Runny nose

How to get a cat to eat everything. Getting your cat used to homemade food: arguments in favor of a healthy diet

Many people are sure that there is nothing difficult about caring for a cat. It is enough to pour food from a bag into her bowl. What could be simpler?

But such owners do not think about the fact that such food can cause harm to the animal. If you already have a cat accustomed to food in your hands, it is absolutely not necessary to poison the fluffy further. With a little persistence and patience, you can wean your cat off food. We will tell you how to do this in today’s article.

Why is it difficult to wean a cat from drying?

This task can indeed be quite difficult. When looking for a way to wean a cat off dry food, many pet owners may encounter surprising stubbornness of the animal. Cat habits are much more stable than human ones, and therefore more difficult to fight. In addition, many people who have never dealt with these furry animals often simply do not know what to feed their domestic cat. What does she like? Can I give her soup, candy or milk?

Another difficulty is that most manufacturers add a variety of flavor enhancers, flavors and food additives to their feed. Cats get so used to this “chemistry” that it is sometimes simply impossible to change their preferences. Compared to store-bought crackers, homemade food seems simply tasteless to them.

If you want to save money and buy cheap food for your animal, get ready to become a regular client of the veterinarian. Budget “drying” contains a record amount of carcinogens, which a priori will not add health to your pet.

Why is it worth weaning your cat off dry food?

If you are ready to think about how to wean your cat off food, then you already understand the disadvantages of canned food:

Manufacturers add stimulants to the vast majority of feeds. The cat eats a lot, but does not become full.
With this method of feeding, the animal’s stomach loses its ability to stretch. As a result, it becomes physically difficult for the cat to eat regular food.
Even the most expensive brands of dry food are very far from ideal. They contain only chemical elements, nothing natural.
Cat food of more or less passable quality costs a lot of money. If you are trying to feed your animal budget food, get ready to visit the veterinary clinic.
Prepared cat food most often comes in the form of small pellets, pates, purees, or small pieces. The animal has absolutely no need to load its teeth. It just swallows the food. This is fraught with the appearance of tartar, plaque and other troubles.
The cat eats the same food. The composition of the granules is almost the same. Only the smell is different, and even then not always. You can easily verify this by opening two or three packs of food with different flavors at the same time and comparing their contents.

If you are still not sure whether cats can eat raw meat, and prefer to make do with granules, study the list of troubles that store-bought “crackers” can cause your pet:

vitamin deficiency - in the vast majority of dry food, the amount of vitamins stated on the pack does not correspond to the internal contents;
kidney failure - “crackers” are terribly salty, so the kidneys of many animals simply cannot cope with excreting such an amount of salt;
dysbacteriosis - beneficial bacteria in the animal’s stomach die over time, and diarrhea may occur;
allergies - if the cat’s food is not suitable, ulcers may appear and hair may fall out;
poisoning - cheap food contains a lot of dyes that are not at all beneficial for the animal;
oncology - most dry food contains monosodium glutamate (a very dangerous substance that can cause cancer).

What should be included in the diet?

For your pet to live a long and healthy life, it needs to be fed properly. What do cats like to eat and what should be included in their weekly diet?

Try to regularly give your cat the following foods:

Raw lean meat. Chicken, rabbit, turkey or beef are great.
Fish. It also should not be greasy and must undergo heat treatment.
Egg yolk. One piece per week is enough.

A variety of dairy products. Here, too, you need to remember about fat content.
Broths and soups. Diversity is allowed here. The main thing is that the pet likes it.
Boiled liver and offal.
Raw and stewed vegetables. It all depends on the individual preferences of the animal. Some people like melon, others like cucumbers.
Cereals in the form of porridges and casseroles.

Many less experienced owners are interested in whether cats can have cheese? On the one hand, it seems to be a dairy product, but on the other, it is quite fatty and can cause harm to the animal. The answer in this case is quite simple. If you occasionally pamper your pet with a small piece, nothing bad will happen. But you shouldn't feed your cat cheese regularly.

How to accustom a cat to natural products?

If you don't know how to wean your cat off food, take a look at one of the two options below.

Method No. 1

The cat needs to be fed 3-4 times a day. Therefore, try to alternate “crackers” with regular food. Give the usual food in the first half of the day. At this time of day, digestion is just “waking up”. To reduce the saltiness of dry food, fill the portion with plenty of water. When the “crackers” are soaked, drain the liquid and give the wet lumps to the cat.

Make sure your pet always has a sufficient amount of clean water.

Offer your animal natural food for lunch and dinner. Do not give in to the indignant cries of your pet demanding canned food. If the cat has not eaten, remove the bowl after 20-25 minutes until the next feeding.

Method No. 2

This option involves mixing canned food with regular food. On the first day, soak the “crackers”, drain off excess water and dilute with homemade food. The proportion is approximately this: 5 parts canned food, 1 part natural food. Repeat the procedure for lunch and dinner. Feed the animal this way for 3 to 5 days.

After this, start diluting the feed in a ratio of 4:2, and after a week switch to the 3:3 option. Every week, reduce the portion of dry food by 1 part, and gradually increase the portion of homemade food.

If you have found a suitable way to wean your cat off dry food, follow through to the end. Do not succumb to cat provocations and expressive “hungry” looks. Act confidently and persistently. Stick to your plan.

If an animal has declared a boycott, do not starve it for weeks. It may be dangerous. Try to arouse interest in home-cooked food by treating them to some kind of delicacy. Offer a little different food: a piece of meat, sausage, a slice of bread, a slice of cucumber, a slice of potato. A hungry animal will definitely be interested in something.

What not to do

Have you already chosen a way to wean your cat off food? Then remember a few rules:

Take your time. Sometimes it can take months to relearn. A sudden change in the usual diet will squash your relationship, lead to a boycott and changes in the animal’s well-being.
Don't spoil your pet. Of course, sometimes it’s not only possible, but also necessary to treat you to something tasty. But you should not “put” food into the animal’s mouth. You're not going to indulge all his whims for the rest of your life, are you? This is not the way to start. The attitude towards the animal should remain equal and friendly, as always.

Important points

In the process of retraining an animal, it is important to be persistent and consistent. If you do not live alone, agree with all household members to act rationally. Keep an especially close eye on children. Protecting their furry pet from the “monster and tyrant”, they can feed him the usual and favorite crackers. Such “concern” will negate all efforts and fruitful work on retraining.

Explain to your children that you are doing this not because you don’t love Barsik or Murka. But because you don’t want the fluffy to get sick. Ask for help and assign your child to make sure there is always plenty of fresh water near the pussy. More often than not, this tactic works flawlessly.

What should

We have already told you what can be included in the diet of an adult animal. Now let's talk about proportions. Proper nutrition that provides the cat with all the necessary elements should look something like this:

45% - meat and other protein foods (dairy products, eggs, sometimes fish);
20% - offal (offal, lungs, liver, heart);
20% - vegetables, cereals, various sources of fiber and microelements;
5% - vitamin complexes, oil, bone meal.

Conclusion

Weaning your pet off not very healthy store-bought food can take a lot of your time and effort. But in return you will receive a beautiful and healthy animal. If something doesn't bother you, you should consult a veterinarian or cat nutrition specialist. He will be able to choose an individual diet for your pet and tell you how else you can wean your cat off dry food.

Many people decide to get a cat and think that pouring ready-made food into its bowl is not at all difficult. And few people know that it is harmful to the pet’s health. When a kitten appears in a family and is already accustomed to such food, this does not mean that it needs to be poisoned further. It is necessary to wean the cat off dry food and accustom it to homemade food.

Irreparable harm to health from dry food

Such food can cause a lot of disorders, the most common of which include:

avitaminosis– many dry foods do not contain sufficient quantities of certain vitamins, which are so necessary for the pet and which are contained in homemade food;
dysbacteriosis– beneficial bacteria die in the stomach, and a disorder occurs;
poisoning– your pet can be poisoned by various dyes that the food contains;
heart and kidney diseases– since this food contains a lot of salt, the kidneys may be the first to suffer from it, because it is difficult for them to excrete them. Poor kidney function will, in turn, provoke heart failure;
allergy– ulcers may appear in the animal’s mouth or hair may begin to fall out;
oncological diseases– Most types of food contain monosodium glutamate, which is known to cause tumors.

To avoid this kind of trouble, you need to teach your cat to eat regular food.

Features of the daily diet of cats

However, for an animal to grow healthy, feeding it just normal homemade food will not be enough. Nutrition must be balanced. It is necessary that your pet’s diet include the following foods:

Meat – it is better to give it to the animal raw. It shouldn't be greasy. It is best to buy beef, turkey or chicken.
Fish. It needs to be boiled and given to your pet about 2-3 times a week. It also shouldn't be greasy.
Yolk. About once a week, Murka should eat 1 piece.
Liver. It is given boiled.
A variety of regular dairy products.
Soups and broths.
Various porridges.
Vegetables. An individual approach is needed in this matter, since each animal has its own taste preferences. For example, some people like potatoes or cucumbers, while others like melon or watermelon. In any case, this is wonderful and if your pet asks for vegetables, be sure to pamper him with them.

How to force an animal to eat unusual and tasteless food

The main thing is when you want to accustom your dog to normal food, then make sure the food is fresh. Having once tasted a stale dish, a pet will remember it for the rest of its life and will never touch such food again. Also make sure that there is always new water in the bowl.

In addition, at one time the cat should eat homemade food of one type, if it is soup, then only soup, if it is meat, then only meat, and so on. This will ensure proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and will not cause any health problems for your pet in the future.

Cats need three meals a day, but if the animal does not eat for about two days, then it is necessary to urgently seek help from a specialist.

If you want to accustom your cat to homemade food, first of all you should:

be patient;
develop a step-by-step plan;
strictly follow all our advice.

It is necessary to gradually accustom the cat to homemade treats. To begin with, you should buy two types of food - dry and canned. With the help of the second, you can gradually accustom your pet to wet food.

3 stages of transition to homemade food:

You need to mix two types of food. First, you need to mix in a very small amount of canned food, gradually increasing the dose.
Over time, we replace the dose of dry food with meat and porridge.
You need to reduce the dose of dry food by half in 5 days, and leave only the gravy from canned food.
The moment you introduce gravy into the diet, it would be wise to give your cat probiotics to support her stomach and normalize her intestinal flora.
Over time, the amount of gravy is also reduced and comes to the point where you only need to add a couple of drops to the homemade food for flavor.
After this, the cat should be offered homemade food, which will make up its almost daily diet.

If you finally want to accustom your pet to home-cooked food, then at this stage you need to be prepared for a variety of problems, since the stomach needs time to adjust from dry food.

Show the iron character of the owner of the house

Weaning your pet off dry food is not an easy task, but in this matter there is no need to succumb to provocations and make concessions to your pet, refusing to introduce homemade food into the diet.

While accustoming your cat to homemade food, you may encounter the animal being stubborn. But you will also show your iron character. If you provide your animal with homemade food and it doesn’t even touch it within 20 minutes, hide the bowl. And try to feed him already at lunchtime.

If the cat doesn’t eat, it means it’s not hungry. Don't beg her on your knees for her to eat homemade food.

Don't worry if your cat's feedings are unsuccessful and she hasn't eaten for about three days. Of course, starvation of an animal that lasts more than a day already poses a danger to the body. The cat may even lose weight and look completely weak, but do not be afraid, having homemade food in front of her eyes, she will not choose to die from hunger, no matter how tasty the food may seem to her.

Don’t forget, the cat’s health depends on what he eats at home. It is better to show the steadfastness of your character and not resort to various tricks of a cunning pet than to sentence it to inevitable and terrible health problems.

VETERINARIAN CONSULTATION REQUIRED. INFORMATION FOR INFORMATION ONLY. Administration

If cat owners decide to switch their pets from dry to natural food, this happens most often for the following reasons:

pet’s health problems requiring refusal of this type of feeding;
inability to provide high-quality, expensive, premium and super-premium industrial dry products;
the desire to diversify the menu, maintain health, prolong the life of the cat by feeding natural, food not treated with preservatives.

How to retrain correctly? How to switch a cat to homemade food, because animals are not always ready to share the owner’s intentions and desperately resist innovation, refusing the new diet? Often such voluntary fasting continues for a long time. The cat does not eat, at best it can sniff the food, as a result it loses weight, disturbances in its general condition and behavior appear, and its appearance changes.

Why is it so difficult to wean a cat off ready-made food?

The composition of dry food, especially the line of economy class products, includes a large number of attractants and additives - special ingredients designed to attract the animal, enhance the taste and smell of food, causing persistent addiction to such food. These components are mixed into all feed without exception, especially in super-economy class products. Cats almost immediately become addicted to drugs by eating such food.

The absence of useful components is hidden by manufacturers through the introduction of such chemicals. They significantly worsen the condition of the teeth and fur of pets, cause damage to the psyche, and cause serious illnesses and allergic reactions.

The dangers of dry food

Often the true composition of a product is hidden by the manufacturer. Poor quality food often causes many side effects:

poisoning with chemicals: dyes and flavors;

the development of urolithiasis due to an excess of salts as preservatives, especially dangerous for neutered cats;

the occurrence of vitamin deficiency due to the lack of necessary vitamins and microelements;

heart failure, allergic reactions;

Dysbacteriosis is the death of beneficial intestinal microflora, manifested by indigestion, metabolic disorders, skin and coat problems.

Transferring the cat to homemade food

You can continue to feed the animal its usual food, gradually mixing in various ingredients of another product until a complete replacement occurs. The new type of food should be given to the animal in small quantities in small pieces, no different in size from normal everyday food. After 4-5 days, the volume of dry food is reduced to 50%, then the replacement occurs completely within 10-15 days.

If the pet prefers certain products in addition to dry food, temporarily limit them only to them until the cat is completely weaned from “drying”.

If it is difficult to determine your pet’s taste preferences, it is worth offering several different dishes, placing them in different bowls. The cat will choose and take a liking to the new food, then the cat will be completely switched to homemade food.

There is an option when the volume of regular food is reduced, and the animal, without being completely full, is saturated with another product, homemade, located close to the main, regular food.

Usually, a cat’s refusal of new food plunges the owners into panic - they worry that the pet will become exhausted, get sick, or die. But the animal will not die of hunger if there is food nearby, even if it is tasteless and unloved. Fears are unfounded, remember that you are acting for the benefit of your pet, the cat will humble itself and accept your conditions.

Is it possible to quickly switch a cat to natural food, cat lovers will tell you:

the addition of catnip facilitates faster adaptation to new food; over time, the supply is stopped, the animal gradually gets used to the food;
several pieces of dry food are placed on the meat to give it a familiar smell, deceiving the cat;
probiotics are useful during transition - feeding with dry food worsens peristalsis, lactobacilli improve the digestion process, the microflora is renewed, adaptation is easier;
during the transition to natural food, vitamins are recommended;
the bowl of food is removed after 15-20 minutes, regardless of whether there is food left in it or not.

Home feeding diet

The main product in this type of diet is meat, about 80%. The rest is cereals, vitamins, vegetable supplements. Natural feeding requires an accurate calculation of the daily food intake; the idea that the cat itself knows how much it needs to eat is wrong. Often, fluffy beauties, without knowing the limits, gobbling up delicious foods on both cheeks, acquire excess weight, heart and respiratory problems. Different ages are taken into account when compiling the daily menu.

How to calculate a kitten's nutritional intake

Two and a half months is the age at which a baby can be separated from its mother. Before nine months, the kitten should receive no more than 10% of its weight in food. With a weight of 2000 g, the weight of the daily portion is 200 g. 50% is meat food, 50% is fish products.

How to calculate the amount of food per day for an adult cat

An adult animal needs only 5% of its weight in feed. With an animal weighing 5 kg - 250 g of natural food, consisting of equal parts of fermented milk and meat products. 20 g of vegetables and a few drops of vegetable oil are allowed. Active pets that spend a lot of energy are given more food, inactive, obese, and elderly pets require less.

What can you give your cat?

The main components of natural cat food are:

fish is a favorite product of fluffy beauties; marine varieties are recommended, both raw and boiled. Boiled fish should be cleaned of bones; they can be easily separated from the pulp; they can be swallowed unchewed or get stuck in the esophagus;
meat - lean chicken, beef, lamb, rabbit, horse meat, scalded with boiling water, are allowed. Pork is banned;
by-products - liver, lungs, heart, kidneys - are introduced into the diet 2 times a week - their nutritional value and usefulness are low. If there are signs of poor digestion: vomiting, diarrhea, by-products are excluded from the animal’s menu;
fermented milk products - kefir, cottage cheese, medium-fat starters. Low-fat foods cause stool upset. Cats do not tolerate milk well - the number of enzymes that break down lactose decreases with age;
vegetables - any are allowed: cabbage, carrots, peppers, pumpkin. A combination is possible. They are given in crushed raw form and can be mixed with meat. Potatoes - excluded;
eggs - chicken or quail are suitable. The yolk and white are mixed. Serve separately or with kefir and cottage cheese.

A pet’s illness or surgery is a reason to contact a veterinarian to correct the animal’s nutrition.

Chicken necks have proven themselves well for natural feeding of cats. They are prepared as follows: mince twice through a meat grinder to grind hard bones, add a little boiled rice or buckwheat, and grated carrots. They mix.

Natural food - natural healthy nutrition for your feline. With good care, a kind attitude, a positive attitude of the owners, and a well-designed feeding diet, the animal will be healthy, happy, and will live a long, fulfilling life next to its owners.

Veterinarians recommend following certain rules when switching a cat to homemade food. To wean an animal off Whiskas and other artificial foods, you need to act in stages. You cannot combine dry food and regular food, as this leads to gastrointestinal problems. Homemade products should be introduced into the diet gradually. It is also necessary to add vitamins to your cat’s daily menu.

You cannot start weaning your pet off dry food if the animal is sick. Additional stress on the body can lead to disastrous consequences.

Difficulties in switching to homemade food

Feed components are attractants and additives. These chemical components are designed to get the animal used to the treat. It is these elements that make it difficult to wean your pet off Whiskas. The largest number of such additives is in economy class feed.

By choosing such food, the owner develops an addiction in the animal from the first spoon.

In addition to addiction, dry food does not provide the animal with the required amount of vitamins and microelements, which leads to frequent pet illnesses. Manufacturers have learned to produce junk food without including the natural ingredients necessary for the full development of a cat.

How to wean a cat off Whiskas?

Many owners start giving dry food to cats from a young age. Kittens do not refuse goodies and soon become hooked on artificial food.

It is much easier to wean a kitten from dry food whose body has not developed the habit of such a diet.

Veterinarians prohibit feeding your pet mixed food, for example, giving dry food and regular food. This combination of products has a detrimental effect on the animal’s intestines and stomach, leading to tragic consequences.

Stages of transferring an animal to normal food

To accustom a cat to normal food, you must follow certain instructions:

1. Dry food is replaced with a wet equivalent from the same manufacturer. The animal is accustomed to certain flavoring additives, so the transition will not be abrupt. At the same time, the soft version of the food contains fewer harmful components than the dry version.
2. Natural food is introduced into the cat’s diet gradually. You can cook mixed porridges - semolina or rolled oats plus meat/fish. Your pet will not refuse such homemade food.
3. Fresh water must be freely available to the animal. Drinking plenty of fluids will help remove toxins from the body faster.
4. "Cat grass" grown on the windowsill will become an additional source of vitamins.
5. Gradually, more and more natural products are added that the cat prefers. For example, if he likes boiled fish, then they give him that instead of food.
6. The amount of feed decreases every day. Not having enough, the cat will begin to eat from a nearby bowl, where healthy foods must be placed in a timely manner.

This plan of action allows the owners to gradually and without harm to the animal’s health transfer the pet from dry food to regular food, completely weaning it off Whiskas and eliminating the dependence.

Features of the transition to natural products

To facilitate the transition of the animal to natural food and wean it off Whiskas, it is necessary to include a complex of vitamins for the pet in the diet. Cats usually eat vitamin tablets with pleasure. In rare cases, a veterinarian may prescribe fortified formulations in the form of intramuscular injections.

It is worth considering the features of transferring an adult cat or kitten to normal food:

1. A small kitten cannot be weaned off its usual food by starvation. First, you need to transfer your pet to liquid food from bags, and then introduce other components into the diet. It is best to add new products instead of the usual food after active play with your pet.
2. An adult animal with a strong dependence on dry food can be left to fast for two days. The main thing is not to forget to give your pet water all the time. When very hungry, the animal will eat the natural product with pleasure based on the instinct of self-preservation.

When switching to healthy foods, we must not forget about the prohibition of mixing. The simultaneous intake of dry food and boiled meat or other product will lead to gastrointestinal diseases in your pet.

Many cat owners have encountered the fact that a kitten bought from a breeder or in a nursery refuses to eat any other food other than ready-made store food. This behavior may be due to the fact that the kitten’s old owners fed it only these foods, and he went to them. I'm used to it.

It is necessary to wean a kitten off such food not just because it is expensive to buy food for it, but also because it can harm its health. Almost all veterinarians claim that cats not only do not get all the necessary vitamins from prepared food (no matter whether dry or wet), but it is also harmful to them.

How can you train a cat to eat homemade food? There are several ways - the most popular and effective method is to gradually replace the food with another food. To do this, on the first day you need to replace ten percent of the usual amount of food with regular food - if the kitten prefers wet food, you can add various cereals to it, and if he usually eats dry food, then it will be best if you prepare a special porridge for the kitten - it is done quite simply - you need to boil the sausage trimmings (or you can boil some plain meat), and just add cereals to it. Over time, every day or every other day, reduce the amount of food in the bowl, and over time, leave only homemade food - the kitten will already get used to it and will eat it with pleasure.

There is also a faster way - immediately put other food in his bowl instead of food - sooner or later the kitten will get hungry, and still eat what is given.

Even if the kitten does not eat porridge and soups, it is unlikely that he will refuse a piece of meat or sausage. If he eats this, then next time try putting meat mixed with bread, pasta, or other food in his bowl. Still, it is unlikely that you have the opportunity to feed him only meat. Gradually he will get used to it and will start eating it all without adding sausage.

Another option is to feed the kitten twice a day, preferably always at the same time. In the morning, put meat in his bowl instead of food, it could be beef or chicken, cut into small pieces. You can give your kitten both raw and cooked meat. If the kitten won't eat it, just put it in the refrigerator. During the day he will probably get hungry, and if in the evening you again offer him the same thing that you gave him in the morning, most likely he will still eat it. Surely, if this repeats day after day, and the kitten understands that his favorite food will no longer be given to him, he will start eating homemade food.