Old cat with a poor appetite

[pk1959]

Hi everyone. We have a wonderful cat that we got from the humane society 18 1/2 years ago. His only medical problem is that he has lost his hearing, but I notice that his appetite is not all that good. I am spending a small fortune on different cat foods hoping to find one that he is interested in for more than one feeding. What I usually end up with is different cat foods that end up being dog food . Does anyone have any recommendations for a high nutrition cat food that their cat really seems to continually enjoy? For 17 years of his life he ate Tender Vittles, which of course they stopped making and I have been struggling to find something to replace it with.

It's funny because I will get samples of food/treats and he will really gobble them up, so I go out and buy a bigger box/bag of it and he will literally smell it and walk away . My kids now joke that he says 'hmmmm smells like she paid money for this! I'm not eating it'

 

[Muushka]

Awwwww. Such a sweet old kitty. My cat lived to be about that age and was not too interested in food either. My vet told me to give him cream! I was surprised, but he loved it.
Good luck with your old boy!

PS does he have any dental issues?

 

[rockyroad]

There is a substance called "Cat milk" that I used with my now gone old cat. It's like milk, but doesn't give them the runs like milk does.

I would put it into the blender with chicken and make a soft paste.
She also liked regular tuna fish in oil, especially the oil.
Too smelly to keep in the fridge, but the other cats were happy to finish off the cans.

Old cats seem to like things that they can lick up without chewing.

Cats often love human baby food meats or meat dinners.

Another thing I have found with sick cats is that it helps if there are no distractions when they are eating. Sometimes I have had to get down on the floor and coax them to eat as they seem to forget that they were eating and kind of wander off.

Also, NutriCal can be helpful.
It is a supplement that has saved cats for me.

 

[Kay1]

Maybe he's losing his sense of smell? See if he responds to the real stinky, fishy stuff. If things don't improve he may need a trip to the vet. Good luck to you and kitty.

 

[Keara'sMom]

Our cat is 16 and has always been picky about what she eats and when. Now that she's older and having some kidney issues, we've been giving her wet food (after years of cat chow). For a while, she liked all of it, but now she'll only eat the Fancy Feast in the green can (the more expensive, of course)--she prefers the "Florentine" varieties.

I agree with the pp who wondered about teeth/gum issues. Our vet has mentioned this in the past as a possible reason for the lack of eating.

 

[rottiemom]

My kids now joke that he says 'hmmmm smells like she paid money for this! I'm not eating it'

This is adorable...and hysterical !

Is this your cat being finicky or just not eating? I'd suggest a trip to the vet just in case since older cats are prone to dental & kidney issues (loss of appetite being one of the signs) but if it's just your cat being a cat I agree with the other suggestions of some good, stinky wet food. My tiny grey menace is a big fan of the Nutro pouches and the Wellness cans.

Good luck!

 

[pk1959]

Awwwww. Such a sweet old kitty. My cat lived to be about that age and was not too interested in food either. My vet told me to give him cream! I was surprised, but he loved it.
Good luck with your old boy!

PS does he have any dental issues?

The cream sounds like a good idea! Nope, he has no dental issues. What he eats the most of is Purina One 'hairball control' food which is a small dry food. What he really goes for best is the 'gravy' in wet cat foods, which it's hard to find one with lots of gravy. I am paying a small fortune for him to lick out the gravy and leave all the food from the pouches. Thanks for the cream idea!

 

[Linda in sunny SC]

Another thing you can try is sprinkling some parmesan cheese on his food. If you do try meat baby food make sure to get the ones without onion in them. Onion and garlic aren't good for cats.

 

[fiveforall]

Your cat may just be old and finicky, but.......

As another poster mentioned, you may want to take your cat to the vet to rule out a kidney problem. Blocked kidneys are very common in older cats and loss of appetite is one of the signs. We noticed our 17 year old cat wasn't eating and seemed tired; unfortunately, we waited too long to take him to the vet. After spending about 1000 on kidney surgery, our poor Fassa died.

I'm not meaning to make you frightened, but still you may want to get him checked out.

 

[audrey2580]

My Kitty Sylvester was 18 and the same thing happened. Our vet (who I love!) told me that as cats get older they sometimes lose their sense of smell and some cats won't eat what they can't smell. So, we started buying only fishy varieties of cat food and guess what - he LOVED it!

Good luck

 

[pk1959]

.
She also liked regular tuna fish in oil, especially the oil.
Too smelly to keep in the fridge, but the other cats were happy to finish off the cans.

Old cats seem to like things that they can lick up without chewing.



Also, NutriCal can be helpful.
It is a supplement that has saved cats for me.

I should say that this is not something that has come on suddenly. You are right on when you say that old cats seem to like to eat things they can lick up without chewing. I think he would like the tuna (at least the oil!!) but I wasn't sure if that would be hard on his stomach? Can you tell me what the NutriCal is? If it's a pill, no way am I gonna try and get that in him!!

 

[mhelsley]

There is a product at Petco call vita gravy that is made for cats. I got my cat to eat the vet formula food using this. I also agree with useing nutri-cal to give your cat the extra nutrition it might need.

 

[sbell111]

Our cat is 22 years old. This is her typical day:

Ever since she was a kitten, she has only eaten the 'premium' foods. We faithfully take her to the vet annually to get a checkup including a full bloodwork panel to make sure that no badness is sneaking up on us. (We've lost other cats to hyperthyroidism and kidney disease.)

Recently, she started eating a bit less. My wife freaked out a little, so we took her to the vet. I expected him to switch her food to something pricey that I would have to buy from them. Instead, he gave us strange advice. He told us to go to the store and choose some different food. He suggested something that was made from fish and had a fairly high fat content, since cats of this vintage are prone to continually shed weight. He told us not to worry about buying a 'premium' food even though that that has contributed to her living as long as she has. At this point, it's really only about eaking out another year or two, not about worrying about long term health.

We ended up buying a bag of some completely ordinary food like friskies or meow mix or something. She likes it and went back to her normal feeding habits.

BTW, we never feed any of our animals wet food. I firmly believe that it is not good for their teeth.

 

[pk1959]

Thanks everyone! I just googled the Nutri-Cal and it sounds like it may be good for Smokey. I am also going to pick up the VitaGravy since he likes gravy so much!! If worse comes to worse, I have a dog that will eat absolutely a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g!!

 

[pk1959]

Our cat is 22 years old. This is her typical day:

Ever since she was a kitten, she has only eaten the 'premium' foods. We faithfully take her to the vet annually to get a checkup including a full bloodwork panel to make sure that no badness is sneaking up on us. (We've lost other cats to hyperthyroidism and kidney disease.)

Recently, she started eating a bit less. My wife freaked out a little, so we took her to the vet. I expected him to switch her food to something pricey that I would have to buy from them. Instead, he gave us strange advice. He told us to go to the store and choose some different food. He suggested something that was made from fish and had a fairly high fat content, since cats of this vintage are prone to continually shed weight. He told us not to worry about buying a 'premium' food even though that that has contributed to her living as long as she has. At this point, it's really only about eaking out another year or two, not about worrying about long term health.

We ended up buying a bag of some completely ordinary food like friskies or meow mix or something. She likes it and went back to her normal feeding habits.

BTW, we never feed any of our animals wet food. I firmly believe that it is not good for their teeth.

sbell111-oh my gosh!! If your cat had long fur, it could be my cat!! I had to laugh out loud at your picture of her 'typical day'!! That REALLY looked like my cat! We NEVER gave our Smokey wet food for the first 17 years of his life. I always thought it wasn't good for his teeth either, but figure now that he is this old, it can't hurt his teeth.

Our cat is probably eating enough...I mean he is happy and purring and running around, it's just that he doesn't seem to eat as much as he used to, and I want to make sure he gets the most nutrition from what he does eat. It just amazes me that what he eats really well one day he wants nothing to do with the next time. I'm not sure what to buy from one week to the next!!!

 

[KyDerbyMan]

What about going to your vet and getting some appetite stimulant?

I had to do that with my cat when she was succumbing to kidney failure.

 

[sbell111]

It can be frustrating when they have a good appetite one day and not the next. What we did when this has happened in the past is to use a digital postal scale to weigh the cat's food, bowl and all when we put it down. If we are curious as to how much the cat ate, we just reweigh the bowl. It's a lot easier than trying to estimate the size of the divits.

I would try my best not to change the brand/flavor of food too often. Cats can be picky and may choose to boycott a food if they know that you are going to change it to something else.

 

[jocotter]

I suggest what others say - have the vet check the kidneys. In February, my 9 year old cat stopped wanting to eat much and I took her in and she was in kidney failure. I think I waited too long, since she was young in my mind, and I might have been able to prolong her life if I had taken her in when I first noticed her appetite dropping significantly. I still feel guilty.

We've had many cats who lived to 16-20 years old and all but one ended up with kidney failure which started out with losing their appetites. However, some bounced back for a few months after staying at the vets and getting some kind of IV push to get the waste out and kidneys functioning better again.

It could just be losing their sense of smell and taste at that age, too, but I think it would be worth a vet visit.

 

[bbangel]

I highly recommend Wellness wet food. The vet recommended wet food to help him maintain weight and stay hydrated. My cat is a senior as well and never really liked wet food before. He loves his Wellness. I mix it with a 1/4 cup of water to help him stay hydrated (I call it his soup). If your cat likes gravy just mix a little water into his food.

 

[secretpantssam]

I would also suggest going to the vet to have your kitty checked out. It's better to be save than sorry when it comes to a pet not eating.

As for food recommendations, my cat loves Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys. They're a little more expensive, but my cat seems to think they're the best. I also found that if my cat gets picky at all with a brand of canned food, if I just break up a treat he likes and sprinkle it on the food, he'll eat it right up. That might be a good option too.