Sometimes the cat is not hungry and this worries us: behind an inappetent cat there can be various causes and as many remedies to help the cat get better.
In many cases, cats stop eating due to a health problem: for this reason, many people who have adopted a cat worry when their four-legged friend becomes inappetent.
In fact, there are many possible causes behind the lack of appetite in cats and some are simply physiological: let’s find out why the cat is not hungry and how to help him eat again and with taste.
The cat is not hungry: why does it happen and how to fix it?
The causes of loss of appetite in cats
Even a drastic reduction in the normal level of appetite in cats could indicate a more or less serious health problem, or be linked to the particular time of year in which we find ourselves.
In summer, when the heat becomes excessive, cats tend to change their eating habits because they burn fewer calories than in winter and for this reason they may have a tendency to eat less. In these cases, it is enough to follow some simple rules for feline summer feeding, increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables and choosing a different subdivision of the daily food rations.
If we are not in the summer, however, there could be various causes for the lack of appetite in cats: diseases, changes, vaccinations and psychological problems are just some examples.
Why does the cat stop eating?
1. Loss of appetite in cats is usually a symptom of a disease or health problem: it could be due to an infection or inflammation, but also due to the presence of parasites, stomach ache, a due to dental problems or diabetes or kidney failure.
2. In other cases, the cat is not hungry due to a reaction to a recent vaccination: among the side effects of some cat vaccines there is precisely lack of appetite which, however, is generally temporary and limited to a few days after administration.
3. Cats are very habitual animals and react negatively to too intrusive changes: this is why the cat can lose there appetite due to a trip or a vacation in an environment different from the usual one. In addition, the cat suffers from motion sickness and may feel nauseous while traveling and refuse to eat.
4. Problems of stress, anxiety and depression can cause a decrease in appetite in the most sensitive cats: even in this case, a stressed cat is usually a cat that has undergone drastic changes such as a move or the presence of new people in home.
The cat is not hungry: what are the possible risks?
If an animal does not eat enough or refuses food altogether, its body will break down its stores of fat to produce the energy it needs. In order to use these fat reserves, the work of the liver must come into play which, in turn, needs protein to function.
A cat that stops eating, runs out of protein stores very quickly and begins to lose weight quickly, while the liver succumbs under the strain of coping with fats: here the cat goes into hepatic lipidosis, a very dangerous condition that first causes insufficiency. liver disease and then the death of the animal.
What to do if the cat does not want to eat?
To remedy lack of appetite in cats, it is first of all necessary to identify the cause behind the problem: if we suspect a disease or more generally a health problem, it is essential to take our four-legged friend to the vet as soon as possible to understand what to do.
The most common remedies when the cat is not hungry are usually:
– changes in eating habits,
– administration of appetite stimulating drugs,
– liquid feeding via syringe or intravenously,
– appetite stimulating foods in cats such as liver and canned tuna,
– addition of certain foods to canned food such as fish oil, cooked egg or broth.
Many veterinarians also recommend choosing a quiet place in the house to place the cat bowls and changing the brand of cat food at least 2 or 3 times a year, to prevent the cat from getting into a routine that can bore him and make him refuse the baby food.
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