Why Does My Cat Eat Very Little?

    Loss of appetite in cats is a relatively frequent reason for veterinary consultation, but this doesn’t stop it from being a serious cause for concern to caregivers. We explain the five possible reasons for a decreased appetite in cats in this MeetClaw blog.

1. Change of food

    Sudden changes in brand or type of food can be the cause of your cat not wanting to eat. It is recommended to change their food progressively. Starting by mixing the new food with the old one. It should be noted that cats are considered strict carnivores, so they need a majority of protein in their diet, and should never be fed a vegetarian diet. Giving them only non-animal derived foods that do not allow them to get the essential nutrients they need. Such as the amino acids, arginine and taurine can have a very serious impact on their health.

2. Heat

    When a female cat is in heat, she may experience a reduction in her appetite. Sterilization of cats is recommended for its many benefits, including preventing diseases. Such as breast cancer, uterine tumors, and pyometra.

3. Intoxication

    If your cat eats very little, it can also be a symptom of having eaten rotten food or having ingested something toxic, such as onions grapes, or certain plants. If you want to know which plants are poisonous to cats, check out our previous blog on which plants are toxic to cats. It’s also important to remember that some drugs cause toxicity in cats, so it’s worth noting the importance of never administering drugs. Such as ibuprofen to cats. Not only can it cause loss of appetite, but it can also lead to severe organ failure; be sure to see a veterinarian if poisoning is suspected.

4. Stress

    Cats are very sensitive to changes in their environment with even the most subtle possibly being stressful. Stress leads to your cat eating less, being nervous, or showing other behavioral changes. Stress can range from small changes in the home to dietary changes, house renovations, moving house, bringing in a new animal, having a child, or even losing a family member. It’s important to identify the cause of stress to treat it and restore the animal’s emotional stability. Synthetic pheromones can also be great allies in these cases.

5. Diseases

    Besides eating less, does your cat drink or urinate more than usual? If the answer is yes, it could be kidney disease. If they have other symptoms such as abdominal pain vomiting, or diarrhea, it may be a gastrointestinal disease caused by inflammation of tumors or foreign bodies in the digestive tract. These will significantly reduce your kitten’s appetite. Cats are very sensitive to loss of smell. Unlike other animals, they often only breathe through their nose loss of smell is a cause to take into account as a possible loss of appetite in cats, this may be due to nervous system disorders or derived from a nasal disease. One of the most common of the latter is a feline respiratory syndrome, which can involve various viruses and bacteria.

    Lastly, it can be other infectious diseases feline infectious peritonitis virus is a very serious disease that can begin with non-specific symptoms, such as anorexia, fever, and weight loss, for all the above reasons, if you notice your cat eats less and sleeps a lot is down vomited or has diarrhea don’t hesitate and go to the veterinary clinic to determine the cause.

    If you want to continue learning about feline diet and pet care, don’t miss the MeetClaw blog module. Share any experiences you have of your cats suffering appetite loss in the comments.