Hi,

I have a 16 Yr old Tom cat, he has always had a large appitite, but a few months ago he went from eating 4-5 sachets of food a day to half that amount, and now he will hardly eat at all. I have tried every food possible, at one point he would only eat tins of Tuna but now he won't even touch that. He crys all the time as though he is really hungry but when I put food down for him he just turns his noes up at it. He drinks a lot of water, I put down a large bowl of water down for him and he drinks nearly all of it in a day, and a few months ago he hardly drank any. He seems fine in himself, well he crys a lot and wants attention all the time and has lost some weight but other than that he seems fine. I have noticed that his breath smells and I have never noticed this before, I thought he might of had some thing wrong with his teeth, but when I can get him to eat he doesn't seem to be in any pain. He won't go out side to the toilet I have had to get a litter tray for him, and even if the door is open and he needs the loo he will not go outside he will go in the litter tray, and I know it sounds silly but it was like he has always been to proud to use a litter tray, but not any more. He has always been a house cat, but liked to go outside also.
I know he is old and I am starting to get worried that there is some thing wrong with him, and he is not just being fussy with the food he eats.
Please can you help??

Thanks in advance
Angel

Hi, Angel,

The signs you describe suggest that your cat may be developing a kidney problem - as do most cats when they reach 16!

Take him to your vet for a blood test and check-up.

W

Hi,

I have a female cat who is just over a year old, she is an in door cat and adores me and my partner. She loves felix and tesco jelly food. We have recentley over the last week just got a new boy kitten who is about 9 weeks old. Since then the female will not eat!! She wont touch cat food, tuna, mince, chicken, not even her biscuits. Its been 4 days now and im starting to worry. I've noticed she is drinking more water tho. Do you have any idea what is wrong with her?


Thanks

Hi,

This is probably a behavioural problem arising from the new kitten in the house.

Try keeping them apart, feeding her in a different place from the kitten, and give her a lot of extra loving care!

W

hi there

i ave had my cat for over 12 year and she could eat and drink a few day agao but now she dont eat she only drinks so what do i do because i am kinda of worried what do i do please help me thank you very much

Hi,

There are so many things that could have caused your cat not to eat, from bad teeth to kidney failure, and without seeing her I cannot offer you any advice except to take her to a vet.

W

Hi, my cat is just over 1 year old and she was fine up until she ate a poisonous plant and we took her to the clinic and then they did a bunch of stuff and made her better for a couple days. Then she started not to eat again and we took her back to the clinic and got more medicine, but then we had to stop the medicine cause it wasn’t doing anything then she felt better for a few days. Now she is back to not eating, it’s been two days with no drinking or eating and I don’t know what to do.

Hi,

Depending on the sort of poisonous plant you cat may have liver damage which is affecting his appetite.
Your vet will be able to carry out blood tets which should pin-point the proble.

W

I have an 18 year old female. She stopped eating about two weeks ago. We took her to the vet and he says her kidneys/liver etc are fine. She's fine otherwise, bowels working ok, passing urine etc. She will occasionally eat a few cat biscuits and will eat the jelly bit of the cat food but only if fed it from someones hand. One confusing thing is that if i go to the kitchen to prepare some food for nmyself she runs in in excitement like she really wants some but then she won't eat it, even with things like ham/tuna/chicken - all the things she used to gobble down as a treat.

Any ideas? (or a recipe for meat flavoured jelly!)
thanks

Hey,

I have a 12 year old female cat, she seems to be having problems eating. She shows interest in the food and is constantly crying for it, but the minute i put it down for ehr to eat she doesn't have it. She will onli eat if hand feed her or lift the bowl upto her face. I think she might be arthritis but am not totally sure, is there any symptons that i should be looking out for to see if it is arthritis. Thanks

Hi,

Your cat could have arthritis in her neck or jaw articulations, but I think it is more likely that she has tooth problems - many cats do get dental abscesses and loose teeth with lots of tartar as they get lder.

W

I have a 2 year old female cat. I've been giving her worming tablets- the last time I gave them to her she was fine if I crushed them into powder and sprinkled them over the food. But a couple of days ago, I tried to give her the second dose. And now she won't eat. She only sniffs at it and walks off. But she'll eat if it's not in her bowl. I've washed the bowl since realising this. but she still refuses to eat it. She cries for food and every time I walk past her or her food, she races off to her bowl. My family thinks it's stress- there are these two cats next door who are both twice her size and bully her relentlessly. She's also losing weight quite quickly.
Any ideas?
Thanks

The simple solution may be to try a new bowl or saucer without the worming tablets and see if that solves the problem. If she is losing weight and she has not been wormed then one of the nurses at your vet practice may be able to show you how to give her tablets into her mouth without being bitten. Alternatively there are some spot on preparations which you can put on the skin which kill worms. If she is still losing weight 2 weeks after worming then you should see your vet.

I have an 11 month old female, usually very happy, loves to venture outside (in all weathers!) I recently had to take her to the vet as she had cut her tail open (Tuesday). They kept her over night and operated on her next day under anaesthetic. They also gave her antibiotics while she was there. I was told to keep her in for a week to let the wound heal. I picked her up (Wednesday), she was starving when she arrived home so I fed her (probably more than usual as I knew she hadn't eaten for 24 hours) She was howling to go out and it was horrible not to let her out but I had to let her wound heal.On the Thursday night, Friday morning, I came down to cat sick and since then she won't touch any of her food. I tried changing the flavours, brands but nothing. I noticed she was sick again (watery) on the Saturday. Sunday, I tried her then on kitten food as I knew she loved it when I used to give it to her. She ate a bit but then again left most of it. I returned her to the vets Monday and explained the issue. They checked her over and assured me that there was no obvious reason why she wasn't eating and suggested it was down to stress and change in her life style over the last couple of days. However she was constipated and dehydrated so it was vital that she ate something in next 24 hours or I would have to bring her back for x-ray and blood tests. Her wound looked like it was healing nicely so they said it would be ok to let her out. Suggested I tried giving her chicken pieces and ham. I did just that and yes at first she ate the chicken and ham but not a lot, I let her out and I could tell she was over the moon. I am worried she still isn't eating how she should. Has anyone got any suggestions? I do want her to go back on cat food

HI

I own a 6 year old female Tortoise shell cat. she won't eat for some reason. my family and I went on holiday and we left in a trusted kennel and on the journey to the kennel she had vomited and was very scared when we got there when we collected her she still looked petrified and was also sick on the way home. Ever since she won't eat I've tried varing her food ham and sardines and yet she still turns her nose up at it but luckily she is drinking still. I have prof to believe it is a cause of travel and unfamiliar surroundings. But I've no cure.

can you help

thank you

Ellie

Cat's generally don't eat because they have inflammation/infection or because they feel nauseous for some reason. Did your cat go home on a course of antibiotics? If not that would be the easiest thing to try first and the most likely cause of your problems. Otherwise there are several drugs that your vet could use to stimulate the appetite artificially. If these don't work then the vet really needs to see if something else is going on (more tests).

Rachael,

It may be stress but the cat could have picked up an infection or have something else wrong so go get the cat checked at the vets.

Hi I have a 3yr old bengal and all of a sudden monday he threw up large amounts of yellow (bile like substance) sick. He is normally very active and has been very quiet and morose the past few days. Took him to the Vet Tue as i was worried he may be dehyrdated as he was not drinking or eating but vet said he was not dehydrated and gave him an injection of anti inflammatory to reduce stomach inflammation (he has had a history when younger of IBS) and the vet said this would also make him thirsty but it did not really. Today I took him back to the vet as I was advised to do so if there was no change for bloods and they shaved his neck and could not get blood, then shaved his leg and could not do it either as he has become very distressed. After being home for a few hours and finally sipping a little water and a few dry biscuits (which is all his diet has ever been), he slept then woke up half an hour ago and threw up again in 5 areas in the house all yellow and bile like. Just called the vet and the vet said try him on sensitivity control pouch which I did - just a tiny bit and he was violently sick another 3 times. He seems to have stopped being sick now but I am worried he may become weak and he is booked in for a stomach scan monday am and bloods at an animal hospital (the vet noticed his tummy was sore on examination today). I am worried that he wont be well enough to go on Monday as they were talking about giving him a general for the bloods and scan seeing that he frets so much. Can you advise what I can feed him that wont make him sick or do I starve him now again till the morning?

I would starve him for 24-36 hours, but allow water. Until you get some test results I suspect you will not get much further but ranitidine 75mg (Zantac) are available over the counter in the UK and a quarter of a tablet twice daily may help reduce stomach acid production and reduce vomiting. Alternatively famotidine 20mg (Pepcid) are also available over the counter and a quarter of a tablet once daily may do the same thing (only use one drug). Your vet may also be able to give you some tablets such metoclopramide to stop the vomiting.

My 6 year old female cat has come down with something. Shes a indoor cat, with the occasional sneaking outside.2days ago i noticed she had a cough, sounded oike she had a stuffy nose, it looked like she was breathing out her mouth. And when she slept it sounded like she was snoring. Well today she sounded a little bit better, but now when she like licks her lips ( i guess you could call it that) i hear a funny sound, it sounds raspy, i cant describe it. I noticed some black dark brown crusty stuff around her mouth, like vomit, but i dont see any vomit in the house. She has a funny smell to her now, smells like vomit on her. Shes not like lethargic or anything, she still trys to get outside, acts like she wants food, but wont eat, she is drinking water, a little more then i usually see her drink. Oh, and the first day i noticed she was sick, it also sounded, and looked liked she was gaging. Im really worried. What could this be?

Hard to say exactly what is going on, because it depends on whether it is vomit or the smell is for example from an abscess somewhere or infected tissue. If she is not eating then you should see your vet.

My 12 year old persian will not eat. She has a gum problemf for which she gets an injection every 6 weeks. She has just been diagnosied as hypothyroid and is on one tablet a day. She will not eat, she seems to want to eat but will not accept anything I offer her. I cannot get her to take he tablet. The vet gave her a vitamin B12 injection on Monday but she is still not eating. When the test for the thyroid problem was done her liver and kidney function wer also tested and these came back ok. Any suggestions of where I go from here. I am very worried and stressed over the situation.

I assume the gum problem is chronic gingivitis/stomatitis complex for which steroid injections are used and can be a cause of not eating. I am unsure as to whether the not eating started before or after the tablets for the thyroid problem but if it was after then the tablets may be the problem. There is more than one drug to treat hyperthyroidism (I assume you meant hyper not hypothyroidism as this does not occur in cats with some very rare exceptions). If not then there must be something else that has not been picked up, heart disease would be top of the list if the cat is hyperthyroid.

Hi my partners cat really won't and we are concerned she has lossed a lot of weight, She eats a few cat biskets then goes out side. We cannot monitor anything else because she sleeps all the time in the garden, But she will eat the dreamies cat treats.
she is quite old...... about 18 i think.

please help

Any cat that stops eating and starts to lose weight is cause for concern. Cats aren't good at going without food and can become anorexic quite quickly. If they don't eat for more than 24 hours, particularly when they are older it's time to go to your vet for a thorough check up. Prolonged periods of starvation can lead to a condition called hepatic lipidosis or fatty liver and this needs veterinary treatment. There are multiple causes and reasons for appetite loss, but they do need to be diagnosed appropriately by your vet. It would be very helpful to your vet if you could keep her indoors and let them know how much she is drinking and if she is toileting properly too. In the interim, try to tempt her with some BBQ chicken and boiled rice, slightly warmed up in the microwave to release the aroma and make it more appealing and appetising. It's also really important you make sure that she is drinking water.

I have a 3year old cat and around last winter she had feline distemper and fortunately,survived it.
But today,all of a sudden it started breathing restlessly and won't move and eat at all. I'm worried if it might be feline distemper again or maybe it's just the cold?
thank you for your help.

Hi

Regardless of what she has had previously it does sound like she's ill now with those worrying symptoms, so I hope you do take her to a vets as soon as possible. There's no other way to help her, especially if it turns out she's got an infection.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

Hi,

My 5 month old kitten stopped eating Monday night after we gave her Revolution. She also vomited Tuesday morning. She's just as playful as ever but when I bring her food, she sniffs it and backs away. She'll drink water and eat treats but won't touch her food. We've tried cleaning her bowls, using new bowls in a different location, and given her multiple brands of food. She won't touch any of them. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Hi

A healthy young kitten wont lose appetite just for being given parasite control. I suspect your kitten is ill and that's why she vomited and is now refusing her food. Next step needs to be taking her to the vet if she doesnt recover her appetite very quickly.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

My 12 year male cat has recently stopped eating, he drinks water (he has taken to drinking rain water off of things in the garden too). He has gone right off of wet food but will eat a few bits of dry food if coaxed (I'm giving him Purina). I have also noticed he has lost weight around his hind legs and his breathing seems a bit quicker than usual. He still purrs and likes a fuss, but he's not his usual self. I'm planning to try some different food this evening and some fish as he likes this. Should I take him to the vets ASAP? Thank you