A fluffy little friend in the house is a great joy for the whole family. Cats are the most unpretentious in the care and feeding of animals. That's just, unfortunately, modern life forces care in faster and easier ways, especially in terms of food.
More and more people buy dry food, which, it would seem, perfectly replace normal food. But sometimes there are some problems. Almost every owner at least once in his life cat is faced with the fact that he refuses food. Consider a situation when a cat or kitten does not eat dry food, what to do in this case. In addition, you should understand which food is beneficial and which is harmful.
The cat was given a try for the first time.
It often happens that the owners of the cat from childhood gave fish, meat, cheese, poultry, sour cream. But now they decided to purchase dry food. And suddenly the animal refused. In this case, it is better to return to the previous diet so that the cat does not have an upset stomach, intestinal problems.
Another situation - the kitten does not eat dry food. What to do? There are two options:
- Leave the same diet as it was (if he had already tried solid foods).
- Get other feeds (dry and wet).
In any case, you need to watch how the baby behaves. You can offer a variety of dishes, but do not overdo it, for example, sour cream, fish, poultry, dry food from different manufacturers.
Only it should not be done immediately, in very small pieces / portions, for example, the size of a pea. Do not interrupt the kitten's appetite. For example, in the morning treat sour cream or a slice of cheese, for lunch offer dry food or paste (of course, if he did not eat anything from the offer). But if, for example, a cat recognized sour cream as good food, then it is better to give it about 1 tablespoon every morning.
Do not eat the one that always eat
It is not surprising if a cat refuses to eat dry food, which he always ate with pleasure. This is common, but this does not mean that something happened to the animal. Perhaps just tired of the smell, taste. It is time to find a decent substitute for the usual food. It is not necessary to look for an analogue, you can try a completely different type of food. Suppose, if the friskas with vegetables dry food was constantly used, then what prevents to offer a piece of liver or chicken? It is possible that the cat will be delighted with such a treat.
The same goes for kittens. You need to try everything, but do not overfeed with different dishes. This is necessary in order to understand what animal preferences are: natural food or food industry products.
The kitten refuses to feed
Now consider the case when a kitten refuses to eat dry food. What to do if many types of feed have already been tried, but the animal hasn’t liked anything? Then just understand that the baby prefers natural food. You should not go to any tricks to make the animal eat dry food at all costs.
If you really want to feed it with cat food, then you should give it a try wet - meat pieces, pastes.
We listen to the opinion of the animal
It is very important to observe how the animal relates to various types of food. If the kitten does not want to eat dry food, then it prefers natural food: dairy and meat products that you yourself eat.
The body of the animal, especially the kitten, is very sensitive. As long as it is not contaminated with various harmful additives, it is able to determine which food is good for it and which one is harmful. Therefore, a kitten should not be punished for reluctance to use what, in his opinion, is harmful.
Trial and error method
If cats refuse dry food, which they ate constantly, then other foods can be purchased. In this case, in order not to waste money and not to guess, it is recommended to take quite a bit of each species by weight. Do not forget to ask the seller to sign each package in order to know which food was suitable for the animal.
As for ordinary food, absolutely any kind of dairy or meat, fish products can be tasted. Often animals prefer even vegetables and greens, raw protein of chicken eggs, cookies or crackers.
Different food for lunch
If a cat is fastidious to dry food, prefers a certain taste and manufacturer, and a bag or package with a big one is not great, then you can try to add it a little bit to your favorite food and mix.
But you can’t mix different types of food in any case. Cats prefer separate meals. Adding pieces of meat to sour cream or milk will not lead to anything good. The same applies to dry feed and canned meat. Such products should always be given separately, but so that the animal always has a separate bowl with clean water for drinking.
Feed Economy and Premium
There are feed economy and premium. From the names alone it is already possible to understand that the former are cheap, while the latter are more expensive or very expensive. Unfortunately, cheap options can be harmful to health, as they contain dyes, preservatives and not a gram of real full-fledged meat, are deprived of vitamins and minerals.
Premium feeds, as a rule, should contain not only dried meat, but also the necessary vitamins, minerals. There are special medicinal feeds. Therefore, if there is no possibility or desire to feed a pet with natural food or the animal refuses, then it is better to purchase premium food.
Dry food or regular food?
From time immemorial, animals fed on the food that nature provides. Including domestic cats preferred independent hunting than what the owners suggested. Currently, unfortunately, more and more cats are becoming completely domestic, unable to hunt. Nevertheless, in villages they still get their own food: they catch mice, small birds.
But what to do, the kitten does not eat dry food, the cat refuses store refreshments? Do not go to get them mice and birds! Of course, you do not need to do this. Many competent veterinarians, especially in provincial cities, villages, recommend giving animals what the owners themselves eat:
- milk;
- sour cream;
- meat and sausages;
- fish
- vegetables;
- porridge.
Do not forget that cats love vitamins. Especially in the spring you can see that four-legged friends are happy to eat grass on the garden plot or in the yard. It contains many vitamins, and the animal feels and knows this. Therefore, let there also be greens in the diet.
What should be the dishes?
It often happens that a cat refuses to eat food due to the fact that the dishes are dirty, smells of something foreign. Therefore, it is very important that the bowl is always clean. It is better to give preference to ceramic, glass dishes, as these materials do not retain odors and are very easy to wash.
But if the bowl is plastic or plastic, then it needs to be washed every day in warm water, make sure that there are no food particles left, an unpleasant smell.
Cat / kitten ration
As mentioned a little earlier, each cat has its own preferences, but it is very important that the food is separate. That is, you should not mix cheese and chicken, sausage and milk. In no case can you put in a bowl a wide variety of dishes and even more so season with milk and sour cream.
The portion in the animal should be small. Two tablespoons of food at a time is enough. Two or three meals a day. Most often enough two times a day - morning and evening. But at night it’s worth putting a bowl with a small amount of food, because in the dark, cats have vigor.
But what if the cat does not eat dry food, turns away from his beloved paste and does not look at shrimp or fish? If the pet has always eaten such delicacies, then you can just put some food in a bowl. Hungry - eats.
It is very important to ensure that there is always clean and fresh water. If there are more than one animal or the cat often drinks water, then you should buy a car-drinker, put a deep bowl or a bowl of water.
Did you get sick?
Now consider another, but more serious problem: why did the cat stop eating dry food? What to do to the owner? First of all, check how the pet feels. Alarms that may indicate a disease:
- dry and warm nose;
- unwillingness to play;
- restless behavior;
- apathy;
- loose stools or lack of stool for several days;
- vomiting, hiccups, regurgitation of food.
In this case, you need to contact a veterinarian. You should not wait when the animal wants to eat and drink.
Depression and stress can also cause a kitten to not eat dry food. What to do in this case? Leave the animal alone and not provoke the resumption of stressful situations (guests, noise, moving).
Pet health depends largely on the owners. Therefore, you should be responsible for caring for a cat.