I have a 9 month old maine coon & a 5 month old maltese. They both eat wet food now, but the vet told me to change there diets to a very good dry food. Does anyone know of any ways to do this without making them so hungry. I tried the new stuff you pour on the dry food (made for dogs) and only my cat will eat it, and even then he picks at it. Anybody have any suggestions.. Oh & also I put some water in the dry food to soften it up and neither of them liked that idea!
2006-11-27 05:30:28 · 11 answers · asked by Deana 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
We had to mix the dry food with the wet food. We did half and half the first two weeks and then we added more dry food to the wet food for another two weeks...and so on and so on until they were eating all dry food. A couple of times we had to go back to the previous stage. It takes a little while but it worked for us. Hope this helps.
2006-11-27 05:42:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only way I have been able to switch my cats from canned to dry food is to start mixing some dry food in with the canned. Start with just a little dry food mixed with canned for maybe 5 days and then put in just a little more dry food for the next 5 days and so on. This way they gradually get the idea that they have to eat the dry food too if they want to eat. I have my cats on Purina Indoor dry food. They all eat it with no trouble. I don't know if there is such a thing for small dogs though. Good luck and have patience some times it takes longer than a couple of weeks for the animal to get the idea that the new food is what there is to eat. Wow a Maine Coon cat they are so beautiful.
LL
2006-11-27 05:45:03 · answer #2 · answered by LeapingLizard 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The food that I fed my German Shepherd Dog pup was a dry food for puppies because a good puppy food will have what he needs to grow. I do not know about your dog but mine doesn't reach maturity till age of two, that's when he has reached full growth. He is on a high end dog food now that contains no grains. You can ask your vet about this or better yet have your Mother ask. I am sorry that your previous friend got hit. You do realize that you should be training your new friend now right? Also some people food even given only as treats can cause problems like diarrhea so best to stay away from it altogether.
2016-03-12 23:48:37 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
First thing: NEVER put water in dry food and let it sit for longer than five or ten minutes. Dry food contains spores and bacteria that -- with exposure to water and air -- very quickly grows into mold. I'm not surprised they didn't like that.
Didn't the vet give you any tips on how to do? Usually when you change diets for cats, you do it gradually, since cats rarely react well to changes.
What you could do is start with feeding them wet food once, possibly twice a day, but not that much. Then leave dry food out for them during the day. I'd think that when they are hungry, they will eat it.
You can also try something that I've discovered that our kitten loves. She loves ham and other meat you put on sandwiches. So when we want to give her a treat, we take a very little bit of that and shred it and put it on top of her (dry) food. She gulps that down, and then continues to munch up all the dry food that now smells of it ;p Not that we have a problem with her eating, but it's something that might help you.
2006-11-27 05:41:56 · answer #4 · answered by chibs 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
When your vet told you to take them off wet food he didn't mean for you to buy dry and make it wet dry means dry . All you need to do is put a bowl of food on the floor and leave it there 24/7 they will eat it and be a whole lot healthy er and happy just let them get used to it . Oh yeah put the cat dish up so the dog can't eat it . Always keep fresh water near their food . You can do it .GOOD LUCK
2006-11-27 05:48:58 · answer #5 · answered by shelly 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make them fast for a day or two if they are being picky. Animals can survive several days without food and still be very healthy, just leave out lots of water. Hunger is the only natural, healthy way to get them to eat the new food.
It's not cruel, it's just simple animal nature, the language they understand best is their basic needs. Their brains are set up to be able to handle being hungry most of the time. A cat or dog with available food will never starve themselves to the point they become unhealthy.
2006-11-27 05:40:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
mix the new dry food in the wet food and over a couple of weeks time put less and less wet food in and eventually they will just be eating the dry food.
2006-11-27 05:50:42 · answer #7 · answered by christina c 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
just mix a little dry in at a time and slowly add more till youve elimminated the wet and start offering them treats that are crunchy to get them used to the idea of hard food
2006-11-27 07:28:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just stop feeding them wet foods.they will get used to eating dry food.
2006-11-27 05:36:55 · answer #9 · answered by wolf 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wean them off the wet food by mixing it...after a while just put less and less wet food. They will get used to it.
2006-11-27 06:45:24 · answer #10 · answered by JenS12 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋