Can Change In Food Trigger Cat Hostility?

[Drdr88]

I've had my 1 year old cat for about three weeks and have been giving it the same dry cat food the SPCA was giving it before I got him. I found a sweet deal on cat food at a local pet store and I'm beginning to transition him to the new food by going 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and eventually full change over. Can a change in food, even with the proper food transition, trigger cat hostility? He's been meowing, hissing, and swatting at my feet more than usual lately, and I can can safely say it's after I've given him the new mixture of old and new food.

What my question boils down to is: changes in cat food can trigger digestive/health-related issues, but can it also cause behavioral/emotional issues for the cat?

Thanks, everyone.

 

[maggiedemi]

What brand was he on before at the SPCA? What brand is he on now? Is he getting any canned food at all?

 

[jcat]

A change in food can definitely cause "hissy fits" in some cats. We see it at the shelter, with a few cats swatting at us or hissing because they didn't get what they liked or wanted that day. The vast majority don't do that, but there's always somebody who thinks you should be able to read her mind and serve up what she's currently in the mood for.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

It sounds like you are transitioning from a dry food to a dry food. Do you know the caloric differences between the two brands, and how many calories per day you are feeding him? Being just a 1 yr old cat, he is still young and needs more calories per day than a full adult. (Many people feel that kittens don't transition out of kittenhood until approximately the two year mark, and hence, feed cats this age several times a day still... until after 18 mos or so.) I've found that being hungry can trigger cat hostility, meowing, swatting, attention-getting behaviors. I am not a proponent of free-feeding, but maybe at least while you are transitioning, you might consider doing that, so he eats till he feels full.