Weaning to a New Diet

There are times when a cat’s diet must be changed, most commonly because of a medical condition or the need for better nutrition. Some cat’s object to a new food based on the flavor, consistency or because they develop gastro intestinal problems when the change is too quick.

Cats have very different digestive systems than humans, which can be easily upset when you change their food, whether from canned to dry or between different brands. The transition should be gradual slowly increasing the amount of the new food. Fortiflora or another probiotic is recommended to help the transition.

The following weaning method has proven successful most of the time:

• Week One: Feed a mixture of 25% new diet with 75% current diet
• Week Two: Feed a mixture of 50% new diet with 50% current diet
• Week Three: Feed a mixture of 75% new diet and 25% current diet
• Week Four: Feed 100% new diet.

Problems:

If you successfully introduce the new food during Week One, but have problems during Week Two, go back to the Week One method for several weeks (2-3) then proceed to the Week Two method for several weeks, and then to the Week Three for several weeks, until you reach the Week Four method. However, in some cases, no weaning technique is successful. If you encounter any difficulties with this method, please contact us so we can determine another approach to this problem.