Suddenly Super Picky After 13 Years.. "stale" Food Issue?

[x-ta-z]

Hi,
Singa has started becoming more and more picky the older she gets and I am now at wits' end.

background for those who are interested:
She was on dryfood for the longest time but started vomiting blood so Vet put her on RC sensitive wet food. she ate that, but usually not the full recommended dose and since she was loosing so much weight I supplemented it with Applaws chicken, which she loved. She then stopped eating the RC sensitive from one day to the next so I got her a new (freakishly expensive) food called Terra Faelis which she loved and she ate her daily dose of it and sometimes a bit more (to my pleasure as I feel she could gain roughly half a kilo). But because of cost I was hoping to find an alternative as it would cost me around £75 per month on her food alone (approx 100 USD). I introduced a new brand Feringa which costs half of the previous one and she doesn't enjoy it as much as Terra Faelis but she ate most of a day's portion.

Current situation:
But then - from one day to the next she stopped eating either of the two brands and also the applaws just made 1/4 of a tin before she didn't want it anymore. I had her blood-works checked and Vet has given her the all clear.

For the blood test I had to starve her and she was really hungry when we got back from the vets. She refused both packets I had in the fridge of both of the brands. I opened a new tin of Terra Faelis and she aite about a tablespoon at lunch. She just woke up for dinner and again sniffs it and ignores the food.

My suspicion is that it is "stale" (i.e. an open packet) but I can't open a new packet each time to feed her majesty a spoonful and chuck the rest out.

Any ideas on what I can do to make her eat???

 

[mschauer]

When you took her to the vet did you mention her appetite was off? If so, did they mention doing an ultrasound? One of my older cats was recently diagnosed (presumptively via ultrasound only) with IBD and his only symptom was decreased appetite.

 

[x-ta-z]

I told them about the appetite. They did a blood test incl checking thyroid function and a cardiac scan as they previously heard a heart murmur, but they don't think the lack of appetite has anything to do with the heart. When I get the results of the cardiac scan I will ask about it. would that show somehow in her bowel movement? she tends to vomit a lot when she eats to fast/much and sometimes just randomly... but she has had that since kitten and I always found it normal for her - till she vomited blood and then I got worried. But that improved once she was put in wet food.

 

[mschauer]

No, the stool can be perfectly normal even with IBD. My cats only symptom really was just decreased appetite. Once he was put on prednisolone every other day he started eating normally and is back to his normal weight.

Also, I have another cat that was definitively diagnosed with IBD (via biopsy) and her stool was always normal. Her symptoms were throwing up and decreased appetite.

Vomiting can be a sign of food intolerance that can eventually lead to IBD.

 

[x-ta-z]

I'll have a chat with the vet. Thanks!!

 

[mschauer]

Good luck! I hope it isn't IBD!

 

[x-ta-z]

Looks like it was just the heat and her being a princess. All the blood works are good and she started eating a bit more again. Yesterday she played princess again but eventually ate her food.

 

[mschauer]

That's encouraging news. I strongly urge remaining vigilant though especially given she is an older cat . In my experience decreased appetite and/or slow eating are symptoms of a problem even if current blood work doesn't show anything.