Cat needs my "purr-mission" to eat

[alewifebp]

She's always been a little like this, but it has gotten worse recently.  I recently switched from dry to wet food.  The dry food had been forcing her to upchuck frequently.  She loves the wet food.  But, even though she has plenty of food left in her dish, even quite new, she many times needs me to kind of bring her to it.  Either by getting up and walking in to the kitchen.  She sees the food and goes, OK, I'm going to eat now.  Or sometimes I need to kind of nudge her towards it or point at it.  She is an all day grazer, so this obviously doesn't work that great on a regular basis when I'm not around.  I'm afraid she's not eating enough.

Mind you, she doesn't do this all the time.

Any suggestions?  She's alone most weekdays and I'll be gone on a business trip in January for a few days where she will be visited twice a day.

 

[laralove]

A few questions. How old is she? How many times is she fed each day? How much is given at each meal? And how much of it does she usually eat?

 

[mservant]

Also worth knowing whether your home is warm or cool, and if she does prefer grazing have you looked at whether there are any food bowlswith ice packs under them that could help keep the food at a safer temperature ?

 

[laralove]

That's a great idea, MServant.

alewifebp, I got Oliver's bowl set at Ross for $10. I'm sure you could find similar. I just tried this and a freezer pack I have fit almost perfect when folded in half. And those packs are super cheap. 

OliverFoodDish.JPG

• laralove
• Dec 30, 2013

 

[alewifebp]

She's about 8.  I feed her typically in the morning and night, but since she has been doing this recently, I've kind of increased it.  Or I should say reduced the food in each serving, or if it was recently put out, I just have to pick it up and mix it up a little bit and put it back down and she starts eating again.  That's interesting with the ice pack idea.

One thing that I'm maybe picking up on is that she seems to eat more when it is in a shallower dish.  When I mix it up a little bit, I try to stack it so that she can get at it easier.  I'll see if the shallower dish theory works out.  I've also given her some dry food in another dish so that if she is really hungry she can eat that.

 

[mservant]

Some cats hate their whiskers touching the sides of bowls aparently!  I've never had a cat like that but seen it written about, and there are shallow bowls sold for some breeds of cats in particular, like Persians.  It can affect drinking water as well I believe.  Could well be your theory is right here.

 

[alewifebp]

I'm bringing her in for a checkup on Saturday just to be sure everything is good.  She loves going to the vet.  Not.  Luckily it's only about five minutes away.

 

[mservant]

Seeing the vet is definitely the safest thing if there is a change in apetite, esp with her being about 8. Could be relevant that she was starting to be sick more often when she was eating dry food - and if this has continued to some extent since going on to wet food.  Also if you think her weight has changed as a result of this eating smaller amounts and only tending to pick at food when she's encouraged.

Another off side idea from her seeming to prefer shallow bowl / food piled up is perhaps finding it easier to eat if food is a bit higher up: if bending down head might be painful, or if there is any gatric reflux or difficulty swallowing that might put her off eating and be more difficult if head is down?

 

[alewifebp]

Good point about not leaning down to eat.  She would normally sit while she eats, now she stands.  And she's been resting on the bathroom counter.

 

[mservant]

Thinking of you for the vet appointment and hope they are able to tell what is going on.  

 

[alewifebp]

Thanks.  She had some blood taken and an x-ray done.  Should know those results on Monday.  The vet said he felt some sort of mass in her abdomen.  Hopefully it's only an infection.  He gave her an antibiotic as well.

 

[mservant]

Good that it is not a long wait to get the results although I'm sure it will seem like forever.  Hoping you are right and you see some improvement with starting the antibiotics.  Will be here sending postitive vibes for clear results and something easy to deal with. 

 

[laralove]

Positive vibes from us as well.  

 Please update us with the results! 

 

[alewifebp]

She actually does seem to be a little bit better.  Not as distant as she was, seems to be eating a little more, and not spending as much time on the bathroom sink.