A lot of people say to us, “ah my cat is just too fussy”, or “they won’t eat it, I put the food down and they just walked away”.
Cats in general are neophobic, they’re wary of new things, it’s how they survive in the wild, it’s a very smart instinct but it can cause some challenges at mealtime nowadays. Cats become habitual with their food a lot of the time, “I know what I like”, and this is their survival instinct kicking in. To help get through to them, with a healthier food that is better for them, there are a few ways that we can guide you on:
How to switch your cat's food
We’ve worked with cat behaviourists and nutrition experts to help decode their instincts, and help them move across to a diet that we know is as close as we can get to their natural diet.
1. The 12-Hour Reset
A cat’s digestive tract is short and efficient. Before serving their first CatChi meal, wait 12 hours since their last meal. This means removing any dry food that is always left out too.
2. Small to start
Each CatChi pack is perfectly portioned (2x 100-calorie meals for a 4–5kg cat). At the start give them ½ a meal or a ¼ of a pack, heat the food a little (boiling water or the microwave) and add the sprinkles, then give them some space.
Leave the food out for a couple of hours, encourage them occasionally if that’s their nature, but give them time to get used to the food, see that it’s safe.
3. Persist over the next 24 hours
Consistency & persistence are your best friends. Keep trying with small amounts, stick to one recipe (consistency), and keep putting it down (persistence). Don’t cave, they’re not testing you, they’re still unsure about their new food.
If after 24 hours they haven’t tried their CatChi, it’s time to move to the mixing strategy. If they do start to eat it, then slowly increase the amount of CatChi their eating, keep it on one recipe until you’ve finished it and then move to the next.
4. The slower mixing strategy
If they haven’t eaten it, we want to get them to start nibbling, and see that it’s safe. Cats build trust with their food through smell, so associating their new CatChi with their old food helps build this trust. The schedule below is a guide to help them switch slowly:
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Days 1–2: 75% old food, 10-25% CatChi, stay here until they eat the CatChi
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Days 3–4: 50% old food, 50% CatChi
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Days 5–6: 25% old food, 75% CatChi
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Day 7+: 100% CatChi
Top tips for switching your cats food
Cats only have ~900 taste buds vs. the 4-5,000 we have, so texture and smell are really important for them. To help build trust with their food here are some tips that have helped thousands of other CatChi converts:
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Add the sprinkles: Add the sprinkles on top of their food, it’s very aromatic and gets them really excited!
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The Scent Booster: Add 2–3 tablespoons of boiling water. This softens the texture and releases the natural fats cats crave.
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Release the Aroma: Heat the food for 10 seconds in the microwave or gently pan-fry it. Cats love food at body temperature (approx. 38°C).
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Add their favourite treat: If there is a certain treat that they love, we recommend adding this on top too, familiarity builds trust too.
Your cat still won't eat their new food?
Know that every cat can switch their food, some will be trickier than others and require significant persistence and consistency and some will get lucky. We’re always here to help, please get in contact anytime for our latest tips, we’d love to hear your story too: meow@catchi.com.au.