Cat not eating

Is is a dangerous thing for cats to stop eating. They can develop fatty liver disease. You need to take your cat to the dr. If you have a blender you could puree some food and feed your cat with a syringe or medicine dropper.
But if the cat is not eating there has to be a reason and the vet needs to check him over.

Well it's critical that she eats so if she's stopped eating raw, for whatever reason, you need to give her something else. If she's wanting to eat canned food, then feed it. It's critical for kittens to eat, and for cats in general if they go for more than a couple of days without eating it can seriously impact their liver (fatty liver disease).

Nolia, get her whatever she will eat - this is the bottom line. A table spoon of food is not nearly enough... It is absolutely CRITICAL for her to eat - no matter what. As posters above said, she can develop fatty liver disease, and that can happen fast. And when that does happens, she can die. So, please, feed her whatever...
Fancy feast, friskies... get her to eat. Then you think about raw - now get her to eat. Whatever it takes, get her to eat. Do NOT get hung up on raw right now... NOT the time... It's been too long without her eating.
Warm up her food a bit... That helps. Mix it with a bit of clam juice... That can help too... Or just force feed her - yes, put it into her mouth. But she HAS to eat. You can also shred some freeze dried meat on top of the food to entice her to eat...
There are some members here who lost cats to this disease, and they will tell you to hurry up.
Please do so.... Do not leave it up to her...
Sorry if you think I am being dramatic here, but I have seen this picture happening here before, and it is something that is totally preventable...
Good luck...

Hi Nolia, we have the same case. My cat is not eating too, he eats but only a few and don't seem to be weak. I'm going to send him to vet, thanks to Carolina.

Maude crossed the bridge due to liver failure because she stopped eating and we didn't notice in time(all 3 bowls were empty, then I realized I hadn't seen her at the bowls recently and neither had Paul. It only took at most a week.) Her liver had almost completely failed by the time we got her in. We were too late to save her. I have moved the bowls into the living room so now I can make sure Attitude and Nuts are eating. I feel guilty and I know Paul does too because we noticed too late.

She has to go to the vet. HAS TO, not needs to has to. I'm a single mother and my only income is child support but if one of mine is sick they go to the vet. If it requires a fancy test then make a choice then but she HAS TO go to the vet.

Maude was diagnosed by a plain old blood test.

Chances are she doesn't have anything contagious so I wouldn't separate her from your other cat.

Also, feed her whatever she will eat, even if it's crap food give it to her if she doesn't eat and soon her liver will fail and she will either die or have to be put down. The treatment for liver failure is a lot more expensive than a blood test. Paul couldn't afford to get Maude treated and her liver was so damaged she might have had at most weeks and if she was lucky months.

Taryn

Nolia, what wet food are you feeding her? Get the crapiest, smelliest, tastiest food - Fancy Feast, warm it up, and give it to her. Do not think quality right now... Think calories...
DO NOT hesitate about going to the vet either...

Here is a coupon for Banfield - free vet, at Petsmart

Here is a coupon for a free visit at VCA Animal hospital

Exams and meds are extra... Now please, take your cat to the vet...

My cat did the same thing to me - seemed perfectly healthy but refused to eat. I changed her food, and she immediately started eating again. I was shocked because she has always been such a chowhound, nothing could come between her and her food. Surely she wouldn't prefer to starve versus eating food that she was bored of? Well yes, the stubborn mule was just tired of the old food. I did take her to the vet too, before I changed the food, and they wanted to run all kinds of expensive tests. So first I checked this site and read about cats getting bored of their food and refusing to eat. I changed the food and voila, problem solved, no expensive tests needed, and this was many months ago!

When a cat stops eating a food she has been eating all along, I really don't think, in most cases, it is a case of boredom.

I think it's often a case of, the manufacturer has changed the formula slightly, or used a different (meaning cheaper) source for ingredients, or it's just a "bad batch". Cats are that sensitve, they know if the food has been changed, and if it's not to their liking, they will not eat it. Yes they will starve to death rather than eat it.

I know SOME cats will not eat the same thing every day, but that's something you usually find out early in your life with the cat.

To the OP, what kind of raw food are you feeding. Are you aware there is a recall on a particular brand of raw food?

Nature's Variety:

http://www.naturesvariety.com/news/32

PS I agree with the others, your cat needs veterinary attention. Please let us know how she'd doing. We care.

.

It appears that you are determined not to have your cat checked by the dr.
This should have been considered an emergency by you. Nevertheless, I hope your cat will be okay. All of us who have cats have financial issues to deal with also. None of them has kept any of my cats from getting the medical attention they need.

Nolia, I'm not trying to come down on you for it, honest, but really, when you take on the responsibility of cat ownership, you gotta be prepared to provide vet care to the cat when circumstances like this come up.

The thing is, if your cat stops eating for a day but you switch up the food and they start eating again, then there's probably nothing wrong. But when the cat stops eating for more than a day, and you find yourself having to offer many different choices, all of which are also not eaten, then you really need to go see the vet.

Cats are extremely good at hiding when they don't feel good. And especially in a multi cat household, you don't always notice if one of them isn't eating. But majority of the time, it's one HUGE sign that something is wrong and the cat needs to be seen by a vet.

I am personally very sensitive to this right now because my cat's first signs that something wasn't right was when he stopped eating. And then when I'd pet him and really noticed how bony he was getting. I took him to the vet and probably spent close to $500 between the bloodwork, urinalysis, special food, meds, xray and special food to try to help him. But I'm telling you right now I didn't think twice about it cause he was the most important thing in my entire life. And when I finally had to put him down, it damn near killed me. But at least I know I tried, I did the best I could for him, and I don't have to look back on it feeling bad for not getting him help right away.

If it were me, I'd rather incur some debt that can eventually be paid off than to have to feel that awful regret for not getting him in to the vet sooner just to help him.

The vet can prescribe appetite stimulant pills which work very well. Those worked really well for mine when he was still able to eat his own. I had to syringe feed him his last 2 weeks of life but if he could have still eaten on his own, I know the pills would have still worked. They're great and they work very well. You should go get those ASAP.

I'm truly not trying to be mean, I know the economy is bad and everyone I know is having money problems right now. But please don't put this off because your kitty needs you to help her cause no one else can do it for her. You gotta bite the bullet and do it. That's what credit cards are for, so you can pay it off later!

Well... her cat stopped eating last week, according to her original post. That is at least 5 days, considering today is Wednesday.

The point of my post was that any time a cat doesn't eat for more than a day, it's time for the vet. Since her kitty hasn't been eating for more than a day, it's time to go to the vet.

Well, Actually, reading your posts up to yesterday, the impression given was that it was pretty cold turkey... she was eating less than or about a tablespoon of wet food, and that is nothing for an adult cat. That kind of quantity can be very damaging for her liver.

This is the BEST news that you could given us... I would leave her on this dry food for a good while now for her to recover from this... Then transition her back to raw... I know it will be a step back for you and all, but she needs to have proper nutrition for a good long while now... A couple of days will not cut it.
Also, kibbles do not mix it with raw, as they have very different digestion times - that can be trouble...

I once took a pregnant foster, Maya. She came from the SPCA, so it was no surprise when she started having symptoms of rhino two days after coming into my house. Then she stopped eating and drinking. I first thought it was morning sickness, or the rhino and the fact she couldn't smell the food. I tried everything but then had to bring her to the vet two days later when I couldn't make her eat anything (forcefeeding a new cat can be really hard and by the time I was able to make her eat one syringe, she would be very hard to control and she would escape and hide). The vet said everything would be fine with the meds he gave me. She still did not eat. Another day went by (that's only 3 days, but maybe she was weak from the rhino and the pregnancy). Went to an emergency vet where they told me her she was very weak and the only thing they could do was giving her fluids and keeping her warm. She died a few hours later.

I know better now. Cats need to eat their normal amount of food everyday. And they must never stop drinking. Is your cat drinking normally?

Here are some things I found that really helped me with my cats when they got sick or when they wouldn't eat:

As it was said, use wet food and warm it up a little in the microwave (just a few seconds).

Your cat still won't eat? Pretend like you are eating it and it's the best thing ever. Your cat will be curious (and possibly jealous) and get close to you and the food. Put a bit on your finger and let her lick it. If she won't make her taste it. After tasting it, she might want more of it.

Last trick I found is use catnip with Goupille, my current foster cat. When I took her in, she was also pregnant and would not eat. Tried everything, she only wanted chicken (wich is not nearly enough for a pregnant cat). Well I tested her reaction to catnip by pourring some on the floor. As I suspected, she first rolled in it and was very happy. Then, she started eating it. At this point, I poured some more, but not on the floor, on her kitten dry food that I wanted her to eat. Well, guess what? She ate the whole bowl! I kept doing that for a few days and now she eats very well even when there is no catnip involved. And she also gave birth to 3 fabulous healthy kittens!

Finally, if at the end of the day your cat hasn't eaten enough, forcefeed her the difference. Maybe you could also offer her some kitten milk replacement to drink, sometimes they will prefer to drink than to eat and, at least, KMR contains a good amount of calories.

I hope everything goes back to normal soon. If you still don't want to go to the vet, giving him a few phone calls would be good. They don't charge for that. Good luck.

Keep us posted.

what brand of salmon oil...

TECHNICALLY no oil is not a allergen as it is FAT... but due to processing it is often tainted with some proteins ..

I noticed adding salmon oil suddenly caused Attitude to have runny poops(2 about a week apart), but she had one a few days ago for no discernible reason.
So cats can have a reaction to oils but it's uncommon. I know Attitude isn't allergic to salmon or the oil since she has no problem with it as an ingredient in her Natural Balance. I'm thinking it was either too much for her body to handle or the brand of oil.

Taryn

My cat ate last night but it's not for sure that he's fine. Vet is still in need

Nolia I just want to say that even though wet food is better for cats in general than dry, if your cat will only eat dry, don't feel bad giving it to her. Ok? You are doing your best, and are a good cat-mommy.
--MissMyra