Rotational feeding should start as soon as your puppy or kitten can eat solid food. Start by mixing raw frozen meats with various flavors of kibble or canned food. Eventually increase the amount of raw foods so that your pet is eating from the each of the three food groups, raw, canned and kibble. However, it is not necessary that you do this for each meal. Feeding your pet just kibble and raw meat or kibble and canned food for breakfast and then canned food mixed with raw meat for dinner are perfectly acceptable combinations. The idea is simply to offer your pet variety.

Introducing an older pet to rotational feeding may require a little patience. Some owners find that gently cooking raw food and serving it with kibble or canned food is helpful in easing the transition. It is suggested that you gradually reduce the cooking time of the meats until your pet can eat them raw. Cats, on the other hand, may not like the crunchy texture of kibble after acquiring a taste for canned food. Blending small amounts of kibble into the canned food or adding a little natural chicken broth over the kibble may make their new diet more palatable.

Each pet is unique, with its own likes and dislikes. If your pet has an aversion to one flavor or another, try reintroducing it after a few months. You may be surprised when your pet accepts it! If your pet has already developed food allergies, a stricter diet may be necessary for your pet until the allergy subsides. Once under control, your pet may be able to tolerate small amounts of the problematic ingredient with rotational feeding (as always, consult with your veterinarian first). Raw frozen diets have proven to be excellent alternative for pets with food allergies.

One brand of pet food on the market makes starting a rotational diet easy. Nature's Variety offers dog and cat food in three forms, raw, kibble and canned. Each formulation is available in several animal proteins (chicken, beef, lamb, rabbit, duck, venison, salmon and organic chicken) and offers complete, balanced nutrition for all life stages. So check out a rotational diet for your pet and watch their eyes light up at mealtime!