Any ideas to get cat to eat

[verna davies]

She's active, alert, plays, no indicators whatsoever other than lack of appetite. She will eat some, has even asked and eaten a couple of times. Just taking a day at a time at the moment. Thanks for your good wishes.

 

[Talien]

Are you overly stressed lately? If so that could be causing her stress as well, and lack of appetite is one sign of stress in Cats. It's odd that she is otherwise fine though.

 

[verna davies]

Thats a thought. One of my cats died the end of last year and my mum passed away 6 weeks ago so its not been good. I have 2 cats but the other one is fine.

 

[MissClouseau]

> She will eat a small amount of kibble but she's just not eating the quantity of food needed.

My Hima's diet is mostly wet food or 50% wet food but sometimes she doesn't want to eat any wet food, maybe only a few licks and that's all but she eats her Acana Wild Prairie just fine. Not sure if it's because of her dental problems or if wet food feels heavy in her stomach or both (probably both.) But also a lot of kibbles are too hard for her. That Acana Wild Prairie is the softest kibble I know, maybe because it's also for kittens.

 

[verna davies]

She is eating kibble and hard treats without problems and I have bought kitten food because it has more calories. I got her to eat 220 cals yesterday which is a big improvement. I agree that wet food might feel heavy, cats are strange creatures dont you think.

 

[MissClouseau]

She is eating kibble and hard treats without problems and I have bought kitten food because it has more calories. I got her to eat 220 cals yesterday which is a big improvement. I agree that wet food might feel heavy, cats are strange creatures dont you think.

Truth! Hima actually has been eating less wet food the past couple days too. I have Royal Canin Sensible at home just for that. She goes crazy for it. I make 3-4 biscuits powder form and put it on top of the wet food. It works. The smell is kind of like Fortiflora. I suspect RC also adds animal digest just like Fortiflora.

 

[verna davies]

Good tip, thanks. She is eating more today, has actually asked for food but I will try crushing some biscuits later and hope it works for her. I hope Hima's appetite picks up too.

 

[FeebysOwner]

 

[verna davies]

FeebysOwner . How is Feeby doing, are you still managing to get her to eat enough daily?

 

[FeebysOwner]

FeebysOwner . How is Feeby doing, are you still managing to get her to eat enough daily?

Thanks for asking! It looks like she is in some sort of cycle with her eating - less for a couple of days, then more for a day or so, and repeat, repeat, repeat. If I average her intake, it is still around 240-250 calories per day. The up-down eating is reflected in her weigh-ins too!

 

[verna davies]

How many calories should she be eating daily?

 

[neely]

Kiwi my 4 year old spayed female stopped eating friday. Took her to the vet on saturday, temperature ok, gums a little inflamed but she has gingivitis that has never bothered her. No sign of obstruction, lots of different bloods done and showed nothing.

I'm so sorry I didn't see your post earlier, don't know how I missed it. We went through something similar with Carleton's FORL last year and again recently. He had dental surgery this week. If all the bloodwork came back negative it could very well be her teeth and since they do x-rays during a dental they would be able to detect if there was something more serious.

In the meantime, I don't know if you tried this since it's mentioned in the TCS Article about getting your cat to eat again but all meat baby food with no seasonings worked for our boy. I also gave him freeze dried raw which I rehydrated with warm water.

This should help answer your question about how much food/calories she should be eating:
How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?

Sending special thoughts and hugs to Kiwi and you.

 

[FeebysOwner]

How many calories should she be eating daily?

I honestly have no idea, really. It would seem she can maintain 15.0 to 15.5 pounds on around 250 calories per day - based on the most recent past (2-3 months) of my recordkeeping. That's about 16 calories per pound of weight, which I know is on the low side, but she is very sedentary, so??

 

[verna davies]

Thanks neely . she is inactive and weighs 4.34kg ( she was 4.64 a few months ago but had eaten next to nothing for 2 days) so I calculated about 200 per day. I have tried all week to get the baby food but with no luck. There only seems to be the squeezable sachets and strange concoctions like beef dinner, spag bol all have ingredients that cats cant eat. There were a couple of bloods that were not quite right on the second lot of tests but she will have them redone on wednesday.

 

[verna davies]

I honestly have no idea, really. It would seem she can maintain 15.0 to 15.5 pounds on around 250 calories per day - based on the most recent past (2-3 months) of my recordkeeping. That's about 16 calories per pound of weight, which I know is on the low side, but she is very sedentary, so??

When did owning a cat become so complicated. Feeby is a big girl and if her weight is stable on that number of calories then you are obviously getting it right.

 

[neely]

V verna davies How is Kiwi today, any changes in her appetite or other demeanor?

 

[verna davies]

Thanks for asking neely . Yesterday she asked for food and licked her plate clean, eat plenty during the day which lead me to believe that she was over whatever it was. Today back to a reluctance to eat, she can eat but just doesnt want to. I am going to phone my vet in the morning to see if he will repeat the blood tests tomorrow instead of waiting until Wednesday then I can make a decision based on the results. Its day 10 today and I'm struggling. She is acting like a healthy cat, coat and eyes good, peeing and pooping, playing etc.

 

[verna davies]

Kiwi had her bloods retested yesterday, the vet just phoned and all is well, liver and kidney counts back to normal, the only one slightly off is the protein one which happens through illness. He thinks she has had a virus. She eat well yesterday and is doing ok today so I'll take a day at a time. Thanks fir all your support, I needed it.

 

[neely]

She eat well yesterday and is doing ok today so I'll take a day at a time. Thanks fir all your support, I needed it.

Thanks for the wonderful news, it made my day! I hope Kiwi continues to improve from her virus.

 

[ModernCatLady]

So sorry! My cat had stopped eating as well and developed a fatty liver all due to stress! The very suggested "Catit lickable treats in tuna" they have taurine and help get cata to eat. What I did was give him royal canin mother and baby cat dry food very little and then add the catit lickable cat treat on top of the dry food. I never thought I'd give my cat dry food or these treats but I was so desperate for him to eat anything and it worked he now is even getting chubby. The royal canin mother and baby cat is high calorie and very small kibble perfect for cats that dont want to eat. You can buy both at pet smart.