Cat Owners Please Help! **updated 8/16 more help needed**

[anniet]

I'm hoping someone can give me some suggestions.

We just adopted a cat over the 4th of July weekend-a 2 year old Silver Persian and I have NEVER owned a cat before. She seemed to be doing okay, but she's become VERY finicky. She seems to like Whiskas choice cuts and tender bites, but only because she drinks the sauce but then she leaves the food to dry up. I was worried, and thinking of taking her to the vet, but then she'll eat a lot (for her maybe 3 tablespoons of food) at one time. She won't touch dry food-I've got a bag of Science diet and Purina One for Sensitive stomachs and she won't eat either.

She also begs from my plate if I sit on the couch with a sandwich or a snack (I won't give her any- I don't want her to have human food but I'm thinking her previous owner already burnt that bridge.) I cought her eating some grass that my husband brought in from his shoes in our entryway so I went to Petco and bought her the Pet Grass, now that's almost all she'll eat! I've weighed her and she's lost a pound since we've got her, but she's still a decent weight and seems healthy. I don't know what to feed this cat that she will eat a decent amount consistently- sometimes she goes days without anything but sauce from the Whiskas......

Anybody have any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

UPDATE-
Thanks all for your suggestions. I actually fed her tuna last week and she ate some of it, and a little less the next day, but the next day nothing. So when she hadn't pooped in a week and was eating less and less I decided to take her to the vet- I dropped her off this morning. I thought perhaps she was constipated. Well the vet is now running blood tests, they think it may be a possible liver problem and it could possibly be serious.

Has anyone been in, or know anyone who has been in this situation? I am so hoping the vet is wrong, but I'm afraid if she suspects it there must be some reason. I won't know anything until tomorrow afternoon. I think this is going to be the longest night of my life.

 

[Virgo10]

Could you find out what the last owner was feeding the cat? I know cats hate change. As for people food, that's a no no. Maybe a once in a while treat but not an everyday thing.

I would also bring the cat to the Vet if you haven't already done so. Loss of appetite can be a sign of illness.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

[anniet]

She was dropped off at a shelter and they knew nothing about who owned her.

They couldn't even tell me what her name was. And she's so sweet and pretty I can't figure out why anyone would part with her, so I figure someone must have felt they had to give her up. The shelter took her to the vet and she checked out fine. If she didn't show any interest in eating I'd have her at the vet tomorrow- but this finicky business I can't figure out.

 

[denisem]

She might not like the little chunked canned foods and prefer the ground solid-packed type canned. My bengal is on a raw diet, and "ate around" the chunks of chicken, so I just grind it all up now - and dry food wasn't worthy to even play with!

Some cats also prefer certain flavors (i.e., my MIL's siamese only liked salmon or tuna).

You might want to try playing "cat roulette" and get a can of different flavors/textures/brands to see if you hit on one she likes.

Good luck!

 

[eclectics]

Just chuckling to myself Welcome to The World Of Cats!!! Believe me, she will settle in just fine, in her own time of course! Since you don't know what she is used to eating, just keep trying different things until you find something she seems to like a lot. My cats lick the gravy first also but eventually come back and eat. Don't try the "you'd better eat it because that's all you're getting" trick. The cat will always win! Cats won't eat if they are not comfortable and she might just need some more time to settle in. Don't worry, she won't starve! Just make sure she has fresh water and a clean litter pan. And remember it's their house! They just humour us by letting us stay there with them! Enjoy your kitty and I hope she gives you years of happiness!

 

[Dancind]

I'm sure she's been checked out, but I was thinking maybe her teeth are bothering her. The first sign is a reluctance to eat dry food or anything that needs biting. My guy likes chicken or turkey with gizzards or liver, but only certain brands. Expensive ones, like ProPlan.

 

[grinningghost]

Don't worry too much. Cats are notoriously finicky. They not only hate alot of things they're supposed to like, they like alot of things they aren't supposed to. (Like my goofy cats who love yogurt).

Another oddity with some cats - they prefer the hard crunchy food over soft food. You wouldn't think it, but so far, both my cats like the hard food better than the fancy soft foods.

Keep trying. Cat food isn't too expensive. By the smallest possible quantities and see what works. Good luck - she'll come around.

 

[angelam]

I would definitely take her to a vet. We adopted a stray in October and I thought she was finicky too, but it turned out to be a very bad sore throat (upper respiratory infection). She would eat some and wasn't acting real sick. Once she was better, she started eating well and now she is always asking for food!

 

[LK03]

Wow she seems about as finicky as my mother's cat. Mum will buy Fancy Feast and she'll eat some, sometimes and then other times hardly touches it. She'll eat dry food if she's in the mood.

On the other hand, my Siamese will eat anything and I mean anything. I've never seen this cat turn down anything, in fact, I think he likes to eat a lot. He also loves to chew the dry food and make the crumbs fly everywhere. You'll find his crumbs 2 feet away from the bowl, my goodness! He loves to drink bottled water out of a cap, and also loves fresh toilet water, bath tub water, sink water.... I tell ya, he's a bottomless pit, heh

 

[diznygirl]

My cat would eat something one day and not the next - how dare I feed her the same thing two days in a row!

Seriously, she also did the gravy-only thing and avoided dry foods. Turns out she had probs with her teeth. So it was just the mashed stuff from then on.

I figure the vet would have checked her teeth. So maybe she's just trying to get used to her new home. Good luck!

 

[LadyyRedd]

One of the cats at my mom's house has never eaten dry cat food - and I mean NEVER - and he's almost 18, so I wouldn't worry TOO much if she won't. Maybe you could get her moist hard food? Or, like another poster said, maybe she just doens't like the chunks. My vet told me that usually it's better for them to have more canned food because it's protein as opposed to carbs.
My cat is not picky. He'll eat pretty much anything you put in front of him.

Kimya

 

[chyam]

Try some "stinky" canned cat food........Like 9 Lives tuna and sauce, or the Salmon dinner. Mine also like the shredded turkey and cheese variety and most of the poutry. But an old vet once told me that cats HAVE to smell what they eat so perhaps that maybe the problem, especially if they are sick. I have had up to 9 cats at a time (now I have 6) and most all will eat the tuna and sauce variety. I always have dry food out and I have several that perfer to eat more of that then the canned stuff. Take a trip to Petsmart and pick up several different varietys to find what she really likes. I know many people swear by all the expensive types of food but mine never did like the science diet, eukanuba or Iams and I now feed either meow mix or kitnakaboodle, but they also like the new Fancy Feast dry and it small and easy for them to chew. Most of my cats are mutts and live long lives, I just lost a 20 year old and before that a 21 year old. With cats it is hit or miss and I don't think a healthy cat would starve to death! Just make sure to always have the dry available. Good luck!

 

[anniet]

bump

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Don't have any information--but wanted to say I hope your kitty feels better soon.

 

[eclectics]

Sure hope it's something minor. Surprised, because you say she was checked out. Shelters usually test for everything major. Was she drinking water? Hope she's back with you soon!

 

[Laura]

I've had cats who had digestive problems before, but I don't really know anything about symptoms of liver problems.

I wish I could give you some advice, but here's some pixie dust instead...

 

[alliecats]

UPDATE-
Thanks all for your suggestions. I actually fed her tuna last week and she ate some of it, and a little less the next day, but the next day nothing. So when she hadn't pooped in a week and was eating less and less I decided to take her to the vet- I dropped her off this morning. I thought perhaps she was constipated. Well the vet is now running blood tests, they think it may be a possible liver problem and it could possibly be serious.

Has anyone been in, or know anyone who has been in this situation? I am so hoping the vet is wrong, but I'm afraid if she suspects it there must be some reason. I won't know anything until tomorrow afternoon. I think this is going to be the longest night of my life.

The liver problem may be Hepatic Lipidosis (fatty liver disease), which happens to cats when they stop eating. A lot of people don't know this, but this happens fairly quickly to some cats when they quit eating for whatever reason--their bodies go into starvation mode and try to break down fat for energy. A cat's liver is not made to handle this, and so it gets sick. This is a very serious condition (but treatable!!). I am not saying that's what she has, but I am saying, I would err on the side of caution and treat it like that is what it is until you do know. It is treatable & recoverable, you just have to get aggressive on the feeding. Have you tried offering baby food (plain meat, like Beech Nut, can't have onions)?

You have to get food in her tonight. You can't wait for her to eat it anymore. Get some Hill's A/D from your vet, or if you can't get it now, get some Wellness or some smoother-textured cat food, put it in a food processor and add water (the A/D you can just stir with water, it is made for cats who won't eat & have to be "force-fed), and syringe it into her mouth, a few cc's at a time. Syringe across the tongue, not down the back of the throat (don't want to get it in her lungs). Let me know if you'd like some links that give better instructions. Your local drugstore would probably give you some syringes (needle-less, of course) if you explain why.

Please get as much food (Slowly) as you can in her tonight. Trust me, I know this is hard. I just syringe-fed my cat for several weeks. It can get better, but she HAS to eat.

Let me know about the links. GOOD LUCK. She is lucky to have a kitty mom like you to do this for her!

 

[alliecats]

Ok, here is a great link, with step-by-steps. It helped me so much. Just remember, go in from the side of the mouth (not the front) and squirt gently across the tongue. It will be messy at first but you will get the hang of it soon.

http://www.gorbzilla.com/syringe_feeding_faq.htm

 

[anniet]

Thank you all for your support, and big thanks to alliecats for her suggestions. Between last night and this morning I think Persey ate about 60ml (4 tablespoons?) of baby food through a syringe. I need to bring it up more but it's a start. I'm waiting to hear what the vet has to say today, but she seems to have perked up a little bit with a little food in her.

Thanks again!

 

[lilkitty819]

Hi
Since jars of baby food meats can start getting costly, I get a box of baby cereal and mix the meat with it so it fills them up and gives them a little more calories. I have an older cat who has teeth issues and is hyper-thyroid so he wants to eat all day. Good luck with your kitty, hope everything comes out well