Read time : 3 mins
Plotting the demise of the human race is hungry but rewarding work for our kitties, easily saving up enough energy to keep us on our toes at mealtimes – all part of the masterplan.
Check out our top tips for getting your cat to eat their meals – gleaned from the Republic of Cats customer team, our citizens only community and the tried/tested methods cat people like you have shared with us on Insta.
How to help my cat like their food
It starts with you. Granted – if you’ve been rejected at mealtimes by your kitty before, it’s hard to be all easy breezy about dishing it up.
Reset. Open your heart, mind and body language. Feel the confidence flow through you. Get your best cat voice on.
Place it down with the enthusiasm you’d like reflected back from your cat and walk away.
Ideas for a cat feeding station
If the idea of a cat feeding station is new to you, Google is full of inspo. People do epic things for their cats.
This is more of a quick check to make sure you’ve created a feeding area that your cat’s not going to contest.
- It’s a quiet space away from other cats, dogs and (gasp) toddlers
- It’s just for food – move water to another peaceful corner (in the wild they’d never eat and drink in the same place)
- Their bowl has nice low sides so that their whiskers don’t get disturbed when they tuck into their food
- You pick the bowl up after dinner and wash it each time so that no old smells linger
- There’s no extra bowl of bottomless dry food to ruin one’s appetite
For clever cats who need a little more to keep them occupied or to help your cat eat more slowly, try dishing up wet food on a lickimat and similarly, their dry food in one of these little play mice.
What to do if my cat doesn’t like wet food anymore
Keeping your cat entertained previously meant keeping a cupboard full of different brands – which some tummies find tricky.
Find a range or service that has a broad range of recipes to offer your cat enough variety without having to change their diet fundamentally each time they turn their nose up.
Get your Taster Box from Republic of Cats for £5 (RRP£15+) and delve into all 8 of our recipes in 3 different textures before choosing your cat’s favourites to receive next month using code THELICKTASTER at checkout.
When your cat’s meaty meals arrive, try stacking them in your cupboard to make sure they get a range of recipes in any one day.
If your cat shows a sudden dislike for dry food, you can switch that up too online or via our customer team [email protected]
Mimic how cats eat in the wild
Cats are much more recently domesticated than dogs – we only brought them up close over the past 10,000 years or so. They didn’t always turn up a few times a day, weave through a human’s legs and shout for something to eat… even less so have access to an ‘all you cat eat’ buffet of dry food.
They more likely caught a small rodent here, scraps off someone’s leftovers there. Mimicking these smaller, more regular meals (especially now many of us work from home a little more) can really help get their saucer licked clean.
Try ditching the grazing bowl entirely and serve up helpings five times a day rather than crammed into two.
Something else that helps some cats enjoy their food is warming it up slightly before serving it. It gets the aromas going and is a little more natural on the mouth.
The ultimate guide to helping fussy cats is a masterpiece that can never be finished – share your tricks and tips in our community to help us help ever more cat people with their choosy fusspots.
