My cat is very skinny, yet she doesnt want to eat. How can I make her eat the food I provided?

Question

I tried to feed her dry cat food but she only eats little ammounts of them, and wet cat food but she only eat half of what i Provided her and sometimes she eats less than a half.

Answer 1

well i think you should take her to the vet.because this is a job for trained proffetionals.

Answer 2

If she is very young, she may be burning a lot of calories while playing. Also , young cats can be too busy exploring to find time to eat. Then there's the possibility that she's just a skinny cat. Talk to your vet if you are really worried, she may have a parasite or metabolism issue. There is also a possibility if a sore tooth. In the mean time, keep the dry food available to her. She will eat when she needs to. If the food doesn't start disappearing though (about 1/2 cup a day) call the vet!

Answer 3

I feel your pain. I have a toy poodle who is 2 years old and 2 cats who are 8 weeks and 10 mo. old. My dog LOVES cat food - wet or dry, and I've noticed that my 10 mo. old cat likes to eat the dogs dry food. Unfortunatly, dogs should eat dog food and cats should eat cat food. The foods are designed speicifically for the nutrients and diet that a cat and dog need. Your cat is probably skinny becasue she's not getting the required diet from eating the dog food throughout the day. Letting them switch food can actually end up causing problems as well. A little bit here and there of each others food won't hurt either, but the dog could end up needing to get it's anal glands drained (Which can result from the dog eating table food as well) and that is NOT a pleasent experience! The cat could end up malnourished from the lack of nutrients that the cat needs from cat food. What I do is put the cats food on the counter in the "spare" bathroom (I live in an apartment as well). We have 2 bathrooms and one is just for "visitors" so the cat food is on the counter in the spare. This helps because the cats know where their food is and the dog can't get to it. It also makes it to where they don't think they can get on the counter where people food is made and ate at. Another suggestion is when feeding them wet food, feed them on opposite sides of the apartment. Feed the cat in the bedroom and the dog in the living room, etc. You could also shut the door and limit them to coming out of their seperate rooms after they've ate all their wet food (Which usually isn't a problem getting my animals to gobble up all the wet food). Good luck with them!

Answer 4

There could be any number of reasons why she's skinny:
o Sick
o Worms
o Young kitten & very active
o Finicky eater

Obviously, you need to figure a few things out (or explain them to us). If this is a relatively recent occurance in an older cat - a visit to the vet is in order! Likewise, a new kitten could have worms.

If you've just gotten the cat/kitten, she could just be adjusting to a new environment & needs lots of love as well as trying some different foods. My cats/kittens like Eukanuba or Royal Canin dry kitten food (for the young ones). For wet food they *really* like Science Diet Turkey & Giblet Entree. My husband bought this by mistake when I asked him to get the adult food (meaning the dry stuff).

Perhaps if she's only eating half of what you give her, you may be expecting her to eat too much at one time. We "free feed", meaning the dry food is out all the time and give ours an evening "snack" of wet food. Maybe this will help.

But first and foremost, rule out illness or worms.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

Maybe she has worms in her tummy. Take her to a vet, or ask the people in a pet shop and they will tell you what medicine she should take. When the worms have all been killed, she will have appetite to eat. My cat has had the same condition as your cat. A few days after she had taken the tablets, she began to eat a lot and gained back her weight. You can get the cat's medicine from any supermarket. For safety, ask the professional for the right one for your cat.

Answer 6

To me that is not very normal for a cat. You did not mention how long you have had this cat or how old she is. If she is new to your home, then it may take a little while to adjust to her new surroundings.
If you have had her a longer period of time and if she just started to do this.. i would take her to the vet and make sure there is not some other reason for her to not want to eat.

Answer 7

I don't know the weight of the cat, the age of the cat or how long you've had her, but when I got my puppy, she wouldn't eat her food either. I started sprinkling small abouts of finely shredded cheddar cheese in with the food. She would eat it then and every couple of days I would lessen the cheese and now she is fine. And when I say a little cheese, I mean I started with about only a tablespoon, if that.

Answer 8

Keep giving her different kinds/brands of food until you find one she likes. Most cats are finicky, so it might take a while. But, just like people, maybe she's the right size for her frame and doesn't care a whole lot about food - just enough to stay alive and be healthy.

Answer 9

first of all, take her ot a vet. there maybe a physical reason she is not eating.
when that is ruled out, maybe she is a picky eater and u should try different brands of food. but it sounds like something physically wrong. she could have some sort of blockage, or worms or some other intestinal problem. these can be very serious. not eating is normally one of the frist wanring signs that something is definately wrong.

Answer 10

How old is this cat? Some might loose their appetite if they have worms. Take it to the vet. Has this cat always been skinny? Or did this just come on?

Answer 11

Add some catnip and a little tuna to the food. Works too well with my chubby, lazy Siamese kitten.