We often hear about cats that are often labelled as fussy eaters. With dogs we generally see an instant excitement at feeding time, tail wagging and drool at the ready. This is not the case with cats but it shouldn’t be taken as a sign that they are unhappy with their food.
Cat Ancestry
Our cat’s primary ancestor is a small wild cat, who hunts for small rodents. Due to the nature of hunting, their meals are spread out over the day, and consist of small meals of fresh prey. This feeding behavior is still exhibited in our domestic felines who prefer to eat small amounts of food, spread throughout the day. Therefore, don’t be alarmed if your feline friend only eats a few pieces of dry food then walks away, this is not a sign that they are rejecting the food. They are just following their instinctive behavior.
Wet or Dry?
Cats vary in their preference for wet or dry food. As such many owners tend to offer a choice of both. Remember cats like fresh food, so if you are feeding a wet food, offer a small portion at room temperature and refrigerate the rest. With dry, if your cat is good at self-regulating their intake, then feel free to leave their daily allowance down for the day so they have the option of when to eat.
Offering Choice?
People often worry about their pets being bored eating the same food daily. However, if your pet is enjoying their nutritious diet then there is no reason to change. Offering multiple dry or wet food options at the same time can be counter-productive and may actually encourage fussiness. But if you do perceive that your cat is losing interest in their diet, it’s worthwhile to remember that James Wellbeloved has a choice of cat food in three different delicious animal proteins: turkey, fish and duck.
Our cats certainly love the taste and we are sure yours will too!
Treats, treats and more treats
Providing lots of tasty treats will certainly encourage your cat to eat, but if they are filling up on extras this will reduce their desire for their normal food. So cut down on those treats and extras!
Outdoor cat?
Cats who are allowed access to the outdoors could be consuming additional food elsewhere. A quick way to assess if your cat is taking in enough food is review your cat’s body condition and act accordingly. Contact your vet if you are concerned about your cat’s appetite particularly if this is unusual for the cat or accompanied by weight loss.
Why try James Wellbeloved?
Your cat’s nutritional needs are very specific. So we carefully select the finest ingredients to use in our diets and these provide other all-important natural health benefits too, such as chicory extract which is good for the gut and yucca extract to reduce stool odours. Our cats certainly love the taste and we are sure yours will too!
