For all i care he can starve to death!!! - Page 2

Skip the Christmas shopping, pay an electric bill one month late, or sell something. Apply for CareCredit. If he's asking for food and not eating, and hasn't eaten properly in several weeks, he needs to see a vet.

.........
I would advise you to go out and get the junkiest of the dry foods - Purina, meow mix, or whatever. Forget the wet - go straight to dry.
If this kitty doesn't eat.... Take him to the vet too....
Sorry, But IMHO it is our responsibility to do so, no matter what we have to do..... when they are sick we have to do good by them.
Think I don't understand? I do.
This month: I delayed my cell phone bill, my electric bill, my car payment so I could have Gracie to the vet she got very very sick, afford her new prescription diet, tests, vet bill, and the kitties, food, on the top of the huge petsitting bills I have everytime I travel (a LOT) etc.
I am hurting too - but hey, they will not take my car away for delaying this one payment - not cut the phone, nor the electricity - all will be paid by Friday. And that vet's visit might be saving her life......
Think not eating is not serious? Think again...... Gracie didn't eat for 4-5 days while I was out of town......... she has now Hepatic lipidosis....... which meas her liver got damaged from not eating (her body starts processing fat cells instead of food - Look up Fatty Liver Disease). We caught veeeery in the beginning, but still, it will be a long road for recover, with many days of force feeding.... and yep, you guessed, plenty of vet bills ahead of me.
So....... Here are two things: Leaving a cat without food can kill a cat - this mentality "I will just not worry about it" - doesn't work with cats....... they are very very complicated little animals....... not like dogs that simply get skinny..... Cats, instead.... can die. There are quite a few members here at TCS who have dealt with fatty liver, or have lost kitties to it, and believe me, you do not want to be on that list.
The good news is, it is a disease that can be avoided by one simple thing: feeding.

So..... please... do not give up on your kitty....... Go and get the cheapest, junkiest of the foods...... but don't give up on him...... He just needs to eat for now...... Get him eating - no matter what - treats, tuna, burger - I don't care.... But get him eating. Forget quality for now, forget wet - some cats will never get into wet, and that is ok - don't stress about that.....

And if your kitty doesn't eat..... please.... take him to the vet...... you are all he's got.....


Edited by Carolina - 11/29/11 at 2:24pm

As Carolina said, feed him ANYTHING he will eat. Most cats will eat food such as Purine, Meow Mix, Friskies, etc.. Try it!

 

Carolinas post is good and right on. Read it a few times through. Hope Cyndr is getting better. Let us know how he's doing. 

Oh hun, it is not that we think you are angry about your cat.... We know you are not, and you are not taking it on him.... We can see you are frustrated.....
We just wanted to make it very very clear the importance of eating (and the consequences of not doing so) - no matter what - junk...... really, dropping all the theory.... forgetting the whole wet/quality food...... and going back to just getting food - straight food into him for a while....
This way he will be healthier, you will be calmer..... things will fall into place.....
Each cat is really a one of a kind..... they are so unique.... some of them are just like that......

are you measuring the dry food? in the morning and at night, so you know exactly how much he is eating?

Trick: cats DO like fresh from the bag food best (dry) so you should always serve in the morning, and at night...... Keep a journal - so you know for sure what he eats every day.

What brands of junk junk dry food do you have there?

Do you know what Fish Flake is? (fish food - to put in aquariums) - get some and sprinkle it over your cat's food - some say it is irresistible.

In my opinion, any time a cat doesn't eat enough to sustain himself for a prolonged period of time, you should take your cat to the vet. I, like you, freak out when my pets eats less than normal. While it may be that since he was neutered,.he may.require less food, it.sounds like he's not eating enough. Go to the.vet to at least weigh him. I'm sure they would be nice enough not to charge you. Can you feel his ribs easily or is there a slight layer of fat over his ribs? Can you see his ribs? If so, then he's too skinny. If.there is a slight layer of fat over his ribs and of you can see a waistline looking at him from the top, then he's fine.

However, since.he has gone from being a.voracious eater to a cat who nibbles, I would definitely take him to the vet. Cats hide illnesses well (a defense mechanism) so his lack of appetite is worrying to me. I don't know how many foods you have tried but I wouldn't let this go on much longer. It could affect his.liver and then his.kidneys.etc. what about care credit? Any family from whom you can borrow? I don't know if you have something like a Money Mart which gives payday loans.

At the very least, get some a/d cans from your vet and s.feeding syringe.and syringe feed him 20 mls every 4 hours. He needs nutrition.

i can relate, my boy is a fussy eater aswell, i must have wasted at least £100 in wet food becasue he dosn't like a lot of foods and i don't like feeding my boy the cheap stuff, if you are in the uk try encore, it's in a small tin and is 75% meat, my boy bast likes the chicken, and will not touch the fish encore tin cans, if you are from america i wouldn't know what to recomend though.

 

or you can try the alternatives, buying fresh cooked chicken from the supermarket and giving him some of that, i know some cats love boiled chicken.

 

also royal cain is great dry food and is the best you can get, my cat loves it :)

I am so glad Cynder is eating better for you. I am sure you are feeling extremely relieved! I agree that sometimes you just have to give them what they want as long as they will eat. Try to enjoy him now that he is doing better. Worrying sure takes alot of energy, doesn't it. 

I think you are worrying too much. (which I know personally is very hard not to do.)
Don't try to judge whether he's gained or lost by looking at him. I've looked at my cat and thought he lost when in reality he gained..
Like others said, find a neighbor with a baby scale, or try to find one for free on Craigslist. Some people will even do a house pick up so no shipping charge.

Put out the food, cover up what he doesn't eat in the fridge to cut down on throwing out wet and don't worry too much. Like someone else said, he may not be eating because you are standing over him staring too much.

I am so glad to hear Cynder has eaten a bit more this last day . KEEP eating Cynder

Great news! Continued vibes that Cynder will keep eating more!

Weird, I read this a day after Buddy started eating. He ate two whole dishes of food since last night. I think our cats have some psychic connection to either other! 

Some cats just wont eat wet at all, Smooch doesnt,  get that its fustrating for you because he wont but just keep on leaving the dry out for him

I find a lot of cats don't like the same brand/flavour of wet food for 2 meals in a row. They get bored of it quicker than kibble because it doesn't have flavour enhancers sprayed all over it. I regularly rotate through at least a couple dozen different canned and raw foods with my cats to keep them interested. Not sure if that's something that would work with your guy or not. (Oh, and it's perfectly fine to leave canned food out for many hours - unless you have a pest problem or it's extremely hot).

So that you're not wasting food, try putting just 1/4 of a can on his plate. And that's it. Put the rest of the can, well-wrapped in the fridge. When you take it out of the fridge, use another 1/4 can and microwave that for about 5 seconds or so, just to take the chill off as most cats prefer their food at room temp or just a teensy bit warm. And have you tried microwaving his food....just to warm it a bit and perhaps bring out the smell of the food a little better? Maybe you could add a bit of pureed baby food (meat only) to his food....heated.....and watch how he eats; if he laps at the food, but doesn't bite down, it could be a dental thing. I wouldn't leave canned food out all night long, but would leave some dry kibble out, esp since you don't have other cats. Offer him that 1/4 of a can only twice a day....no more than that. The rest of the time, he may try his dry kibble.

 

And as Tricia said, it could easily be a tooth problem. If it's painful he won't eat....it hurts too much. Does he act like he wants to eat?

 

You should be able to tell if he's losing weight, just by looking at him and picking him up, rubbing your hands down along his flanks, along his back, etc.

 

When Mollipop was a kitten, she was the snoopiest cat we've ever had. We started her on Blue Buffalo kitten and she ate it for about 4-5 days. Then nothing. We switched her over to Taste of the Wild and she ate that for about 4-5 days. Then I put her on Fancy Feast kitten and she ate that for 4-5 days. I was really getting frustrated and I took her to the vet. The first thing he did was check her mouth, but everything was fine. He weighed her and she was at a really good weight, so he told me to let it go. Put her on one kind of food, but different varieties, and then simply let it go.

 

My cats eat what a lot of people consider a crappy food....Friskies Buffet. But they won't eat anything else, and believe me, I've tried them all.  No food is good for a cat when the cat won't eat it.....simple as that. When we switched Mollipop over to just Friskies Buffet, which is what the other cats eat, she scarfed it down. (She actually likes her canned food to be "decorated" with a sprinkling of dry Purina Indoor cat kibble. And if I forget the "decoration", she'll sit there and look at me, which reminds me that her plate isn't the way she wants it.) Our Bridge Baby, Hydrox, lived to be 20+ years old on Friskies. Whisper and Bootser are almost 18 years old and Ms. Pepe and Boo are both almost 16 years old. They were all raised on what a lot of people think is disgusting food. But it is what it is. I am not going to obsess that my cats are not eating what other people think they should.

 

It is possible for a young kitten to be at the end of a growth spurt and so just not very hungry. But in all honestly, it's unlikely. I'm sorry to say that, but young cats, esp males, are hungry cats, for the most part. And being upset and frustrated will only hurt your efforts in the long run.

 

I know you don't have the money for a vet right now. But yes, it is important that Cynder be seen, if for no other reason than to ensure that he's OK and that his toofers are OK.

 

And please don't think that anybody here hates or is angry with you. Nothing could be further from the truth. Honest. We're concerned. We're right there with you and worried about your little boy.

 

I wish you and Cynder the best.

WOW - seriously, 9 oz. of food that Cynder ate three days ago was A LOT of food . My cat's don't eat anywhere near that amount of wet food per cat. I would go broke If Cynder eats 4 to 5 ounces of wet food a day and 1/8 - 1/4 cup of dry food too - that is a good amount I think you are doing fine and might just be expecting him to eat way more than is necessary.

Agreed. Most cats only need 5-6 oz of wet per day. NOT inclusive of dry though. So if he's nibbling on dry and eating 3-4 oz of wet, that's plenty honestly. I think your expectation of how much he should eat and how much he needs are different.

I'm sorry, but everytime I see the title of this thread it makes me laugh. I hope your baby finds a food he can live with

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All I can say is YAY

Hmm. My vet in the past has said that if a cat hasn't eaten for more than 24 hours it is an emergency. This is because of the chance of fatty liver disease. It is an even greater risk in larger cats. Anyways in my experience my cats vary in the amounts they eat. Even when my boy cat was a kitten and growing he varied in the amount he ate. Even now, I put food down twice a day. Sometimes it is all gone and sometimes alot is left. My 15 pound boy only eats alittle over 1/4 cup dry and 3 oz of wet today. My 11pound female eats a little less than that. It doesn't seem like a lot, but they maintain their weights and are healthy. As long as he is eating something everyday, I would think that you shouldn't have to worry too much. I would try to get his mouth checked or see if you can check it yourself to make sure their isn't anything in there bothering him. It could also be a phase. My boy cat refuses pate canned food even though my female likes it. I will sometimes put it down, but sure enough, he won't touch it. Cats are weird that way.

I'd also recommend trying something like Raw Goat's milk on top of his food to entice him to eat and put on some weight on him. 

One important thing, you can never and should never starve a cat into eating. Others have mentioned it but Hepatic Lipidosis (fatty liver disease) can occur with just 1-2 days of food scarcity. I'm no vet, but I've done my homework on this. 

I recommend finding something your cat wants to eat post-haste. Get rid of that dry stuff and drop some raw meat in there. Try some small (but not too small) slices of boneless pork or chicken (the trick is to get him to use his jaw muscles to chew). My cat is 5 months old and didn't really want to eat canned food at all (he picked at it) but when I switched him to raw he went nuts! 

Try it. You have nothing to lose and tons to gain. Raw is a cat's natural diet anyway with respect to biology and evolution and your cat will get much more water it needs too (preventing UT blockages later on commonly associated with dry-food diets).

There are commercial raw foods you can buy such as Primal and it's very convenient, and this provides complete nutrition (meat, organ and bone), but raw meat is psychologically more appealing to cats than a lump of raw-food formula, at least from my observation. I always feed my cat Primal meat bricks and raw meat, and he *always* eats the raw meat first, but he eventually finishes the Primal as the hours tick by till I refresh his bowl.

Throw some fresh meat in and stand back. You might just awaken your cat's inner carnivore! :)