I write a regular column on SFGate.com called Your Whole Pet. This
week I answer the age old question that has long mystified, confounded, and
tormented saints, angels, and those possessed of all forms of
supernatural powers: HOW DO YOU GET YOUR CAT TO CHANGE DIETS?
It can be done, if you have enough time and patience.
It may also take tuna juice.
I interviewed holistic vet Dr. Lisa Pesch, who had some professional observations, as well as some about her own finicky cat, Bella. I even take a crack at... I know the hubris is beyond believe... understanding cats:
The origin of feline finickiness lies, just as you always suspected, in the feline brain. Cats as a species tend to imprint on specific smells, shapes and textures as being "food" or "not-food" when they are still kittens. This is obviously a survival advantage for wild or feral cats, where knowing what's an appropriate meal and what's a poisonous plant is indisputably a good thing. But it's not necessarily optimum for house cats.
Humans often reinforce the imprinting process by offering their cats only one type of food from the day they bring the kitten home. If a cat has never had anything but dry food, it might be very hard for that cat to realize that canned or homemade food is actually "food" at all. Some cats take this so far as to imprint on one specific type of dry food, eating that variety and nothing else. This is why it's a good idea to expose your new kitten to different types of food from the beginning, stopping the problem before it begins. People with cats raised that way, and those with cats who simply didn't imprint that strongly on their earlier diet, can probably just put the new food in the bowl and that'll be that.
If, however, you already have a finicky feline and you need to make a diet change, patience and planning are the two most important weapons a cat owner can have: patience because most experts agree that the important thing is making the change, not how fast you make it, and planning because it's much more likely your cat will accept the new diet if changes are made in small increments. Many owners get frustrated when the cat resists the new diet and start making random changes in how they feed their cats -- which only confuses the cat and increases the chance of failure. Instead, get clear on the steps you're going to follow and then follow them.
Read the complete article here and send it to every single cat email list you're on kthnx. I also uploaded the transcripts of two recent chats I did on PetHobbyist.com:
The ABCs of Homemade Diets for Dogs and Cats
Homemade Cat Diets: Doing it Right
In other news:
Over at PetConnection, Gina is reporting that there are rumors on the message boards of the Veterinary Information Network concerning the possible presence of contaminated wheat gluten in Heartgard Chewables:
Merial has stated that they did not obtain gluten from the suspect source, but are examining the products to confirm the absence of any contaminants.
I honestly thought I'd heard each and every recall rumor, but this one threw me. Read more, although not much more, here.
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