My cat still isn't eating anything but tuna, what should I feed her?

glazcia · Apr 9, 2014

I've posted before about my cat not eating after having her teeth were pulled.
She had all of her molars removed. Before the surgery she only ate dry cat food, she refuses to eat wet food of any kind. The only thing she'll eat is tuna, I know I can't keep feeding her tuna but it's better than her starving.

The surgery was just over a week ago, April 1st, I have asked the vet what I should do. They said I should keep trying different foods until she eats. If she doesn't start eating soon I'll be taking her back to the vet, I'll keep trying until the end of this week. They told me her mouth should be healed or at least mostly healed by now.

She tries to eat dry food but when she bites it and can't crunch it she just spits it out. So dry food isn't working.

I've tried several different wet cat foods but she won't eat any of them.
The brands I've tried: Purina, sheba, great choice, fancy feast, friskies and meow mix. I've tried pate, filets and shreds but still nothing.

I've tried adding a little water and chicken broth to the dry food to soften it but any amount of moisture seems to turn her off to it.

I bought a calorie paste at Petsmart to give her some extra calories. That's easier since I only need to stick it on mouth or paw and she licks it up.

I also bought a little bag of Hills Science Diet - Light because it had the smallest bits for adults. She hasn't gone for it yet but I'm still hoping.

She's a healthy cat, I just can't find a new food she likes.
Any suggestions for other things I can try I haven't thought of?

I'm getting really worried, I just need her to eat, any new ideas are welcome.

oneandahalfcats · Apr 9, 2014

Hi there,

I understand your concern. Its good that she is willing to eat the tuna which is something but you can't feed tuna indefinitely. What I would suggest as she obviously likes fish, is to use fish flakes as a topper on other canned foods, OR, slowly transition her by mixing a small amount of the tuna (1 tsp) into other foods and she might go for this. Do this for a few feedings but gradually lessen the amount of Tuna. You could also try some parmesan cheese as an alternate topper.

Best of luck! ...

goholistic · Apr 9, 2014

Honestly, I'd be getting concerned if she's only been eating a little bit of tuna for a week. My question is: why isn't she eating? Is she in pain? Does her mouth hurt? Is she a kibble addict and just doesn't like wet food?

When my Boo had FORLs, a sign of pain was him spitting the food right back out.

If she's in pain, talk to your vet about pain meds. Another thought is an appetite stimulant, which usually makes them ravenously hungry and willing to eat anything. Keep trying different foods and keep offering them. Just because she rejects it at first, doesn't mean she won't try to eat it later. It took me offering my [previous] kibble addict a large variety of wet foods over and over again until we finally ended up with small rotation of ones he will eat.

Two of my three cats still get a little dry food, and I've tried several brands over the years. I have found NOW FRESH[emoji]8482[/emoji] dry cat food by Petcurean to be the smallest kibble I have ever saw. They are really, really tiny. Here's the link to their website: http://www.petcurean.com/for-cats/now-fresh/

This food is not readily available in all stores or areas, so you may have to buy it online. k9cuisine.com carries small trial-size bags of it. They are very small bags (0.5 lb.), so you may want to buy a couple. They also have the 4 lb. bag, which not all retailers carry, but it's still a lot of food for not knowing if she will eat it.

glazcia · Apr 9, 2014

Is the NOW FRESH adult cat food tiny as well? Or are the tiny bits only the kitten food? My cat is 3 years old so I don't want to give her kitten or senior food.

I don't think she's in pain but I do plan on taking her to the vet if she doesn't start eating regularly by Friday. She's always been a picky eater, the pickiest cat I've ever seen.

She gets excited about food when I'm getting it ready but she usually just sniffs it and walks away. So far she'll only eat tuna or turkey breast.

If I add anything to the tuna she won't eat it and she'll only eat turkey when the turkey is warm and hand fed to her.

goholistic · Apr 9, 2014

Glazcia said:
Is the NOW FRESH adult cat food tiny as well? Or are the tiny bits only the kitten food? My cat is 3 years old so I don't want to give her kitten or senior food.

I don't think she's in pain but I do plan on taking her to the vet if she doesn't start eating regularly by Friday. She's always been a picky eater, the pickiest cat I've ever seen.

She gets excited about food when I'm getting it ready but she usually just sniffs it and walks away. So far she'll only eat tuna or turkey breast.

If I add anything to the tuna she won't eat it and she'll only eat turkey when the turkey is warm and hand fed to her.

Yes, it was the NOW FRESH adult food that I purchased a trial-sized bag of and the pieces were very tiny. Caesar ate it okay; I think he liked that the pieces were small because he has bad teeth (needs a dental) and could swallow them whole easily. Boo didn't care for it, but would eat some. You could try reaching out to Petcurean directly and see if they'll send you a trial bag, or call around locally to see if any stores carry it.

Cats hide pain extremely well. It's part of their instinct.

Is she on any medications? Post-dental antibiotics?

There are two concerns with feeding her tuna and/or turkey breast for too long. One...it is not nutritionally balanced and she will begin to develop deficiencies. Two...caloric intake. If she's not getting her normal daily caloric intake, then she is at risk for developing hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease). You want to avoid this at all costs. If she were my cat, I'd have blood work done when you take her back to the vet to check her numbers.

glazcia · Apr 9, 2014

She finished her antibiotics, they also gave us pain killers but I couldn't get her to take them. The pink pain killer would dissolve fast in her mouth, it made her drool pink and she would kind of spit until there was nothing left. The antibiotics were much easier to give her, I just put it in the back of her mouth and held her until she swallowed.

vball91 · Apr 9, 2014

I agree with GoHolistic that fatty liver disease is a real concern right now if she had only been eating a little tuna for a week. I would ask your vet for an appetite stimulant now, not wait for Friday. I would also strongly encourage you to consider syringe feeding until she starts eating regularly on her own again.

oneandahalfcats · Apr 9, 2014

I didn't get the sense that this cat is NOT eating, but that she is definitely not eating the appropriate kinds of food.

The appetite stimulant might help, but as far as the syringe feeding, you need to know what you are doing here to prevent aspiration of food.

@Glazcia: I would contact your vet at your next opportunity to discuss both of these things to determine next steps, and have him/her advise and show you how to syringe-feed if necessary.

micknsnicks2mom · Apr 9, 2014

as others have posted, i'd try different ways to encourage kitty to eat wet/canned cat food. but something that i do for my girl when she's just recovering from gastro upset might help your kitty -- i soak very small amounts of dry food in plain water until it's softened but still holds it's shape, then serve that to my girl. this way your girl would get the flavor of the dry cat food, but doesn't have to break it up with her teeth.

also, i many times mix a few pieces of dry cat food into my snick's wet food (towards the point when she's almost finished with her breakfast, after she's had all her pills, as a special treat for being so good about taking her pills). so you might try mixing a few pieces of the softened dry food into and onto some wet/canned cat food, and see if your girl will eat the wet food that way. if she will eat it, then you could try gradually reducing the amount of softened dry food.

goholistic · Apr 9, 2014

oneandahalfcats said:
I didn't get the sense that this cat is NOT eating, but that she is definitely not eating the appropriate kinds of food.

Part of my point regarding caloric intake and fatty liver disease is that plain tuna and turkey breast are pretty low in fat and calories and may not be providing enough of what the cat needs, which could be anywhere from 120 to 220 calories per day, depending on the cat's build and energy level (I believe she's only 3 years old).

oneandahalfcats · Apr 10, 2014

GoHolistic said:
Part of my point regarding caloric intake and fatty liver disease is that plain tuna and turkey breast are pretty low in fat and calories and may not be providing enough of what the cat needs, which could be anywhere from 120 to 220 calories per day, depending on the cat's build and energy level (I believe she's only 3 years old).

While I would agree that she may not be getting as much or the right kinds of nutrients, she is at least getting protein which should prevent fatty liver disease. In any event, definitely something she should speak with her vet about.

@Glazcia: Another suggestion as your kitty was eating kibble before the surgery, is to take some kibble and give it a couple of quick pulses in a blender to break it up a little. She might find this easier to consume if she is still experiencing some discomfort in eating. At this point she could just be feeling a little gun-shy about food and needs to develop some confidence with eating again. Something to discuss with your vet.

drcat · Apr 10, 2014

GoHolistic said:
Honestly, I'd be getting concerned if she's only been eating a little bit of tuna for a week. My question is: why isn't she eating? Is she in pain? Does her mouth hurt? Is she a kibble addict and just doesn't like wet food?

When my Boo had FORLs, a sign of pain was him spitting the food right back out.

If she's in pain, talk to your vet about pain meds. Another thought is an appetite stimulant, which usually makes them ravenously hungry and willing to eat anything. Keep trying different foods and keep offering them. Just because she rejects it at first, doesn't mean she won't try to eat it later. It took me offering my [previous] kibble addict a large variety of wet foods over and over again until we finally ended up with small rotation of ones he will eat.

Two of my three cats still get a little dry food, and I've tried several brands over the years. I have found NOW FRESH[emoji]8482[/emoji] dry cat food by Petcurean to be the smallest kibble I have ever saw. They are really, really tiny. Here's the link to their website: http://www.petcurean.com/for-cats/now-fresh/

This food is not readily available in all stores or areas, so you may have to buy it online. k9cuisine.com carries small trial-size bags of it. They are very small bags (0.5 lb.), so you may want to buy a couple. They also have the 4 lb. bag, which not all retailers carry, but it's still a lot of food for not knowing if she will eat it.

drcat · Apr 10, 2014

Having teeth out will mean she will not be able to eat kibble for at least 2weeks. This food is likely to become impacted in the tooth root holes while they are healing over, as may wet food with gravy. That is why we recommend pieces of meat only, eg chicken (cooked) or fish such as tuna that is of a size that will pretty much be swallowed. I would not be worried by an adult cat eating one food only for 2-3 weeks, or longer.
After this time I would try to mix something else in with the tuna, as previously mentioned, to slowly get her used to a more balanced food. Try to go with high quality (in no grain) wet food. Start off with fishy foods - you can always try to change this down to non-fish later if you wish.

goholistic · Apr 10, 2014

DrCat said:
Having teeth out will mean she will not be able to eat kibble for at least 2weeks.

This is what my vet also recommended when two of my cats had teeth extracted. They said no dry for two weeks, but canned cat food only. My cats were already eating canned, so it was no problem. I was under the impression (perhaps wrongly) that the OP's cat wasn't eating enough, and so I was making suggestions with the thought that preventing fatty liver disease was more important than getting food in a root hole.

DrCat said:
I would not be worried by an adult cat eating one food only for 2-3 weeks, or longer.

Personally, I would not be comfortable continuing to feed an unbalanced / unsupplemented diet for longer than two weeks. One week even makes me a little uneasy, but that's just me.

My cat still isn't eating anything but tuna, what should I feed her?

glazcia

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