Trial period for new food

canopener · Mar 4, 2015

How long do you generally give your cats to get used to a new food before making a final decision?

I've been trying to transition mine from Fancy Feast to a limited ingredient diet. Ciaran has always been difficult about changes in food. He takes to a new food the first few times he has it, whether the switch is made gradually or all at once, but in under a week he'll loose interest, as though the novelty has warn off. And then an uneaten bowl cat food later, I usually cave and go back to the FF. This time, because my other one was having some GI issues with the FF and keeping them out of each others' bowls is more easily said than done, I want to make the change stick. Ciaran has just entered the "actually I don't want this" stage. Do I just need to be persistent and give him more time to get used to the idea the Fancy Feast isn't coming back or should I take this as a definitive "no" for the new diet?

2cats4me · Mar 5, 2015

CanOpener said:
How long do you generally give your cats to get used to a new food before making a final decision?

I've been trying to transition mine from Fancy Feast to a limited ingredient diet. Ciaran has always been difficult about changes in food. He takes to a new food the first few times he has it, whether the switch is made gradually or all at once, but in under a week he'll loose interest, as though the novelty has warn off. And then an uneaten bowl cat food later, I usually cave and go back to the FF. This time, because my other one was having some GI issues with the FF and keeping them out of each others' bowls is more easily said than done, I want to make the change stick. Ciaran has just entered the "actually I don't want this" stage. Do I just need to be persistent and give him more time to get used to the idea the Fancy Feast isn't coming back or should I take this as a definitive "no" for the new diet?

Wow , this sounds just like my situation .. I am afraid I cannot offer much advice as I have not yet found a solution for my cats . They were on Fancy Feast for a very long time as it was the only one they would eat . it started to cause issues for them as well such as vomiting & diarrhea . I am not saying the food was bad but for some reason started not agreeing with them .. I am still trying to find a new wet food for them ..

If your other cat is not picky maybe you could take them both off FF that way your other cat cannot smell and would be more willing to eat the new food .. You could also try toppers on the new food such as a sprinkle of kibble or parmasean cheese . A lot of people have good luck using Purina Feline Forti Flora as a topper ..

canopener · Mar 5, 2015

To clarify, I'm switching them both so they are getting the same thing.

2cats4me · Mar 5, 2015

CanOpener said:
To clarify, I'm switching them both so they are getting the same thing.

Oh , that is good . So that should make your job easier . Hopefully you can find something they both like .

Natures Variety Instinct has limited ingredient canned foods which are pretty good .. Natural Balance has L.I.D as well .. Evo is labeled as L.I.D but the canned foods have very few ingredients ..

canopener · Mar 5, 2015

I have a few I'm trying. My question is how long do I give them to get used to a new food before concluding they don't like it?

2cats4me · Mar 5, 2015

CanOpener said:
I have a few I'm trying. My question is how long do I give them to get used to a new food before concluding they don't like it?

I don't know the answer to that question for your cats but with mine if they do not eat something the first time they never will no matter what I do to it and there is no getting used to it , they either like it or they don't ..

AbbysMom · Mar 6, 2015

I feel for you. Due to allergies I had to switch my cat to a limited ingredient diet. It was awful. She didn't like it and getting her to eat it was like pulling teeth.

As crazy as this sounds one thing that worked for me was putting the food on a flat paper plate and not in her normal bowls. For some reason this made the food more attractive to her and she finally started eating it a bit and came to the realization that was all she was getting.

I mentioned it to the vet one time and she didn't think I was crazy. :lol3: She said they feed cats that come out of surgery and sick cats at their practice on flat plates as it is easier for them to eat.

2cats4me · Mar 6, 2015

AbbysMom said:
I feel for you. Due to allergies I had to switch my cat to a limited ingredient diet. It was awful. She didn't like it and getting her to eat it was like pulling teeth.

As crazy as this sounds one thing that worked for me was putting the food on a flat paper plate and not in her normal bowls. For some reason this made the food more attractive to her and she finally started eating it a bit and came to the realization that was all she was getting.

I mentioned it to the vet one time and she didn't think I was crazy.

She said they feed cats that come out of surgery and sick cats at their practice on flat plates as it is easier for them to eat.

I actually started feeding my cats with flat saucer dishes and they seem to like it much better ..

canopener · Mar 6, 2015

I'll have to try the plate thing.

It also dawned on me that, even though it feels like this has been taking forever, it's actually been less than a week, so maybe I just need to give it a little more time...

bonepicker · Mar 6, 2015

They don't like their whiskers to touch sides of dish.

canopener · Mar 10, 2015

AbbysMom said:
I feel for you. Due to allergies I had to switch my cat to a limited ingredient diet. It was awful. She didn't like it and getting her to eat it was like pulling teeth.

As crazy as this sounds one thing that worked for me was putting the food on a flat paper plate and not in her normal bowls. For some reason this made the food more attractive to her and she finally started eating it a bit and came to the realization that was all she was getting.

I mentioned it to the vet one time and she didn't think I was crazy.

She said they feed cats that come out of surgery and sick cats at their practice on flat plates as it is easier for them to eat.

Did you find anything else that helped? I haven't seen the plate vs bowl thing making much of a difference, but I will try it again...

I've backed off to 1/4 Evo to 3/4 their favorite Fancy Feast and we've gone through the usual pattern. First time, they loved it, but interest gradually waned over the next two days or so until tonight when they both walked away from it. The frustrating thing is it isn't just the Evo--they, particularly Ciaran, have a long history of rejecting anything that isn't Fancy Feast. Not sure what to do from here. Tempted to just cherry pick the FF flavors that have the fewest potential allergens for Cricket because I'm kind of at a loss.

canopener · Mar 10, 2015

For what it's worth, they both tend to be perfectly happy to sample random human food. Given have the chance they will dive right into things like eggs, oatmeal, vegetarian "chicken" nuggets, etc. (Just to be clear: no, I am not GIVING them these foods).

nora1 · Mar 10, 2015

What worked for me, was putting a "topper" on top, such as a few kibble bits to get my cat started.

Every cat is different! For example, some cats will refuse a certain food, while some will leave new food, but then come back and eventually eat it. My cat does this. If it's new and she's not sure about it, she'll walk away for a bit, but then eventually comes back to eat and finish the food. She loves her food so she rarely refuses food!

I would keep at it, with a topper (a few treats or kibble bits), and see if they will eventually eat the new food. If they refuse it, for more than 4 hours, then maybe they truly don't like it! It's a lot of trial and error when trying new foods. Hang in there, there is a food they'll eat, you just need to find it lol.

Best of luck!

AbbysMom · Mar 12, 2015

I do agree that trying the "toppers" is worth a shot.

bonepicker · Mar 12, 2015

Mine are fussy with some of their rotation, so I do sprinkle Purebites on top. They are never fussy with Merrick, Nutro natural chunky chicken, tiki cat Puka luau,.

pushylady · Mar 12, 2015

My cats will usually eat their wet when I've just opened the can and smelling fresh. However next time I feed them (taking the can from the fridge) Wiggies won't eat it without toppers. I've been crumbling freeze dried meat on it and frankly I'm pleased to have him eating that as it's healthy.

raintyger · Mar 18, 2015

pushylady said:
My cats will usually eat their wet when I've just opened the can and smelling fresh. However next time I feed them (taking the can from the fridge) Wiggies won't eat it without toppers. I've been crumbling freeze dried meat on it and frankly I'm pleased to have him eating that as it's healthy.

I've heard that storing wet food in the can will alter the taste. You might want to invest in some glass custard cups with lids (you can buy Pyrex ones that way).

pushylady · Mar 19, 2015

I think I'll give that a try. I just assumed it was because it's cold that the food doesn't smell as good.

Trial period for new food

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