One of the biggest barriers to feeding raw isn't balancing the diet.
It's getting the cat to eat something other than kibble.
Cats that have spent years eating dry food often become attached to the crunch, the smell, the shape, and sometimes even the routine. Many kibbles are also coated with animal digest, a highly concentrated flavouring made from animal tissues that is sprayed onto the food to make it more appealing. For some cats, that coating can make kibble especially hard to give up. It doesn't mean they are stubborn. It just means they're creatures of habit.
The good news is that most cats can transition, but they don't usually do it on our timeline.
The first step is removing the buffet.
If kibble is available all day, most cats have no reason to try something new. Move to scheduled meals instead. Offer food for 20 to 30 minutes, then pick it up. Start with whatever food your cat is already eating. The goal at this stage isn't raw. It's teaching your cat that food appears at meal times.
Once your cat is comfortable with scheduled meals, start introducing change slowly.
If your cat has never eaten anything except kibble, wet food is often the easiest bridge. Try different textures and proteins. Some cats prefer pâté, some like shredded food, and some like chunks in gravy.
You can make new foods more appealing by:
• Warming them slightly
• Sprinkling crushed kibble on top
• Adding freeze dried treat krumble
• We highly recommend switching to flat plates rather than bowls at this stage, as many cats find them more comfortable to eat from and they help reduce whisker stress
When your cat is happily eating wet food, get the kibble out of the house.
Not hidden in a cupboard, on top of the fridge, or in the pantry.
Out of the house.
Put it in the garage, the shed, the car, or with a friend if you have to. Keep it as a last-resort backup, but don't keep it inside the house.
Cats are far better at training humans than humans are at training cats.
If your cat knows kibble is still in the house, many will simply hold out. They can smell it no matter where you've hidden it. They know it's there, they've learned that holding out has worked before, and there's a reasonable chance that if they refuse dinner long enough, the kibble will magically reappear.
Once your cat is eating wet food reliably, that's the point where you need to commit.
Now you can start introducing balanced raw.
Start with a small amount. A teaspoon of the raw beside the wet food is enough. Not mixed in. Just beside it.
Let your cat sniff it. Let them ignore it. That's all part of the process.
As your cat eats that teaspoon of raw. gradually increase the amount of raw and decrease the amount of wet food.
If they stop eating, you've moved too fast. Go back to the last step that was working and stay there a bit longer.
A few things that can help:
• Offer food when your cat is naturally hungry
• Keep mealtimes calm and predictable
• Start with a protein they may have eaten before, otherwise chicken is a great one to start with
• Try different temperatures
• Be patient
You may need to throw some raw food out. Be prepared that there will be wastage, but it won't be forever. Keep offering that one teaspoon of raw beside their wet food. Every meal. Every day. Persistence here is important
I've seen cats transition in a weekend. I've seen cats take six months. My own Ava took 5 months the first time we transitioned
The cat doesn't care about your schedule. The cat has a schedule.
And unfortunately, they're usually in charge.
I've helped thousands of people transition cats to raw over the years, and one thing I've learned is that patience almost always wins. Stay consistent, keep moving forward, and don't let your cat convince you that they are the first feline in history who simply cannot eat anything other than kibble.