What to do when cat picks out new food during transition period?

[catamarandy]

Hello again. I'm transitioning my 10 year old cat to a new food and just started the transition today. She was eating Natural Balance LID Green Pea & Salmon dry catfood and I'm transitioning her to TikiCat Born Carnivore Chicken & Fish Luau dry catfood. (She gets wet food in the morning and night).
I gave her 1/2 tablespoon of the new TikiCat mixed in with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of her old Natural Balance. When I set her dish down, she smelled it for a bit, then started to eat. I walked away so she could have some privacy and when she was done, she came into the other room to be with me. So I checked her dish and saw she had eaten only the new catfood and left her old. This was her first introduction to the new food and I'm glad she likes it, but how do I handle a situation like this so she doesn't get digestive issues during the transition since she's picking out the new and not eating the old?
Thank you

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! Try to give her the old food every other time by itself and see if she will eat it when there is no new in it. Also, make sure the old food isn't so old as to have lost its flavor - you might need to buy a new bag?

 

[catamarandy]

Hi! Try to give her the old food every other time by itself and see if she will eat it when there is no new in it. Also, make sure the old food isn't so old as to have lost its flavor - you might need to buy a new bag?

Thank you for the suggestion. I set out some of the old food and she ate most of it. Yay!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Any luck getting her to eat more of the new food?

 

[catamarandy]

Any luck getting her to eat more of the new food?

Thank you so much for asking. Yes, she is eating the new food. I'm halfway through the transition, currently mixing her foods 50-50 and will start moving towards 75-25 in the next day or two. I'd rather go a little slow than too fast. All has been going well with no digestive issues

 

[FeebysOwner]

Slow is good, especially when it seems that approach is working!!

 

[catamarandy]

Slow is good, especially when it seems that approach is working!!

For sure! I am also going to change her brand of wet food, but want to complete the dry food transition first. Once she's eating 100% of her new dry food, how long would you recommend waiting before starting the wet food transition?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I would guess you really don't have to wait long - give her a week or two of 'no changes' and then start again with the wet food, like you did the dry. A couple of weeks should be long enough to be sure she isn't going to have any issue with the new food, IMO.

 

[catamarandy]

I would guess you really don't have to wait long - give her a week or two of 'no changes' and then start again with the wet food, like you did the dry. A couple of weeks should be long enough to be sure she isn't going to have any issue with the new food, IMO.

Thank you.