How to Introduce New Dry Cat Food to a Wet Food Eating Cat

Even if your cats love to eat their favorite brand of wet food, there are reasons why you might need to introduce a new dry cat food to a wet food eating cat. This can happen when there is a shortage of your go-to brand of cat food, your cat’s diet needs to change for medical reasons, or if your cat’s tastes have changed.

Unfortunately, you probably won’t be able to simply start feeding your cat dry cat food. Your cat might need time to adjust to the new food that you offer him. The new texture and flavors could be a big departure from what your cat is used to eating.

Four Tips for How to Introduce New Dry Cat Food

There are some strategies that you can use to make the process of transitioning to a new dry cat food easier for you and your cat:

1. Transition over the course of 7 days

Before you run out of wet food, plan to start the transition to the new dry cat food over the course of 7 days. This means that you should buy the new food to have on hand at least a week before you need it. This way, your cat will have the time he needs to adjust.

2. Sprinkle dry food into their wet food

Start by sprinkling a small amount of dry cat food into their wet food so they will eat small portions of the dry food, too. This can help them adjust to the taste and new ingredients. You can slowly increase the amount of dry food your cat eats with the wet food at each feeding.

3. Add a topper to their dry food to mimic their wet food smells/flavors

You can also add a topper to their dry food or place some wet food on top of the dry food. Popular toppers that you most likely have at home are: Nutritional yeast, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, the water from a can of tuna, the water from a can of anchovies, or low-sodium chicken broth, (make sure this is natural, low-sodium chicken broth — avoid any type of onion, garlic, or other possibly toxic ingredients to cats) to entice your fur baby’s pallet! This can encourage your cat to eat up the dry food by incorporating a flavor they’re already used to. There are many flavor varieties that you can use to spice it up.

4. Create a feeding schedule to establish a pattern

It’s also a smart idea to establish a feeding schedule that your cat can rely on. Try to feed him in the same bowl at the same times each day. Then they can know what to expect.

Some cats don’t mind trying out new foods, while other cats might take longer to adjust to the idea. In some cases, their tummies might need time to settle down when you switch to a new cat food. By working slowly through the transition to a new food, you can make the process easier.