Slow and steady is what “wins the race” when it comes to switching a cat’s diet over to healthier food. It’s tempting to get discouraged when you take the time and trouble to prepare or buy a better food for your beloved furry friend, only to face stares of feline indignation and seemingly stubborn refusal to eat the new food. Remember – if you’ve been feeding dry food, most of it is packed with artificial flavors and meat digests used to mask the flavor of the dry cereal that would otherwise not be palatable to a cat. It’s a BIG deal for many cats to accept the new texture and different flavor of a healthier food.
Don’t give up. Instead, bring your own patience into the picture – be willing to make the transition over a period of days, weeks, or even months, judiciously using whatever combination of trickery works: mixing the old food with the new and slowly shifting the ratio and/or using “bribery” sprinkles in the form of freeze-dried treats, ground up kibble, or small amounts of Purina Fortiflora.
