Cat wont eat

jjjade

Hey guys,

wondering if you can advise. my partners cat got brought to the vet over having piles which was sorted there and then which was great!!! but because she is an old cat 10-12 years old the vet advised use to feed her the pouches of food as it is easier to digest. she was eatting the dried food but the vet said on a young cat its great as the digestive system is great but not ideal for an old cat.

my issue is we have bought various brands of these pouches and no joy. she is eatting the jelly thats it. i have read cats are set in their ways and will starve to death if food isnt acceptable(whether true or not ). its been a few months now and still 'cherry picking' her food.

can anyone let me know how to make this food more appealing?

thank you!!

BengaLover

LOl mine does the same, scoffs the jelly and leaves the rest and then cries cos hes hungry..
Have you tried fresh meat - like cooked chicken etc.?

mymo

Have you tried giving a bit of raw food?
Some raw mince is a good starter, chicken wings and necks are good too if the cats teeth are up to it, any trimmings from meat are good (not too much fat).
I give a little raw as a treat couple of times a week and cats love it, along with wet and dry food at different times.
There are also some supplements you can add to the food, ask your vet about these or look online for info on a raw diet.

I don't get why the vet said just give wet food, was it related to the piles?
If so try mixing in some of the dry food with the wet, start to soak the dry stuff for a few mins, gradually increasing the time until its quite soft. This could wean her onto the wet food gradually.
Does the cat drink much?

dvet

I second the advice to try a few different types of food e.g. chicken or tuna or similar mixed in with his cat food, or else mix some dry food into it, but also, if you are afraid that your cat is really going to starve himself rather than eat the wet food, it would be better to feed him dry food than nothing!

goat2

i have a cat that stopped eating, had got stick thin, went to vet, found out it had an absessed tooth and was in agony, get vet to have a look in mouth, could be something stuck there, a loose sore tooth, sore tounge, sore gums, sore troath

Rancid

goat2 wrote: »

i have a cat that stopped eating, had got stick thin, went to vet, found out it had an absessed tooth and was in agony, get vet to have a look in mouth, could be something stuck there, a loose sore tooth, sore tounge, sore gums, sore troath

Definitely something to consider, as they get older they do tend to lose teeth and sometimes the gums get badly infected before the tooth actually falls out.
Though usually they drool a bit (or a lot!) if they have a mouth infection going on, but it's worth having her checked anyway.

And.. did you try mashing up the pouch food with a fork so that it's all mushy and almost liquidy? She could actually lick it up that way.
Worth a try, I think.

And I agree with also offering her little bits of chicken, either cooked or raw, it's a rare cat can refuse a bit of chicken!
Watch to see if she chews it or just swallows it, that might be a clue to the state of her teeth and gums.

pow wow

You could also try (assuming her teeth are fine) the more pate style foods - they're usually in wee foil trays and have no jelly as such so the cat has no choice but to eat the food. My small fella will eat those no bother but just licks the jelly off pouch/canned food - he had almost all his teeth taken out (he's 15) so he's not great with dry food.

morgana

She is eating her usual stuff ok? Then introduce the new food gradually by mixing it with her usual food and increase the ratio of new to old over a few days.
Also, cats have peculiar tastes to say the least. The food that is absolutely yum yum today can be be the most disgusting slop next day if your cats behaviour is anything to go by . Most of the time they are on the winning side (yea yea soft heart and all that) and I give in. Just sometimes I win though.
They will eat eventually but if you can cope with accusing looks and starving cat antics is another matter.

jjjade

thanks for the reply guys. I forgot to mention about the absessed tooth she had. The vet did a job on that when treating her for the piles. Basically he said that her digestive system was having a hard time breaking down the dried food thats why he suggested the wet stuff.

We tried her with fresh bits of chicken, she didnt eat them (even though she used to love that). So we're gonna try a few more suggestions. If all else fails back to the vet she goes