My kitten isn't eating??

Question

I have a 6 month old kitten whose stopped eating since dinnertime last night. I came home at 3pm today to find her breakfast untouched in her bowl. This is really freaking me out coz normally she's a kitten who LOVES her food and will eat basically anything and is always hungry. I thought maybe it was a flavor she somehow didn't like which I'd never fed her before, so I fed her some fish canned food which normally she loves (same brand and everything), but even with me holding a spoon up to her mouth she still won't eat! She won't eat her dry food either, which is what I've been giving her since I adopted her at 2 months old, and she always seemed to love it up until yesterday..

My mom says maybe she's just feeling a bit sick and in a while her appetite will come back, but somehow I don't believe that.

There hasn't been any change in circumstances and she doesn't seem stressed. She just looks like she doesn't wanna eat and is sad.

Answer 1

First look around the house and see if any balls of string, yarn, twisties, anything like that are missing. She may have swallowed something she was playing with that has lodged in her gut and is preventing her from eating. Has she had all of her vaccines? If she doesn't eat by tomorrow, I would take her in for some Xrays of her abdomen. She may have a blockage. Kittens don't just stop eating for no reason, they are either physically sick with a virus or there is a physical problem stopping them from eating like a blockage or they are depressed by loss of another animal or something to that degree. Check her hydration though to make sure she is properly hydrated, if she's not, she needs to go to the vet now for iv fluids. Take the skin on the back of her neck and pull it up off her body then let it go and see if it snaps back down quickly or if it stays tented up or goes down slowly. If it snaps down quickly, she's okay, if it stays up or stays wrinkled on her neck, she needs fluids now! Dehydration kills animals quickly, so don't mess around if she is dehydrated, get her in fast. Also check her mouth out and make sure she doesn't have something stuck in a tooth, or a tooth that's broken or hanging on by thread, that may be causing the trouble too. If nothing in mouth you really should take her to vet tomorrow if she's not back to normal, better safe than sorry. Good luck hope she feels better soon.

Answer 2

Stella (my cat) and I went to a three-day hunger strike over whether Whiskas was acceptable food or not. I have decided however, that she's not getting any more beef Whiskas, because like your kitty it makes her **** rotten! However, we now have an "agreement" that she'll eat what she's handed. As a house-cat she doesn't get the luxury of trying someone else's house for lunch.... Kitten food, of whatever brand you want to feed her, nutritionally will be fine as long as it's designed for kittens. Just be strongwilled enough to let her go hungry if she's refusing to eat, because it won't hurt her and you'll have won the battle. It's worth it in the long run.

Answer 3

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RE:
My kitten isn't eating??
I have a 6 month old kitten whose stopped eating since dinnertime last night. I came home at 3pm today to find her breakfast untouched in her bowl. This is really freaking me out coz normally she's a kitten who LOVES her food and will eat basically anything and is always hungry. I thought maybe...

Answer 4

Let her outside and see if she will eat a little bit of grass. Cats do this when they feel bad. She could just be going through a stage where she doesn't want to eat. Kittens are like human babies in alot of ways. They go through stages of eating alot (and growing) and then periods where they don't eat as much but sleep alot. If she seems to be doing okay in every other way this could be the case. If she eats grass then it means that her stomach is upset. If she doesn't seem to eat at all tomorrow or seems to get worse then call your vet. Also check her stools for worms.... sometimes this can cause a lack of appetite.

Answer 5

My Kitten Is Not Eating

Answer 6

A cat not eating is serious, she needs to go to the vet. Has she had any vaccines? Does she go outside? Is she vomiting or having diarrhea? Is she drinking the same amout of water, or more or less than usual? These are all questions the vet will ask you. Kittens can use up their reserves very quickly when they don't eat, and all cats who go off food are at risk of developing hepatic lipidosis-the body mobilizes fat for fuel in such large quantities that the liver gets overloaded and shuts down.

Answer 7

Cats can be picky and stubborn.

I got two kittens after I had to put down my sweet, love of 15 years. My old cat was a feeding brat. I was a new cat owner and tried to cater to his every eating whim. I love variety in my diet, shouldn't he have the same luxury?

No.

Cats learn quickly that if they don't want what you offer them to eat they can hold out for a day or two or three and you'll give them what they want.

It was hard with my old cat but I did learn to keep him eating exactly what I gave him by not offering him options. Cats will be stubborn for even as much as 3 days but when they need to eat they will. It sounds cruel but it really isn't.

Would you give a 5 year old child a constant diet of McDonald's burgers and fries if that was the only thing they would eat or would you buckle down and give them only healthier foods? A cat can and will last a lot longer without harm in this fight for what is healthy.

My kittens now know nothing other than chicken flavoured food for feeding. They get fish flavoured Greenies for treats and love them like the most amazing food on Earth. They eat all their canned food as it is given because they know they won't have any food other wise.

The black one will eat any chicken food put in front of him while the grey one is more picky. I switched from Science Diet to Nutro and, then, to Wellness in trying to give them the healthiest food I could. The first time I weaned the grey one by mixing the Science Diet and Nutro. The second time I just let him suck it up and realize that was the only food he was getting. After about 12 hours he gave in and wolfed down the Wellness.

Take charge now while your cat is young. Don't change the flavours of his food as he will learn how to manipulate you into spoiling him. He'll adapt more quickly now.

That said, do talk to your vet. Cats can't communicate illness as well as humans. It is even more important for them to get regular check-ups as well as additional visits at little changes in behaviour.

Most likely your cat is being stubborn but it is not worth risking her health to not call the vet.

Also: The brands of food you find at super markets are disturbingly unhealthy for your pet. The "super premium" brands of cat food aren't much more costly and are much more healthy. I prefer Wellness as they use a lot more meat than most and only use human grade food. Fancy Feast is $.69/3 oz. can at my local grocer and Wellness $.75/can at the private (as opposed to chain, which doesn't carry it) pet store. The difference in dry food cost is greater but dry food is no where near as healthy for a cat as the canned.

About.com has an excellent site for all things cat http://cats.about.com/index.htm?terms=cats

Answer 8

My kitten went through a phase like that as well. I bought some canned cat food that he had never had before and he ate it all up in a heartbeat.

Answer 9

Lets see: (1) Loss of appetite; (2) Lethragy; (3) looks depressed. Your kitty is sick and becuase kittens can go downhill really really fast its best to take him to the vet ASAP.

Answer 10

Maybe what she still needs is some mother's milk, and some more loving attention from you.