A cat will regularly decide it no longer wants to eat a particular food or treat. A cat, though, occasionally stops eating for more serious reasons. It is important to comprehend the potential root causes and effects of a cat’s food aversion. While there may be things you can do at home to help your cat regain its appetite, there are times when veterinary help is necessary.
The Problem with Your Cat’s Stopping to Eat
If your cat isn’t feeling well, it may stop eating if something is stuck in its stomach or intestines. As an alternative, your cat might not like the food you’re giving her. Your cat’s lack of food could also point to a painful or uncomfortable condition.
If your cat stops eating, it’s quite troubling regardless of the reason.
It just takes a few days without food for an overweight cat who has stopped eating to develop hepatic lipidosis. This disorder, sometimes referred to as fatty liver disease or fatty liver syndrome, can be fatal if left untreated. This is the main justification for why it’s so important to make sure your cat eats, particularly if it’s overweight. A person with fatty liver disease has trouble getting their liver to convert fat into energy. The additional fat that has built up around your cat’s liver has made the issue worse. Without prompt attention from your veterinarian, your cat could get liver dysfunction, which is a serious condition.
Cats Who Stop Eating Due to Certain Conditions
Respiratory issues
Respiratory problems can impair your cat’s ability to breathe or impair their sense of smell, both of which can result in appetite loss.
Upper respiratory diseases that cause secretions to clog your cat’s nose and eyes may cause a momentary loss or restriction of sight or scent. Lower respiratory tract illnesses can damage your cat’s lungs, making it more difficult for it to breathe. These respiratory issues could be as simple as requiring some antibiotics or as complicated as malignancy. No matter how bad your cat’s respiratory condition is, if it can’t smell its food due to the illness, it may decide not to eat.
Illness affecting the intestinal system
If there are problems with your cat’s stomach, intestines, pancreas, or other digestive system parts, it may stop eating. Your cat may vomit, have diarrhea, or experience stomach pain in addition to digestive issues. Your cat could prefer a homemade meal because of the fresher components. The presence of parasites, irritable bowel syndrome, tumors, an imbalanced bacterial population in the intestines, acid reflux, and other conditions can all cause issues.
External Parties
Some cats take pleasure in eating things they shouldn’t or developing hairballs, both of which can result in their getting stuck in the intestines or stomach.
A foreign object that has found a home within your cat is an obstruction. If there is an obstruction in the digestive tract, which prevents food from going through, your cat may vomit. Then your cat’s appetite is likely to disappear. Due to some foreign bodies traveling through its system, your cat may endure simple vomiting, diarrhea, and minor loss of appetite.
Dental disease
If your cat’s teeth or gums are painful or infected, they may stop eating. Cats may have oral pain due to tooth fractures, resorptive lesions on their teeth, inflamed gums, dental abscesses, and other dental issues. Just like people, your cat might not want to eat if its mouth hurts. But because a cat’s dental issues could be hard to spot, your veterinarian might need to sedate or anesthetize your pet in order to examine the situation.
Issues With Food That Cause a Client to Stop Eating
Flavor of food
Cats can be finicky at times. Some people will regularly eat a particular food flavor for weeks, months, or even years before abruptly deciding they don’t want to. The majority of the time, this is just a matter of preference, but occasionally, food manufacturers may change the flavors and ingredients without explicitly disclosing the change on the package, and your cat may become irate.
Food Structure or Texture
Your cat might be sensitive to particular shapes and textures when it comes to food. Other cats will only eat canned or crunchy dry food, while yet others prefer spherical shapes. Some cats also like triangle-shaped food.
Rumination of food
It’s possible that your cat won’t want to consume food that has gone bad or has beyond its expiration date. Check the expiration dates on the food. Alternately, at the very least, give it a whiff to see whether it smells unpleasant.
The Reality of Dry Food
Did you know that dry cat food could spoil or get rancid? The vitamins and lipids in the food may decay if it is not properly preserved. Food should always be kept in the package it came in. The food may remain fresher for longer thanks to a unique barrier inside the bag. To preserve the food as fresh as possible, place the original bag in a sealed container and keep it in a cold, dry area.
Traceback of Food
Whether your cat has stopped eating its regular food, see if there is a recall on that particular food. To make it easier for you to scan the bar code, another good reason to think about keeping your cat’s dry food in the original bag. If a cat notices something wrong with its food, it could occasionally refuse to eat it.
Suitable Cat Food
Depending on the reason for the change in diet, you might be able to convince your cat to start eating again. The easiest way to find out if your cat’s hunger problem has a medical reason is to get your pet examined by a veterinarian.
- If an upper respiratory infection has left your cat congested and unable to smell its food, give it some help clearing its nasal passages. Apply saline drops to your cat’s nostrils if you can, or place it in a steamy bathroom. It will be possible for your cat to smell its food once more if you give it room to breathe comfortably and break up the nasal discharge.
- Make changes to your cat’s wet food to get it to start eating again.
- If you suspect your pet is sick, contact your veterinarian straight away. You might also feed your cat canned chicken, tuna, or kitten food to spark its curiosity.
- To find out what your cat like, experiment with various cat food flavors, textures, and forms.
- Create homemade cat food on your own. However, a decrease in appetite is often one of the earliest signs of a digestive system problem.
- Check to see if the food your cat has always eaten has recently altered in formula or composition. It’s possible to write “New and better flavor” on the package. You might also speak with the food supplier directly. Your cat might need a new favorite meal, so be prepared.
I’m Getting My Vitamins
Give your cat some vitamin B12. Low amounts of this vitamin are typically found in cats with digestive issues. Both prescription injections and over-the-counter oral preparations formulated specifically for cats are available. It’s a water-soluble vitamin that has no risks but might make your cat hungrier. Try quickly heating up some tuna or cold wet cat food in the microwave. The greatest advise for your dog may be given by your veterinarian, who has examined your family pet, is aware of the pet’s medical history, and should always be consulted with any health-related questions.
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