#8 How to Transition Your Dog and Cat to A New Diet

Well, how do you think so far about raw food and homemade diet? I hope you gained some new insight about new type of diet from previous posts.
Still suspicious? Don’t worry. You're not alone!
Many pet owners are looking for new ways to incorporate healthier options into their pet’s nutrition plan. The best advice is to try it and see if it works for your dog/cat.
When it comes to changing your friend’s diet, the transition process is key. Making a smooth transition from one food to another can help ensure your dog/cat will enjoy their new meals! Read on for tips on how you can make the transition as easy as possible for your pet.

For Dogs

​Start Slow
When transitioning your dog to a new diet, especially raw food, it's important to introduce the new food gradually. This will allow time for your pup’s digestive system and taste buds to adjust and get used to the new food. If you haven’t read the previous blog: BENEFIT OF RAW AND HOMEMADE DIET IN GUT HEALTH – MICROBIOME, I highly recommend checking it out. It shows different diet builds different microbiome. That’s why If you start too quickly, it could cause stomach issues like diarrhea or vomiting.
Start by replacing just 10% of their current food with the new option, then gradually increase this amount over a period of 3-4 weeks until they are eating 100% of the new food.
Tips for kibble eaters. Before adding raw diet, start lightly cooked meat and steamed vegetables first. Your dog’s gut system may not be ready go raw diet yet.
 
Mix It Up
I personally like to use both homemade and commercial freeze-dried raw diet. It gives me some flexibility for feeding. For example, when my dogs need to stay at a boarding facility, commercial freeze-dried raw diet is easier for me and staff. I don’t have to cook huge amounts of homemade diet. I still give some cooked diet, but my dogs can still enjoy familiar freeze-dried diet as a main and small amount of cooked vegetables.
So, it is up to you and your dog’s need. If you want to keep processed food (dry or canned), you can add some homemade or raw to diversify microbiome and give extra natural nutrients to enhance gut health. Please remember to add some supplement to balance the nutrition for homemade and raw food. I will add some links about how to balance the nutrition for those diet.
Once you see your dog enjoying natural food (not kibble), I think you will increase those better food more in your dog bowl. I love seeing my dog’s happiness! I am sure you do too!
 
Patience Is Key
Transitioning your pup’s diet sometimes takes patience and consistency especially if your dog is a picky eater. But if done correctly, it can have amazing health benefits. If your dog is a picky eater or senior dog, I recommend starting with cooked meat and vegetable (not over cooked). They may have weak digestive system, and raw diet could be too hard for them.
 
There are many raw and homemade recipes for dogs in the Internet. Here are some I personally recommend:
Balanceit.com (Free)
https://www.mealmixfordogs.com/ (need to sign up)
https://peterdobias.com/ (need to sign up)

For Cats

Start slowly
When you first introduce your cat to the new food, start by leaving a new diet in a separated food bowl (don’t mix with old food yet). Cats are habitual eater, which means they eat what they are familiar with. Mixing the new food to old can make them feel very suspicious about what you are feeding.

If your cat only has had kibble before, start with canned food. It may take 1-3 months to have your cats get used to the smell of the new food. The reason why I recommend canned food instead of raw or homemade at this first transition time is canned food is safer to leave longer time than raw/homemade. If your cat doesn’t want to eat canned food within 12 hours, please discard it. Then, leave a fresh one. I know it sounds wasting but it is necessary for the safety of food. Then, once your cat seems curious about the new food, you may want to add one or two cat kibbles on the top of the wet food. Again, please discard any canned food within 12 hours.

Once your cat eats canned food without any problem, you can do the same process for raw and homemade. Raw and homemade cannot be left at room temperature for a long time, so change more often or set a feeding time.
Gradually increase the amount of new food while decreasing the amount of old food until they are only eating the new food. This gradual transition will help your cat get used to the new taste and smell of the food and will avoid any stomach upset.
 
Be patient:
​It will take time for your cat to adjust to the new diet, so be patient and don't give up if they're not eating it right away. Some cats may take a few months to fully transition, so just keep offering them the new food and eventually they'll come around.
Dr. Pierson provides very detailed information about cat food and feeding guide in her website.
https://catinfo.org/
 
Raw and homemade recipes for cats:
Balanceit.com (Free)
https://catinfo.org/ (Free)

Conclusion

Making a smooth transition from one type of dog/cat food to another can help ensure your pet will enjoy their meals and benefit from improved nutrition. When making changes like these, always start slow and mix in some of their old food with the new food so that they still recognize some familiar flavors and textures. Most importantly, remain patient throughout this process; transitioning a pet's diet requires consistency and sometimes trial-and-error until you find what works best for them! With these tips in mind, I hope you have success in transitioning your pet's diet!