Introducing Your Cat to a Raw Diet

It's so important to feed our pets a species-appropriate diet and especially so with our obligate carnivore feline companions.  One of the most frequent questions we get is "What should I do if my cat refuses to eat raw food?"  We get it and we understand.  It took us a long time to finally get our cat 12 year old cat, Sophie, moved over to a raw diet many years ago.  We started with converting her to a 100% wet canned diet and then we very slowly added in a small amount (very small - like less than 1/4 tsp per meal!) and we tried all the options available until we finally found a formula that had the consistency she loved.  She lived to over 18 years old and working with our vet and Sophie's prior diagnosis of Chronic Kidney Disease. Patience is the key and finding the formula and texture your cat will love.  It's easier to start out with a young cat or kitten than an adult cat.  Cats imprint on their first food's texture, shape and protein at a very young age making it a sometimes more challenging transition.  We've got some successful tips and tricks we've learned over years with our customers - it's a constant experiment with cats. We purposefully carry a wide variety of raw cat diets so that you have options in various proteins, textures and formulas.  We can guide you to the best possible options for your cats.  

Remember, to go slowly and make sure your cat never goes without food for more than 24 hours or even 12 hours for an obese cat without consulting your veterinarian. If not a very serious condition, hepatic lipidosis (when fat begins to accumulate in the liver), can occur. Don’t be discouraged by the transition process. You might have to throw away a few teaspoonful of food in the process but know that you on the way in giving your cat the best possible diet.

  • First, choose your cat’s favorite meat protein then try one of the following methods.
  • Make sure the food is warm (just like their prey would be) but not cooked. Placing the food in a bag sitting in warm water works well.
  • Convert your cat to a wet, canned, diet first and then slowly introduce the raw food mixed into their favorite canned food. Use a very small amount and go very slowly mixing it together at each meal. Be warned this may take you months with a particularly stubborn cat but typically they will begin to prefer the raw food over the canned. An alternative is to not mix them together but use the raw as an “appetizer” on the same plate as their regular canned food. Then begin to convert over to 100% raw.
  • Use some freeze-dried 100% treats sprinkled on their food to introduce them to raw – this is a great way to make the food even more palatable for them.
  • You can also heat their food, in the beginning only, in order to get them to eat it initially. Parboiling the food in a plastic bag in boiling water for a minute or so or lighting cooking it, without butter or oil, can get them to take to the food. Don’t cook it all the way through – go for medium rare. Use this method only in the transition process as cooking does reduce the nutritional quality of the food but can be helpful for some cats in accepting the food.
  • Another way to bring the food to room temperature more quickly is to set the plate of food over a bowl of hot/warm water.  This helps take the “chill” out and many cats respond to warmer foods.
  • Some cats prefer to “hunt” their food so placing their new raw diet in a surprise location in your home where they typically don’t eat has been effective in transitioning some cats.
  • Don’t forget giving your cat raw meaty bones too. Chicken wings and necks are great for them. They can digest the meat and bones too. Just make sure they eat them in their designated location and don’t hide them in the house!