Cat suddenly a picky eater: Should this be a cause of concern?

redvelvetone

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I have a two year old cat, Magnus. I've had him since he was 5 months old, when I adopted him from a TNR group (he used to be feral with his mom and brother, but would eat food left out by someone, so he was partially socialized in that way). Anyway, when I adopted him and up until a few weeks ago, he would eat ANYTHING I gave him. He'd eat it immediately, and would lick the plate clean. We used to call him the Hoover because he just sucked the food right up off the plate, then come begging for more. 

Now it's possible his appetite has finally calmed down somewhat since he's been wtih us for a year and a half and has probably stopped growing at this point since he's no longer a kitten. However, lately he's become a picky eater, turning his nose up at things and eating less. He comes and whines for food but when I put it out for him he just sniffs it or takes a few bites and then leaves it. Sometimes, he'll come back later and eat it if I leave it out. (I don't leave it out very long though because it's wet food and it's very hot here and I don't want to leave it out too long or it'll spoil).

The frustrating thing is he'll eat certain things but I can't seem to pinpoint what those things are as he seems to switch up every week. I have been feeding him a rotation of mostly grain-free canned foods,  and some raw  as well as some treats here and there. 

he still eats the treats even when he is beng picky, or boneless chicken breast, but he stopped eating any meat iwth bone in it, as well as many of the canned brands he used to like. I am wasting a lot of food and it's frustrating. However, I wonder if there is something wrong with him or is he just being picky. The ONLY thing that it seems like he'll always eat is this one brand of wet food - it's the Trader Jo's brand of cat food with chicken and rice or turkey and rice. (of course it's the one brand with grain in it that I rotate in with the grain-free foods in order to even out the costs as the grain-free stuff is more expensive). I've been trying to put  out smaller portions of the other food, and if he goes hungry then hopefully he'll eat his food at the next meal. Sometimes this works. Sometimes it' doesn't.

He's as frisky and playful as ever, he loves to run around and has his nightly 'crazies', and his bathroom habits are the same. He does not look underfed. I've been feeling his sides to see if he feel like he's losing weight but I haven't noticed anything. he is a big cat though (long and tall, though, not fat at all. He's has a trim shape but I think he should stil be eating one 5.5 oz can of food per day and sometimes he is not.) Last time I had him at the vets (several months ago he weighed just shy of 13 lbs. and they said his weight was perfect.

I was thinking of calling the vets just to get their opinion but I was wondering if somebody here had advice for dealing with a finicky eater and when to know if it's a health problem or if they are just being finicky... And if he IS being finicky, how to curb that. I am wondering if I should cut out giving him his little daily treats because maybe they have spoiled him for the healthier food?  Also the past couple of weeks we have had some bugs  (crickets and such) get in the apartment and he loves chasing them down and eating them. he does this at night when we're asleep and we find the evidence in the morning (Ieftover legs or something. yuck!). Maybe this is spoiling his appetite? or else the act of 'hunting' is more exciting then just getting food on a plate? Wth his treats I like to toss them down the hall and let him chase after them and 'kill' them. He loves this. Maybe this is spoiling him?

Recent pic



Here he is playing (video from a couple of months ago).

 

mani

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How lovely to see Magnus.. he's looking good.


And when I look into his eyes he seems to be saying "I've got my human right where I want her...".  My cats are exactly the same.  Nilah, in particular, will continually pat me with her paw and stare at me till I feed her.  Then she will either sniff it and walk away, 'bury' it, or, if it's her favourite, eat a little and wander off.  The boy still eats like there's no tomorrow, but he's still 18 months old.

There are others here with a lot more knowledge, as you know.  But my guess is he's doing it because he can.
 
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redvelvetone

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Hi Mani!

yeah he's a stinker alright.

Like I said, this has maybe been going on for the past couple of weeks. it's also gotten hotter lately so maybe that is affecting his appetite too.
 

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First thing I would check is the teeth, make sure he doesn't have something sore in there.

If all is well, it could be the treats, as you say.  Or possibly that his occasional nightly "supplementing" might be spoiling his appetite the next day.  Try keeping track of both to see if there is a correlation.
 
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redvelvetone

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thanks furmonster. I did try checking his teeth and didn't notice anything amiss. That being said, I had to do a quick check as magnus wasn't being cooperative. I'll try looking again some more ....
 

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No other symptoms that there's something wrong? Drinking and eliminating normally?

If he's really just being picky, I have found that rotation really helps with my picky eater. I have to make sure I don't serve the same twice in a row, or even in the same day. Even then, sometimes she'll reject something she loved the last time. I do waste a lot of food, but I've started leaving my cat's rejects outside for the outside cats in my neighborhood, and it's licked clean in a few hours. I wish my cat would eat so well!
 
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redvelvetone

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Hi Vball, yes everything else is fine.

Magnus does not drink water (or very rarely does) and never has though. However, all of his food is wet or raw so I am not too concerned about it as he gets moisture from that. On really hot days I'll add a little water into his wet food too to make sure he is not dehydrated. But he still pees a normal amount so he's fine.

And I already rotate his food. He eats something different each day of the week. MAYBE he will get the same meal on one day a week if I run out of another option but in general he gets different brands and flavors every day of the week.

He gobbled up his food this morning (but I also put down a can of something that so far he hasn't given up on (Wellness CORE - any of the flavors except for beef, which he won't eat), and told my husband not to give him any treats last night no matter how much he whines, as I wanted him to be really hungry this morning). I put down a little bit less so that he's hopefully a bit hungry at lunch time and will eat that too. Yesterday he turned his nose up at a grain free food, but then ate a less expensive brand with grains. 

So I'll see how he does the next few days. I may just have to be rigid with him and if he doesn't eat at a meal then he goes hungry until the next meal (he gets fed three times a day so he won't starve or anything). Hopefully I can get him back to eating whatever I give him again. I don't mind if there are certain flavors or textures of food that he doesn't like, if I knew what those were I could make sure I get the flavors and textures he likes but I can't seem to figure out the pattern to his dislikes which is frustrating.
 
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redvelvetone

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well the past two days he's been eating like a champ, though I've also fed him two of his favorites both days (or what so far appear to be his favorites)

I'll see how he does tomorrow with something else
 

mani

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well the past two days he's been eating like a champ, though I've also fed him two of his favorites both days (or what so far appear to be his favorites)

I'll see how he does tomorrow with something else
He's training you, Lynette.

Looks like it might be working...


Good luck!
 
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redvelvetone

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you could be right. we are currently locked into a battle of wills over a can of Natural Balance cat food lol

(He ate his portion of wet food this morning but wouldn't eat lunch and so far has not eaten dinner, but I won't cave until he eats it). If he goes hungry tonight then he'll just be extra ready to eat breakfast tomorrow then. I figure as long as he's not COMPLETELY fasting then he won't get fatty liver right?
 

mani

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you could be right. we are currently locked into a battle of wills over a can of Natural Balance cat food lol

(He ate his portion of wet food this morning but wouldn't eat lunch and so far has not eaten dinner, but I won't cave until he eats it). If he goes hungry tonight then he'll just be extra ready to eat breakfast tomorrow then. I figure as long as he's not COMPLETELY fasting then he won't get fatty liver right?
I SO understand this... 

I sit down with them and explain what it costs, and how good it is and all I get that "this is irrelevant" stare that cats have prefected...

So I just keep giving it to them till they cave in and eat the jolly stuff or I fret myself into giving them what they want...
 
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redvelvetone

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Ah ha! won today's round. It took him FOUR hours to eat it, but he eventually ate it.

I am afraid of spoiling but I had it in a coolish spot. I may put stuff away after 10 min in future if he does not eat it right away and only bring it out again when he whines.    
 

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you could be right. we are currently locked into a battle of wills over a can of Natural Balance cat food lol

(He ate his portion of wet food this morning but wouldn't eat lunch and so far has not eaten dinner, but I won't cave until he eats it). If he goes hungry tonight then he'll just be extra ready to eat breakfast tomorrow then. I figure as long as he's not COMPLETELY fasting then he won't get fatty liver right?
Ugh. Now if that were my kitty, she would skip breakfast and go for a solid 24-48 hours of not eating, sending me into a panic and the food into the trash -_- needless to say, I haven't tried that since (and it was only 48 hours because we were in another city without a car, and I had accidently brought the similar looking Grreat Choice canned food instead of Fancy Feast classic, but couldn't leave to go get the right kind!) Aside from that incident, my cat is picky as heck and I always worry she's not eating enough, but she's a grazer and likes to eat small mouthfuls throughout the day/night. Frustrating when trying to get her off of dry! You're lucky yours will eat grain free, mine can tell the difference lol. It all sounds like normal finicky cat behavior to me. He's gorgeous by the way!!
(Ps, 4 hours is nothing! Mine takes up to 10! -_-)
 
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redvelvetone

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wow yeah I would freak if he hadn't eaten in 24-48 hours.

I should clarify to the above post that he had eaten his breakfast at 5.30 AM and then gone without eating his lunch (noon) other than a few mouthfuls and dinner (5 PM). He eventually caved at ate dinner at 9 PM. So I guess that was a largish time block.

He ate all his food today and managed to trick me into feeding him extra (he got my husband to feed him a little before 5 PM and then when I got home at 5 PM he was whining so I thought he hadn't eaten yet and gave him some food for dinner). 

Conniving buggers! the lot of them! lol
 

catspaw66

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They seem to have an instinctual knowledge of how to manipulate humans. And if you have more than one, they gossip on how they got you to cave in.
 
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redvelvetone

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ha ha true.

I've only ever had to deal with one at a time. not sure I could outsmart more than one together
 

mani

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 it's also gotten hotter lately so maybe that is affecting his appetite too.
I think you're onto something with the weather idea.

My two are eating ravenously (as long as I give them what they like
) and it's winter here.  It occurs to me that they do cut down over Summer.
 
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