How to Change a Pet’s Diet

How to Change a Pet’s Diet

How to Change a Pet’s Diet?, In general, dogs and cats do well eating the same diet routinely. Unlike people, pets rarely become bored with a single pet food, so change is not needed simply for the sake of variety. However, diet changes may be necessary because of reasons including:
1. Current diet is discontinued or out of stock
2. The pet may have a medical condition that requires a change of diet
3. The pet has entered a new life stage (from puppy to adult or from adult to geriatric)
The most important aspect of changing a pet’s diet is to make the change gradually. Even when the only change is the flavor of the food, or the formulation (canned vs. dry) and not the brand of food, abrupt diet changes can result in food aversions or gastrointestinal upset in the form of vomiting or diarrhea. Gastrointestinal upset can occur due to exposure to new ingre-dients, or changes in the composition of the food (for example, a change in fat content of the new food). This is especially common in dogs and cats that have a “sensitive” stomach or have had previous bouts of gastrointestinal upset.

Talk to your veterinarian about your pet’s dietary needs. Your veterinarian will be able to provide you with the best recommendations in regard to the type of diet and volume of food your pet needs to receive an adequate but not excessive number of calories. Just like people, pets that eat too many calories will gain weight, while
pets that don’t eat enough calories will lose weight. Not all pet foods have the same amount of calories per cup. If you haven’t had the chance to discuss the amount of food to feed with your veterinarian yet, many pet food bags or cans provide guidance on the amount to feed based on your pet’s weight.

Slowly introduce your pet to the new diet by thoroughly mixing in a small amount (25%) of the new food with the current diet for the first 2 days. Monitor your pet’s stool quality, attitude, and appetite. If the new diet is well tolerated, you may continue transitioning the diet by following the proportions shown in the table below until your pet is eating only the new diet.

If your pet develops signs of gastrointestinal upset, you can try to prolong the transition, making the change even more gradually to allow more time for them to get adjusted to the new diet. If problems continue, you should either speak with your veterinarian or if there are no medical issues to consider, try switching back to the previous, original food.

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