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Switching to raw is different for every cat. Some take to it like they won the lottery. Some tentatively try it. Others act like you are trying to poison them and will bury it. Don't be discouraged, even the worst dry food junkie will learn to eat raw. Think of how you would react if you were raised on candy and potato chips and suddenly you were only offered beets and Brussles sprouts.
DO NOT fast or starve cats into eating. They may develop fatal Hepatic Lipidosis. Cats must eat something in every 24-hour period. Old and overweight cats are at even higher risk.
Here is a quick overview of how I switched a large group of cats from dry food available around the clock to a raw diet. My plan caters to the hard to convince. Michelle Bernard's book also contains many helpful ideas.
Let's Begin!!
First, test the water ... so to speak. Pretend you're cooking and "accidently" drop some raw turkey on the floor. You will be able to gauge how hard the process will be by their reaction. Let's hope they eat it. If they do, you are already done here!
If you aren't among the lucky ones, these are the steps I took to switched over a very reluctant (understatement of the year) group of cats.
1. Change from free feeding to two daily feedings. It will take a week or so until they realize you are serious and stop constantly harassing you.
2. Put out canned and raw at each feeding. Do not mix the three foods.
3. Slowly decrease the amount of dry food, while increasing the amount of canned food, until there is no longer any dry food available. My dry food junkies were also the biggest pigs. They plowed through the dry and still wanted more, they had no choice but to start on the raw or canned.
4. At this point everyone will be on either canned or raw.
5. If your cats are eating canned food, but not interested in raw food, begin to mix a TINY bit of raw into the canned food. Very SLOWLY increase the amount. If they stop eating, go back to the amount they will eat and progress at a slower pace. Don't get discouraged. They will all switch over eventually and you will be so glad you stayed with it!
Pro Tips
If your cats pick out the raw, put it into a blender with the canned food. Slowly increase the amount, as outlined in Step 5.
You can create wet food from dry food by putting it in a blender or a new coffee grinder (your cat will not eat food that even remotely smells like coffee). Then add 1/2 cup water to each 1/2 cup food. Refrigerate what you do not use, discard after 24 hours.
It is easier to switch if you do not add KBCF to the raw at first. Cats can smell a vitamin from 100 miles away. I started with ground turkey, later adding the supplement little by little.
For the diehard holdouts, each day I would offer raw only. When they didn't eat, I wrapped each one in a towel and spoon-fed them. By day five all had started to eat raw on their own.
Remember... DO NOT try to starve a cat into eating. They can develop a life-threatening disease called Hepatic Lipidosis. This cannot be stressed enough!
If you search for economical meat sources (local raw feeding groups are a good resource), raw can be less expensive than processed food. Deduct future vet costs, and raw becomes an even better bargain.