Hey everyone. Lately (past week or so) Precious hasn't been eating very much of her food. She eats dry food and its Purina Cat Chow. I know her allergies have been acting up somewhat and that may be the reason. Also, she does eat a few bites of her food every day and sometimes she eats about half of the bowl of food. Its a 1 cup bowl by the way. She always gets something to eat. Sometimes I give her treats and she loves those. The treats say that they are complete nutrition and can be used to substitute a regular diet so that gives me comfort cause I know she's getting at least some of the nutrition she needs from them. Earlier I gave her some tuna juice and tuna. She did eat it all up but she still hasn't touched her food. I want to take her to the veterinarian but I am not in control of my money and the person who is in control is very reluctant to let me take her to the vet and so I want to try everything I can here at home. If the solutions you provide don't help then I'll probably be able to convince this person to let me take her to the veterinarian. Thanks in advance!
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How can I increase Precious' appetite?
- Thread starter avemaria02
- Start Date
If she has been not eating much for the last week, she definitely needs to see the vet. In the meantime, you might try some wet food or boiled chicken -no spices at all - or maybe put some tuna water on her dry food. A little tuna itself wouldn't hurt her.
If she has allergies, she might be having issues with her sense of smell which could be putting her off of food. I agree with catspaw66. Try some smelly cat wet cat food to encourage her to eat. Wet food is better for her anyway and will also help get more water into her. She needs to eat at least 1/2 to 2/3 of her necessary calorie intake otherwise she's at risk of developing fatty liver disease which can be fatal. If you cannot get her to eat more now, she needs to see a vet.
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- #4
I am trying to be able to get Precious to the veterinarian but I have SSI with a representative payee and lately its been like pulling teeth trying to get her (my dad's girlfriend) to give me a check so I can get her looked at. I am so ticked off right now. Its like they don't give a heck about me or my cat!
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- #5
I forgot to mention something. I did get her to eat a little bit of tuna. I also put some tuna juice on her dry cat food but all that did was make the pieces stick to each other. I am going to look in to getting some canned cat food to feed her.
Complain to Social Security that she is not acting in your best interests.
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- #7
If I do that then that will only cause enormous problems between my dad and I. My dad is her boyfriend. I mean, I would do that Catspaw66, but I really really don't need a war going on in the family.
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- #8
I am just wondering, is it possible that she has grown tired of Purina Cat Chow? Does that happen with cats where they grow bored with their food and so they stop eating it?
That is possible. It is always good to rotate different brands and flavors for many reasons (to prevent allergies from forming, boredom with food from monotony effect, recalls and discontinuation of specific brands/flavors).
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- #10
Hmm, thank you. I am going to go out today and get her a bag of Friskies Seafood Sensations and see how she likes it. I hope she'll eat it.
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- #11
While I was gone I also bought four cans of Friskies cat food. I gave her half of one of the cans when I got home and she ate about half of what I gave her. So she ate 1/4 of the can of food. I am going to stick the rest of it in the fridge in a baggie to keep it fresh and will give it to her later.
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- #12
Okay everyone. I have another question for you. Precious is my very first cat which I have owned and taken care of by myself. I have only fed her canned cat food once or twice before so I don't know much at all about feeding cats canned food. Is there anything I should know? I may choose to switch to a mostly canned diet or a combination of canned and dry food diet. Is it normal for a cat to only eat 1/4 of a can of food in one sitting? Also, how many times a day should I give her canned food? I know I shouldn't leave it out because if I do it will go bad so how many times a day should I offer it to her and how often should I offer it to her? Thanks in advance.
That is great that you are considering a switch to a mostly canned diet! It will be much healthier for your cat. The canned Friskies pates and Fancy Feast classics are the best options in terms of most meat for less money.
How much a cat eats in one sitting is individual to the cat. 1/4 of a 5.5oz can in one sitting is not unusual. Mine eats less than that one sitting. Some cats can eat 1/2 can. Most indoor adult cats will eat about 5-6oz of canned food a day. It is better to go by calories as they can differ can to can, but that is a good general guideline.
How often to feed again is dependent on your cat and your schedule. If she is used to free feeding, she will probably prefer smaller meals more often at first. If you can feed 4-5 times a day, great. If not, cats generally do ok on a 3 times a day schedule (before work, after work, before bed). You can leave the canned food out for a while. How long sort of depends on weather and any other applicable conditions, but most people leave it out at least 15-30 minutes without worries. Honestly I just leave mine out because my cat will not eat it once it dries out, so I'm not afraid of her eating food that's gone bad.
How much a cat eats in one sitting is individual to the cat. 1/4 of a 5.5oz can in one sitting is not unusual. Mine eats less than that one sitting. Some cats can eat 1/2 can. Most indoor adult cats will eat about 5-6oz of canned food a day. It is better to go by calories as they can differ can to can, but that is a good general guideline.
How often to feed again is dependent on your cat and your schedule. If she is used to free feeding, she will probably prefer smaller meals more often at first. If you can feed 4-5 times a day, great. If not, cats generally do ok on a 3 times a day schedule (before work, after work, before bed). You can leave the canned food out for a while. How long sort of depends on weather and any other applicable conditions, but most people leave it out at least 15-30 minutes without worries. Honestly I just leave mine out because my cat will not eat it once it dries out, so I'm not afraid of her eating food that's gone bad.
Ok, I can understand that.
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- #15
Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it! That said, its been about 2 hours since I last fed her and I offered her some more. She took a couple more bites but that was it. I didn't really expect her to eat that much this time since she just ate 2 hours ago.
Anyway, I have one more question concerning the food. If she doesn't eat an entire can in one day, can I save the rest of it for tomorrow?
Thank you. I appreciate your understanding.
Anyway, this is to anyone who knows the answer. While Precious is sick, is it okay to play with her? She seems to want to sleep a lot and today she's been hiding under the bed which she does when she doesn't feel well. I know this is because of an instinct which would protect her from predators in the wild since she is in a weakened condition. The main form of play that she enjoys is chasing a laser dot. I call it "catch the buggy" when I talk to her. So, is it okay for Precious to "catch the buggy" or play with other forms of play while she is sick?
Try to feed every 4-6 hours at first. She will let you know (like she just did) how often she gets hungry. Yes, you can keep the can in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can either get a plastic cover that fits over the top of the can or put it in a different container.
Most cats will not want to play when they don't feel well. If she does want to play, there's nothing wrong with it, but maybe go a little more gently/slowly than usual?
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- #18
Thank you very much for the advice. Also, do you know where I can get those plastic covers for cat food cans? I've seen them before but I don't know where you buy them at. I live in the United States. We have Walmart, Dollar General Store, and there is also another store here which is fairly new but I can't think of the name of it right now. Do you know if Walmart or Dollar General Store stocks those? If so, what section of the store would I find it in?
Thank you Vball. I was thinking that playing with her would help to keep her morale up. She seems to be sad and anxious since she's sick and playing "catch the buggy" with her seems to cheer her up. I am thinking that if I keep playing with her then it will relieve stress as that is what seems to be happening and if I help to relieve her stress then she's going to heal faster. Am I right?
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- #19
Hey everyone. Precious is an indoor only cat and is fairly sedentary. She weighs 9 lbs. Would one 5.5 oz can per day be enough for her calorie needs? The can says to give 1 oz per lb of weight and so that would be I guess 1 1/2 cans. However, I am wondering, would it be just as good to give her 1 can per day and allow her to free feed with the dry food? Thanks in advance for your help.
I've seen the can covers at most grocery stores incl. Walmart, in the pet food section.
If she wants play, then definitely play with her. Yes, play is a great stress reliever for cats.
The feeding guidelines listed the can are on the high side for most adult neutered cats. The general guideline is about 20 calories per pound of weight daily. So, if 9lbs is a good weight for her, then approximately 180 calories is what you want to feed her daily. Adjust up or down as necessary for hunger level, activity, weather, etc.
I wouldn't free feed. If you want to leave out a small measured amount (maybe a tablespoon) of dry a day as she gets used to eating the canned food on a schedule, ok, but don't leave out a huge amount.
If she wants play, then definitely play with her. Yes, play is a great stress reliever for cats.
The feeding guidelines listed the can are on the high side for most adult neutered cats. The general guideline is about 20 calories per pound of weight daily. So, if 9lbs is a good weight for her, then approximately 180 calories is what you want to feed her daily. Adjust up or down as necessary for hunger level, activity, weather, etc.
I wouldn't free feed. If you want to leave out a small measured amount (maybe a tablespoon) of dry a day as she gets used to eating the canned food on a schedule, ok, but don't leave out a huge amount.
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