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Cat Forum / General Topics / November 2004Cat suddenly refuses to eat dry food
One of my cats is about 7 years old and I've been feeding him (and the other cats) dry cat food since they were kittens. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Dickens was losing weight. He was down to a normal size instead of a little overweight. He kept losing and was getting to thin in my estimation, so I took him in to see the Vet. The Vet. said he was healhly. I got blood work done anyway just to make sure he didn't have Leukemia or anything else. I couldn't really tell if was eating because I have 4 cats and just leave food out for them all the time. Last night Io finaly out 2 and 2 together and realized Dickens had stopped eating. It should've dawned on me that he was following me around meowing more than he usually does, expecially when I went into the kitchen. It didn't dawn on me until last night that he was telling me he was hungry. I feel like a stupid idiot because I didn't realize it sooner. Last night, I brought a bowl of dry food into the kitchen and sniffed and tried to eat it, but just wouldn't. I looked in his mouth as best I could to try and tell if his teeth were hurting or anything. I couldn't really see anything wrong and he didn't seem to feel any pain as I was pushing my fingers around in his mouth. Of course, I couldn't really get in there well enough, so maybe there is a problem and I just can't tell. Anyway, I went and bought some canned food last night and he ate it right up. Poor thing must have been starving all this time and I didn't even realize it. My question is, does anyone know why this might be? Urinary tract infection? Would the vet. have been able to tell if his teeth or mouth was hurting or if he has an infection? | Anyway, I went and bought some canned food last night and he ate it right | up. Poor thing must have been starving all this time and I didn't even [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] | infection? Would the vet. have been able to tell if his teeth or mouth was | hurting or if he has an infection? My guess: the teeth. The vet can only tell if there's evidence outside the tooth unless he does an x-ray. Please don't give up until you know what's wrong and feed the little one canned food in the meantime, poor thing! Carola >> Anyway, I went and bought some canned food last night and he ate it >> right up. Poor thing must have been starving all this time and I [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Please don't give up until you know what's wrong and feed the little > one canned food in the meantime, poor thing! Thanks for the reply. Teeth was the first thing I thought of also. I guess I need to take him back to the vet. He really really hates going for the ride, though. He just whines and whines all the time while he's in the pet taxi. >>> Anyway, I went and bought some canned food last night and he ate it >>> right up. Poor thing must have been starving all this time and I [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > for the ride, though. He just whines and whines all the time while he's > in the pet taxi. My neighbours have had a similar experience - they have two cats, a Burmese and a black Mandalay, both around 7 years old. The Mandalay has always been a picky eater, very skinny, but healthy. Recently they found out he had problems with one tooth - I can't remember the exact details, but I think it was an exposed nerve at the bottom of the tooth. He has now had the tooth extracted and is eating more than they've seen him eat and actually putting on a wee bit of weight. >Thanks for the reply. Teeth was the first thing I thought of also. I guess >I need to take him back to the vet. He really really hates going for the >ride, though. He just whines and whines all the time while he's in the pet >taxi. My cats do that too. They will also defy gravity, stay in the box when it is upside down. Of course my last vet got around that little trick, she unscrewed the cover and took the cover off. Of course at the end of the visit with the vet that sonic boom you hear.....it is the cat getting back into the carrying case as fast as it can. >> Thanks for the reply. Teeth was the first thing I thought of also. >> I guess I need to take him back to the vet. He really really hates [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > hear.....it is the cat getting back into the carrying case as fast > as it can. HA! I bet! >One of my cats is about 7 years old and I've been feeding him (and the other >cats) dry cat food since they were kittens. A couple of weeks ago I noticed >that Dickens was losing weight. He was down to a normal size instead of a >little overweight. He kept losing and was getting to thin in my estimation, >so I took him in to see the Vet. The Vet. said he was healhly. I got blood >work done anyway just to make sure he didn't have Leukemia or anything else. >Anyway, I went and bought some canned food last night and he ate it right >up. Poor thing must have been starving all this time and I didn't even >realize it. Souds like teeth. I had a cat who had bad teeth, he preferrred moist food. Try giving only moist food and see if the cat eats. In the future not eating/loosing weight is a warning sign, if one vet can't give you adequate answers, try another vet. I recently had a (new) Vet proclaim to me, "No cat should weigh more than 10 lbs" about a Maine Coon of mine who had lost a lot of weight. Well, a Maine Coon's tail alone could weigh nearly that much. Thank stars I do not listen to all Vets (or MDs either!) I switched foods (from junkfood to Wellness), and the cat is fatter & fluffier & more energetic than ever. We have yet another new Vet, too. > I recently had a (new) Vet proclaim to me, "No cat should weigh more > than 10 lbs" about a Maine Coon of mine who had lost a lot of weight. > Well, a Maine Coon's tail alone could weigh nearly that much. Thank > stars I do not listen to all Vets (or MDs either!) I switched foods > (from junkfood to Wellness), and the cat is fatter & fluffier & more > energetic than ever. We have yet another new Vet, too. All four of my cats are a little overweight ;-) I guess because I leave the dry food out all the time and let them eat at their leisure. << All four of my cats are a little overweight ;-) I guess because I leave the dry food out all the time and let them eat at their leisure. I leave dry food out all the time for mine too, I figure we don't keep them in order to deprive them! Let them judge what's enough to keep them happy! >> One of my cats is about 7 years old and I've been feeding him (and >> the other cats) dry cat food since they were kittens. A couple of [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Souds like teeth. I had a cat who had bad teeth, he preferrred moist > food. Try giving only moist food and see if the cat eats. That's what I'm thinking also - teeth. Yes, he eats canned food. > In the future not eating/loosing weight is a warning sign, if one vet > can't give you adequate answers, try another vet. I will, thanks. Our vet always examines the teeth, but sometimes she does it very quickly. I would have your vet check again, or maybe even have another vet check. After our vet examined Bear's teeth once, I told her about his mouth dropping open when we pet one side of his face. She looked again, very thoroughly, and she found a very infected front fang. He ended up having it pulled the next week. Also, how was your cat's blood sugar on the blood tests? I would ask the vet for the specific number. We had a cat that developed diabetes. One of his main symptoms was weight loss. Good luck, Rhonda > My question is, does anyone know why this might be? Urinary tract > infection? Would the vet. have been able to tell if his teeth or mouth was > hurting or if he has an infection? > Our vet always examines the teeth, but sometimes she does it very > quickly. I would have your vet check again, or maybe even have another [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > thoroughly, and she found a very infected front fang. He ended up > having it pulled the next week. I'll have him checked again and this time I'll have more info and maybe we can pin down the cause. > Also, how was your cat's blood sugar on the blood tests? I would ask > the vet for the specific number. We had a cat that developed > diabetes. One of his main symptoms was weight loss. > > Good luck, Thanks, I'll try and get that info. >>Our vet always examines the teeth, but sometimes she does it very >>quickly. I would have your vet check again, or maybe even have another [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Thanks, I'll try and get that info. Maybe after so many years of eating cereal laced hard as rock dry catfood...she just wants the meaty stuff? > Maybe after so many years of eating cereal laced hard as rock dry > catfood...she just wants the meaty stuff? I thought if it wasn't teeth, that would be the reason, too. My cat goes through phases of what she will eat - sometimes she will only eat one flavour of one brand of cat food for weeks, and then suddenly decide she doesn't like it anymore! It drives me nuts, because I will have stocked up on this one flavour and will have to search for something else. Right now she will currently eat only seafood flavours of one brand, EXCEPT for the salmon. If I try to give her a variety, she will simply not touch it and let it dry out. So fickle! I always leave dry food out for her, although I feed her more wet after reading that it is better for them. But sometimes she goes through a phase of gobbling it up, other times she leaves it alone for a while. And yes, her teeth are fine. >>Maybe after so many years of eating cereal laced hard as rock dry >>catfood...she just wants the meaty stuff? [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > she goes through a phase of gobbling it up, other times she leaves it alone > for a while. And yes, her teeth are fine. I'll do ya one better. You come home and cat follows ya in. She gets so used to you feeding her when she's let in. She finishes up eating and wants to be let out again. She wants back in again..maybe the cuisine has been changed. |
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