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Cats Are Not Finicky…That is a Myth
They are rightfully cautious by nature
by Pat McKay
With cats it is important to find out why they aren’t eating and keep a journal of how many days they don’t eat at all or, if they are eating small amounts, how much they are eating each day.
Cats will starve themselves 1) if they are ill, 2) if they are dehydrated, 3) if they have thyroid, kidney, bladder, liver problems, or 4) if the food that is being offered isn’t a food they know.
Dogs are pack animals. If the leader of the pack (that’s you) says this is what you are going to eat, dogs know that the leader has checked the food out, and it is fit to eat.
Not so with cats. Cats live singly in the wild and they check out their food each time they are presented with something different.
It is important to understand that when they are kittens they instinctively know how to kill their prey; however, they are taught what to eat. Some prey animals in the wild are poison to felines, so what they eat has to be taught by their parents
When domestic kittens are put on commercial pet foods after weaning, they are being “taught” that pet food is okay. So later on when you change to raw, they are just doing what is natural for them and that is to be cautious, because they have already been imprinted with canned/dry foods as kittens
It is relatively easy to put a kitten on raw food because they are not already imprinted with commercial pet food; not necessarily so with adults. They are more difficult to convert to any new food because their instincts are more defined. If it is not one of the imprinted foods, they are very skeptical…and rightly so. Be patient with your cat and help him/her to understand that it is safe to eat this food.
In fact, if your cat isn’t eating the raw food right away, you may have to hand feed or even force feed in order for them to understand that the raw food is perfectly okay for them to eat.
When hand feeding just offer them small amounts of the food or put a bit of the food on their paw, because cats must groom; they cannot stand to have anything on them.
If you have to force feed, then you must. Take a little of the food and literally push it past the opening in their throat. 1) Remember cats can swallow a small mouse, so don’t think that the small amount is going to cause them to choke. 2) Cats do not have the same vomiting reflex that we do, so they don’t have that feeling of vomiting when pushing that bit of food down his/her throat. 3) The only caution is that you don’t scratch their throat with your nail. 4) Your caution, of course, is that you don’t get bitten.
You may also syringe broth for a few meals so that they get used to the aroma of raw meat, because cats eat by smell, not taste.
Raw meat broth: One tablespoon of RAW ground meat, add to one-half cup of purified water, mash the meat in the water with a fork or put it through a blender or food processor and serve.
If your cat will drink the broth on his/her own, that’s great; you are home free. However, if s/he won’t drink the broth, then my suggestion is to strain the broth so that it will go through a feeding syringe (available in the baby section of any drug store).
Any of the broths or juices must be given within 15-20 minutes after preparing them because once you have exposed the nutrients, they will dissipate quickly.
If you prepare more than your animal will take, then give it to a healthy animal in your family or throw it out. Prepare a fresh mixture each time you give it.
When syringing a liquid into a cat’s mouth, be sure you syringe from one side of the mouth or the other. Do not syringe straight into the cat’s mouth from the front of his/her mouth. Cats will choke on liquid very easily if the liquid is just running down their throat. The cat’s tongue must do the swallowing; you must see your cat’s tongue moving.
