Not Interesting In Eating

Can my cat detect medicine in his food? Tried feeding food without medicine still not interested. He is having some UTI problems and is currently on baytril once a day. But this evening he wouldn't even touch his food.

He seems normal in all other respects, at least that I can tell. He is cleaning himself, sitting on my lap, sitting in his window watching the birds. He has never been really playful, so his activity level has always been minimal. He is 16 lbs. and I am trying to get about 3 or 4 lbs off him. But my sister recently lost a cat that just stopped eating, so I know this can be serious.

He has been to the vet and the vet said he should start showing me interest in eating after having some of the medicine. Well if he won't eat his food how is he suppost to get his medicine. I don't really like my vet and have look into a new one. I'm thinking that taking him for a full check over with the new vet might me the best bet.

How long can he go without eating, or showing a interest in eating would it become a real problem health wish for him. I have not seem him drink water, but I am not home to monitor this like I would like to. He has three places thoughout the house. Always fresh and not out of the tap.

I am worried he is my baby . Any suggestions for other food that might peek is interest would be appreciated.

Thanks, Laurie

Cats really can't go long without eating.

Some things you can try to get him interested:

• KFC chicken with the skinned removed.
• Boiled chicken
• Warmed up canned food
• Tuna juice added to his regular food

I just tried the tuna juice which he was very interested in, but once I put it on the food he didn't drink anymore. The KFC chicken is a good idea, he always want that when I have in the house. Why do cats stop eating? Especially when they seem fine. I am going to call the new vet tommorrow and see about getting him over there for a once over. The thing that bothers me is that the vet I'm going to acts like its no big deal, not to worry. When and animal stops eating isn't that usually an indication that something is wrong? People don't stop eating for not reason.

Thanks for your suggestions I will give them a try.

I did just get him to eat a couple small chunks of canned chicken. I wish he could tell me what's bothering him. I am just hoping and trying not to worry myself to much before I know what the deal is. But it's hard when you really care about your pet.

They can stop eating if they are stressed, if they are ill, if they are certain medications or if they are injured. You want your kitty to eat- give him some loose-leaf catnip and see if that might spark his interest. Babyfood ham, veal or lamb is also a good stimulant as is Fancy Feast gravy cat foods and if they carry it in your area Figaro Tuna Cat Food. If he doesn't eat in 24 hours, get him back to the vet quickly.

Is there a particular reason you are adding the Baytril to his food? I tried adding Baytril to Lil Bit's food, after she had an abcess, and she totally refused to eat as long as the meds were in it. She was so suspicious of me adding it to her food, I had to get my daughter to feed her a few times before she would even eat. I wound up having to just hold her and make her take the pill. My vet said she was just a spoiled kitty....but I knew it had to be the meds in her food.

My own Willow is taking Baytril right now for a urinary infection, and I crush up the pills and put it in her food (she normally eats RAW, but I decided to use canned CA Natural to make it easier to blend the meds). The first time, she ate it up, but the second time, she ate some of the food and left most of the rest sitting on the plate. The next time (the third day after her vet visit), she did the same thing, took all of a few bites, and left the rest. So I swallowed my pride and got kitty crack: Fancy Feast. I figure, it's just for a couple of weeks, a spoonful of FF in the morning and her regularly scheduled RAW in the evening. And it works, she eats up all the FF and the pill hidden within it, and I don't have to worry about whether or not she's leaving some food and giving Molly the opportunity to finish it up (and I would highly doubt these meds would be okay for a healthy kitty to injest, lol)

Willow doesn't react to dry catnip anymore, so sprinkling it on her food wouldn't have helped, and a while back I added some tuna juice to the cat food (as a treat, I think) and none of the cats would touch it. So it basically comes down to what YOUR kitty is like, and what you're willing to do. For me, the food snob, bottom-of-the-barrel food is BAD, but when it comes to getting a kitty to eat, quantity matters more than quality.