Cat forgets he has food - Ideas?

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EmilyH

EmilyH

Member Since 2016
Looking for ideas...

I've determined my Cosmo is special needs. He has ADHD or short term memory loss or something. I've been feeding him either Friskies or FF, blended with water (because he seems to eat more that way). I'll put out the food, he runs over and eats it, and then mid-bite just up and walks away. He'll come to me then and cry that he's starving. I pick him up, put his face in the plate, and then he starts gobbling until he's distracted and walks away again.

I've begun sitting up with him at night to make sure he eats because he gets hungry in the middle of the night. Last night I think his blood sugar dropped until I SAT next to him, and kept redirecting him to his food. I've tried locking him in the laundry room (and will try a few more times) but he's such a slow eater that by the time he figures out he's locked in, he hasn't eaten that much. (And then I let him out because I don't want to PUNISH him, just make him eat!)

I'm losing my mind. He used to have a brother who (I think) reminded him where his food was, etc., but brother passed in June. Since then Cosmo has dropped weight and dropped the amount of food he eats drastically. We've dropped him to .5 unit 2x a day, and even that I'm leery to give sometimes. haven't been able to check BG at home for a long time because MY life is also falling apart. PLUS, he has kidney failure, so receives sub-q fluids every day. I'm tired.

Any... ideas? (sorry for the book)
 
Follow up comment: When I sit with him and he eats as much as he "should" in one sitting, I can tell. He's purry and happy and you can just TELL his body is operating the way it should. You know that kitty with a full belly feeling. I just want him there regularly again... WITHOUT me having to babysit him!
 
OMG - Jester does almost the same thing! He'll walk away from his food and the other cats will start eating for him. Then he'll sit and wait for me to bring his food to him!

If someone has a solution, I'd love to know it too.
 
You need a hug. :bighug: That is sad. If he has been tested to rule out other possible health issues, could it be dementia (Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome)? I just read an article yesterday about this. If I find it again, I'll provide a link.
 
I'm sorry you're having such a rough time of things. If that's Cosmo's brother with him in your photo it looks like they were very close. Maybe he is still grieving?
 
ZulusMom said:
I'm sorry you're having such a rough time of things. If that's Cosmo's brother with him in your photo it looks like they were very close. Maybe he is still grieving?
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It is. They were buddies. Biological brothers.
I honestly think Lockwood (brother) was acting as his caregiver. Cosmo often cried that he was hungry, but it was a one-time deal. Then Lockwood would say, "I could eat!" and get up and go to the food. I am fairly sure that he did what I'm now doing... he sat with his brother while he ate, guided him there, etc. That's all I can think of. That, combined with the AWFUL year we've been having (bed bugs... shudder), so now Cosmo is at a loss.

Maybe there isn't much of an answer other than to keep loving him through this and do the best I can. It helps to know you guys care, though!
 
FurBabiesMama said:
You need a hug. :bighug: That is sad. If he has been tested to rule out other possible health issues, could it be dementia (Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome)? I just read an article yesterday about this. If I find it again, I'll provide a link.
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Ugh. That would be the worst. But I will TAKE that hug!
 
Same thing here! Our civvie Lewis is a self absorbed fatty cat that always thinks someone else's dish is bigger or better and away he goes. Then I step in it, then he howls for more, then I show him where it went (other than my socks). That was supposed to be the funny part. I'm more worried about Noah who is very private about everything. We free-feed wet food here so it can be a mystery knowing if Noah has eaten. (Lewis also steals Noah's food). Noah does strange things; he'll start eating again if you move his dish, tug his tail or rub your own ear. His hearing and vision are fine but he'll stare into the fridge for 5 minutes like early onset dementia. Some people will say it doesn't happen in animals but our Border Collie had it. We have some drama going on here as well that the cats are picking up on. Sorry, not much help but I'm all for a group hug today. Christmas is coming and nothing good has happened to us at Christmas for many years. Happiest time of the year my butt!
:bighug: :banghead: :coffee:
 
I have the same issue, too! I have 2 kitties, one w/ diabetes (Skillet) & one w/o (Macaroni), so I have been trying to feed them separately to ensure my diabetic baby eats enough to get his shot. Macaroni will eat his food w/in about 10 min, but Skillet on the other hand can take up to an hour to eat enough to get his shot. He will start eating, and then a min later he will be wandering around looking for Mac, or pretty much just doing anything else. I've tried everything from switching rooms, moving his food around in the bowl, putting it in the fridge for a few min, adding water or treats into the food, but he just loses interest in his food so quickly.
Any words of advice are greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!
 
Noah & me said:
Same thing here! Our civvie Lewis is a self absorbed fatty cat that always thinks someone else's dish is bigger or better and away he goes. Then I step in it, then he howls for more, then I show him where it went (other than my socks). That was supposed to be the funny part. I'm more worried about Noah who is very private about everything. We free-feed wet food here so it can be a mystery knowing if Noah has eaten. (Lewis also steals Noah's food). Noah does strange things; he'll start eating again if you move his dish, tug his tail or rub your own ear. His hearing and vision are fine but he'll stare into the fridge for 5 minutes like early onset dementia. Some people will say it doesn't happen in animals but our Border Collie had it. We have some drama going on here as well that the cats are picking up on. Sorry, not much help but I'm all for a group hug today. Christmas is coming and nothing good has happened to us at Christmas for many years. Happiest time of the year my butt!
:bighug: :banghead: :coffee:
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WHYY are they so crazy? You're welcome in the hug. lol
 
Bethany Roberts said:
I have the same issue, too! I have 2 kitties, one w/ diabetes (Skillet) & one w/o (Macaroni), so I have been trying to feed them separately to ensure my diabetic baby eats enough to get his shot. Macaroni will eat his food w/in about 10 min, but Skillet on the other hand can take up to an hour to eat enough to get his shot. He will start eating, and then a min later he will be wandering around looking for Mac, or pretty much just doing anything else. I've tried everything from switching rooms, moving his food around in the bowl, putting it in the fridge for a few min, adding water or treats into the food, but he just loses interest in his food so quickly.
Any words of advice are greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!
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I think we're all in the same boat here. It doesn't fix it, but you guys are making me feel better about my life!
 
Would that boat be the SS Minnow? A 3 hour tour.... We also had a dog that only ate when she actually got hungry as opposed to Labs who eat Styrofoam and batteries. She was so neurotic, pushing her bowl around with her nose, picking kibble out of the bowl and then dropping it around the house. Maybe having nine cats in the house had something to do with it. Maybe one day we'll all end up in the same ward. Mmmm, Juicy Fruit!
Nurse_Ratched.jpg
 
This thread makes me laugh big time. I only have 1 cat that has to be petted to eat - not just a gentle rub but hard long pets from head to tail. She's a tiny little thing - 3 years old but only 11" chest to butt altho' legs longer than her body. She's much smaller than the three 7 month old kittens. She doesn't eat much, never has but is healthy, just so tiny. When we found her trying to fight a mean pitbull thru the fence next door, we thought she was maybe 8 weeks old...ended up being closer to 6-7 months!

Then there's Bug - a 3 year old whippet mix drooler. Now SHE has absolutely NO attention span unless there's a squirrel in a tree. She hollers she needs to pee, she wiggles and whines needing to go bad...let her out - she's got to sniff the walk, check the weed at the fence, oh there's a stick I can chew on...BUG! POTTY! Oops, I forgot...and squats but sees something and gets up before peeing to check it out. BUG! POTTY! Oops, I forgot...squat...and have to head elsewhere before she finishes so runs with her legs spread peeing behind her. Now the mental pics of that? :) Yep she's just really weird....
 
Squeaky and KT (GA) said:
This thread makes me laugh big time. I only have 1 cat that has to be petted to eat - not just a gentle rub but hard long pets from head to tail. She's a tiny little thing - 3 years old but only 11" chest to butt altho' legs longer than her body. She's much smaller than the three 7 month old kittens. She doesn't eat much, never has but is healthy, just so tiny. When we found her trying to fight a mean pitbull thru the fence next door, we thought she was maybe 8 weeks old...ended up being closer to 6-7 months!
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Oooooh, maybe I should try to pet him the whole time he's trying to eat! haha
 
EmilyH said:
Looking for ideas...

I've determined my Cosmo is special needs. He has ADHD or short term memory loss or something. I've been feeding him either Friskies or FF, blended with water (because he seems to eat more that way). I'll put out the food, he runs over and eats it, and then mid-bite just up and walks away. He'll come to me then and cry that he's starving. I pick him up, put his face in the plate, and then he starts gobbling until he's distracted and walks away again.

I've begun sitting up with him at night to make sure he eats because he gets hungry in the middle of the night. Last night I think his blood sugar dropped until I SAT next to him, and kept redirecting him to his food. I've tried locking him in the laundry room (and will try a few more times) but he's such a slow eater that by the time he figures out he's locked in, he hasn't eaten that much. (And then I let him out because I don't want to PUNISH him, just make him eat!)

I'm losing my mind. He used to have a brother who (I think) reminded him where his food was, etc., but brother passed in June. Since then Cosmo has dropped weight and dropped the amount of food he eats drastically. We've dropped him to .5 unit 2x a day, and even that I'm leery to give sometimes. haven't been able to check BG at home for a long time because MY life is also falling apart. PLUS, he has kidney failure, so receives sub-q fluids every day. I'm tired.

Any... ideas? (sorry for the book)
Click to expand...

My cat does something very similar to this since I changed his diet.

I know he loves the food. But I have noticed since about the third day of the change, after I put his food out, he will eat for like 5 minutes and then leave the food. He will find me and meow as if I didn't give him the food. The first time he did it I thought it was very strange.

I will go over, pick up his bowl and stir it, and put it back down. He goes right back as if it was a fresh open can. I sometimes have to do this a few times for him to finish an entire can of FF.

I think he likes the attention.
 
My girls are definitely spoiled about their food since changing to wet. I think they like to make me jump through hoops for them. At this point, what they get looks like a gourmet dish with just the right amount of broth, shredded food, pate food and shredded chicken (and maybe even some crushed YA as a garnish :smuggrin:). They will eat, usually until all the added water/broth is gone then step back and look at me until more water gets added and stirred in. Sometimes, I end up adding water/stirring three or four times between when I put their meal down and when I take it up before their next meal (they are fed every 6 hours). They are not forgetting where their food is. They are just being pampered little brats. :)
 
FurBabiesMama said:
They will eat, usually until all the added water/broth is gone then step back and look at me until more water gets added and stirred in. Sometimes, I end up adding water/stirring three or four times between when I put their meal down and when I take it up before their next meal
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This is so Mogee!! I pick up his bowl and add water/stir about three to four times each meal! When I don't, he just stares at me :)
 
I once had a cat who forgot her food, but she definitely had some diminished mental capacity, probably due to being the runt of her litter (she was always tiny, even full-grown, she was less than 5 lbs). When I put new carpeting in, she started having what I thought were seizures, it was really scary! Vet couldn't find anything wrong with her. After observing this for several weeks I realized they weren't seizures at all; her claws would stick in the carpet and she couldn't figure out how to free them so she'd struggle till she fell over on her side, and then she couldn't get up until her claws got free! Not the sharpest crayon in the box, but a sweet little girl.

Noah & me said:
Sorry, not much help but I'm all for a group hug today. Christmas is coming and nothing good has happened to us at Christmas for many years.
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I'll add hugs to the group, too! And I really hope things turn around for you this year and Christmas brings you much happiness and many blessings!

:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
:bighug: Wish I had some answers for you! Maybe the forti flora to sprinkle on the food? Baby girl kitty didn’t care but some people say they like the flavor & makes them want to eat?!?
BGK is trying to throw a furball... still peeing backwards, wants to eat outside even though it’s freezing! Still eatting non-stop here! Wants fed every 3 hrs, I can do this; but now you’re fat! Since the short episode of diabetes she has gone sideways...worry every day something else is wrong! Checking bs every 2 weeks?!? Normal! Probably nothing... CATS!!!
:bighug: Crazy cat lady! No wonder
Feel your pain- it’s their world, I’m just living in it!
 
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