plz help! whys my cats not eating?

Question

i adopted a kitten( hes round 3-4 mnths) from an animal shelter a week ago. he was on a diet of cat food and milk there. at home since we didnt exactly get tht particular brand of cat food we've been feeding him milk/ chicken/ fish /bread but he wont have any of it! he has like a few table spoons of milk every meal and sometimes he wont have tht too. we r takin him to the vet but till then what do i do? wots wrong?

Answer 1

Milk could be upseting his stomach. Some cats can be lactose intolerant.

Are you on wet or dry food? Unlike with a dog, you can change the kind of food you feed a cat without any stomach upset. Try different brands and type of wet and dry cat food. I'd start with a ground type of wet food, something maybe tuna flavored. Try different types of dry food too...maybe different shapes. My smaller cat likes the smaller sized dry food, maybe it's easier to eat?

As long as he's not vomiting or doesn't have diarrhea, he could be just getting used to his surroundings and is being finicky. But the vet will be able to tell what's wrong. Bring a stool sample with you (a dime sized piece) so that they can check for parasites...that might be a problem too.

Answer 2

First, do NOT give a kitten (or cat) milk! They cannot digest it and it can cause diarrhea and vomiting (leading to dehydration). If you want to give "milk"... get KMR or another variety of "cat milk" or "kitten replacement formula" from a local feed store or pet store.

Secondly, feeding human food is not nutritionally balanced. Most kittens aren't used to eating it either, so may just turn up their noses. Believe it or not, I've had many cats who refuse to eat regular meat, I assume just because they're so used to eating cat food. Unless you have done a LOT of research, you cannot make your own cat food. Cats have very specific dietary needs and simply giving them chicken, fish & bread is not going to make for a healthy cat. Kittens need kitten food or a GOOD premium "all life stages" cat food. Most cat food companies make kitten food... it is different from regular cat food in that it has more fat and calories (to support a growing kitten). Once a kitten is 6-8mo old, it can eat regular adult cat food (continuing kitten food can make the cat fat). However, truly premium foods (byproduct free, corn free, etc) typically do not have a separate "kitten formula" like the cheaper foods do. This is because these foods are formulated to simulate a natural cat diet (they have more meat & less grains than commercial cat foods), so they are suitable for all life stages.

I would go buy some good quality cat or kitten food and see what he does. If he's still not eating, take him to the vet. Calicivirus is a common shelter cat ailment and one of the first signs is generally a lack of eating (however lack of appetite can be a symptom of many other illnesses as well). The reason is that calici causes sores in the mouth and throat (sometimes visible, sometimes not if they're far enough down the throat). It is highly contagious (although it's one of the things cat vaccines protect against) and deadly if not treated.

Good luck with your kitty!

Answer 3

Cats have very specific nutritional requirements. While it's nice of you to try and give him good foods like chicken, fish and milk, his digestive system is not set up for these things in the form you're offering them.

Cats are obligate carnivores. What this means is that they MUST have nearly all of their caloric intake from meat. They do eat very small amounts of plant material, but most of that is pre-digested in the stomachs of their prey. In spite of common thought and the cat's own preference, most cats in a "wild" state would not be able to catch a fish, let alone the types of fish most humans have on hand. They are not set up to process much fish, so that should only be an occasional treat for them, not a staple of their diet. Bread is absolutely no good (firstly since it's not a meat product...). It contains things that cats cannot digest. Milk is also a "no-no". Cats cannot process regular dairy products. The milk they consume when they are babies is made by their mother's body so that it meets specific requirements. Regular milk (cow's milk) can cause severe digestive problems. Chicken is a good choice in a pinch (and by pinch I mean a few days at most), but cooked chicken doesn't contain the essential nutrient Taurine in very high quantities (defintely not enough for a cat). Taurine is generally found in raw meat, but is added as a suppliment to cat food. Alas, you cannot just feed the cat raw chicken, either. Cats can be susceptable to food-bourne illnesses and raw meat is asking for a problem, especially in a kitten. In "the wild" a cat would catch and eat a bird, mouse or other small animal. In general, because they are not processed through our food system, these wild food sources do not contain the same contaminants and are more safe for a cat. Unfortunately, most people are not equipped to go out and catch mice for their cats' dinners. Not only that, but the chance that the rodent has been exposed to a toxin is high in most places these days.

So, what to do? Get some good quality food or, if you really want to feed your cat "people food", you need to study up on how to do this safely. There is a LOT of work involved and it is generally more expensive, but it is possible. It's a longer answer than I can give here, though, on how to do it. I would strongly suggest something like Nutro Max Kitten or Pro Plan Kitten. They are more expensive than some types of cat food, but they are well worth it in the fact that they will keep your cat healthier, happier and will help prevent trips to the vet. In addition, your cat will have a better chance of survival well into his "golden years".

Good luck and congratulations on your new baby!

Answer 4

at 3-4 months, kittens are picky. They have specialized Kitten food because of the amount of fat they need to consume. Right now the kitten is not after the taste, but rather the fat content. Like the previous poster, do not use regular milk.....there is a concentrated kitten milk.....and stick with kitten food until old enough.

When switching over foods.....combine old food with new food for like 2-3 days so their stomachs can adjust.

The vet will run some tests but probably come to this conclusion as well.

Answer 5

I've read that milk is not good for cats. We fed our kitten Purina Kitten Chow until she was a year old and she did very well on it. It's good that you're taking her to the vet, she may be sick or possibly have worms. I say try the Kitten Chow. It has all the vitamins a growing kitten needs. It's not good to keep giving him all these different human foods-it can be very upsetting to his stomach.

Answer 6

Don't give him milk it is not good for them. leave dry food and water in his dishes and he will eat when he is ready. He may be nervous and getting use to his enviroment.
Tip 45 - Cat drinking milk - Can my cat drink milk

Must kittens and cats drink milk? This is one of those cat questions that confuse most new cat owners as well as the general public. Kittens need to drink THEIR MOTHER'S milk while they are nursing. It is full of the fat and protein that they need to grow rapidly and survive.

Cats and kittens can drink COW's milk OCCASIONALLY but they do not need to drink it. A cat can easily live its whole life without ever having cow's milk. Most feral or wild cats never have cow's milk.

Like humans, many cats and kittens are lactose intolerant. They cannot digest cow's milk properly and they get diarrhea or gastric upset when they drink it. Kittens that become lactose intolerant usually only become intolerant after they are about 3 months of age, so THEIR mother's milk shouldn't cause any gastric upset. If your cat or kitten gets diarrhea as a result of drinking cow's milk, stop giving it milk and it should pass. Some cat owners who have lactose intolerant cats that are 'milkaholics' do occasionally give them lactose free milk. You can find lactose free milk in pet stores. If your cat digests milk without a problem then you can give it the occasional milk treat.

Remember - Cow's milk should never be the primary or regular food source for any cat or kitten since it is missing many essential ingredients to keep your feline healthy.

Answer 7

Meg - most cats don't like and won't eat people food. People milk isn't good for them either. Ya need to go to a store, decide which brand your gonna pick (cause your gonna have to stick with it) and maybe some kitty milk, if you want. If you hold him and maybe pet him on the head (so he'll feel comforted) try and get him to eat the new food. I thinks thats prolly all he needs.

Answer 8

try getting the same kind of cat food and then easing the cat off of it by putting pieces of the new kind in with it until it is completely the new kind... also, the kitten may be experiencing anxiety. Taking it to the vet is definitely a wise decision!

Answer 9

milk is bad for them, they diarrhoea. your kitten still needs kitten food, not human food.

go to the pet store and get some food. try nutro kitten, or a better brand of food. i she doesn't eat then and is losing weight take hr to the vet

Answer 10

First, all kittens/cats need something called Taurine in their diet, it is extremely important for their overall health. Please try and get your kitten on a premium brand of cat food and water. You can try any of the popular cat foods, purina one, iams, eukanuba, natural balance, wellness-these are tasty to cats.