How To Encourage Dogs And Cats To Eat On Schedule

Getting dogs and cats to eat on schedule can be a tricky process. Some of them can be more stubborn than others.

Still, their mealtimes must be regular enough to reduce their level of anxiety and support a healthier lifestyle. How much they eat can also affect their sleeping patterns too. There’s more at stake here than simply keeping them alive, as their character, mood, and other aspects of their life are all improved by how and when they eat.

How can you encourage dogs and cats to eat on schedule? Read on for some different ways of approaching this problem.

Transition To New Food

People can get sick of eating the same things over and over again, and there’s no reason to suspect your pets don’t adopt similar attitudes over time. Do some research and see if you can vary what they eat to send their appetite into overdrive.

Companies like Applaws use only the highest quality ingredients for their range of natural pet food. They’ve also focused enormously on optimizing the flavours for your good boys and girls, so they won’t feel like they’re receiving food that’s lesser or inferior to your own. Moreover, they publish a range of content on their website to help you look after your pets.

You may have found a great replacement product, but caution is still required. No matter what food you switch to for your pet, the transition should be gradual over the span of 5-7 days, reducing the risk of unsettling their stomachs. After that, your pet should enjoy a tastier life.

Mix Foods

You could always try to keep things interesting and unique for your dog or cat each mealtime. Attempt this by mixing foods.

After pouring the contents from the pouch or tin into their bowl, you could also add in parts of another to ensure they have a mix of flavours. Try to note which combinations are their favourites too.

Alternatively, it may be a good idea to head to the fridge and sprinkle in strips of the chicken or ham that you eat too. Bury it under their main food so that they have to eat everything else to get to it. It’s a simple but effective approach! 

Create A Game

If you can infuse some fun into the proceedings, even the peskiest of pets will engage with each mealtime more enthusiastically. If you have good boys or good girls already, then the extra element of fun will be a bonus.

At the basic level, games like hide and seek with parts of their food could work well. Moreover, dogs love a game with a catch with treats and almost anything else. If you wish to make things a touch more elaborate, a puzzle feeder can keep your pet occupied as they use their brain to access their food. Don’t play these types of games with their main meal, or if you know that they’re hungry. They’re best played when your furry companions are known for only picking at their food. You could use these games as an appetizer phase before their main meal, and after that, they may be more inclined to lick their bowls clean a short while later.

Find more pet tips in our archives.