**If your kitty has stopped eating or has become disinterested in food, it is always best to have your vet check him or her out. This article is targeted towards healthy kitties who are not eating – but I did use some of these tricks on my old man, Rags, when he was dying of renal disease and not wanting to eat as much.**
It can take a long time to get a cat’s diet right. You have to see what the cat likes best from the recommended dietary options and based on that, you have to provide it with a complete and balanced diet.
One of the biggest difficulties that owners face when they set up their Ragdoll cat food plan is feeding the cat the same type of food over a longer period of time.
Even if the food is of excellent quality and even if the cat loves the food, after having it a few times, your kitty could stop eating it or lose interest in it. Some cats even refuse to eat it all together.
If this sounds familiar to you, then you’ll be glad to find out that there are still a few things you can try out to spark your cat’s interest in the food. There are a few products you can add to your Ragdoll cat food to make it more appetizing.
1. Add Nutritional Yeast Powder
Sprinkle a small amount (less than a tablespoon) of nutritional yeast on top of your Ragdoll’s cat food to give it a special aroma. This powder (more like a fish food flake consistency) has a very appealing taste so it is bound to put a new spin to food that your cat is bored with.
Nutritional yeast powder is a special type of yeast that is grown in special conditions and then prepared thermally so that it is no longer active. Please note that active yeast, which is used for baking, is not a good cat food supplement because it can be toxic to them.
Nutritional yeast powder is a nutritional supplement often used by vegetarians in their diets. It has a pleasant taste, with a cheesy and nutty flavor. People use it in their food and even as a topping for popcorn precisely because it is so delicious.
Nutritional yeast is an excellent source of B vitamins and protein. Including it in your cat’s diet will make its coat look healthier, smoother, and shinier.
2. Sprinkle with Whole Life Pet Treat Powder/Dust
As you finish your bag of Whole Life Pet Treats, you’re always left with a bit of powder and small bits of food at the bottom. Instead of throwing it out, store it, and use it to spark up your Ragdoll cat’s food.
You can even combine various flavors like chicken, beef, and salmon into one bag and then mix it up to get a very tasty topping for your cat’s food.
Whole Life Pet Treats Just One’s or their new realFoodie’s are freeze-dried, so you can try adding some extra water to the food bowl when you add the powder. Add warm water to the cat food and then add the Whole Life sprinkles and mix it in or just leave it on the top.
Not only will it make the bits easier to chew, but it will also turn the water into a tasty soup that your cat is bound to be curious about. Take a look at our video about using the powder at the bottom of the Whole Life Pet Treat bag to see every step of the process!
3. Move the Bowl to an Odd Location
If your cat is not interested in its food anymore, then make the meal more fun to get your cat’s attention. Ragdoll cats love to play, so when you want to make a meal special, just move the bowl to an odd location.
First, your cat will go to the regular place where you keep the bowl and it will notice that there is no food waiting for it. It will search the area, and when there is nothing to find, it will have to use its tracking skills to get its meal.
It will smell the food and will have a great time finding it. Place the bowl somewhere in the house where the cat will have to work a bit to get, maybe climb a bit.
This way, the food in the bowl is a reward. Even if the cat had the same food a day before, it will taste better after working to get to it.
I have a hard time getting Charlie to eat in the summer. He likes to sleep in the guest bath sink. So late at night, when I am headed to bed, I will prepare food for him and bring it upstairs and set it down on the floor in the bathroom where he sleeps. 100% of the time, he will get out of the sink and go eat.
4. Warm Up the Food
Another simple way to spice up your Ragdoll cat’s food is warming it up. This changes the flavor, the texture, and the smell of the food enough to make it very interesting to your cat.
Here are a few simple ways to properly warm up cat food:
- Add warm water – Add a few tablespoons (up to half a cup) of warm water to get the cat food to warm up. Mix in the water to level up the temperature. Please note that the water should be warm, not hot. Adding hot water to the food may change the texture of the food too much and give it an odd taste. Moreover, hot water might heat up the food too much and your cat might burn it’s tongue or mouth eating it. And then they will forever associate pain with that food and won’t want it again. So be careful!
- Add low-sodium chicken broth – If you want to make your Ragdoll cat food a success, then chicken broth is bound to do that because it will add a lot of flavor. Adding warm broth will also change the texture and the smell of the food and it will make it even more appealing to your cat, so it is worth trying out. Keep in mind that the broth should be low in sodium, so don’t add salt if you make it yourself. You should also avoid chicken broths with onions, chives, or garlic because these are not good for your cat.
- DO NOT Microwave the Food – You might be tempted to think that a simple way to warm up your cat’s food is popping it in the microwave for a few seconds. However, this is very dangerous and you should avoid it. When you put food in the microwave, the temperature of the food is not leveled. Some areas might be cold, while others can be extremely hot. To avoid accidents, it is best that you don’t microwave your cat’s food to warm it up.Using warm water is a simpler solution, which also adds some extra moisture to the food, which is an added bonus.
5. Sprinkle with Grated Parmesan Cheese
An excellent hack to make cat food extra tasty is sprinkling a bit of Parmesan cheese on top of it. Use less than a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese and sprinkle it on your cat’s food.
This will make it creamier and tastier and your cat will certainly spot the difference. You can also sprinkle the cheese on top of warmed up cat food to get an even more powerful smell and aroma.
You can only use this only once in a while with your cat food, but it can be an instant success.
6. Sprinkle Some Bonito Tuna Flakes on Top
Long ago when I was having trouble with my Rags eating his food, someone suggested this to me. It is also a great treat – but as with any fish (because of mercury levels in our oceans), it should be used sparingly.
My two love Bonito Tuna Flakes and I prefer the ones from Eden Foods. Bonito Tuna Flakes are steamed mackerel that is smoked, aged and dried to wood-like hardness, it’s then shaved into fine flakes. Many Asian countries like to use these flakes in noodle broth and soup stock.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to spice up Ragdoll cat food. From sprinkling some nutritional yeast powder, bonito tuna flakes or some cheese on top of it to warming it up with water or chicken broth and all the way to coating it with that delicious powder at the bottom of the Whole Life bags, you can make each meal a real treat for your cat!
Do you have any tips to add to these 6 ways to spice up your Ragdoll cat food?
SUPER PAWESOME & FABULOUS POST, Jenny honey! What great ideas! TYSVM for this amazing info! I don’t have any other ideas to suggest. I think you got it covered with great tasty ways to entice our kittehs to chow down when they are being finicky! YAY!! 🙂 <3
Big hugs & lots of love & purrs!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle 🙂 <3 <3 <3