal and animal digest was out there along our fence line all those years.
I guess we could refuse to feed Crunchy until he got so hungry he will eat cardboard or better yet, fresh meat. But we want to be kind to our family member, while switching him from big mac attacks over to better and safer foods.
Maybe a few wives here can explain how they switched hubby from beer and pretzels over to fish and veggies. I think it’s the same problem, more or less. Do you stop buying beer and pretzels and hope for the best, or is there a more workable approach?
What are folks doing to get their pets accepting lower carbohydrate diets that suit cat’s physiology better?
Comment by Larry — April 17, 2007 @ 3:42 pm
Larry, the vet in my article feeds her cat a raw lower carb diet now, too … the steps she gives will work for any diet change!
Comment by Christie Keith — April 17, 2007 @ 3:46 pm
Larry - get her the South Beach diet cook books - worked to the tune of 50 lbs on my spouse! My current problem - my local vet’s do not support home cooking! I’ve just spent over $700 on full blood panels, urinalsyis, etc., to make sure 2 cats and a dog are - so far - OK. Feed Evo, Flint River Ranch & Kumpi - the best foods I could research, but feel my 2 obligate carnivors would benefit from a “home cooked” or raw diet. Any vets who support this in the Lincoln, Loomis, Roseville, Rocklin CA area? I’d sure like to hear from you!
Comment by Patricia Hill — April 17, 2007 @ 7:38 pm
kumpikat.com is the home of the kitty food
over 80% of the protein is meat
good stuff maynard, hope you visit ‘n see the pics :)
Comment by Evy — April 17, 2007 @ 11:13 pm
Larry
I have had some pretty good success with Evangers cat food. Nice protein, no grains in the canned. Put my cats on it as a “cold turkey” switch from the other junk. They picked at it for the first 2 days and now are eating with gusto. In trying a new canned variety you can also add some meat babyfood. The best is Beechnut brand Stage 1. Chicken and Broth, Turkey and Broth, Veal and Broth, Beef and Broth. I added a bit of the baby food to the Evangers and still sometimes do. I just don’t want to feed exclusive baby food because it lacks the taurine and the vitamins that the kittys need.
Am also planning on looking into kumpikat. That has gotten some good reviews!
Comment by Peg — April 17, 2007 @ 11:29 pm
Hi Larry,
I did alot of searching online about raw fed cats and found this site.
http://www.rawfedcats.org/naturesway.htm
I am currently working with my 10 1/2 year old cat to switch. She was disgusted at first but she is finally coming around. It just takes time and consistancy. Right now I am mixing raw meat in with a little of her canned food. It is good to get a variety of meats to see which your cat prefers the most. I just found that my cat really likes beef and she will eat that without having to mix it with her canned food. That web site above gives you steps on how to switch a finicky cat over. It has been most helpful. You just have to keep at it. My cat is soooooo finicky and always has been so I know if she can do it any cat can. I love your story about Crunchy! I hope Crunchy gets better.
Comment by Tammy — April 18, 2007 @ 12:18 am
There are some great tips for transitioning cats to new foods at
catinfo.org
and
catnutrition.org
Comment by Lynette — April 18, 2007 @ 11:47 am
I have never had a dog who wasn’t fussy. My lastest is a 9 month Coton de Tulear. He has been getting sick on everything -not the food that was recalled but food made by the company like Mighty dog. Now he is on Hills ID canned because of serious diarrhea and won’t eat it.
If i put tiny pieces of meat in he will eat the chicken actually and leave the rest. Iam so afraid that he will have problems later because this recall thing has made me move so much. He hated Canidae-Evo- Evangers-had to return them-thank G-d he didn’t lke the Iams moist-he had a taste just before he got sick.it looked like a pack of treats to him. He loved Advantage treats-would chew on a Milk bone-bunch of Del Monte etc.- but I just can’t see giving him those now . also have
Many of the foods are said to be too high in
protein for a little dog-what a mess.
I’m really fed up!!!
Carol
Comment by Carol — April 19, 2007 @ 12:44 am