Civvi cat won't eat

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Jennifer and Katie

Jennifer and Katie

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So, my non-diabetic cat, Gidget, is a three year old spayed Manx, and she's refusing to eat. I'm guessing she must be eating SOMETHING, because my grandmother says she still goes to the litter box, although there is less in there than usual. She used to try and eat the senior formula I fed my older cats, but she hasn't even done that recently. She was on Purina One Chicken and Rice. She has a tendency to frequently get tired of specific treats, so we have to rotate them around. She DID scarf the Friskies Mixed Grill treats that were bought for her tonight. Is it possible she's just tired of her food, or should I be more concerned? My grandmother bought a new food to try, which is turkey flavored, but I won't know if she eats that until in the morning. Also, she absolutely refuses wet cat food, so that isn't an option. Any ideas?
 
Just some situation questions...
Is she staying with grandma or grandma staying with her because you are away? i.e. could she just be missing momma?
Acting sick at all - lethargic, crying, hiding?
Carl
 
This is her normal home. (I'm currently living with grandma)

She hasn't been acting sick, but she has been acting REALLY nervous. We babysat a friend's cat 2 weeks-ish ago, and she was terrified... of the 8 week old kitten. We kept them separated after the first rather disastrous meeting, but she's been really jumpy ever since. She has been a bit lethargic, but it's pretty hot here so it might just be the weather.
 
OK, reason I asked, I was thinking she might be suffering separation anxiety, or the kitty equivelent.
If she hasn't been sick, then my guess is that she's just burned out on her "regular" food. If it continues beyond breakfast, I might get more concerned, assuming you can offer her something "different" for breakfast.
Also, if the visiting kitty upset her, she might still "smell" her around the house and think she's hiding around the next corner which would make her jumpy.

Carl
 
Well, the visiting kitten was mainly only in one room, but I guess it is possible that she could still be smelling him.
My grandmother thinks she might have depression. My grandfather has been in the hospital for the past week, and Gidget is really attached to him. I'm not exactly sure, but I think her lack of appetite may coincide with when he left the house last week. Happily, he's back home tonight^^
So, depression, or burned out on the food? I've never had a cat that got burned out on the cat food I was feeding them.
 
Could also be missing grandpa. Any time "their" people aren't where they are supposed to be, they notice and it upsets their routine. I've had cats that just get tired of a specific flavor before. It's bad when you've bought a whole bunch of it too. I did notice that happen more with dry foods than canned foods. Bob got real sick of prescription diet canned food after only 2 or 3 days, but I've heard that is very common. The way it smelled, I'm amazed he was able to put his nose near it!
See if she improves overall once she gets to cuddle with gramps for a little while.
Carl
 
My crew get tired of their food on a daily basis. I buy one or 2 cans at a time, they eat it, I buy more and then they stop eating...I am constantly returning food to purchase more. I usually try to write down what they like the best and buy more of that, but sometimes it just dont work like the book says it will. And, I have one that will not eat wet either, Civvie Slappy. And I cannot let Sugar Bean into her dry.. She is old and wants to eat very slow...Bean will sneak into her food every chance she gets. I have been assist feeding while she is wrapped burrito style..This has gone on for weeks with script a/d - we do this just in the p.m. and she is finally taking the food off the spoon and gaining weight back! But if I just put it in front of her in her bowl....noooooo go! UUUUGHHHH!
Good luck and I hope not that the alien kitty is gone, pappa is home and new food offered, she will eat again!
 
Cats often stop eating for psychological reasons - new additions to the family, losses in the family, changes in type of litter, recipe changes in food, stress, their beans going on holidays etc.

Has she lost weight? Does she show interest in food and lick or sniff and walk away? Was she eating well while she was stressed? Cats can get fatty liver which means their liver starts clogging with lack of food. It can happen quickly with anorexia, but with less than enough calories over weeks it can also hit.

Keep tempting her to eat to keep her liver healthy. If she doesn't eat enough you should start syringe feeding. Its really easy to do. There is a Yahoo group dedicated to assist feeding cats with some great videos and tips if you need to do this - Feline Assisted Feeding. There are also great yahoo videos.
 
Its possible she needs a dental, so check her mouth for signs of gingivitis = redness, ulcerations, loss of teeth. A sore mouth may reduce her eating. If you spot any signs, get her to a vet for a more thorough look, and maybe an x-ray.
 
Has the cat been seen by a vet? If not, schedule an appointment for sometime in the next few days, the sooner the better. Prolonged inappetance can result in fatty liver disease.

Ileus is a possibility. It's lack of gut movement. Without normal gut movement, food just sits in the digestive tract and may become painful. A cat may not want to eat, acts lethargic, but still uses the litter box normally. One of my civies had this and a short course of medicine (metoclopramide) got everything working again :smile:
 
If you can afford it, and if this goes on for a few more days, I don't think an X-ray (and possibly a blood and urine analysis) and general exam where they listen to the heart, lungs, etc. would hurt, especially if she is due for one. Your cat is young and everything is probably fine, but sometimes there is an underlying health reason that explains why they aren't eating.

Again, I'm sure this is NOT it, and I'm not saying this to scare you--I just want to bring up everything in my limited experience that might help you get to the bottom of this. It is foremost in my mind because we lost our cat on Friday to heart disease (though she was 12, and therefore your situation is very different) and our other cat at the age of 3 in 2008 to what I assume was a different type of heart problem. We were told that sometimes cats have a congenital type of problem with the heart wall that causes blood not to flow freely through the heart, and then they can develop blood clots that can kill them, sometimes very suddenly (as happened with our cat in 2008). Her major symptom was lethargy, not lack of food, though. And even that wasn't very noticeable... we thought she was just "growing up" and settling down, and it was only in retrospect that it seemed significant.

Anyway, it is really unlikely that any of these things are the case... just doing a "brain dump" in case it helps as you are trying to figure this out. I hope you end up not needing any of this input, and she is eating and playing again like normal very soon. Good luck!
 
Well, my grandmother gave her the new food last night, and apparently, she scarfed it down. Also, she seems much happier today, even playing again. I'm guessing now that my grandfather is home that she will do much better. She doesn't need a dental, because her teeth remain pristine.
I tried to give her wet food this morning, and she gave me such a revolted look! ^^ So, unlike the other two, she's not going to touch wet food.
 
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