Cat stopped eating

Help! My husband, baby and I went away for the weekend of the 4th and left the animals at home with a petsitter visiting twice a day. We also had a visiting dog during that time, making it three dogs and a cat. When I returned and read the daily logs that the petsitter left everything appeared to have gone well. But since then, Merlin, my Ragdoll had not eaten! He appears to be behaving normally, except that he is a little extra klingy, following me from room to room. But he has always been a people cat so I think he just missed me over the weekend. Anyway, when I tried to hand feed him his normal food, Iams kibbles, he put a kibble in his mouth and spit it out again! He did this twice. He has been going poop and pee like normal. Today I decided to try another food which we had gotten a free sample of in the mail: Fancy Feast... He ate a little bit of that and then seemed satisfied.
Does anyone know if an otherwise perfectly happy cat can get so depressed from owners leaving that they stop eating? Maybe he was traumatized by the other dog? Could there be something wrong with his teeth that now he only likes wet food? Is it possible he suddenly stopped liking the food he has eaten his whole life? Could he be sick even though he is behaving normally? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

I would get him to the vet ASAP. It is better to be safe then sorry. When they aren't eating normal they normally do not feel good.

I agree. It may just have been depression but if he doesnt eat today you need to take him to the vet!

I vote the vet as well. He not only had to deal with his owners being gone, but a new dog arrived as well. Stress can really make a cat sick quickly. If he doesn't respond to food soon, I would take him in. You can try giving him cottage cheese with a little bit of shredded cheese on top, not a lot though or either, dribble tuna juice over the top of it. If you feed him canned food, try nuking it in the microwave first to warm it up and stir up his appetite. Boil some chicken and see if he will eat some shredded chicken with the broth over the top.

If he is clingy, just pick him and cuddle with him. I hope he will be okay.

...also a lot of the time if they won't eat anything they will eat baby food. Just make sure you buy meat only baby food such as Chicken, Turkey, etc. As Hissy noted you might want to put it into the microwave for about 2-3 seconds, this intensivies the smell. Try dabbing a bit on his nose so he has to lick it off to get him started.


Good luck with your baby!!!

Thanks to everyone for your advice! I got him to eat a little. I cleaned out the dish and put new kibble in and he ate a few. I then stopped by the vet because I had to get some Frontline for the dogs anyway. They said just to keep an eye on him and, if he starts acting different or really dosen't eat over the weekend, to bring him in. Hopefully it is just a little minor depression and he is slowly coming around now that we are home again. He never has been a huge eater anyways...

what I would sugest you do is get some wet food, mix it with the dry, dribble some tuna juice over it, and nuke it for 5 seconds... then sturr it a bit and nuke it for another 3, then sit your finiky kitty in say the bathroom, with the bowl of food, all to himself.

It workes every time for me if one of my furr babies isn't eating.


~ Salem

Please keep a close watch. My cat quit eating, and I had to hand feed him. I would put a bit of canned food on my fingers and hold them up to him, and he would take a small amount. I did that quite a few times a day to get nutrition into him. I would sit him in a chair, then I would sit on a stool in front of him, so I was at his level, and start feeding.

The best day was when he jumped off the chair, and just started eating from the dish again, but that was about a week after I had been hand feeding him. Poor boy, moving in here was probably one move too many for a cat set in his ways.

My mom and I did that with Cookie (a feral) when mom first brought her home. She had gone through so much in a small period of time and the spaying was one to many. We sat and hand fed her baby food for a week - now she LOVES to eat.

How's Merlin today?

It is true about the all meat baby food, did this when my cat was sick and she ate it up! If a cat stops eating and starts losing weight too fast it can evolve into liver disease, so it is important that they get some food into them. IMO I think it was all stress related, cats do not adapt to change, and to have strange people and a dog on his or her turf, well, they really tend to hate it. Hope the cat gets the appetite back soon. Linda

He seems to be eating and acting almost normal again (for a cat ). I guess it was just the stress. He ate almost half his normal portion yesterday, which is not that untypical. Even though I give him 3/4 cup of dry food each day, usually he dosen't eat it all. Plus I had given him more of the Fancy Feast yesterday. So thanks everyone for the advice and concern! Take care,
Misty

Way to go Merlin!!!!

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