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Should I be worred about my cat?
So I've had El Zilcho for about 2 months now, he's a 9 or 10 month old former stray that I adopted through the SPCA. Since I've had him, he's eaten Purina cat food (the blue bag). He usually eats a bowl during the day while I'm at work, then munches on another third to a half of a bowl when I get home.
However, starting at the beginning of this week, he's gone from mr. hungry to mr. nibbles. He only picks at his food, and hasn't even finished an entire bowl since then (I've put new food out every day). I thought maybe the food was bad so I bought another bag (from a different store), nope, same deal. Last night, I decided to give him some canned food just to see, and he ate it right up.
Today, still the same thing. Just picking.
Is this maybe a seasonal thing, or is it time to call the vet?
(Ironically, he's eating right now as I type this)
However, starting at the beginning of this week, he's gone from mr. hungry to mr. nibbles. He only picks at his food, and hasn't even finished an entire bowl since then (I've put new food out every day). I thought maybe the food was bad so I bought another bag (from a different store), nope, same deal. Last night, I decided to give him some canned food just to see, and he ate it right up.
Today, still the same thing. Just picking.
Is this maybe a seasonal thing, or is it time to call the vet?
(Ironically, he's eating right now as I type this)
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It could be a dental problem. Not eating is usually a good reason to take the cat to the vet.
By the way, don't just switch the cat to wet food and call it a day. Cats should not be on wet food full-time unless a vet prescribes it - dry food cleans the teeth, reducing the likelihood of further dental problems. Wet food clings to teeth and increases the likelihood of dental problems.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Is he having bowel movements and urinating the way he normally does?
Weigh your cat, and if you notice an abnormal difference between what he should weigh and what he does weigh, take the cat into the vet and get a full exam. If you don't notice a difference, try weighing your cat a week later to see if anything has changed at that point.
I don't mean to be an alarmist, but I just always kick myself when I think about how long it took me to recognize this symptom in my old cat, who died just over four years ago following the disease.
I can't comment very well on lack of appetite, but yes, always be aware of what's going on with your pet's weight and eating habits.
Good luck, I hope your cat is fine.
Once that's worked out, you might want to switch him to a better food; it'll be a little more expensive, but he'll eat less of it 'cause it's more nuitritious, and high-quality foods usually equal fewer vet bills later on. If there's a Petsmart or something near where you live, you could try Blue Buffalo. Generally, you want to look at the first five or so ingredients: they should be mostly named meat like chicken, not byproducts (euw) or corn. I only mention this because the cat I knew who switched from Purina to good food got much shinier, shed less, and (best of all) stopped making really horrible smells in the litterbox.
Try some different types of food first and see if he's just gone off the standard stuff.
PS In my experience, 'better', more expensive cat food =! more likely to be swallowed by cat, it = more likely to be swallowed by you & make cat food company rich. I've seen cats regularly turn their noses up at salmon, steak, chicken, etc and go for the dry stuff.
What? I think you've been reading too many cat-food marketing magazines. If you want to give your cat 'high-quality' food, give them proper meat & let them outside so they can supplement their diet.
Plus, when did I say buy highly-advertised food? I said look at the ingredients and suggested a food that I had personally seen good results on. Tell me how it's illogical to feed your cat food with less corn and byproducts and more actual meat, and how that wouldn't lead to better health later on. (I have nothing against raw feeding done right; I have a big problem with idiots that feed their cats table scraps and put them outside to slaughter the local bird population.)
Please, no one take this advice to heart... Don't let your cat outside. O_o
Some food that I've found good results with, Purina One: Natural Blends. It's expensive, but my cats actually are a lot more active now that they're on it. They used to be very lethargic, but now they get great bursts of energy.
I thought that was irony until I realised that, no, it isn't.
This may have escaped your notice, but cats are designed to live outside...they are animals, and they are predators. Though granted they may not be quite the height of the food chain in the US as in the UK, I grew up in Scotland with plenty of wild animals around, including ones who by your thinking would be threats to a cat. Tally of prey our various cats killed include: owl, stoats, mink (vicious little bastards), etcetera. Newsflash: most cats know how to handle themselves.
Poisoned rats: if these rats were running around alive while poisoned, perhaps. Since the poison (at least it does over here) actually kills them, chances of non-starving cat scavenging dead corpse = 0. Roads: we had a main road right in front of us with a covered bend, and cars doing 50+mph along the straight. Cats stayed the fuck away from it. Also, there are plenty of city cats in London who survive when let out to wander the streets. I get to see a lot of London roads cycling on them all day, and number of cats I've seen as roadkill: 0. Rabies is an issue I can see, but I'm fairly sure it isn't that widespread in most parts of the US, but cats have few natural predators - too small & quick for larger predators, and at the top of the chain in their own size catagory. Even with coyotes, go ask some hunters around where you live. My bet would be cats are way too much effort for your average coyote, who will prefer to go after actual prey than another predator who will put up a fight.
...and as for cats "slaughtering the local bird population" THEY'RE FUCKING CATS PEOPLE! Not fluffy toys!
Hate to break this to you, but your pets aren't actually on the suicide missions you seem to think they are. You do not need to mollycoddle cats; they have wild instincts, and those instincts are better than yours. 99% of the time they will avoid danger. Yes, accidents will happen anywhere (eg make sure if you must - ie best is not to - put a collar on them, it's always secure enough not to get caught when they are squeezing through a tight space and trap them; is a significant cause of lost domestic cats according to a few vets I've talked to).
Unless you actually live in a city centre apartment or ultra-urban area - which I can see the problem with - your average cat will survive quite well being let outside. Otherwise, seriously, why are your keeping your outdoor predator animal locked inside its entire life?
My kitty stopped eating when he got an abcess.
Has his energy level changed much?
Also, since it's rather hard to get a cat to stand on a scale long enough to be weighed, stand on the scale to get your weight, then reset it and weigh yourself again while holding the cat, the difference is you cat's weight.
Unfortunately, I like my cat staying alive, not smushed by a car, beaten up by dogs and other cats, drinking someone's antifreeze that they left out just to get RID of the cats, or creating MORE strays. There are enough stray cats around the US. On a farm? Sure, cats go outside and do fine. Most places? You're just looking for heartache letting them get outside.
But this isn't here nor there, this is H/A. And advice for the OP has resoundingly been - take the kitty to the vet, hope it feels better.
I had a similar situation with my dog. Got him as a puppy and he would literally inhale his food. Then after about two months he slowed down and actually ate a piece at a time, or left his food. We were worried, took him to the vet, and he said it was common. When you first get an animal from a group enviroment, they are used to eating their food as fast as possible, b/c otherwise something else eats it.
Once they become comfortable in the new enviroment, they allow the food to sit, and eat at their leisure.
If he still goes without eating, definitely take him to the vet to be on the safe side. But he might just be feeling comfortable that the food is ok if he leaves it.
Yeah, this is what happened to our cat, started to just not eat well, and eventually couldn't keep anything down. Vet noticed something in his stomach which turned out to be a tumour. Saying that though cats are the fussiest creatures in the world and will regularly turn their noses up at things.
Either way, just take the cat to the Vet.
Good luck.
I'd stop replying to this, but then someone might actually take your advice.
Cats regularly eat poisoned rats, drink antifreeze, get shot by the neighbors, etc. Rat poison doesn't always kill the rat immediately, plus you get people who set out poisoned cat food because they're tired of cats using their lawn as a litter box. You've never seen a cat that's been hit by a car? Lucky you. I've seen plenty of kitty roadkill; it's not nice. Cats are not born with an instinct to avoid cars, and they're often too small to see in time when they dart into the road. Aside from the danger to the cat, nobody feels great having run over someone's Fluffy. Coyotes regularly prey on cats, even in fairly urban areas; I don't think a month has gone by when the local papers haven't reported that. There's also danger from dogs, sick people who like to torture animals (in my old neighborhood, there was someone strangling outside cats and leaving the bodies around), kids with BB guns, etc. Sure, your cat might beat the odds and live a long life outside, but if you love your pet, why take that risk? The vast, vast majority of cats will be perfectly happy with a stimulating life inside, and if you absolutely think kitty needs outdoor time, that's what leashes are for.
Rabies isn't extremely widepread, but feline leukemia and FIV (cat AIDS) are very, very common across America. Letting your cat roam free is putting it at risk for two fatal diseases. Parasites are another issue; outdoor cats are very likely to pick up fleas and ticks. Plus, outside cats often get into fights; an extremely good-natured cat belonging to a friend of mine came home one day with his ear torn nearly all the way off and his nose gashed open and bleeding hard. After a ton of vet bills, he healed up okay, but if he'd been inside it wouldn't have been a problem to begin with.
As for "wah, natural selection, cats are meant to kill things," sorry, nope. Cats are domesticated animals, not wildlife, and as responsible owners we should limit their destructive activities. There's plenty of songbird species that are now rare or endangered because people let their cats have free rein. There are "working" cats, usually on farms, which are kept to keep pest populations down, but otherwise cats are companion animals. Keep them inside!
Eating wet food but not eating dry food is a classic sign of a possible dental problem or oral infection, which absolutely needs to be checked out by a vet.
It's funny that you complain that cats are "picky eaters." Cats are not typically picky eaters unless you switch up their food a lot.
No. There is relatively little control over the pet food market, and you do get what you pay for. Not all expensive cat foods are good quality, but most good quality cat foods tend to be more expensive. A cat food that's made from real chicken is going to necessarily be more expensive, and much better for your cat, than a cat food made from grains and chicken by-products.
They're domesticated animals. If it could be said that they were "designed" at all, they were "designed" to be good companions to people. A cat that wasn't born and raised to live outside has no more business living outside than you or I do living in the woodlands of Africa. Just because our ancestors did okay there doesn't mean you can just dump us out there today and expect us to survive.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
And if you think cats are "destructive" to the local bird population.. they aren't. Cats pick off the slowest and the weakest birds.
Back on topic however, please take the cat to the vet and have it checked out. It may have bad teeth, a blockage, and it could also be possibly depressed.
edit: and it's not like they get thrown out the door, they beg to go out until someone lets them out.
I'm of the belief that cats that are allowed outside are generally much happier sane creatures than ones cooped up inside all day. However if you let you cat outside a yearly checkup for parasites isn't a bad idea.
to answer a couple questions:
-I won't let him outside. I live in the city, and outside != wilderness. outside = cars, hobos, werewolves.
-He's still eating in small amounts and was pretty lethargic on saturday (although he was a hyperactive ball of energy yesterday, all day).
-The funny thing is, if I put some food in my hand, he'll come up and eat it up right away, and then shortly after go and eat out of the bowl.
-I'll check him out when I get home for tender spots etc.
I have not taken him to the vet since getting him (I don't think its even been 2 months yet), but it was something I was planning on doing very soon no matter what. Since it was the SPCA, he did get checked out for everything before coming home. I'm sure its nothing (possibly even the change from a group environment to just him), but like many of you have said, better to be safe than sorry.
Thanks again.
I was surprised to find out how much crap (Mmmm, peanut hulls & soybean mill run
Caveat: It's expensive (a little over a buck a pound) and you probably will have to go to a feed store to get it.
And actually on subject: You should prolly take him to the vet.
Edit: Oh, I just saw that he's the only cat. Is he the only pet? Are you guys gone a lot? If so, you might think about getting him another cat. It's been my experience that solitary, indoor cats tend to be the ones that go batshit crazy, presumably from boredom. Even if he hated the other cat that's still better (imo) as it's something to do. if you think he might not get along with another cat then get a littler one. They'll tend to bond easier that way.
PSN: Broichan
The awesome thing about cats, is that two don't take up much more space than one does.
Might be worth a shot if the vet visit doesn't turn anything up, especially since he seems to be eating, just sporadically, and that he came from the ASPCA. Normally they check the animals out pretty well. Little guy might just be lonely.
Additionally, I demand kitty pictures! >.>
- pay extra attention to the catbox. Not pooping = bad. This shows the cat's not eating, or is eating and vomiting it back up, or is having some other sort of digestive problem. Also note whether the poop is normal or diarrhea-ish.
- try to note energy levels as well as food and water consumption
- check for tender areas on the cat
Personally, my cat is a very picky eater. A couple of times he has done the "won't eat or will puke it back up" routine until I change his food to something he likes better. If I mess up his feeding schedule too much he will be put off the food or randomly puke. The reason I do not get worried and infer that he is being picky/choosy about his food is that he exhibits no other symptoms - poop is normal, still drinking water, sleeps/plays like normal, normal disposition. If you know what's normal for your cat, any large deviance from that behavior should be cause for concern. And if you aren't sure, the vet visit is good - better safe than sorry.
Another thing my cat likes is for me to be near him when he eats. He will wake me up in the morning even though he's got food in his bowl, and he waits to eat at night until I get home.
The Vet thinks that was the main problem, so he gave him a pill and some special food to eat. If that doesnt end up fixing the problem, I'll bring the kitty back in for some X-Rays. The Vet didn't feel anything abnormal, his temp was fine and he was acting fine, so he said if it wasn't the tapeworm, he might have eaten a rubber band or a piece of string or something.
Funny vet stories. It took the doctor, a nurse and myself holding down a 9 pound cat to keep him from both biting someones hand off/running away, and he still managed to bite the nurse both during the tempature taking process, and when giving him the meds. Guy is a vicious motherfucker, and I don't think I'll ever be worried about him getting hurt again if he manages to get outside.
While filling out my paperwork Zilch had an encounter with a very large golden retriever puppy. He crawled out of my lap, and went over and touched noses with the goldy, and then licked the dogs front paws. How cute? No, he then hid behind a plant, and moments later pounced out from the foliage attacking the dogs wagging tail.
Yep. One of my kitties is one of the sweetest living being you'll ever meet....if she knows you.
If she's in a strange place (like the vet's), she instantly becomes something that is a cross between a wolverine and possibly Satan. We've YET to have a vet successfully handle her. She'll even swat and bite at my wife and I when she's not in her natural environment (home).
If she ever gets seriously ill, I have no idea how they're going to run tests on her. Either a tranqulizer gun...or possibly that cat washing machine (youtube it if you don't know what I'm talking about) would be their best bets.
(It's probably my fault for naming him Lucifer. :P)
So yeah, like yours Heir, my cat's definitely gonna need to be tranqed next time he needs to visit the vet.