My cat will only eat tuna, no matter how hungry he is... HELP!!!

lith007

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Hey guys,

My cat Charlie is a 15 year old grey tabby who is having some diet problems. He seems to be in good health and is happy/active. We feed him canned food and have been ever sense he had to have some teeth removed.

A few weeks ago he started to refuse to eat the canned food. We decided to give him a few different flavors to try and he found one he liked. But after a few days, he got tired of it again and refused to eat it. We decided to give him some tuna and table scraps because he was getting so skinny.

Now he refuses to eat any cat food we give him, no matter what brand or flavor it is. He refuses to eat until we give him table scraps or tuna, which is his favorite.

We figured he was just being stubborn and holding out for the stuff he really wanted, which is tuna. So we stopped feeding him any human food and just gave him the canned food. He refused to eat the food for 3 days, until we were finally so worried about his health that we gave him some tuna.

Since then we have been giving him tuna, but no matter how much he eats, he is always frantic to get more. He jumps up on the counters in search for tuna or other meat, which he never did before. Hes always crying to me for food, even if he just ate.

I know I cant keep on feedin him tuna because its unhealthy, but that seems to be the only thing he will eat, and he will starve unless he gets it. I plan on bringing him to the vet soon, but what do I do in the mean time?! Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before?

Any help would be great,
Thanks!
 

cloud_shade

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Are you feeding him people tuna or tuna cat food? I would try feeding the tuna cat food instead of people tuna until you can get him to the vet. You might also try slowly mixing in other kinds of cat food, just a little bit to start with. Perhaps you can wean him off the tuna and back onto normal food.

Also, you may want to see if he'll eat a little bit of dry food. Some toothless cats can manage it.

When you do go to the vet, make sure you have a senior panel done that checks kidney, liver, and thyroid values, among other things. Certain diseases, like hyperthyroidism and diabetes, can cause cats to have increased appetites.
 

glitch

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I couldn't have said it better!

I would try to get him to eat some hard food! My bro's cat doesnt have any teeth and he wont eat anything but the hard food!
 

sarahp

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Or try mixing tuna flavoured cat food with people tuna, starting with lots of tuna, then decreasing the amounts of tuna? Sounds like he's being stubborn
 

shadowbaby

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That's an issue my cat Baby had 4 or so years ago.. She would be overly picky about what canned food she would eat, and then she stopped eating them altogether and all I could get her to eat was tuna. She also lost a lot of weight. It turns out she has IBS and had to be put on a round of prednisone.. at which point she started eating kibble again with no 'picky'ness
 

goldenkitty45

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I agree with you - an all tuna diet is not a good thing. Sounds like he may have some other internal problems or teeth problems. I'd have a vet check him out thoroughly with blood work and find out why he's refusing food. It could be a number of older age problems.

Does he drink a lot of water?
 

whuckleberry

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I agree about bringing him to the vet. In the meantime, if you must feed tuna, try an all or mostly tuna cat food, as they have the vitamins and minerals balanced to make it safe for cats. Solid Gold makes one. Or if you only have access to a supermarket, you could try some of the Meow Mix cups or pouches.
 

misskiwi67

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Pick up some purina pro plan sardines and tuna. It is a complete and balanced diet, but it is a primarily whole fish diet.

STOP GIVING IN!!!
 

keith p

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Shouldnt he also have dry food in the diet? I think there is "moist" dry food for senior cats, or smaller kibble that is easier to chew.

I'd get a vet to see him, thats the only thing I can think of.

Too much tuna for males can cause urinary tract infections.
 

miao_kitty

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Sheba cat food is pretty much like tuna. It's like shredded strips of tuna (or chicken too) in gravy. You should try that and mix it w/ people tuna for a little while. Then slowly increase the portion of cat food and decrease the portion of tuna. =)

Good luck!!!!
 

KatKeeper

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I had that problem too. Try getting packs of pink salmon, right next to the tuna. Its not as bad for the cat, its easier to ween them off of it, and it dont make them crazy like the tuna.
 

cataholic2

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I totally understand, AND I know you're not being weak but not just ignoring your cat's needs. I have a cat that I adopted and I don't have a history and she ONLY wants tuna and will not eat all her cat food (even the *best* primo tuna cat food). I adopted her with gingivitis, and health problems. The doctors can't pinpoint the health problems.

$3000 in vet bills later, we're no closer to figuring out what's wrong, could be IBS, could be hyperthyroidism (most likely this), could be her kidneys (this was her last diagnosis, but it's unlikely). Or it could be all three!

I don't think dropping a dish of food in front of her and watching it dry out every day is the answer. I can't tell you how many foods I've tried. I'm even thinking about raw foods for her.

Unfortunately I'm filing bankruptcy at the moment so I can't afford to take her to the vet and start another round of testing back up right now. I need a vet who's seen more instances of this and will take it seriously.
 

fionasmom

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Welcome to The Cat Site! I am sorry that you are having this issue with your cat. Applaws tuna is not something that she will eat? It is what got one of mine away from "human" tuna.

This is a very old thread, and I don't think that you will get any response from the posters.
 

FeebysOwner

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$3000 in vet bills later, we're no closer to figuring out what's wrong, could be IBS, could be hyperthyroidism (most likely this), could be her kidneys (this was her last diagnosis, but it's unlikely). Or it could be all three! I don't think dropping a dish of food in front of her and watching it dry out every day is the answer. I can't tell you how many foods I've tried. I'm even thinking about raw foods for her.
Don;t know if you will receive this post as I am not sure you are still checking this site out - but just in case you are...
After that much money spent in vet bills, I would hope you have bloodwork results that could at least tell you what her kidney values are. Hyperthyroidism does require a different test (called a T4), and while many vets will run this in addition to the standard blood work especially on cats that are older, perhaps your vet did not? If you don't have copies of the blood work, call and get the vet to send them to you - they are 'yours' and should be provided to you for free upon request.

As far as food, as was mentioned above, have you tried adding tuna juice to any regular cat food to see if she might eat it that way? Or the Applaws tuna cat food - also mentioned above - although, here in the US the wet food is not nutritionally complete for a cat. You could check this web site to see if you could find the ingredients you would need to make Applaws a complete meal for cats. Raw Feeding for IBD Cats - Feline IBD. This site will also help you if you choose to try a homemade diet.

Also, you can try baby food meats (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut) as a calorie supplement to any food you do manage to get her to eat. And there is a way to make baby food meats nutritionally complete for a cat. I've attached an article to explain what to do (from the web site listed above). Most cats love the baby food meats, that is why I am suggesting them.
 

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