How to switch my picky cat's wet food without causing diarrhea?

You can switch their food but you want to slowly transition them to the new food. This means you want to start with mixing only a small amount of the new food in with the old food for a few days then over a 10 day period, increase the amount of new food while decreasing the amount of old food until you are just feeding the new food around day 10. By slowly transitioning them to a new food, it decreases the risk of causes an upset stomach. I hope this helps!

Hello, any new diet that will be offered should be transitioned gradually. Sudden diet changes may cause a decreased appetite, vomiting or diarrhea. So transition the diet slowly. Make sure that the new food is also for kittens as she needs the additional calories and protein for her growth. Hope this helps and best of luck.

What a great question. I have seen many dogs and cats get diarrhea from switching from kitten to adult even if it is the same brand. I would still recommend a 4 or 5 days introduction/ slow switch over. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Whiskas is considered a lower-quality brand, but is still nutritionally complete to give. If you're looking for a higher-end food, looking to brands that are readily available at pet stores such as Science Diet or Royal Canin are good choices. These brands offer many different varieties so you can better tailor the food to Lucy's individual needs, and some even have foods specific to certain breeds/sizes of cat. Both also carry a variety of wet and dry foods if you want to feed both, however that isn't always necessary. Feeding twice a day (once in the morning and once at night) as you are currently doing should be fine. If she seems extra hungry or is losing weight, smaller more frequent meals may also help. Your vet can also help you monitor Lucy's weight over time with the new food if you're curious to see how her weight or body condition changes.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If your kitty is getting diarrhea on multiple different types of canned food then I would avoid canned diets for now. Maybe when she is older you can try introducing them again. I don't think you have to offer both canned or dry food in the first year of a cats life. I recommend any food that allows for healthy weight gain, no vomiting and no diarrhea. I hope this helps!

This last decade has brought an incredible amount of new products to the shelves and I know it must be daunting and very confusing to consumers. Unfortunately, most information about these foods comes from the pet store employee or an equally unqualified source on the internet. It's very wise of you to ask an expert. The truth about most of these foods is that their claims usually amount to nothing more than that of a fad diet (i.e. paleo or atkins) and are not supported by sufficient evidence (even though they will make it sound like it is). As scientifically trained practitioners, us vets prefer to offer evidenced based treatment and the same goes for feeding suggestions. Wet food will encourage water intake and may make the stools more soft, but does not cause diarrhea. Lightly cooked, grain-free, natural, etc. are really just marketing gimmicks meant to increase sales. They mean essentially nothing and normally do not have any good evidence to back their claims. The most important thing on that bag is a tiny bit of writing under the guaranteed analysis called the AAFCO statement. This statement tells you what actual research went into making the product. Below is a link to an article that will help explain this more and give some other info about feeding your cats: https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ High protein is nice and all of the foods with an AAFCO statement have the minimum necessary amount of protein (around 30%) in the diet. More importantly, they will have ensured the necessary amino acids are in the correct quantity. I know the answer may still be somewhat vague, but if you stick to the basic principles of choosing the right food, then you should be successful in feeding a good and nutritious food to your cats. Below is a link to another helpful resource with good information about pet foods. https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/ucm047113.htm I hope that helps and all is well for your cats.

It's possible the cat having diarrhea is having some sort of food allergy, or it could be stress related. Changing the diet or attempting a food trial with your veterinarian may help rule out any potential allergies and help relieve the diarrhea if there were no parasites or illness present. Reducing stress may also help, and adding in a pheromone diffuser in shared rooms can help with reducing stress along with making sure each cat has their own access to the litter box, food, water, etc without competition (that could lead to stress or accidents outside the litter box). As for your picky eater, switching foods may also encourage them to try a little more.