Is Your Cat Not Eating Like It Normally Does?
A full bowl of kitty food is not an exciting thing if it is from your cat not eating. Many cats actually wait for a bit to attack their food container with the appropriate amount of gusto instead of immediately when you pull out the food bag or can and offer more nibbles. However, the real threat comes to light when you are able to witness your cat not eating for hours on end or the even scarier prospect of days. Your beloved feline not eating normally or not eating at all is truly frightening if you are a cat lover—or even if you are not. Like all problems though, you need to keep your head straight and start looking into what might cause this action in your cat. While you investigate, just remember to stay calm and know that sometimes a loss of appetite just happens in cats.
Situational causes of your cat not eating
If your issue involves your cat not eating much you should look relatively close to what is going on in his or her environment first—since the fact they are eating at all is still a pretty good sign. If you just bought your kitty friend a new play toy or they have simply found a new one, the increase in daily physical activity while the little ball of fur breaks in the fresh object of their affection can cause a slight decrease in appetite which will go back to normal once the new toy has lost enough of its shine to cause his or her activity levels to get back to normal. Another very common cause of a lowered appetite is stress. An increase number of unfamiliar visitors (during maybe a party), a rearranging of your house and its furniture, or perhaps even preparation and then execution of a move, are all really good reasons to your cat to find a hiding spot and not put food on their nervous tummies. This aspect of your cat not eating enough is very common with new cats that you recently added to your family in particular. A new adult cat and especially kittens can have very temperamental appetites until they get comfortable in their new surroundings.
Looking into food sources might also be a good way to assess reasons for cats not eating. As humans have many reason to push back a plate of perfectly acceptable food, cats figure they have just cause to do the same. Being notoriously picky members of the animal kingdom, your feline best friend might just be having a small bout of taste change or is upset that you tried to make their primary food source change. If you have recently altered food types, flavors, or brands, your cat not eating issue is probably caused by finicky taste buds. To prevent this problem from occurring in the future or to even stir your cat to start eating again, you need to mix their original food with the new food for the first several days—with decreasing portions of the original food so that they could get used to or even start to enjoy the new food. You might want to think about your cat burglar getting alternative food sources too. If you have left out human food on your counters that smells interesting to your kitty friend, he or she might have taken the opportunity to have a few bits while you were sleeping and is therefore not eating the regular food because their hunger has already been met. For those cats who like to prowl around outside, you might want to consider that your cat not eating enough might mean that they have found some prey in your backyard and aren’t hungry for mundane cat food when they get to use their hunter instincts instead.
Possible health issues for your cat not eating well
One of the main reasons why a cat not eating makes owners feel jumpy or scared is the related health issues. If you add a loss of appetite with general lethargy or tiredness, many cat owners will of course start to panic. However, you still need to keep steady and assess the situation before you go crazy. Not eating causes a natural loss of energy, and the resulting combination of lethargy and loss of appetite is very common. Therefore, you should really look into the more common situational triggers first. If your cat is not eating or drinking though and a full day (24 hours) or more has passed, you really need to look into taking your cuddle buddy to the veterinarian. The issue of your cat not eating at all is a complex issue that can have multiple health causes.
Your vet might simply prescribe you with an appetite stimulant though to help you through these scary times—such as the natural remedies of B12 or Milk Thistle or perhaps medications like Diazepam or Oxazepam. While going to the veterinarian is definitely a last resort, it is necessary if you have exhausted all other possibilities. Your lovable kitty is your best friend, and it is understandable that you want to look out for him or her. However, since there are so many normal and common reasons for your cat not eating you should just keep an eye on your feline pal and assess the situation before freaking out.
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