• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Cats
    • Cat Behavior Problems
    • Cat Health
    • Cat Nutrition
    • Cat Training
  • Dogs
    • Heat Cycle Info
    • Dog Behavior
    • Dog Health
  • Fish
  • Did You Know?
PET-happy logo

pet-happy.com

Tips to Improve Your Pet's Behavior, Health, and Life...

You are here: Home / Cats / Cat Nutrition / How to switch cat food to a new type or brand

How to switch cat food to a new type or brand

March 31, 2020; By Maris Munkevics, Signe Munkevica

One of the most common problems, when we suggest that people switch their cat to wet food, is that their cats don’t like it. Cats who have been eating dry food their whole life may be like: “Are you serious? What is that? Bring back my kibbles!”

Many cats are very loyal to their current food brand and will not even look at anything else.

Are you sure it's edible. Switching cat food meme

Familiar? This may be beneficial if it prevents your cat from jumping on kitchen counters or stealing your food. However, it may also turn out problematic if you need to switch cat food. In this article, you will learn how to switch cat food even if the cat thinks you are providing something inedible.

There are many situations you may need to switch, even if you think you will never do so. As cats age, their dietary requirements change, not to mention if they are diagnosed with a health problem that requires a prescribed diet. What happens if a manufacturer goes out of the market or you suddenly realize that your previous choice is not that good?

Regardless of the reason for switching to new cat food, you’ll need to know how to do it properly.

  1. Do not starve your cat!
  2. Start with a small amount of new food mixed with the old food.
  3. Increase the amount of new food and decrease the amount of old food each day. After at least 14 days, provide only the new food. Take longer if your cat is not accepting the change well.

Now, let’s talk about each step.

#1 Don’t starve the cat!

A common suggestion is to leave the food and not worry about it. “The cat will eat when he’s hungry enough,” they say. But it isn’t the best approach.

If your cat does not eat the new food, switch back to the old one immediately. There are two main reasons for this:

  1. If your cat does not recognize the new food as edible, she may not do so no matter how hungry she is.
  2. More importantly, if your cat goes without eating, she may develop a medical condition called hepatic lipidosis.

What is hepatic lipidosis and how does it affect cats

Hepatic lipidosis, also known as fatty liver, refers to the accumulation of fats in the liver of an animal.

Untreated hepatic lipidosis has a mortality rate of 90%, but if aggressive and timely treatment is applied, this rate sinks to 60%.

Meme - Cat not eating new food
Cat not eating the new food? Switch to the previous one immediately! Photo: quickmeme.com

When a body begins to starve, it reaches for energy that is stored as fats. Unlike many other animals, cats’ bodies are not used to a rapid increase in fat breakdown, and their liver is not able to process fats in such a great volume. In turn, the fat accumulates in the liver, which can cause the organ to fail.

The most common symptoms of hepatic lipidosis in cats are as follows: yellow gums, rapid muscle mass and weight loss, anorexia, and vomiting.

Hepatic lipidosis is likely to develop after only two days of starving. If you need more information, you can find more about hepatic lipidosis here. The main thing to take away: don’t let your cat starve!

#2 Start with a small amount of new food mixed with the old food.

Next, you need to trick your cat into eating the new food. To do this, serve the old food with a tiny amount of new food hidden inside.

How much new food should you mix in? Short answer: as little as necessary. Some books suggest to add 25%, but we say that this is the maximum. There’s a simple reason for this: if you add too much, your cat may not eat it. If this happens, try less of the new food.

When we transitioned our two newly adopted adult cats, we actually started with a teeny tiny speck (smaller than a rice grain) of the wet food on top of their old dry food. Anything more, and they didn’t touch the bowl at all.

#3 Gradually increase the proportion of the new food in the serving.

After you have found the old/new food mixture that your cat is willing to consume, you can start increasing the amount of the new food each day.

This transition is normally carried out over 10 to 14 days.

Why is gradual food introduction important? Even if your cat eats well, this pattern will help to avoid gastrointestinal upset.

Gastrointestinal upset? What is that?

Cat vomiting because of new food. meme
Is your cat vomiting because of new food? This does not mean the new food is bad. Photo: quickmeme.com

In general, gastrointestinal upset refers to any condition in which an animal’s gastrointestinal system does not work properly. In this case, we are referring to a condition where your cat’s gut flora is unable to process the new food.

Gut flora is bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal system of an animal (whether cat, dog, human, or reindeer). You’ve probably seen tv commercials about good and bad bacteria, right? We’re talking about the good folks here, the flora that can help our cats digest food.

Gut flora normally consists of up to a thousand different species, each of them with different characteristics and capabilities in terms of breaking down nutrients. Let’s simplify this for clarity.

If your cat eats the same food over months and years, your cat’s gut bacteria become narrowly specialized. Bacteria species that digest these particular nutrients thrive, whereas others, that may also be beneficial, starve and die off.

As you introduce a new food, it may contain ingredients that your cat’s gut lacks bacteria for digestion. If you do it slowly, your cat’s gut will have the time necessary to adjust.

The most common symptoms of gastrointestinal upset are vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and lethargy. If you notice such symptoms upon switching food, it does not mean your cat is allergic to the new food. It means that you are rushing too quickly.

Upon saying that, of course, there might be situations when gradual change is not possible. Well, it that case, of course, you have no choice but to introduce new food abruptly. In that case, though, keep a close eye on your cat’s well-being.

In the future, however, it is a good idea to alternate your cat’s food type periodically. If you do so, changing your cat’s food will not require a long, gradual switch, as mentioned above.

We wrote more topics like this one. Please click below.

  • How to Choose Cat Accessories For Your New Cat
    How to Choose Cat Accessories For Your New Cat
  • How to Feed Your Cat
    How to Feed Your Cat
  • How to introduce a new cat to your existing cats
    How to introduce a new cat to your existing cats
  • Top reasons why your cat is not eating
    Top reasons why your cat is not eating

August 18, 2020

About us

This site is lovingly written by:
Signe Munkevica, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
Maris Munkevics, Animal Biologist and Animal Behaviorist.

Primary Sidebar

Recent articles:

How To Get Cats To Stop Eating Plants: 4 Ways

Can cats eat raw fish?

Top 10 Causes For An Excessive Chewing Dog

  • How to Get a Cat into a Carrier Voluntarily
  • How to stop your cat from biting when playing
  • How to stop a cat from scratching bedroom door at night
  • Why is my cat peeing on my stuff?
  • 7 ways to keep your cat’s teeth clean without brushing

Dog Behavior

Female french bulldog looking at you with her head tilted

Can a female dog get pregnant while bleeding?

  • Can a female dog get pregnant while bleeding?
  • What to do when your dog is in heat?
  • Do Male Dogs Go In Heat?

Fish

20 Gallon Fish Tank

Best 20 Gallon Aquarium

  • Step by step guide to set up a fish tank
  • How much light does an aquarium need
  • Reasons for white cloudy water in aquariums and possible solutions

Newest Articles

How To Get Cats To Stop Eating Plants: 4 Ways

May 19, 2022 By Maris Munkevics, Signe Munkevica

This spring, we decided to grow lettuce and dill in our windowsill. What a good intention. We could have fresh salad and herbs to make healthy meals. We planted the seeds with our kids help and we all were excited about the prospects. We were even … Continue here » about How To Get Cats To Stop Eating Plants: 4 Ways

Can cats eat raw fish?

May 13, 2022 By Maris Munkevics, Signe Munkevica

There are many myths surrounding the field about your cats diet. The most common ones are things like: Your cat can receive balanced nutrition only from commercial cat food.Meat-by products are evil. We wrote a whole article about this one.Cats … Continue here » about Can cats eat raw fish?

Top 10 Causes For An Excessive Chewing Dog

May 6, 2022 By Maris Munkevics, Signe Munkevica

Is your dog chewing you out of house and home? Of course we know that dogs chew a lot when they are puppies. While most dogs outgrow this habit, some may still continue with this activity and keep chewing on things after they grow up. Sometimes, a … Continue here » about Top 10 Causes For An Excessive Chewing Dog

How to Get a Cat into a Carrier Voluntarily

April 29, 2022 By Maris Munkevics, Signe Munkevica

Getting an unwilling cat into a cat carrier can be a hard task. Almost every cat owner will confirm this. But what about your cat going in to their carrier of their own free will? Many of you are probably shaking your head no and say that it is not … Continue here » about How to Get a Cat into a Carrier Voluntarily

How to stop your cat from biting when playing

April 22, 2022 By Maris Munkevics, Signe Munkevica

Does your cat act aggressively and even bites you as you play with them? Why do cats bite when they play? It's common for kittens and young cats bite when playing, but if you do not stop the behavior early, it may continue into adulthood. At that … Continue here » about How to stop your cat from biting when playing

Footer

About us

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Privacy policy
  • About Us
  • Contact us

Search

Affiliate Disclosure:

The following are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  This is used for keeping the blog up and running smoothly. Please know this does not change the price you see on Amazon. Thank you for your help and support of Pet-happy.com!

© 2022 PET-Happy.com
DMCA.com Protection Status