feeding older cat's

[karen]

OLDER CATS
Switching older cats can be troublesome depending on the cat and how long it has been eating commercial food. There are several things you can try.

First, if your cat is a free-choice feeder, break that habit now. Have your cat eat two meals a day by offering food at specified times for only 15 minutes each time. Start with three times a day and then cut back to two. A cat on a regular schedule should be easier to switch.

See if your cat will eat little bits of raw chicken breast as a treat. If he does, this may indicate that you can just switch him 'cold turkey'—commercial food one day, raw chicken the next. If your cat goes for this, then great! Switch him in a similar manner as the kitten.

If your cat will eat pieces of raw meat as a treat but not as a meal, you may have to start feeding him one "meal" of raw meat treats and then one meal of commercial food later. As his taste and tolerance for raw food grows, increase the amount of raw meat he eats and decrease the amount of commercial food. Soon, just feed him raw meat at each meal, and then progress with feeding more raw foods in the manner detailed above for the kitten. Get that commercial food out of the house and away from his sense of smell as soon as possible, though. You can keep a can or two of tuna or salmon or mackeral on hand just in case he decides to 'go off' raw food; this way you can feed him something yummy while mixing raw food back into his diet. If he goes off raw food and does not have any other reason for doing so (i.e., is not sick, etc.), try cutting back to one meal per day. If he does not want the raw food the next time it is offered, try drizzling it with tuna juice. If he still does not want it, you may have to mix it up with a little tuna. If he still does not wish to eat and it has been 24 hours since his last meal, you may have to go buy a can of 'good quality' canned cat food, just so he will eat something. Mix the raw meat into it, though, so he is still receiving the texture and nutrition of the fresh food. Try to get him back on raw food as soon as possible. Sometimes all that is needed is a new protein source, too. The cat may tire of chicken and want something different. Thus, you could try a little pork meat to see if he eats it before purchasing canned cat food (think of the commercial food as a last resort).

Bones are an absolutely necessary part of a raw diet, as they provide the necessary calcium and trace minerals as well as necessary teeth-cleaning effects. Bone meal and ground up egg shells just do not fully fill the role of bone in a raw diet; they can do in a pinch for a short time, but they should not be used long-term. Thus, it is important for a cat to learn how to chew bones—the whole prey for the whole animal! Always check their mouths first to make sure there are no damaged or sensitive teeth resulting from their previous diet.
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(GSD-LOVER)