How to Soften Dry Cat Food – Some Important Tips You Need to Know
Soft dry cat food is easier for your cat to swallow and digest. Especially when your cat is used to eating moist foods since kitten-hood. You can make the most of how to soften dry cat food when your cat is slowly getting to eat other foods than plain milk.
So without taking up too much of your time, let’s learn how to soften dry cat food the right way. Also, in this article, you’ll discover some tips you can use to improve your cat’s eating habits. When it comes to mixing water with dry cat food to make it softer, rely on the following information.
Ways of Softening Cat Food
1. Add warm water
This is the most basic method of softening dry cat food. Soaking dry cat food in warm water for 10 minutes. It’s quick and effective.
For every 1 cup of dry food kibble, add 1/3 cup of warm water.
There are different ways in which you can make dry cat food soft. You can also make it slightly chewable, creamy, soupy, or mashed.
This depends on how long you soak the kibbles. You can soak the dry food kibbles for anywhere between 5 to 15 minutes.
How you soften dry cat food for your cat depends on your cat’s needs and health. If it’s for a weaning cat, making the food creamy and soupy is necessary. This is the only way you can make the dry cat food palatable for a kitten just getting off weaning.
Once your kitten is used to the flavor and texture of the softened dry cat food, you can reduce the soaking time.
2. Add kitten formula
Adult cats and kittens love kitten formula. It’s delicious, aromatic, and nutritious. The nutritional quality of kitten formula is the best boost a cat can eat with their dry kibble food.
But before you set up a routine of adding kitten formula to your cat’s diet, consult with a vet first. Ask the doctor about your cat’s nutritional needs based on age, weight, and health conditions.
Once you know it’s safe to feed your cat kitten formula, switch warm water with it.
The dry cat food will soak up all the moisture of the kitten formula easily. The kibbles will develop a creamier texture because of the formula. Making it even more palatable and tempting for your cat to eat.
If your cat is suffering from chewing difficulties, this is a great way to solve that. You can even blend or mash the kitten formula together. It’ll make the texture of the kibbles smoother and creamier.
Weaning kittens, fussy cats, and cats who have a lack of appetite. Kitten formula adds a boost of flavor and smell that will make it hard to resist for cats.
Some Tips Before You Go…
Here are some dos and don’ts of feeding your cat softened dry cat food…
1. Always feed fresh food
If the softened dry cat food has been sitting out for over an hour, do not feed it to your cat. While it’s okay to store un-softened dry cat food in an airtight container for days, you shouldn’t do the same with softened food.
The change in temperature when you add warm water or kitten formula will cause bad bacterial growth. This is dangerous when your cat eats it.
Dry cat food is processed in high temperatures to kill away germs for proper packaging and long-term storage. However, when you add warm water to it, it activates the bacteria that grow on the surface of the kibbles. So don’t be surprised if the untouched bowl of softened dry food starts to stink and attract flies.
2. Always measure before adding water
There’s no room for guesswork here. If you add too much water, your cat will end up consuming more water than nutrients.
Use a spoon or a cup to get the accurate serving size of water, kitten formula, and dry cat food. It should be easier for you to feed your cat daily. And this way, you can also keep track of how much water your cat is consuming. And how much to maintain a proper body weight.
3. Always consult a vet before changing your cat’s diet
Your cat may have allergies or stomach sensitivities that you are not aware of. That is why consulting with a professional first will help you figure out the best diet for your pet. Whether that includes feeding softened dry cat food or wet food that contains more nutrients and fewer carbs than dry kibbles.
Before making any changes to your cat’s diet, you should know about your cat’s health conditions. Any kind of experimentation with food may harm your cat and you won’t even know it!
4. Switch to wet food if you’re still unsure
Is your cat not eating softened dry kibbles? Maybe it’s time to switch to wet food. Wet cat food smells because it doesn’t contain any rice or wheat. It’s packed with vitamins and minerals that are good for your cat’s health.
Because of any specific health condition, your cat refuses to eat dry food, wet food is the safest option. You can buy different flavors of canned wet food such as chicken, salmon, tuna, etc. And feed your cat something different for each meal.
It’s safer to do all this if you want a quick and healthy fix.
Final Thoughts
For some cats, the transition from milk to dry food is smooth and effortless. But for a few others, it can be a challenging transition. And the best way to make the cat food more delicious is by adding some water to soften the hard texture of the dry food.
Dry food is cheaper than wet, canned food. That is why adding warm water or kitten formula to dry kibbles to make it chewy is a good idea. And if your cat is eating it heartily without any negative impact, then you can continue with it.
But always be on the lookout for any allergic reaction, irregular stools, vomiting, etc. These tips are simple and effective but they’re incomplete without a doctor’s consultation!