These days when it comes to finicky eating habits, cats don’t
necessarily have a corner on the market. Many people find that
dogs, and especially smaller dogs, have a tendency to turn
their noses up at the food dish. Sure, some dogs would still
eat a license plate (if you melted a little cheese on it).
But more and more people are finding that dogs who used to
have healthy appetites are suddenly eating like supermodels.
And of course many cats are still eating like birds (pardon
the pun).
Our core belief is that this is the result of sheer boredom
caused by bland, over-processed, low-quality pet foods. Imagine
for a moment that you were stuck eating the same thing, day
after day. Now imagine that what you were being forced to eat
was a diet consisting strictly of dried up “mystery” pellets
that didn’t even resemble real food. It’s easy
to see why pets will suddenly stop eating when in fact they
should be welcoming each meal with voracious excitement. It
is the main driving force in their lives. A pet with a passion
for food is a pet with a passion for life.
If this description reminds you of your pet, the first step
that I would recommend would be to switch to fresh, real, and
natural pet food. Whether you choose
a raw pet food base, like our Sojos
mix, that you add to fresh meat and veggies, or a recipe
that you
make
from
scratch
-- dogs and cats will have a much healthier appetite on real,
natural pet foods. It’s important to keep mealtime exciting
for pets. Once you’ve got their systems accustomed to
a fresh diet, try out different fruits and vegetables to see
which
ones they
like. Try adding healthy leftovers to their food dish. And
feel free to mix in things that you know they like such as
tuna juice or chicken broth. Also, allowing all of the food
to soak together in the fridge overnight will help ensure that
the meat’s flavor gets absorbed into the other food items,
making the meal all that much more exciting and tasty for your
pet!
If your pet appears finicky to fresh raw pet foods, fear not.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Remember to
switch slowly. There is no need to rush. When starting out
on a new
natural pet food diet, begin with as small as 1/8 teaspoon
mixed in with their existing diet. The smaller the amount of
new pet
food
being
introduced
at each meal, the better. Then, very, very slowly start to
increase the amount of the new pet food each day while simultaneously
decreasing the amount of old pet food being served. The same
is true for added vegetables. Don’t add too much of a
new pet food all at once, and try one new thing at a time so
as not
to overwhelm your critter. Chop veggies into very fine pieces
or put them into a food processor if need be. Another helpful
tip is to use a 5 to 10 minute feeding window. (Their bodies
were never meant to have food available 24 hours a day.) If
they refuse to eat, put the food in the fridge and try it again
later. If they still refuse then wait 'til the next day. They
will get the idea after a few days. Be very, very patient.
This will make for a smoother transition, which, in turn, will
also be easier on their digestive systems.
Once you’ve increased the proportion of the new raw pet
food to the point where you’ve completely phased out
the old pet food, your dog or cat will be ready to try other
fresh, human-grade foods (as well as all
natural dog treats).
Remember, the only reason dogs and cats have trouble with table
scraps
is
because
their
bodies
are
used
to only
digesting bland pet food pellets everyday. Once they’re
transitioned to fresh pet foods, they’ll love to try
other healthy table scraps. Just stay away from things that
are difficult
to digest
like onions and citrus fruits -- and of course no junk food.
For more information on how to feed a finicky pet, check out
this article (http://sojos.com/howtofeedfinickycats.html)
from our website. Bone appetite!
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Sojourner Farms. All rights reserved.
