Cat doesn't eat wet food – How to convince “dry food junkies”

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Nutrition » Cat doesn’t eat wet food – How to convince “dry food junkies”

“>For cats, a diet with high-quality wet food or BARF is the healthiest. Unfortunately, many velvet paws are attached to dry food and are not easily dissuaded. Your cat does not eat wet food? Then you have a tough task ahead of you, but with ours Tips and a lot of patience will change the food! Why your cat shouldn’t eat dry food

“>Regular readers of Katzenkram will certainly already know: We are absolutely not fans of dry food. We can irrefutably justify this dislike:

Dry food contains far too little liquid. Maximum % moisture is compared to around 66% with wet food Now you could say: Then the cat just has to drink more… But that’s exactly what she does e don’t ben. Cats don’t drink much by nature and get most of their fluid needs from food. They certainly get a little more thirsty from dry food – but by no means enough, especially since the digestion of dry food with its high energy density requires a lot more additional liquid.

Dry food contains too little meat. Due to production, no classic dry food contains more than 62% meat content. On the other hand, vegetable by-products such as corn, grain, rice, potato flour or beet pulp are used so that the consistency of the small croquettes can be achieved at all. In addition, fresh meat is rarely used, but rather products such as protein isolates, meat flour or animal fat. So this has nothing to do with species-appropriate fresh meat food.

Dry food cannot do without artificial additives. Dry food for cats is usually supplied in bags with at least 450g content sold. Of course, it takes a long time for a cat to eat up this ration. Without preservatives, the food would not keep for so long. Antioxidants are also used to prevent the fat from going rancid. In addition, all sorts of attractants, artificial flavors or flavor enhancers are used so that cats recognize the dry food as food and eat it. Artificial additives can lead to allergies in cats, among other things.

Dry food is bad for your teeth. The advertising wants to tell us exactly the opposite: by chewing the hard chunks, the cat’s teeth are supposed to be cleaned. However, dry food contains far too many carbohydrates, even sugar, which leads to plaque and is so bad for teeth.

Dry food makes cats fat. The little chunks are full of calories. No wonder that often only round 78g per day is required. However, the velvet paw does not really fill you up. Cats that eat dry food are therefore more prone to obesity and related diseases such as diabetes. “>These are really good reasons why your cat shouldn’t eat kibble.

The biggest problem with kibble for cats is the lack of it Moisture If a cat is only fed TroFu, it will suffer from a permanent lack of liquid, unless you really invest a lot of daily effort to encourage the animal to drink.

Usual tips such as “always put a drinking bowl at the feeding place” are by far not enough to ensure that the animals are supplied with sufficient water.

If there is a lack of liquid, the cat’s kidneys and urinary tract are not flushed enough.There is a risk of urinary tract infections, urinary stones and, in the worst case, kidney diseases. Kidney disease is the number one cause of premature death 1 in cats in Germany!

A good cat food should te come as close as possible to the cat’s favorite prey, i.e. the mouse: A meat content of 95%, to 80% moisture and a maximum of 1-3% vegetable ingredients and fiber, as well as a small amount of bone.

Image: Helena Nechaeva / Shutterstock.com That’s why some cats only eat dry food and refuse wet food

“> Your cat doesn’t eat wet food and stubbornly insists on its dry food? All sorts of attractants and tricks from the food manufacturers are responsible for this. Of course, the manufacturers have a great interest in cats only wanting to eat their brand.

Dried food consists mainly of cheap by-products and plant waste combined with a few artificial flavors, a touch of flavor enhancers, some fat, a pinch of hidden sugar, or a hint of gravy tasty protein hydrolyzate makes every cat downright dependent on the stuff in no time.

The cat will prefer dry food to any high-quality wet food – and many people think so too nor that you do something good for your animal – after all, the cat must know what is good for you?

But that’s exactly it not the case – it is YOUR job to ensure a healthy cat diet!

Dry food AND wet food – why mixed feeding mostly doesn’t work for cats “>The big advantage of dry food is that it can be fed quickly and cleanly. You can also fill up the bowl in the morning before you go to work. Many cats actually divide up the food ration.

So many cat owners try a mixed feeding of dry food and one or two portions of wet food a day. Unfortunately, this only works in very few cases in the long term After a while the cat prefers the dry food, then she leaves the wet food and asks for TroFu in her food bowl with an indignant expression on her face.

Your cat Doesn’t eat wet food anymore?To avoid these problems, we recommend that cat owners feed only wet food.

By the way, there is now also a cat cat for working people good solutions, for example automatic feeders that can also be filled with wet food. If the cat doesn’t like wet food – this is how you get them used to it “>As a first step, your velvet paw should get to know wet food in the first place. In addition to her feeding bowl with dry food, you should put a bowl of wet food next to her every meal for a day or two.

So she can get a taste of it, maybe even try it. In any case, she first associates the new type of food with eating. Cat refused wet food: The wooden hammer method

Image: Svetlana Rey / Shutterstock .com “>It’s worth trying to simply present your cat with a fait accompli: From now on there is only wet food!

You have to you notice three things:

Get all dry food supplies out of the house. Your cat will smell when its usual food is still available, so it will have an extra big head .

Your cat may refuse to eat is not too bad for healthy cats without overweight.Up to 24 Such a “hunger strike” can last for hours without it harming her health. She eats small amounts Wet food extends this time breakdown.

There shouldn’t be any treats during the changeover , so that your cat does not satisfy its appetite with it.

If your cat starts eating small portions of wet food after a radical change, then you’re done half won. Stick with it and don’t give up. Serve her the wet food in a good mood and with a positive attitude. Over time, your cat will eat more, so its eating behavior will return to normal.

In this variant, natural dietary aids such as chicken heart granules can help to achieve a breakthrough .

Many cat owners fail with this method because they cannot bear the blank and offended looks of their cat. She will of course try everything to make you buckle. So you have to be prepared for this behavior.

Cat only eats dry food: Gradual adjustment

“> Even with this alternative, it is incredibly important that you as a “can opener” have the right attitude. You need patience and the firm will that your velvet paw should eat wet food in the future, for the sake of its health.

In this case, too, your little tiger should not be given any treats so that he has an appetite at the next meal.

Getting used to the new consistency

“>If your cat has never or only very rarely eaten wet food, then you must first get used to the new consistency.

To do this, moisten the dry food slightly with water. This is best done with a clean flower syringe, so that the food can be moistened evenly.

Takes yours Cat this on, you can moisten the food a bit more from meal to meal.

“>Is your cat doing well with the wet consistency of the food? This is a great first success. Now it’s time for the actual diet change.

Moisten the previous food as usual, and then carefully stir in half a teaspoon of the wet food.

Put this mixture on her before each meal until she is eating reliably. If so, you can increase the amount of wet food by another half teaspoon.

In this way you increase the amount of wet food step by step, in return you reduce the amount of dry food accordingly.

If your cats refuse to eat once and leaves the bowl, then you have to reduce the amount of wet food a little again.

In this way you will definitely make it, to get your cat used to wet food.

So that you don’t lose track of the amount of food you can download a note to print out here free of charge:

How long does it take for the cat to eat wet food?

“>A radical change with a possible hunger strike takes 1-2 days.

A gradual acclimatization to the new feed with the substitution method usually lasts 2 weeks. In the case of particularly stubborn cats who absolutely do not want to eat wet food, it can even take up to 6 weeks.

So you will need patience – but it’s worth it if the cat only eats healthy food afterwards.

Always use the same type and flavor of wet food. Different types would further irritate your cat.

Stick to fixed feeding times if possible. This ensures that your cat is also hungry.

Freeze the wet food in an ice cube tray. So you can defrost it in small portions and it won’t go bad.

Recommendations for good food can be found in our Cat Food Test.

Feed conversion aids such as chicken heart granules make the conversion a lot easier. Featured image, top: Koldunov Alexey

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