Lack of Appetite vs Loss of Appetite

ichini

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
28
Purraise
1
I'm trying to decide if I should be concerned about my cats eating habits at the moment. He did visit the vet yesterday for some diarrhea issues which have been solved for the most part.

The last few days his appetite has been very strange and i don't know if it's something I should try to focus on or handle?

He does eat, but only a little bit when I put the food right in front of him. He doesn't seem to go out of his way to eat. 

The vet put him on a mini diet of this bland wet food. Today I mixed in a little of his regular food just to try and get him to eat more, and it did help a little. But he is still only eating maybe a quarter of what he normally eats. 

Is this normal appetite behavior in cats who have visited the vet or have had diarrhea?

And does anyone have any tips on what I can do to get him to eat more

He is drinking plenty though! So I'm not concerned at all there. 
 

katluver4life

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 4, 2012
Messages
1,211
Purraise
65
Location
Pennsylvania
Hello. Did the vet put him on any medications? Some medications, such as antibiotics, can decrease a cats appetite, so can just feeling not to good. Did you find out what caused the diarrhea?

He could very well just not like the prescription food also. You could try smaller more frequent meals with some of his reg food mixed in. Toppers such as freeze dried chicken treats, or any treats he normally likes, crushed and sprinkled on top. If he likes tuna you could try Bonito flakes or the water from canned tuna.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

ichini

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
28
Purraise
1
The vet did give him some antibiotics I've been giving him. So that could be it.

And we never really did find the cause of it. He wasn't showing any signs of having an obstruction or having of eaten something dangerous, so they assumed it was a dietary thing. We had been giving him canned tuna a little more often than normal, and we've also skipped through room mates a lot in the last month, both of which had a cat so I assumed that was also stressed from all the changes in the house. 

I wanted to try adding tuna water to the food since he really loves that, but I was afraid it was what caused the diarrhea in the first place so am hesitant to try doing that. 
 

katluver4life

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 4, 2012
Messages
1,211
Purraise
65
Location
Pennsylvania
Too much fish, especially tuna is not good for cats. Fish in general contain mercury and more so in the large fish such as tuna, which cats can't metabolize out of their bodies very well and so it builds up and can become toxic. The water though is just flavored and so is ok.

The stress could very well be the cause, as some cats really don't like changes at all and can become ill. You could also try some feliway diffusers around the house to help with his stress and help calm him some. It works for many, but not all, but worth a try.
 

raintyger

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Messages
1,690
Purraise
139
Location
Long Beach, CA
Lack of appetite can come from a wide variety of causes. One could be IBD, since there's been diarrhea. IBD usually perplexes owners and vets. There's a lot of testing involved to rule out other causes. IBD can involve an allergic reaction. If the regular food or the wet food has lots of grains in it, the grains might be irritating his GI tract. Other allergic reactions happen because of overfeeding a particular protein or brand of food, or sensitivity to certain commonly used ingredients like carrageenan.
 
Top