There are several good reasons cats refuse raw food. The common ones are delved into here.

With growing awareness, people are now appreciating the advantages of feeding their cat a diet their ancestors evolved on. However, it can be frustrating when their cat categorically refuses the food.

The good news is, there are ways around this stubbornness on the part of your cat. However, you need to be patient, become aware of the reasons and take the necessary time and action.

This isn’t the case with all cats, as some do remember they really are cats and embrace the new diet with great enthusiasm. It’s often the older ones, who are ingrained in their habits, that pose a challenge. 

Commercial cat food is made with cheap and unsuitable ‘food’ sources. This has been covered elsewhere and is not the subject of this article. The companies don’t value animals as you may.

It’s doubtful there is a cat alive who would consider eating such products. So it has to be disguised.

Chemical engineers have been very active in the food industry, producing flavours that mimic real food. And they have been just as effective in the commercial pet food industry.

Suffice it to say, your cat has become a junkie, duped by artificial flavours disguising the dreadful nutritional content, they would otherwise reject out of hand.

Junkies don’t like to give up their bad habits easily. It takes commitment and determination. On your part.

All small cats, whether domestic or wild, are independent beings. They are the ones who make their own decisions. They do not take kindly to being told what to do. So your job is to convince them that this is the most healthy way to eat.

If you don’t fully believe that to be so, your cat will pick that up. ‘Who are you trying to kid?’

One of the common reasons cats refuse raw food is that the change over is too sudden. A plate of raw food, perhaps from an expensive brand, is plonked in front of them, with no introduction.

You need to put yourself in their paws. Do you like sudden changes? Think back. Most of us do need a more gradual approach to changes so that we can become familiarised with it at our own pace, whatever that is.

The expense of the brand can also make the process a lot more frustrating to us.

In addition, a change to a healthy, species-specific diet tends to start a de-tox process. The older the cat, the more toxic they are. Some may be intuitively shy of this, even though it is normally short lived. Most of us don’t go out of our way to become sick, without a very good reason.

Being patient is not a virtue of many people, but I suggest it should be the aim of anyone who truly wants to embrace holistic health, to help themselves as well as their cat.

In my experience, these three reasons are the most common problems anyone can face when changing their cats diet.

There is another reason that can be encountered, but I suggest it’s a rare one, happily. It may occur in a very sensitive cat (although all are much more sensitive than we are), whose past treatment has caused a problem allowing the right gut bacteria to flourish.

Without the right gut bacteria, digestion can be painful and incomplete.

These cats can often manage cooked meat and only one sort of meat, being intolerant or just refusing others. Whilst cats can survive with this condition, I suggest they don’t find life easy or comfortable and would be much better if this issue was resolved.

This problem can be healed well by professionally prescribed homeopathic treatment. It’s a complicated situation and requires skilled treatment.

The reasons cats refuse raw food can be overcome with diligence, knowledge and patience. And your cat will be much healthier once through the sometimes difficult conversion process. Not only healthier, happier and more lively, too. And you’ll be happier as you won’t need to shell out so much on treatment.