One of my cats is not eating

sandyk13 · New member Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 3 Location: Qld

Dear all,

I have two cats. One is very nervous and shy. When she was 11 months old we got a rescued kitten because we thought she might not be so nervous if she had a friend. They are both spayed and seem to get on well together. The nervous cat (honey) mothered the kitten, grooming and playing with her.
The kitten is now 7 months old and as big as Honey. She has a totally different temperment being very people orientated and very laid back.
My problem is that the kitten is getting all the food and Honey very little.

I try to feed them in seperate places and keep feeding titbits to Honey but she is getting thinner and the kitten fatter.

There is never any aggression but if Honey is eating and the other cat appears she just stops eating and runs away.

Now she doesn't appear to want to eat at all and is very thin.

Cats aren't like dogs they like to graze and I normally leave Hills science biscuits out all day for them to eat.

I also feed them a tablespoonful each of tinned cat food every morning and every night.

I have tried buying the small tins of Dine and fancy feast just to give to honey but she just doesn't seem to want to eat.

Our Vet says she is not ill and precribed vitamin tablets but she gets very traumatised when we try to give them to her which only makes her more nervous and hide from us.

Please any help would be gratefully recieved as we love her so much.

Thankyou
Sandy

EternalFlame · Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 9:52 pm Post subject:

i'm sorry to hear about your kitty....

you're right, cats arent like dogs. and unlike dogs that will snarl and growl when another comes near its food, a cat wont. even if the other is younger. they will just back off and or leave.

try a google search about reasons why your cat might not be eating.

also, it sounds like the one who is not eating is feelin intimidated by the other who just comes in to eat her food.

try harder to feed them seperate, and not to let the other in while she is eating and until she's done- otherwise she'll always feel nervous.

good luck

Mary_NH · Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:57 pm Post subject:

can you isolate them when they are eating? Maybe feed one in a bedroom with the door closed another in the bathroom. Also you might want to give the kitty that's not eating NutraCal until her appetite picks up. NutraCal has lots of added calories she probably could use right now.
Let us know how she continues to progress

vene · Super Senior Member Plus Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 4298

and welcome! I'd separate them come feeding time like others suggested too. I'd try giving Honey kitten can foods for a while to see if she'll fatten up in addition to the Nutracal. Mary, would that be too rich? BTW do you have pics to share?

sandyk13 · New member Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 3 Location: Qld

Thanks to all who replied.

I took Honey to a specialist yesterday. They did blood tests to rule out Feline leukemia and any other nasties and the results were fine.

They gave me some appetite stimulants called Periactin and also a gadget that you plug into an electrical outlet (it has a bottle attached) which dispenses cat pheromones, the kind they make when they are happy, into the air to make her feel good.

She has eaten a little bit today but just enoiugh to sustain life. What is this Nutracal? I did a search but didn't come up with anything in Australia.

Thanks

Sandy

Cassie · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 7:54 am Post subject:

I had about two weeks where Booger ate very little and occasonally vomited...it turned out that she was eating one of my house plants which made her sick. I got rid of the plant and she became fine.

Is there a chance that your baby is eating something that's making her ill?

Mary_NH · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 12:11 pm Post subject:

Feliway diffuser is what they gave you. The medicine is an antihistimine which in cats stimulates their appetite, it also makes them very tired so if kitty sleeps a lot it's from the meds. It does work though - I've have to use it on a couple of my foster cats...just don't use it very long.

NutraCal is a vitamin/mineral supplement for kitty who either aren't feeling well or have little appetite.

Mary_NH · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 12:14 pm Post subject:

http://www.allpets.com/petcyclopedia/cats/topic.asp?id=880

Ginger · Member Joined: 15 Apr 2004 Posts: 176 Location: UK

If your cat (like most cats) doesn't like being given tablets try hiding the vitamins in a treat, I have a cat who needs to have a tablet everyday for his kidneys and I've found this works so well as soon as I pick up his tablets he's there waiting for his 'treat'!

lynnhaz · Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 4:19 pm Post subject:

there is also a hills canned cat food...it is "a/d". and it is loaded with calories and nutrition. sometimes they give it when a cat wont eat...or has lost weight.....debilitated, or anorexic, to stimulate their appetite.

welcome to aupet... Wink

Kitty-Mommy · New member Joined: 29 Oct 2004 Posts: 5

My cat's used to do the same thing. Trouble never got to eat. I give them canned food twice a day and the dry food is out all day.
Trouble never got to eat the tasty food while Little-One surely enjoyed himself.
It got to the point where I had to carry Trouble to the bowel and watch them. Then I had to take the food to Trouble so he can eat in peace! Now I feed them on the kitchen counter and I don't move until they are both done. Trouble's not allowed to go to Little-Ones bowl and visa versa. I just take them back to their own. Then I at least I know their tummies are full. Mine aren't normal I tell ya. Gobble everything up as fast as they can!

sandyk13 · New member Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 3 Location: Qld

Hi everyone.

Thank you so much for your reply's they have benn a great help. It was just great to find that the problem is relativley common.
The good news she has started to eat. Whether this is the result of the appetite stimulant pils or the pheremone dispenser I don't know although we will probably find out soon as the vet only gave me two tablets which I had to cut in half to give her and she has now had the last one. I also kept taking her little titbits all day and she is now eating (and pooing) normally.
I am still going to feed her seperatly but smaller amounts and a lot more often.
I will try to get some of the A/d food as I have seen it at the pet store.
Why is it bad to keep running the diffuser? I got the impression from the vet that I had to keep using it for several months. They even gave me an extra dispenser free.
Thanks again
Sandy

jholdren · New member Joined: 09 May 2006 Posts: 1

You can use the Feliway difusser all the time for as long as you'd like with no harmful effects...trust the vet. My cat has some behavioral issues and I've had a disffuser for a few years now (changing the refill every 45 days or so). It's helped calm her done and she's stopped spaying.

Chessmind · Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 2:38 pm Post subject:

This post is from October 2004.

sunset05 · Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 2:43 pm Post subject:

I'm glad your kitty is starting to eat. Sounds like you older kitty might be jeasous of the newer kitty and since she is shy, she doesn't stand up for herself. I hope everything keeps improving.

Since you introduced a kitten to an adult cat, good chances they will eventually get along. Maybe give your older kitty extra attention so she doesn't feel left out. Just a suggestion.

We got an adult cat from a shelter once and our older kitty that we already had was very afraid of her. It guess it was a dominance thing.
My older cat hid under the blankets of my bed all day. We eventually had to return the newer cat to the shelter because it wasn't working.

Keep us posted on how things are going. Smile

EternalFlame · Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 9:49 pm Post subject: