Woody’s Pet Food Deli

When transitioning your pet to a whole foods diet, we suggest giving non-supplemented all-meat pet food first.  This way, you can determine if your pet is allergic to any specific meats.  You can then have your pet try supplemented pet foods and/or add some mix-ins.  Your Woody's associate to can help you come up with a transition program and also customize the best pet food mix for your pet.

Following a Schedule

Transitioning your pet to a whole foods diet should be done gradually to prevent digestive upsets.  A history of eating the same commercial pet food makes your pets digestive system weak.  Your pet needs to slowly build up its digestive capabilites, redeploying enzymes to digest real food.  We recommend  giving your pet 2-4 weeks to adjust.  Here is a sample 4-week transition schedule:

Monitor your pet’s stool.  The stool of a pet in a whole foods diet will be smaller, firmer, and less odorous.  If your pet’s stool is looser than usual during the transition, introduce the whole foods more slowly.

How Much to Feed Daily

Real meat is a lot more digestible than commercial food.  So the daily serving size should be smaller than when serving commercial pet food.  As a starting point, use the food-to-body weight ratio rule:

For example, if your kitten is 6 weeks old and his weight is 4 lbs, then you can start by feeding her 3 oz of food daily (5% of 4 lbs).  Amount should vary depending on the activity level of the kitten.

"Switching the diet of my 20-year-old cat to all raw has had a remarkable effect on her health.  Her coat is shiny, she has stopped vomiting, and she has more energy and seems younger than when I had her only on commercial food.  I would not change back to commercial food unless there was no other alternative."

- Gary Bolt, Minneapolis

Transitioning Kittens and Puppies

Most of the time, pets under 6 months of age can be transitioned rapidly, perhaps in 1 week.  Younger pets still have a fully functional digestive system and thus can adjust to the change in food relatively faster.  It is always good though to follow at least some form of transition plan even though it's an accelerated one. 

Transitioning Cats

Transitioning cats can be a challenge. It seems to be 50-50 with cats.  Count yourself lucky if your cat warms up to the new food immediately!

Oftentimes, the longer the cat has been on dry food, the harder it is to have her transition.  Cats after all are creatures of habit.  (Kittens can warm up to new food easily.) Here are some tips in helping your cat shift to new food:

• Always follow a transition plan.
• Cats want their food warm, not cold, so serve the new food at room temperature.
• Bribes such as yogurt, freeze-dried meat/fish crumbles may help. 
• If absolutely necessary, allow your cat to fast.  Hungry cats are more likely to eat new food.  (Cats are desert animals and can fast for a long time and in fact benefit from doing so.  However, do not fast your cat for more than 2 days. Provide water at all times.)

Healing Crisis

It is almost a certainty that any pet transitioned from a commercial to a natural diet will go through some detoxification.  Vomiting, mucousy stools, or diarrhea can be signs of detox.  Unfortunately, it's hard to distinguish detox from digestive upset or allergies.  If the symptom persists for more than 36 hours, or recurs frequently given the same diet, most probably it's an allergy.