Why won't my cat eat?

Question

My cat (Zali) won't eat her food. She used to be a stray until we rescued her from starvation. The problem is, we give her nice cat food from the vet, be she just won't eat it or just eat a little bit. We've tried different foods and she reacts the same with every type (tinned, dry etc.). What is strange though is that she always acts hungry but when her food is put down she only eats a tiny bit. I have tried talking about it with my mother but all she says is that Zali will be fine and there is no problem. Zali is getting seriously thin, and I'm worried about her but she acts happy all the time which is also strange. She goes outside quite often and she catches mice which might be the reason she won't eat. What is wrong with my cat?

Answer 1

My cat did this when she was sick (running a fever). We took her to the vet, where they gave her fluids in her back and some antibiotics. Like your cat, ours wouldn't eat much of anything. Our vet recommended baby food while we waited for the antibiotics to kick in, and that worked. We fed her chicken baby food for a day or two, plus we gave her wet cat food with some tuna mixed in. She mainly picked out the tuna and ate that only, but the vet approved it since she was finally eating. Within a couple days on the antibiotics, she was back to her old eating habits. Another trick the vet told us - heat up the food slightly - cats like to be able to smell their food, and heating it up brings out the aroma.

Of course, your best bet is to take her to the vet in case she has a virus or is sick.

Answer 2

"nice food from the vet" actually is neither nice, nor is it really food. It is full of fillers and cheap byproducts.

Zali is used to fresh raw meat.. if you were used to fresh gourmet food, would you be content with McDonalds food??

However, since she used to be a stray, I would be very concerned about other health issues. Has she seen a vet and tested and vaccinated and spayed? Getting a good bill of health is important when trying to figure out if it is behavioural or medical.

lastly most people prefer their cats overweight, so a normal weight cat might just seem overly thin to you. Once again, a vet visit would let you know if she's excessively thin.

Answer 3

Your cat is eating critters instead of her food. She should be kept inside as you don't know what these critters carry or if they've eaten poison. Take her to the vet for a checkup, get he dewormed, vaccinated and spayed and keep her in. I'm sure the problem will be solved.

Answer 4

You should take her to the vet and have her checked out. There could be a lot of things causing her to not eat.

Answer 5

It sounds like she is sick. She needs to go to the vet.