Tips and Advice

When changing the diet of your cat or dog it is impoartant not to make any sudden changes.

Cats and Dogs are creatures of habit and unlike humans who enjoy the nevelty of something new, they don't like surprises in their dinner bowls.

Another thing to consider is that changing from a mainly wet diet to a dy diet can rather upset the rhythm of a cat or dogs bowels! A Sudden change can lead to dramatic diarrhea! You may be keen to get rid of the meat based food that you have been using with your cat or dog previously, and your cat or dog might be very keen to eat the new food straight away but the best way to make the switch is to gradually introduce the food over four days to a week. Gradually change the ratio from 90% old food with 10% of the new food mixed in to 90% of the new food until you can remove the old food completely.

Sudden changes can lead to diarrhea as mentioned before, but also stomach cramps, vomiting, indigestion and even refusal to eat the food at all.

That said, dogs do enjoy a teat now and then and there are many ways to perk up their food to add a bit of extra yumminess.

Sauces
Many of our customers add things to the dry food to make the food more fun, especially when the dog is recovering from a period of illness and may have a loss of appetite.

Some baked beans poured over the top will tempt a dog into scoffing a bowl of food. Another good tip is for dogs that are used to wet foods and may be finding the new dry foods a little bland at first. Other customers have used the Yarrah pate to make an aromatic and tasty gravy. As it has a strong aroma you only need a spoonful of the Yarrah pate, which can be mixed with some warm water and poured over the food. Feedback on this has reported bowls licked clean!

Vomiting in cats
Very occasionally we receive reports of cats vomiting. This is not directly related to the fact that the foods are vegetarian as it also happens with meat based foods.

Often cats are regurgitating their food rather than actually vomiting. Vomiting is where your cat is retching and bringing up food from deeper inside, from the stomach and intestines. Most instances of regurgitation that relate to food happen shortly after the cat has eaten. This is actually regurgitation of food from the esophagus, where the food can be seen as undigested but swollen, ofeten covered in a slimy mucous.

Unlike humans cats can regurgitate quite effortlessly and then get on with their business, while we may find the experience much more unpleasant and distressing.  A cat being physically sick does not necessarily indicate an illness. The ability to regurgitate/vomit comfortably is part of cats carinvorous inheritance. Causes can vary from incident to incident - one cat can vomit on different occasions for different reasons. A sudden change in the diet can be a factor.

Overeating
Sometimes vomiting can be caused by simply over eating, or eating too rapidly. The foods we sell are tasty, and people often comment on how much the cats enjoy them. We must stress here how important it is to properly ration the foods.

Another factor to consider is that dry foods expand when they absord the moisture of the stomach juices. Although cats do not usually over eat (unlike greedy dogs) they will eat until they are full. However, the food can then expand in the esophagus and stomach, expanding and irritating the stomach wall, stimulating the reflex to bring the food back up.

As the dry  foods are quite concentrated, an adult cat typically needs as little 50-80 grams a DAY. And this should ideally be served in two portions. We know that many people put put more food than this each day and let the cat 'graze' through the day. We would encourage you to weigh out the amount of food recommended for the size of your cat and see for yourself how much it is. It is probably less than you think. In cases of 'vomiting' that have been brought to our attention, simply rationing the food out properly solved most problems.