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I would like to switch my cat to a less processed diet. I bought a dried food that has no by-products or corn products. I am trying to integrate chicken and shrimp (aka "human food" into her diet by combining it with her regular canned food for now and then weaning her off of the canned.

I am a little concerned for her because she really doesn't seem to favor the "human" food (for years I was so happy that she never got into the habit of wanting "my" food instead of hers" but that was before I started understanding exactly what went into HER food). She is older and already a little underweight (just came back from a nasty URI). She will occasionally eat jarred baby food, so I took the human food I cooked for her and pureed it so it is the same consistency. I've been spoonfeeding her the pureed food (she fights me a bit but generally will keep it down)and then when I go to work, I leave out a little bit of the canned food that she is used to and will eat on her own. I also have been supplementing her with NutriCal.

I really need some advice on how long it takes to really make the switch from canned to human food and if there are any tricks I can use to make it more tempting for her. And how do I make sure I am giving her enough? With a younger cat, I wouldn't worry about them losing a little bit of weight and than adjusting accordingly, but I just started getting weight back on her after her illness. I don't want to compromise her health by experimenting!

Also, I know that canned tuna has been labeled as having mercury issues. Is this something I should avoid feeding her (she does tend to like fishy stuff more than poultry)? What other types of fish can I give her safely?

Thanks so much in advance for any tips!

You won't really have to switch her over to human food if you find yourself a high quality cat food. If you want human grade, then I would suggest something like California Natural- a VERY good food, only has like 5 ingredients and they're all good. I feed either Premium Edge or Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul depending on what i have avaialble to me at the time, they're both human grade and my cats love it. They have done very, very well on it. I wouldn't force your kitty to eat human food if she does not want to eat it, and homemade diets are one of the leading causes of nutrient deficiencies/excesses, so they aren't as good for the pet as people think as most people don't know nutrition ratios necessary for their pets. I would just suggest a really good quality cat food and it should work out alright. Just make sure you don't switch her over too quickly as this will upset her tummy. BTW, my youngest kitty came from the shelter with a bad URI and coccidia, and while she's been on the Premium Edge, she has had perfect body condition. She's exactly the weight she should be and has adequate fat cover, so I know this diet works.

I looked up the Chicken Soup for Cat Lovers' Soul and found out that it is manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods...weren't they they same company that had the major issues with recalls and animals dying a little while back? Can someone tell me if this particular brand of food was affected or not? Thanks!

Premium Edge and Chicken Soup are both made by Diamond, but they were never included in the recall as the toxins that caused the problems were in the corn put into the food and neither Premium Edge or Chicken Soup have corn in them so they are perfectly safe. I have been feeding these to my cats for months and never had a problem with it. They have more energy and more beautiful coats than they had before and they are pooping a lot less, and with 4 of them, that's important because litter gets expensive...

I have to agree with Lil on this one. Switch slowly to a high quality cat food. If she doesn't like people food, don't make her eat it, that will not make her like it more. Instead she will probably dig her little feet in and be more stubborn about it. Wish mine didn't like "my" food
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