Cat who refuses to eat

I have a twelve year old cat that has a history of asthma and diabetes. Her asthma was being treated with Turbutaline and Prednisalone and her diabetes with daily insulin. About two months ago she stopped eating her prescription diet dry food and soon after, her vet-supplied canned foods. She would only eat Temptations and suck up the juice from some Fancy Feast canned foods and eat a mouthful or two from a newly opened can.

For several weeks I struggled to find food she would eat. I tried many brands and formulas. What she would like one day, she rejected the next. She was rapidly losing weight. The vets were at a loss to figure what was going on with her, and after blood tests, pain killers, meds to settle her stomach etc, we still don't know.

Recently I found something that appears to be working. I noticed she was sucking up juices from the canned food and reasoned if I could liquefy the canned food, she might eat it all. I added a little warm water to the canned food and liquefied it in a blender. At first I tried force-feeding her using a plastic feeding syringe and when she readily accepted the food in this manner, tried just placing it in a dish and she lapped it up on her own.

I store the unused blended food in a plastic container in the fridge and warm it slightly in the microwave before serving it to the cat. No more wasted food and money flushed down the drain.

I still don't know what is wrong with the cat, or whether this will turn out to be a long-term solution, but it is buying time to investigate further.

If your cat has generally stopped eating but is still sucking up the juices of canned foods, you might try liquefying the canned food as I did, and see if your cat will accept the food through a feeding syringe or even better from a dish on their own.

Good luck.

It's possible her teeth are hurting her which is why she stopped eating the dry food or anythig solid.  Often a tooth abscess does not show up on physical exam but only on x-rays, just like with humans.  You get the x-ray becaue your tooth hurts, not because you see any problem.  Since she is an older cat, you might try getting a dental exam.  Alternatively, antibiotics often clear up a tooth abscess, so your vet might try a 10-day trial of Clavamox.  I have an older cat who sees to get tooth problems and that has worked for her so far.  It has worked for me also, as one of my teeth with an old imperfect root canal will act up about once a year, and the Augmentin (human version of Clavamox) works fine to knock it out and it's fine for another year.

Hmm...Thanks! I am having the same problem with my cat except that she was also throwing up many times one day and had to be hospitalized after going into shock. Then, one vet said she had pancreatitis after an x-ray and a pancreas test.  But then a vet specialist started talking about possible cancer after a 2nd x-ray and an ultrasound and another hospitalization. The pancreas test then that was a week later came back fine. I'm at my wit's end as the specialist just keeps shoving invoices for thousands in front of my face. 

I was trying to force feed senior cat supplement milk down my cat's throat during these times as she rapidly lost weight. Except for the vet prescription canned food that I had stopped feeding her because another vet said to get her off those soon, she just licks a little bit of other wet food and won't eat it. She does however eat dry...but maybe she has trouble with her teeth. 

@Red Top Rescue  -- Thanks for the idea about a tooth abscess or problems with my cat's teeth being the reason why she is not eating...

She has had 4 teeth already surgically removed due to fractures and other problems before I even adopted her as a rescue cat, so she has very bad teeth. A few months ago, she suddenly stopped eating the Feline Greenies big treats when she used to wolf those down. She tried but looked like she'd forgotten how to chew them...

She is eating Hill's Science Diet Kitten kibble, but she is not eating much of it anymore and is hardly eating it. It is small and easier for her to eat. When I took her to the vet after she lost so much weight and had been hospitalized, she looked like she'd forgotten how to drink water after she got back home. Just stood in front of it and stared and put her nose in the water instead of licking it. There did seem to be something wrong with her mouth...and she does seem to have trouble chewing her treats now. I will get her back to the Banfield vet to have them clean her teeth and look at her mouth. All the vets want to do is keep running x-rays and ultrasounds and do an endoscopy with a biopsy. They know she has bad teeth and have not mentioned that as a possible problem. It doesn't explain the vomiting...but I was thinking that one seemed like she was trying to get a hairball up and then, apparently, my very long, thick hair...

Actually, I just looked up dental disease in cats and the symptoms all explain my cat's previous behavior -- eating less, not being able to chew her larger treats anymore, even the vomiting, the drooling, the anorexia when she lost a lot of weight rapidly. I am 1/2 mad at the 4 vets who saw her who didn't suggest this might be the problem even though they all knew that she has bad teeth, already had 4 extracted surgically, and was scheduled for a dental cleaning that she really needs. The other 1/2 is really hoping that this is the problem.

@frank l, Thank you very much for posting this thread!!! My cat was already picky to begin with. Now it's even worse. I know how hard it is to keep opening cans of cat food, but your cat doesn't eat them or only takes a few licks. My cat also will eat a canned wet food, then no longer want it again (after I have stocked up on it). She does eat Temptation treats & Feline Greenies treats, but only the smaller-sized ones now. I hope you find out what out what the problem is, dental or otherwise. I am really hoping that is the problem with my cat. Sorry I hijacked your thread.