If an older cat won't eat

lucky luke

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Found this on the Web (I'm just being a worry wart about Sasha)

My senior cat won't eat. What should I do?

Most importantly, if your cat is getting thin and not eating well, she should have a complete veterinary exam to rule out any possible disease problems. For a variety of reasons, some already finicky cats become even more so as they age. To encourage a cat to eat more, you can:
  • Warm canned or moistened dry food in the microwave to increase the aroma of the food. Be sure to stir the food before feeding it to your cat.
  • Add a little water from canned tuna to increase the aroma of your cat's food.
  • Ask your veterinarian if your cat might also have small amounts of bacon drippings, hamburger grease, clam juice, chicken drippings, or baby food added to her normal diet.
  • Switch to canned food (if currently feeding dry food). Consider switching to special high-calorie, nutrient-dense diets made specially for "stressed" animals.
  • Feed smaller amounts of food more often. By offering a small amount of food several times each day, your cat may actually increase her total daily intake.
  • Ensure your cat has a quiet, stress-free place to eat. Be sure younger cats or other household pets are not harassing her when she eats.
  • Pet your cat and talk softly to her as she eats (but only if it does not disturb her).
  • Feed balanced, veterinarian-prescribed homemade diets.
  • Ask your veterinarian about short-term use of appetite stimulants.
 

sharky

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Are YOU asking a ???? or Giving us Information that is easily found on this site in a search?
 

mek

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I'm actually having a problem in this area right now.

I have two 5 and 1/2 month old kittens. One of them eats very well (Boy) and the other is a very poor eater (Girl).

She has recently been spayed but it was always like this. I have had her on all sorts of foods and the only one she seems to really like to eat is the Solid Gold Canned Tuna. The problem with this is that you can't feed it as the "main" food because it's Tuna and has a high mercury content.

I found the suggestion of Tuna juice in the food intriguing. Does that not contain any mercury I'm guessing? She is only 2.2kg and eats anywhere between 1/2 a can and a can of canned food a day.

Any other suggestions welcomed.
 
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lucky luke

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Originally Posted by sharky

Are YOU asking a ???? or Giving us Information that is easily found on this site in a search?
Just thought I'd share my findings.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by mek

I'm actually having a problem in this area right now.

I have two 5 and 1/2 month old kittens. One of them eats very well (Boy) and the other is a very poor eater (Girl).

She has recently been spayed but it was always like this. I have had her on all sorts of foods and the only one she seems to really like to eat is the Solid Gold Canned Tuna. The problem with this is that you can't feed it as the "main" food because it's Tuna and has a high mercury content.

I found the suggestion of Tuna juice in the food intriguing. Does that not contain any mercury I'm guessing? She is only 2.2kg and eats anywhere between 1/2 a can and a can of canned food a day.

Any other suggestions welcomed.
Have you discussed this with a vet?

Honestly mine seem to like clam juice way more than tuna( out of four cats two do not like tuna..... How many grams is the can your feeding?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Lucky Luke

Just thought I'd share my findings.
Normally for copyright and just being a good internet citizen you should copy and paste the link of where you got items that are NOT your own work.
 

mek

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On average a 5.5 to 6oz can.

The vet didn't seem overly concerned with her weight so nothing serious has been done so far. She is just fussy and easily distracted but when she gets really hungry will eventually eat.

I'm just wondering if there's any food I could use that doesn't have a high mercury content that might appeal to her.

I want to move them to a raw diet but until I move back to Europe in a couple of months it's not realistic.

She quite likes yogurt and I thought that would be a good weight gain "treat" but when she doesn't want to eat she doesn't seem to want to eat anything (except maybe that crack like Solid Gold Tuna).
 

otto

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My Queen Eva (18 weeks old) is not a very enthusiastic eater either. She eats about 6 oz of canned food and a tablespoon or so of kibble daily. She's very slender and I wish I could get her to eat more, but that is all she will eat.

She also will not eat the same food with every serving. She'll eat .75 oz of something, then maybe another .75 oz of it, but then she will refuse to eat anymore unless I give her something different. It's frustrating, I cater to her because she's so thin, though I hate that I am creating this finicky cat. I can't leave food down for her, I have three other cats, one on special diet, who would have it gone in no time.

So you are not alone.
 

cosabella

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My cat is 9y/o and his eating habit is peculiar to say the least. I feed him a variety of wet food.

If I feed him Tiki Cat, Natural Choice, Nutro (he loves the sauce/gravy) or junk food like Fancy Feast, he's fine on his own. He'll dive into it without me being there.

If I feed him "premium" wet (Merrick's, Evanger's, Instinct, Evo and Wellness), he will not eat it unless I sit there and hold the dish while he's eating. It's not enough for me to just be there; I have to hold the dish for the king.

It's cute and I'm a willing enabler, but at 4-5 am, it's exhausting, if not annoying.
 

hissy

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Right before eating, take a small pinch of organic catnip and set it near her food. She will go to the catnip, eat it and much like when a human is stoned on pot- catnip gives kitties the munchies. You can also start her on probiotics acidolpholus is good to help balance her digestive system. Sometimes kitties don't eat because afterward their belly hurts. They learn to avoid food for that reason.
 

mysterycat

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I had the same problem too with my cat, I gave him dry food before, he would just eat like5 pieces of it then would totally ignore and still asked for food. Then I found out that the dry food is too hard that he had trouble eating it. What I did was to cook for him, I boiled fish and he loves it, then I tried Whiskas and he loves it so much!
 
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