Occasionally, pets may struggle with change and transitioning to a new, unfamiliar food. This is especially the case when transitioning from processed diets. Imagine going from eating processed fast foods all your life then being presented a meal with fresh, unprocessed, uncooked ingredients… it may take a bit of getting used to in the beginning. However, we do have a list of suggestions to help the process.
• Transition slowly according to our transition guide to make sure your pet is gradually getting used to their new diet.
• Mix in some of your pet’s favourite treats or favourite foods to help encourage them to eat their new diet. Sardines and/or raw egg are common and popular suggestions.
• Feed your pet their new food in a new area to reduce associations with and expectations of their old diet and make the new diet a bit of a novelty for them.
• Make new food look familiar to their old food. This may mean rolling the patty into small balls or add some chunks of cooked meat, depending on what your pet is used to.
• Ensure bowl size suits your pet. Some cats do not like their whiskers touching the sides of the bowl for example.
• Offer the food in small amounts or maybe on a spoon and slowly transition away from this as they start getting used to the food.
• Gently warm the raw food, ensuring not to cook. Do this by putting the sealed patty in a sink of hot water for 5-10 minutes to bring it up to room temperature and increase its appeal.
• Generally, the least popular method is usually the quickest and most effective but also the most difficult for us as pet parents. This method is to offer the food for no longer than 10-15 mins and if not consumed, put in the fridge to try again for the next meal. This tough love method usually gets results within a day but is not to be continued for longer than 2 days. It is rare, but some pets just don’t like some food despite how much you may want them to eat it. Ultimately, it’s more important to have a pet eating something over nothing.
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