Switching Cats To Canned/kibble From Raw

[MonaLyssa33]

When I adopted my cats they were eating raw food. I am trying to get them to eat kibble and wet food now because I can't afford the raw food anymore and realistically it's not practical for me. I've tried two kibbles so far, Merrick Grain Free and Fussy Cat, and then also BFF canned food. They like the canned food, so I've also been mixing in the kibble to the wet food and now they won't eat it. Is there an easier way to get them to eat it? I have no more raw food for them and to be honest Remy was refusing to eat it anyway.

 

[duckpond]

The only dry i feed is Dr. Elseys, chicken.

If they like wet best maybe try some other wet foods? Go to your local pet food store and buy some of this and some of that, different brands, proteins, and textures. See what they might like.

I wouldn't mix wet and dry, i know some people do and it works. Mine never would eat the two mixed together. I feed two wet meals per day, and leave dr elseys out for them to eat when hungry.

i like these two links to review food.

http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

 

[Furballsmom]

How important to you is it that they eat kibble?
Are they willing to eat the unadulterated canned food? If you added some bonito flakes or some other topper?
Try feeding them in different locations from what you usually do, see if that gets them back on track with the wet food.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

How important to you is it that they eat kibble?
Are they willing to eat the unadulterated canned food? If you added some bonito flakes or some other topper?
Try feeding them in different locations from what you usually do, see if that gets them back on track with the wet food.

I want them to eat primarily kibble because it is less expensive and if/when I go on vacation it would be easier to not have to have to someone come by twice a day to feed them.

 

[Furballsmom]

I understand. If you're still having trouble getting them to eat, (either the wet or the dry) along with giving them their food in different locations, try bonito flakes on the kibble as well as the canned.

Just in case you haven't had a chance to read this short article;
How To Choose The Best Dry Cat Food?

Here is a list of tempting toppers you can use, either on top of wet food or mixed in, and also in addition such as with the liquids;

• Fortiflora, both for wet and dry foods
• Chicken or beef flavored baby food - make sure it doesn't contain any garlic or onions

• Tuna and/or the juice

• Salmon

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• kitten food - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then mix it in or put on top

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet

• mackeral

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat gravy poured over the food

• Pouch cat foods - these typically have more gravy

also Nutri Cal for when it is an urgent situation of the cat not eating

• goat milk, or low/no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (both yolk and white)
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind

 

[Azazel]

I understand if you aren’t able to afford more wet food, but I will just put it out there that wet food is much healthier for cats than kibble. I like to think of feeding wet food as a way of saving money in the long run on vet bills. There are ways to feed wet when on vacation without having a sitter come more than once a day. Also, you could do half wet, half dry and then just feed more dry while you’re on vacation. It’s also okay to feed raw food along with kibble and canned food so you don’t have to completely give up raw if you don’t want to.

 

[Furballsmom]

Also, you could do half wet, half dry and then just feed more dry while you’re on vacation

This is a really good point as well

 

[duckpond]

I want them to eat primarily kibble because it is less expensive and if/when I go on vacation it would be easier to not have to have to someone come by twice a day to feed them.

as others said wet food is good for cats, i feed wet and dry. so i would keep feeding what wet you can, separate form the dry, don't mix it in.

That being said cats are not usually as fussy about dry as they are wet, but they can be. My cats are also fussy about their dry food. They do not really care for either one you mentioned. Right now my guys are eating Dr. Elseys dry, chicken. I would suggest keep trying different dry foods until you find one you, and they like. It may not be a "better" dry food, but most cats love Purina dry, and do quite well on it. Purina has a lot of dry foods to try, their beyond range, the pro plan range, the Purina one, and their cat chow foods. the only one in the cat chow that i am a fan of is the naturals original, not the indoor, just the original. Some of their foods are definitely worth a try in my opinion.

For wet try the fancy feast, i only like the classics and the grilled flavors. Most cats like these and they are a good price range. A good staple wet.

another one to think about is Taste of the wild, their new prey formula as went over well with all the cats i have given it to. I feed a lot of cats...lol.. mine and others.

Good luck finding one you both like

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - just in case this helps, here, in post #15 of this thread there is a link to a database a member has created and is maintaining. I don't know where this person is located versus where you are, but hopefully there is some info that proves useful for you.

Calculating Calorie Needs For An Overweight Cat

 

[Frankophile Feline Fan]

If the OP is open to more suggestions, I feed Colette 50/50 frozen raw Primal and Nature's Variety Raw Instinct cups. The main reason is that it's more palatable for her. She loves the meaty bits & gravy more than pate style and bricks. But the added benefit is the Nature's Variety cups brings down the cost of feeding her. The best price I have so far is from Chewy.com: $1.50/3.5 oz. cup if you buy it by the case & subscribe to regular shipments. Frozen raw Primal is about $22/3-lb bag for turkey flavor at my local pet boutique. And I take advantage of frequent shopper clubs & sales whenever possible. I'm counting on Colette's diet to benefit her and prevent problems down the road. Lastly, I'd like to point out that the Nature's Variety Raw Instinct cups and cans are closely matched to Nature's Variety Raw Instinct frozen formulas. Of course there's a difference between raw and cooked canned food and I'd rather they didn't add peas to the formula, but the wholesomeness is there.

P.S. - Personally, I'd avoid buying pet food from Amazon.com. I believe there are supplying issues, incidences of product piracy, and spoilage. Otherwise, they are a great company.

STAY AWAY from mypetspride.com. From what I gather the company legitimately shipped frozen raw pet food at very reasonable prices until the original owner passed on. Then the company fell to corrupt business practices of maintaining a website, collecting money, and never shipping product. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!! I almost fell for it until my efforts to contact the company with questions were met with futility & I did some investigating.

 

[Ladewyn]

I feed a half wet half dry. The kibble I use is really calorie and protein dense, so he doesn't need a lot, but he also really enjoys it (Petcurean Go! Fit+Free). I then give him some wet every day at about 50% his calorie needs, although it's just a cheap wet food (whiskas, not ideal, but he's picky about wet, and that's what he'll eat). With a cheap wet food and an high quality kibble I figure it gets him the moisture he needs and a good protein balance. Of course it's not a perfect science and you kind of just gotta work with what you cat will eat. If you're really keen on kibble, definitely keep trying different kibble, you can often find super tiny packages for pretty cheap to try it before committing (I know that Petcurean sells them), and a lot of pet food stores will allow returns just because the animals didn't like it.