Cats are known to be selective and picky eaters. All you need to do is offer your feline fur baby a new brand of cat food to witness their eating tantrums. The reason for this lies in their nature. Cats remember the aroma, flavor, texture, and even temperature of the food they are used to eating regularly. So, they have a map in their minds they refer to before gulping the contents of the food dish.
When you offer something new, your furball’s brain tells them it is something strange, suspicious, and not the food as it knows. In a case like this, your furball can simply refuse to eat because they don’t recognize it. Should this happen, you know there is definitely a problem. Getting your fur baby to transition to a different diet, like raw food, can be challenging.
Also, as a responsible cat owner, you must not ignore your cat’s drastic appetite and weight changes. Eating very little can put your cat in a scary health situation, just like when it denies meals. In such a case, the first thing you must do is contact your vet for advice. If you have cat insurance NZ, you don’t need to worry much about the additional expenses that come with unexpected vet visits.
Else, consider purchasing cheap cat insurance in the least so your furball has medical cover and you don’t have to take undue financial stress during unanticipated vet visits and emergencies. Meanwhile, learn how to transition your choosy cat to a raw food diet in four simple steps.
First and foremost, be patient with your cat if you want to transition it to a raw food diet. Remember that a fur baby needs time and motivation to develop a taste for raw food items. Some cats can quickly switch to raw, and others do it a bit slower, depending on their personality. So, taking baby steps is the only way to go, as is discussing it first with your vet.
#1
If your furball is used to free feeding, you must first help it adapt to eating at scheduled mealtimes. Free-feeding raw food is not the best idea, which is why establishing a routine is essential.
Decide on the time, place, quantity, and duration of feeding. This way, your cat’s biological clock will raise hunger alarms on time. Your cat will be hungry and would want to eat whatever is in the food dish when mealtime strikes. So, even if it is something new, your hungry fur baby will more likely eat it to satiate the food needs.
#2
If your furball is used to eating only dry food, you must work on helping it eat wet food before transitioning to raw food. Start by substituting 25% dry food with canned food and gradually increase the canned food portion to 50%, 75%, and 100%. However, some cats are fussy, and if your cat is one, don’t force it to eat wet food or allow it to starve by offering wet food only. Play along with your cat’s preferences and make only minor adjustments until the fur baby accepts a new food.
#3
Introduce small bite-sized raw chunks into the diet by adding them to your feline’s wet food. Start by adding a few raw chunks and gradually increase the number once your cat accepts the boneless muscle meat and licks the gravy off.
#4
Suppose your cat is comfortable eating the raw chunks mixed in the wet food; this is the right time to reduce the wet food portion and increase the raw food portion until your furball is ok to eat entirely raw food. Try feeding your cat chicken, turkey, buffalo, or pork meat chunks in the beginning.
Remember that feeding your cat raw food items can be risky if you aren’t aware about handling and storing them. Plus, you can’t rule out the bacteria risks either. Now, you don’t want to accidentally make your cat sick, right?
You should consider being prepared with cat insurance in NZ to tackle health emergencies like gastrointestinal issues that may occur due to food transition, food allergies, infections, and more. Cheap cat insurance helps provide your furball with quality medical care with little financial hassle during unplanned vet visits. So, why not contemplate buying a policy now?
