For all i care he can starve to death!!!

i am done, my dam cat just will not eat a decent meal no matter what it is i put down. i have tried everything i can think of to get this 7 month old to eat!!! it doesn't mater how i try to tempt him, he just nibbles at his food. im tired of trying different foods, cuz nothing works. so i will put dry down and some wet in the morning, and if he chooses not to eat, then forget it, there is nothing else my patience can take, im done, im tired, frustrated and going broke trying to figure out this cats needs.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with your situation. What foods have you tried and how have you introduced them? How is your cat's weight?

Changing food frequently can upset a cat's desire to eat. You really need to calm down. I don't know the full story behind what is going on with your kitty and I can only hope you have had him to the vet to check for illness. I also know that we have to give some of our kitties antacid or they get very upset stomachs and won't eat.

If your kitty starves to death then there has been something wrong with him that a vet should be able to help decipher. If he does just fine then your expectations of his caloric intake is unrealistic.

My advice, stop stressing yourself and your kitty out. He'll either be OK or he won't.....once you know which it is, you can make better decisions on his care. Watch for weight loss but don't obsess. My guess, barring a medical disorder, is that he will be just fine.

he was eating bb dry kitten then a week ago he decided not to like it, only nibbled went from 2/3 cup a day to maybe a 1/4 cup, so i bought some kitty crack FF and he ate it for a couple of days and now is back to just nibbling it and hardly touching his dry as well. he has done this in the past. he was just eating ff wet, then there was an emergency and i couldn't get home in time so he got hungry and decided to eat the bb dry, and would have nothing to do with any kind of wet, so i was like ok he will eat dry, then like i said a week ago he didn't like his bb so tried ff again and he ate it but once again today he just nibbles on the ff. oh and he has lost some weigh since last week, i guess nothing major, but how can he go from 2/3 cup a day to 1/4 cup and .5 onces of wet a day...

I'm not trying to be mean but you have to stop obsessing over this. Their appetites will come and go. Put the food out and be done with it. Watch his weight....don't guess, actually weigh him and chart it. He is growing and changing at 7 months, everything will ebb and flow during this time.

What does your vet say?

i can't afford a vet visit right now. but i am going to call tomorrow morning and ask, and i do not own a scale, and am not going out to buy a scale atm. i really appreciate you guys trying to help, im just really frustrated with him righ now, he is peeing and pooping normally, and playing so what ever im am just going to put the food out and leave it, hopefully he will eat it, and if he needs an antacid what should i buy and how much should i give him?? maybe thats what he needs...

A lot of times, if you're a regular client, a vet will let you, or a tech, weigh a cat for free (I found this out when my boy was on a diet). It can't hurt to ask, anyway.  It is nervewracking when they don't eat - but they do pick up your stress as well.  Just wondering - I wonder if the vet might suggest Hills A/D for a bit, or something like it.  As I understand it, it's very calorie and nutrient dense, and most cats absolutely adore it - I used it when my girl was on Clavamox and wouldn't even eat her beloved turkey for me. And I can imagine how nervous you are about a kitten losing weight, rather than gaining.

He may just be a nibbler - my girl just doesn't eat much at any given time.  But she's an adult so I try to stay calm when her appetite goes up and down.

cyndersmom said:

i can't afford a vet visit right now. but i am going to call tomorrow morning and ask, and i do not own a scale, and am not going out to buy a scale atm. i really appreciate you guys trying to help, im just really frustrated with him righ now, he is peeing and pooping normally, and playing so what ever im am just going to put the food out and leave it, hopefully he will eat it, and if he needs an antacid what should i buy and how much should i give him?? maybe thats what he needs...

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I am curious, do you reprimand him or yell at him when he doesn't eat to your desires? If so, this should not happen as it will just scare him further. If not, then that's good.

Pets are sweet gentle souls and they just need our patience and love. Sometimes my car Riley will eat a lot, and other days he will hardly touch his food at all. Like today. He's had less then a 1/3 cup and it's almost 7pm. Just depends on how he is feeling.

he got neutered in october and even then they gave him the s/d wet while he was there and he didn't eat it. he does not like any type of pate, only the grilled when he chooses to eat. i am going out for a bit tonight so im going to not give him any wet till i get home, and see if he has gotten hungry enough to eat some by that time, not holding my breath though, he just does not like to eat. im going to try not to stress but its soooooo hard, and im just sooooooo frustrated, i have had many cats in my life and never have had to deal with this kind of situation.

I TOTALLY get where you're coming from. We are STILL trying to get Buddy to eat something. He only nibbles at every single brand we've tried. He only wants to eat dry food but I can't have him on a dry diet as it makes his poo runny. Its very, very frustrating. I just got 3 new types of food and he only licked them. 

If you find a solution before we do, let me know, please!

i do not yell at him for not eating what or how much he wants, i try to make it exciting for him when i put his food down and give him lots of love and praise when he does eat. if i find a sloution before you do luvmyparker i will let you know for sure, at least some one ges what im going through..

well just got home and put some food down, nope licked at it and walked away im done...

Ya know, I have no idea how much each of my cats eats individually. I make sure I see everyone eat something at least once a day, but I don't monitor their exact intake. Maybe he's just one of those cats who isn't enthusaistic about food and will only eat enough to keep himself alive. Nothing wrong with that, and I really don't think he'd starve himself. Some cats always stay slim.

I guess what I would do at this point would be to pick a high-calorie dry food, put it out, and let him eat when and how much he wants, and not worry about it. I would probably still offer some canned food, but I know it's frustrating to spend that much on food if you don't have another pet who will eat it if he doesn't. So if you want to skip the canned food for a while I don't see any harm. Make sure he eats something every day (you can usually tell if some kibbles are missing), monitor his body condition (and call the vet if he starts looking dangerously underweight), and that's it. No fussing, no worrying, no measuring his intake.

I know that some dogs will stop eating if they think they can make you fuss and worry over them. . .I don't know if cats are the same. If so, he might start eating more. But even if he never does pick up an appetite, as long as he isn't starving, call it good enough.

I wouldn't worry about him.  Keep some dry food down, and he's not likely to starve to death.

We have one cat (Flambe) who is not very food motivated.  Oh, he comes running when I get out the treats, but I almost never see him eating the dry food.  He IS skinny, but he eats the soft food in the morning and evening.  I'm not sure he eats much dry food, except for stealing the kittens's food.

With Mia I leave food down 24/7 for her (dry of course). She eats just a tad bit at a time. I put a 1/3 cup down in the morning when I get up and a 1/3 cup down in the evening. Sometimes its all gone. Sometimes not. However I dont stand over her to watch her eat. She comes and goes as she pleases. She is 6 months old and is slim but not anorexic.

I would just put his food down and leave it for the day and let him come and go as he pleases and see how that works. He might feel a little stifiled from being watched so closely. Dont give up hope!    Keep us updated.

Before my mother passed away, I would go up to her house and there would be at least three plates of different kitty food sitting there.  Mom would get so frustrated at her because she would nibble and she "didn't like" the food she put out, according to her.

When mom passed away,  Little Girl came to live with me.  I put one type of food out, and was done with it.

Little Girl lived for a long time after, and died of old age...not starvation.

Please try not to obcess.  I really don't pay much attention to what my kitties eat.   I know I also can get my cats weighed for free at the vets. Please look into that.  I really don't know of any cats that have died of starvation while food has been offered.  Unless something else was going on.

i will do what all of you are saying, last night i just left the wet food out all night, and when i got up a 5am to feed him some of it was gone. same with his morning feeding, he ate some but i will leave it out all day and see what happens, he also has dry food 24/7 so i will stop being so concerned. i just find it really frustrating when 2 months back he was constantly at his dry and eating like a pig, and now i have the opposite happening. who knows maybe its a normal thing for him o not eat a whole lot after being neutered, not going to worry anymore,and what wet food i put out be it ff,wellness or some other kind maybe he will eat some. thanks everyone for your help on this, and i will keep you updated.

It is possible he is at a growing stand-still at the moment and is just not as hungry as he was as a baby kitten. But... if he continues to lose weight - at seven month's - he needs a vet. . He is still a growing kitten. I think you might be worrying a bit too much. Just leave the food out like you are doing and give it a few days - monitor exactly how much wet you are leaving out at each feeding so you can know exactly how many calories he is taking in or not taking in. Same for the dry. If he is eating way under at least 20 calories per pound (his weight) then he will lose more weight and something might be going on medically. At this point, if he is looking good weight-wise then let him tell you how much he needs to eat or not to eat. If he continues to lose some weight, then he needs a vet check.....

When Rosie was a kitten she would lick the jelly and leave the rest. Like you l kept changing her food but it made no difference. She would sniff at her dry food and when l told the vet he said she'll eat it if she's hungry.

I left her dry food out like the vet said and she started eating it, so leave some quality kitten kibbles out for her and when she's ready she'll eat it, but try and stop stressing because she'll pick up on it.

Sometimes our kitten Molly (4 months old), doesn't fancy her meal, and she leaves it, but then our other cat, Roxy, will eat it! Molly's going to learn not to leave her food! Both my girls have biscuits available all the time, so they can pick at them. Cat's appetite's do fluctuate. Have you tried kitten milk for your little one? Perhaps the vet could give you telephone advice for free?