Transitioning Between Pet Foods
Different Levels of Nutrients + Ingredients = Different Gut Bacteria
We get it, you've found a new recipe and are excited to switch today, but rushing the transition process will only cause your cats and dogs unnecessary discomfort.
The issue is that different ingredients and ratios of proteins, fats, and carbs require a different balance of digestive bacteria. For example, a species-appropriate recipe is high in protein (60% Dry Matter) and has only trace amounts of carbs (2% Dry Matter), while traditional recipes are often high in carbs and fats.
Don't worry – your pet's gut flora will naturally rebalance given enough time – healthy digestive systems have no need for additional probiotics.
Transitioning Too Fast... Ruh-roh!
Switching too quickly will result in digestive distress.
Slow is Smooth
A smooth transitioning process is one which goes slowly enough to allow your pet's gut bacteria to naturally rebalance. To have the smoothest transition possible, use the following charts as a reference for gradually transitioning from a species-inappropriate diet to a single recipe of a species-appropriate diet.
Note: switching between similar products can be done in a few days. Your pet's gut bacteria still needs time to adjust to the new food's balance of nutrients and ingredients.
"Eww... Nope don't wanna!"
This is a fairly common response when changing pet foods, especially when changing to a more natural/appropriate recipe. The reason is that most commercial foods are engineered for maximum attractiveness and are loaded with unnecessary attractants and fats. Species-appropriate foods, such as ours, focus on nutrition and do not use unnecessary ingredients resulting in a comparatively bland food.
There are a few easy steps that you can take to help your family transition to a nutritious diet.
Enhance attractiveness by
- Using a food processor to get a softer texture
- Warming food to 100F
- Sprinking with nutritional yeast
- Sprinkling with parmesan cheese
Be confident and try
- Feeding at normal times
- Mixing with previous food
- Eliminating/reducing treats
- Letting them go a bit hungry*
* Caution: Never let your furfam go 24 hours without eating.
Vomiting? Diarrhea? Don't Panic!
Transitioning takes time and every cat or dog will transition different. Underlying health conditions may slow down the process. The following steps will help you get back on track!
- First, switch back to the previous food. If the situation clears up in a few days, wait another day and then reintroduce our species-appropriate diets more slowly and monitor closely.
- Second, if the condition does not clear up, contact your trusted veterinarian as there may be a previous undiagnosed food allergy or illness.
Be assured that all of our products are independently tested to be pathogen free. We'd be happy to share the test results with you and your trusted veterinarian.
Transitioning Larry – AKA Mr. Snuggles
We adopted Larry in Dec. 2019 after he “faked” having an injured paw at the feral colony where he’d lived for his entire 8 year life. At the colony he was fed daily a diet of random canned and dry foods.
After a few days of acclimatizing to indoor life, we began transitioning him to Balanced Blends. To help him avoid the instinctual “fear of new things” that many small predators have, we chose to mix his foods together. The first few days went great and then... we found kitty-pies in his litter box!
We immediately switched back to his original canned food. After a few days, we resumed transitioning with less BB initially and gradually increased the amount over 3 more weeks. Only a few weeks after he finished transitioning, we are kitty-pie free. Hooray!
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