What in the world is palate fatigue?
Imagine eating the exact same food for every meal. Day after day. Forever. Sounds pretty dull, right? If your cat continually turns their tiny nose up at their food, palate fatigue could be the culprit.
For the uninitiated, palate fatigue is pretty much what it sounds like; what was once your go-to recipe doesn’t do it for you anymore. Just like humans, cats crave variety when it comes to their food. Different textures and flavors. In short, your cat wants you to spice things up without using, you know, actual spices.
Sound advice
Dr. Katja Lang, Nacho Flay’s lifelong veterinarian and Made by Nacho veterinary nutritional consultant tells cat parents to switch things up — especially as they grow. For young cats, she suggests introducing a variety of different proteins (like salmon or turkey) and textures (like cuts in gravy, shreds, and minced) so they get exposed to different tastes. However, with adult cats, you can curate their selection a bit. “Choose three different flavors and rotate between them,” Dr. Lang said.
No matter what’s on the menu, when changing from one brand to, say, a premium cat-crafted cat food brand run by a very fluffy orange Maine Coon cat, Dr. Lang says to take things slow. Incorporate a small amount (think treat size) of the new food into every meal, gradually increasing over a week.
Nacho weighs in
Some people might call it pickiness, but our founder—the cat son of a chef dad—knows better. As a cat who speaks for all cats (especially when it comes to food), Nacho has an opinion about which of his recipes helps combat palate fatigue. At first, he said “my whole meow-nu,” but when pressed, he narrowed it down to these select recipes.
Nacho’s palate-pleasing picks:
Sustainably Caught Salmon Cuts in Gravy Recipe
Give your cat something to sink its teeth into. Our cuts in gravy recipes take thoughtfully sourced cage-free chicken, sustainably-caught salmon, or grass-fed, grain-finished beef (premium protein is always our #1 ingredient) and drape them in a rich gravy. They’re *chef’s kiss*.
Cage-Free Grain-Free Shredded Chicken Recipe with Bone Broth
Behold as your cat laps up the broth in these new shredded recipes. We start with toothsome protein shreds and add a hefty dose of our signature bone broth (a customer request we were happy to fill) for a burst of flavor and hydration. They’re grain-free too!
