My cats were free-fed kibble from 2002 through 2010. We transitioned to canned in late 2010/early 2011. We additionally transitioned to raw in early 2012. But for us, the transition from free-feeding to timed meals was the most difficult transition.
This is a collection of the methods used by myself and other members of TCS that - had I known all of these things - our transition would have likely gone more smoothly and with less stress.
The issue with free-fed kibble kitties is that they do not understand the concept of "meals," and simply transitioning to timed meals can be as (if not more) difficult than the transition in food types.
Long-time free-fed kibble eaters are usually nibblers. Many cats are also addicted to kibble, because of the fats sprayed onto the kibble. If it were not for these "palatability enhancers," most cats would easily transition from kibble to canned, raw, or homemade food. A large part of the problem in the transition to a new food is not only the change in texture, but the relative lack of smell of the new food when compared to the kibble the kitties have been eating.
The Importance of Eating Enough Food During the Transition. Remember: if kitties have access to kibble 24/7, they have little motivation to switch to a new food. But the transition to timed meals must be done slowly and with care, because you need to get them eating enough food at meals. Starving cats into eating doesn't work and is dangerous, especially in overweight kitties. Cats are not metabolically designed to use fat stores, and their livers easily get overwhelmed with fat, causing a disease called Hepatic Lipidosis, also known as Fatty Liver. The way to avoid this is to ensure your cat is eating enough calories during any transition. This is essential. THAT they eat is more important than WHAT they eat until they are reliably eating enough food at timed meals.
According to Dr. Lisa Pierson (http://www.CatInfo.org) in her article, “Transitioning Feline Dry Food Addicts to Canned Food,” (http://www.catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf)
The Role of Hunger in a Transition. While cats are also metabolically designed to eat many small meals a day (think hunting mice or other small mammals), their GI systems perform best when they have periods when they are hungry. According to the Nutrition Research Council's Nutrient Requirement of Dogs and Cats, (2006) (on which the AAFCO nutrient guidelines are based) p. 8 in the section “Gastric Emptying,”
How Many Meals is Ideal? Domestic cats relying on their hunting skills in the wild typically eat 8 to 12 very small meals a day. But this isn’t usually practical for our human schedules.
Combining our schedules with their needs, most cats do best with three meals a day.
Meals for our cats do not need to be evenly spaced. Many find that before work, after work, and before bed works well, whatever that schedule is. That said, during the transition, because our free-fed kibble kitties are used to nibbling, you may need to feed (quite a few) more meals daily. In fact, you should plan to schedule in as many meals as you can comfortably feed. Over time, you can slowly increase the amount of food fed at the meals you plan to keep in the schedule, and drop one meal at a time.
In your transition to timed meals, if you find that kitty vomits bile between meals once you’ve pulled the kibble, this means you do need to feed more frequently. Their bodies will adjust with time. And the additional food need not be a meal: a small treat of freeze dried meat or liver may be all they need to tide them over to meal time. When we first transitioned, I found I needed to give my cats a small treat as soon as we got home in the late afternoon to tide them over until their meal about half an hour later.
An important note on the timing of meals: unless you never want to be able to sleep in again, do NOT provide the first meal of the day as soon as you get out of bed. For us, my cats’ first night on 100% raw food was the first time I slept through until the alarm rang in the morning. Raw is more satisfying than kibble or canned. But in our transition to canned food, I responded to my apparently desperately-starving ( ) kitties. I would stumble out of bed when Sheldon was meowing at me, Flowerbelle was pulling my hair or ripping at my t-shirt, and Lazlo was stomping on me. The first thing I did was put out their morning meal. BIG MISTAKE. I don’t care what you do, but do “stuff” before you feed them. If you need to put a treat down to absorb the built-up stomach acid at first (to prevent them throwing up bile), I still recommend doing SOMETHING before you put that treat down. Then do more stuff until it is meal time.
How To Begin. I want to get my kitties eating a healthier diet, and I’m ready to go! What’s next?
The transition options:
1) Using the current food (kibble) and transitioning first to timed meals
2) Adding timed meals of raw or canned while leaving the kibble out or out part-time
How to proceed depends on
- how you want to transition
- whether or not your cat will eat meals in addition to having the free-fed kibble left out initially (whether they like the new food or do not like the new food)
- your schedule
The Key to a Successful Transition: The Concept of Meals
Obviously critical to a successful transition to timed meals is getting those nibblers to eat enough food AT meals. So establishing the concept of “meal time” is the most important component. To do this,
- Establish a routine for the TIMING of meals. Determine when and how often you can feed meals. Feed those meals as close to the same time every day as possible. If you are usually home during the day, if you can feed 8 or 10 small meals over the course of a day (at first), you’ll be able to pull that free-fed kibble sooner. If you work, you may need to leave the kibble out (or out part time) at first to ensure your cat is eating enough calories daily.
- Designate a specific AREA where meals are fed. This is part of the routine: an established place for eating meals. This should be someplace that is as different as possible from where their free-fed kibble is or was – but a place where you want them eating. A different part of the kitchen (or whatever) is fine. DO NOT CHASE AFTER YOUR CAT TO GET THEM TO EAT. Meal time is at THIS time, in THIS place.
- Designate a “call” that signals to your cat that it IS meal time. We first introduced one meal of canned food at dinner time. I called out “DINNER!” So now, for us, each of their meals, no matter when fed, is “DINNER!” :lol3: Pick a word, phrase or sound, and get your cats associating that word, phrase or sound with coming to eat.
- Determine how much food your cat(s) will eat at one sitting. Put whatever you’re going to feed them down for 10 to 15 minutes – or just pull it up after they eat some and leave. How much did they eat? 10 pieces of kibble? Half an ounce of canned food? A quarter of a can of food? One quarter ounce of raw or homemade? Whatever you’re using, and whatever that amount is, for subsequent meals, put out that amount of food. Do not expect them to eat more than that at “meal time” at first.
It is how much food your kitties will consume at those designated meal times that determines how often you need to feed them and when you can pull the free-fed kibble. Pulling the free-fed kibble can be done in stages, if necessary.
My Cat Does Not Like the New Food
If your cat does not like the canned, raw, or homemade food, then you need to use the kibble to transition to timed meals before proceeding with the new food introduction. You will use their love of kibble to transition them to the new food. Until they’re eating some timed meals, you have no way to introduce the new food using the kibble.
First step: pull the kibble.
If you are able to feed many small meals a day, this is your best option (pulling the free-fed kibble entirely). Determine the amount of kibble they should be eating daily, and divide it into as many meals as you can comfortably feed daily. They may meow and beg for food. Steel yourself. If you can’t take it, go out for a walk. Have a bath. Vacuum.
If you get no peace while you need to sleep, you may need to put kibble down during just that period at first. Please see below.
If they do not consume all the kibble at each meal, you need to determine if they are consuming enough calories as discussed by Dr. Pierson in the quote above. If they’re eating enough food to prevent fatty liver disease from developing, then proceed.
If you can only offer them timed meals infrequently, and the amount of food they are *supposed* to eat at each meal is more than they will consume (and they’re not eating enough calories to prevent fatty liver), then start putting out measured amounts of kibble overnight. Pull it in the morning. Without any hunger incentive, your cats have no motivation to transition.
I know, in multi-cat households you’re left wondering whether or not your piggy is eating all the food. But the hunger of the cats that don’t get their portion will work for you at meal times. Determine the amount of kibble your cat(s) should be eating according to the instructions on the bag. Subtract one-quarter of that amount for two reasons: 1) the instructions usually call for more food than our cats need; 2) you want at least reasonably hungry kitties. Then take that amount of kibble, and divide that in half: put out that half before you go to bed and pull it when you get up. If there is kibble left in the dish(es) in the morning, leave out less kibble overnight.
Slowly offer more food at each meal – particularly at the meal times you ultimately want to keep. As they eat more, reduce the amount of kibble left to free-feed overnight. When there is no kibble left out for them to free-feed, then you can reduce the number of meals. Slowly increase the amount of food offered at the meal times you want to keep, and drop one of the additional meals. Do this slowly, don’t drop one of the “extra” meals each day. Go at your cat’s pace.
Some cats will transition to timed meals within a few weeks. Some cats may take a few months (or more). The time required is usually related to age. Do not push kitty because you are frustrated. The last thing you need is a stressed, confused cat.
When kitty is eating timed meals at least during the day, you can start the introduction to the new food. You can either put a small amount of the new food under the kibble or next to the kibble. Don’t worry if they don’t eat the new food. The point is just to get them associating the new food AS food. Let them eat the kibble around it, and just get used to the presence of the new food.
If kitty walks away from the dish without eating any kibble because of the presence of the new food, reduce the amount of new food in there. You may have to take it down to an amount that looks like a pea. You may have to crush kibble and coat that pea-sized dollop heavily with crushed kibble. Or use a favorite treat: crush it, powder it, drizzle it over the little bit of new food in the dish to distinguish it from the kibble, but to disguise the smell of the new food. Don’t worry if kitty won’t taste it, so long as they’re eating the kibble in the dish.
Keep at it. A TCS kitty took over a month to even lick at that powdered favorite treat (freeze dried chicken breast) over the extremely small dollop of new food. Once she did, she licked more and more of the powdered treat – sometimes getting a bit of the new food in her mouth. Then she started eating the dollop under the treat. When kitty is eating that wee bit of food under the treat topping, you can increase the amount of new food – use the topping (or rotate toppings) – and reduce the amount of kibble. At some point, you’ll be able to reduce the amount of topping and eliminate the kibble.
Patience wins out. This is not a race!
My Cat Likes the New Food
If your cat likes the new food, but doesn’t eat enough at “meal time” because kitty is used to nibbling, you have two options:
Divide the food into more frequent, smaller meals. If this doesn’t work with your schedule, you can put down a measured amount of kibble overnight (see above) and pull the kibble during the day (or however your schedule works). The point is to leave food out to free feed half the day and feed meals the other half. Roughly.
. Feed as many meals as you can. Determine how much of the new food your cat will eat at one sitting. Put out that amount of food at meal time. Slowly increase the amount of food offered; as kitty eats more of the new food, reduce the amount of kibble left out to free feed at night.
Again, if you’re feeding more meals than you ultimately want to have in the schedule, once there is no more free-fed kibble left out, start increasing the amount of food fed at the meals you want to keep, and slowly drop the “extra” meals one by one.
Helpful Hints
Praise helps. Praise kitty for eating at meal time. :rub:
Make meal times exciting. Have a quick play session before a meal (when possible) or after a meal – however it works for you, kitty, and your schedule.
Incentivize them to eat meals. Stop feeding treats between meals (other than to absorb bile as necessary), and sprinkle bits of treat (toppers) on the meals. Or feed the treat when they’ve eaten the meal.
Compared to kibble, the new food may not have as much smell (to kitty). With canned food, heating it up may be helpful. You can either use the microwave for a few seconds; mix a little bit of warm water into the food if they like gravy; or put the food in a baggie and warm it up in a bowl of warm water prior to serving.
For those transitioning to raw or homemade, your kitty may be sensitive to the temperature. Some prefer it cold; others prefer it room temperature or warm. Experiment!
“Toppers”
Obviously the point of a transition is to get kitty eating a healthier diet. So it’s a good idea to try to find a healthy topper your cat prefers to the kibble, Whiskas or Temptations treats (or whatever) you’ve been using/giving. Many cats love:
Freeze dried chicken
Freeze dried liver (chicken, beef, lamb are the most common)
Bonito flakes
Freeze dried salmon
Freeze dried shrimp
Tuna water
…And though not the healthiest option, the probiotic Flortiflora by Purina is made primarily of animal digest: the very stuff that is sprayed on kibble to make it so yummy to a cat. Fortiflora can make a great topper for a kibble-addicted kitty. It’s easy to use without using much by tearing a corner off and “fluffing” it over the food. This process may need to be repeated during the new food meal.
This is a collection of the methods used by myself and other members of TCS that - had I known all of these things - our transition would have likely gone more smoothly and with less stress.
The issue with free-fed kibble kitties is that they do not understand the concept of "meals," and simply transitioning to timed meals can be as (if not more) difficult than the transition in food types.
Long-time free-fed kibble eaters are usually nibblers. Many cats are also addicted to kibble, because of the fats sprayed onto the kibble. If it were not for these "palatability enhancers," most cats would easily transition from kibble to canned, raw, or homemade food. A large part of the problem in the transition to a new food is not only the change in texture, but the relative lack of smell of the new food when compared to the kibble the kitties have been eating.
The Importance of Eating Enough Food During the Transition. Remember: if kitties have access to kibble 24/7, they have little motivation to switch to a new food. But the transition to timed meals must be done slowly and with care, because you need to get them eating enough food at meals. Starving cats into eating doesn't work and is dangerous, especially in overweight kitties. Cats are not metabolically designed to use fat stores, and their livers easily get overwhelmed with fat, causing a disease called Hepatic Lipidosis, also known as Fatty Liver. The way to avoid this is to ensure your cat is eating enough calories during any transition. This is essential. THAT they eat is more important than WHAT they eat until they are reliably eating enough food at timed meals.
According to Dr. Lisa Pierson (http://www.CatInfo.org) in her article, “Transitioning Feline Dry Food Addicts to Canned Food,” (http://www.catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf)
The Role of Hunger in a Transition. While cats are also metabolically designed to eat many small meals a day (think hunting mice or other small mammals), their GI systems perform best when they have periods when they are hungry. According to the Nutrition Research Council's Nutrient Requirement of Dogs and Cats, (2006) (on which the AAFCO nutrient guidelines are based) p. 8 in the section “Gastric Emptying,”
So to pass ingested hair, kitties need those hunger pangs. This isn’t to say that all free-fed kibble kitties have problems with hairballs, nor does a switch to timed meals resolve hairball problems in all cats. This is only to assuage worried parent concerns about kitty being hungry. Those hunger pangs are good for them. :rub:
How Many Meals is Ideal? Domestic cats relying on their hunting skills in the wild typically eat 8 to 12 very small meals a day. But this isn’t usually practical for our human schedules.
Combining our schedules with their needs, most cats do best with three meals a day. Meals for our cats do not need to be evenly spaced. Many find that before work, after work, and before bed works well, whatever that schedule is. That said, during the transition, because our free-fed kibble kitties are used to nibbling, you may need to feed (quite a few) more meals daily. In fact, you should plan to schedule in as many meals as you can comfortably feed. Over time, you can slowly increase the amount of food fed at the meals you plan to keep in the schedule, and drop one meal at a time.
In your transition to timed meals, if you find that kitty vomits bile between meals once you’ve pulled the kibble, this means you do need to feed more frequently. Their bodies will adjust with time. And the additional food need not be a meal: a small treat of freeze dried meat or liver may be all they need to tide them over to meal time. When we first transitioned, I found I needed to give my cats a small treat as soon as we got home in the late afternoon to tide them over until their meal about half an hour later.
An important note on the timing of meals: unless you never want to be able to sleep in again, do NOT provide the first meal of the day as soon as you get out of bed. For us, my cats’ first night on 100% raw food was the first time I slept through until the alarm rang in the morning. Raw is more satisfying than kibble or canned. But in our transition to canned food, I responded to my apparently desperately-starving (
) kitties. I would stumble out of bed when Sheldon was meowing at me, Flowerbelle was pulling my hair or ripping at my t-shirt, and Lazlo was stomping on me. The first thing I did was put out their morning meal. BIG MISTAKE. I don’t care what you do, but do “stuff” before you feed them. If you need to put a treat down to absorb the built-up stomach acid at first (to prevent them throwing up bile), I still recommend doing SOMETHING before you put that treat down. Then do more stuff until it is meal time. How To Begin. I want to get my kitties eating a healthier diet, and I’m ready to go! What’s next?
The transition options:
1) Using the current food (kibble) and transitioning first to timed meals
2) Adding timed meals of raw or canned while leaving the kibble out or out part-time
How to proceed depends on
- how you want to transition
- whether or not your cat will eat meals in addition to having the free-fed kibble left out initially (whether they like the new food or do not like the new food)
- your schedule
The Key to a Successful Transition: The Concept of Meals
Obviously critical to a successful transition to timed meals is getting those nibblers to eat enough food AT meals. So establishing the concept of “meal time” is the most important component. To do this,
- Establish a routine for the TIMING of meals. Determine when and how often you can feed meals. Feed those meals as close to the same time every day as possible. If you are usually home during the day, if you can feed 8 or 10 small meals over the course of a day (at first), you’ll be able to pull that free-fed kibble sooner. If you work, you may need to leave the kibble out (or out part time) at first to ensure your cat is eating enough calories daily.
- Designate a specific AREA where meals are fed. This is part of the routine: an established place for eating meals. This should be someplace that is as different as possible from where their free-fed kibble is or was – but a place where you want them eating. A different part of the kitchen (or whatever) is fine. DO NOT CHASE AFTER YOUR CAT TO GET THEM TO EAT. Meal time is at THIS time, in THIS place.
- Designate a “call” that signals to your cat that it IS meal time. We first introduced one meal of canned food at dinner time. I called out “DINNER!” So now, for us, each of their meals, no matter when fed, is “DINNER!” :lol3: Pick a word, phrase or sound, and get your cats associating that word, phrase or sound with coming to eat.
- Determine how much food your cat(s) will eat at one sitting. Put whatever you’re going to feed them down for 10 to 15 minutes – or just pull it up after they eat some and leave. How much did they eat? 10 pieces of kibble? Half an ounce of canned food? A quarter of a can of food? One quarter ounce of raw or homemade? Whatever you’re using, and whatever that amount is, for subsequent meals, put out that amount of food. Do not expect them to eat more than that at “meal time” at first.
It is how much food your kitties will consume at those designated meal times that determines how often you need to feed them and when you can pull the free-fed kibble. Pulling the free-fed kibble can be done in stages, if necessary.
My Cat Does Not Like the New Food
If your cat does not like the canned, raw, or homemade food, then you need to use the kibble to transition to timed meals before proceeding with the new food introduction. You will use their love of kibble to transition them to the new food. Until they’re eating some timed meals, you have no way to introduce the new food using the kibble.
First step: pull the kibble.
If you are able to feed many small meals a day, this is your best option (pulling the free-fed kibble entirely). Determine the amount of kibble they should be eating daily, and divide it into as many meals as you can comfortably feed daily. They may meow and beg for food. Steel yourself. If you can’t take it, go out for a walk. Have a bath. Vacuum.
If you get no peace while you need to sleep, you may need to put kibble down during just that period at first. Please see below.
If they do not consume all the kibble at each meal, you need to determine if they are consuming enough calories as discussed by Dr. Pierson in the quote above. If they’re eating enough food to prevent fatty liver disease from developing, then proceed.
If you can only offer them timed meals infrequently, and the amount of food they are *supposed* to eat at each meal is more than they will consume (and they’re not eating enough calories to prevent fatty liver), then start putting out measured amounts of kibble overnight. Pull it in the morning. Without any hunger incentive, your cats have no motivation to transition.
I know, in multi-cat households you’re left wondering whether or not your piggy is eating all the food. But the hunger of the cats that don’t get their portion will work for you at meal times. Determine the amount of kibble your cat(s) should be eating according to the instructions on the bag. Subtract one-quarter of that amount for two reasons: 1) the instructions usually call for more food than our cats need; 2) you want at least reasonably hungry kitties. Then take that amount of kibble, and divide that in half: put out that half before you go to bed and pull it when you get up. If there is kibble left in the dish(es) in the morning, leave out less kibble overnight.
Slowly offer more food at each meal – particularly at the meal times you ultimately want to keep. As they eat more, reduce the amount of kibble left to free-feed overnight. When there is no kibble left out for them to free-feed, then you can reduce the number of meals. Slowly increase the amount of food offered at the meal times you want to keep, and drop one of the additional meals. Do this slowly, don’t drop one of the “extra” meals each day. Go at your cat’s pace.
Some cats will transition to timed meals within a few weeks. Some cats may take a few months (or more). The time required is usually related to age. Do not push kitty because you are frustrated. The last thing you need is a stressed, confused cat.
When kitty is eating timed meals at least during the day, you can start the introduction to the new food. You can either put a small amount of the new food under the kibble or next to the kibble. Don’t worry if they don’t eat the new food. The point is just to get them associating the new food AS food. Let them eat the kibble around it, and just get used to the presence of the new food.
If kitty walks away from the dish without eating any kibble because of the presence of the new food, reduce the amount of new food in there. You may have to take it down to an amount that looks like a pea. You may have to crush kibble and coat that pea-sized dollop heavily with crushed kibble. Or use a favorite treat: crush it, powder it, drizzle it over the little bit of new food in the dish to distinguish it from the kibble, but to disguise the smell of the new food. Don’t worry if kitty won’t taste it, so long as they’re eating the kibble in the dish.
Keep at it. A TCS kitty took over a month to even lick at that powdered favorite treat (freeze dried chicken breast) over the extremely small dollop of new food. Once she did, she licked more and more of the powdered treat – sometimes getting a bit of the new food in her mouth. Then she started eating the dollop under the treat. When kitty is eating that wee bit of food under the treat topping, you can increase the amount of new food – use the topping (or rotate toppings) – and reduce the amount of kibble. At some point, you’ll be able to reduce the amount of topping and eliminate the kibble.
Patience wins out. This is not a race!
My Cat Likes the New Food
If your cat likes the new food, but doesn’t eat enough at “meal time” because kitty is used to nibbling, you have two options:
Divide the food into more frequent, smaller meals. If this doesn’t work with your schedule, you can put down a measured amount of kibble overnight (see above) and pull the kibble during the day (or however your schedule works). The point is to leave food out to free feed half the day and feed meals the other half. Roughly.
. Feed as many meals as you can. Determine how much of the new food your cat will eat at one sitting. Put out that amount of food at meal time. Slowly increase the amount of food offered; as kitty eats more of the new food, reduce the amount of kibble left out to free feed at night.Again, if you’re feeding more meals than you ultimately want to have in the schedule, once there is no more free-fed kibble left out, start increasing the amount of food fed at the meals you want to keep, and slowly drop the “extra” meals one by one.
Helpful Hints
Praise helps. Praise kitty for eating at meal time. :rub:
Make meal times exciting. Have a quick play session before a meal (when possible) or after a meal – however it works for you, kitty, and your schedule.
Incentivize them to eat meals. Stop feeding treats between meals (other than to absorb bile as necessary), and sprinkle bits of treat (toppers) on the meals. Or feed the treat when they’ve eaten the meal.
Compared to kibble, the new food may not have as much smell (to kitty). With canned food, heating it up may be helpful. You can either use the microwave for a few seconds; mix a little bit of warm water into the food if they like gravy; or put the food in a baggie and warm it up in a bowl of warm water prior to serving.
For those transitioning to raw or homemade, your kitty may be sensitive to the temperature. Some prefer it cold; others prefer it room temperature or warm. Experiment!
“Toppers”
Obviously the point of a transition is to get kitty eating a healthier diet. So it’s a good idea to try to find a healthy topper your cat prefers to the kibble, Whiskas or Temptations treats (or whatever) you’ve been using/giving. Many cats love:
Freeze dried chicken
Freeze dried liver (chicken, beef, lamb are the most common)
Bonito flakes
Freeze dried salmon
Freeze dried shrimp
Tuna water
…And though not the healthiest option, the probiotic Flortiflora by Purina is made primarily of animal digest: the very stuff that is sprayed on kibble to make it so yummy to a cat. Fortiflora can make a great topper for a kibble-addicted kitty. It’s easy to use without using much by tearing a corner off and “fluffing” it over the food. This process may need to be repeated during the new food meal.
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EXCELLENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't thank you enough for taking the time to put these guidelines together for us. In fact, I am feeling like a fire has been lit inside as far as giving it another go with the 
