Is your cat no longer eating properly or has suddenly stopped eating? Then you should definitely keep an eye on it, because a lack of appetite is always a sign that something is wrong. In this blog post, we explain why your cat might be refusing its food and why it is no longer eating.
Reasons for loss of appetite in your cat
Your alarm bells should definitely ring if your cat stops eating for a long period of time and only sleeps. In this condition, its life may even be in danger. If it shows other symptoms of illness such as fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea or significant weight loss, you should act as quickly as possible and see your vet.
But refusing to eat does not always have to be caused by a serious illness. There are many other reasons why your cat may refuse to eat – in the short term. The most common ones include:
- Eating too many treats/overeating.
- Mouse or bird eaten/ full
- Is also fed/satisfied elsewhere
- bowl is dirty
- Feeding place was cleaned with cleaning agent
- Stress with other cats in the territory
- loneliness/grief
- moving/new surroundings
- Changed circumstances - birth of a child, closed doors, etc.
- Stress – even visits to the vet can be part of this
- Little exercise
- High outside temperatures (cats generally eat less on hot summer days.)
- Alter
- Kittens eat less than adult cats
- castration
Poor food can lead to food refusal
Your cat smells the bowl but refuses to eat the food? Cats generally refuse to eat food that has gone bad. So the first step is to check whether the food is still good. Make sure that dry food is stored in a dark, cool and dry place. You should always keep canned and wet food well chilled in the refrigerator. Apart from that, you should seal every food package tightly, because cats like their food to have an intense smell.
If your cat smells the food but doesn't eat it, it could be because it's not fresh. Your cat picks up these factors from the smell of the food. The pattern is similar to that of sour milk. Have you ever smelled sour milk? Have you ever thought about drinking it? Your cat's finely developed sense of smell could be the reason for your cat's pickiness.
Some cats are simply fed up with their food. The motto here is: variety in the bowl, yes, change in the bowl, no! In rare cases, the consistency of the food can also be the deciding factor for your cat to refuse food. Dried wet food is neither a culinary feast nor healthy.
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