Are cats not eating when they are sick?
Three tips to get your cat's appetite back
Maybe you were deeply worried about your cat's fat belly yesterday.
As a result, TA stopped eating today...
Yes, cats are such sensitive creatures, even with the slightest discomfort, TA may instantly change from a big appetite to a small bird stomach.
And not eating may bring more problems, such as causing complications such as a fatty liver.
There are also some sick cats, but even more so, the owner is in a long-term situation of not knowing how to get TA to eat more than one bite.
What is the meal, definitely do not want to eat!
How to get sick cats to eat more?
The first figure out, what exactly is the reason for not eating.
There are many reasons why cats do not eat, so it is important to find out the cause and treat the symptoms to solve the underlying problem.
Reasons that may cause loss of appetite include
▌ Pain caused by dental and oral problems.
▌ pancreatitis
▌Urinary tract disorder
▌Digestive tract obstruction
▌Constipation
▌Upper respiratory tract infection
▌Kidney disease
▌ Stress due to stress or change
Oral pain can easily make cats refuse to eat.
Among other things, in addition to physical pain caused by various diseases that can make cats very uncomfortable and reluctant to eat, oral problems, which may not seem fatal, may make cats refuse to eat in the first place.
Nasal congestion caused by upper respiratory tract infections can make a cat refuse to eat because it cannot smell food.
Chronic diseases such as chronic kidney failure develop to the point where the discomfort brought on by nausea and dizziness causes cats to refuse to eat, causing many cats to end up dying of starvation rather than the disease itself.
Therefore, no matter which disease a cat has, it should be treated symptomatically, such as giving medication to relieve pain or reduce acid reflux, while trying to get the cat to eat. Especially for some late-stage chronic diseases, eating is the biggest guarantee of life.
Not eating for more than 2 days? Please send it to the doctor quickly
When a cat refuses to eat completely for more than 2 days, it means there is a more serious physical or psychological disease. At this time, you should send your cat to the doctor as soon as possible. While finding the cause of the disease, you may need intravenous fluids to replenish nutrients and maintain the body's function, and then treat the cat while restoring its appetite.
The first trick to eating more: is the fancy tossing food method
Cats who are already picky eaters will be even pickier when they are sick, so it's time to find ways to toss and turn to get your cat to eat.
Buy more canned food in different ways
A sick cat may prefer to eat wet food or liquid food, so you should prepare more canned food for your cat. And at this time should not choose expensively, just choose the cat willing to eat, especially good digestible staple food cans, and mashed meat cans.
The mashed meat staple cans are the first choice during illness.
However, the cans of snacks that you may not normally see can instead stimulate your cat to eat at this time and can be mixed with other foods and fed to your cat.
For example, the more "smelly" the can, the better, the more appetizing it may be to cats.
Canned deep-sea snacks that are not normally fed to cats
At this time, the cat may be able to eat some
Highly nutritious post-operative recovery cans (AD) are a good choice at this time. An adult cat may only need to eat 3/4 of a can per day to meet its body needs, which is preferred for illness, but not every cat will want to eat it.
It may also be necessary to keep changing brands because cats are particularly easy to get tired of eating.
Give your cat a few more choices and see what he likes to eat.
Try baby food
Canned meat and liver puree for babies are popular with many cats and can be tried when they are sick.
You can try it!
Tuna soup, chicken soup
The juice of canned tuna and warm chicken broth may also make cats want to eat, so add some to their food.
Egg yolks, fish oil, and grated cheese
These foods may also make a sick cat more willing to eat, like cheese that can be grated or torn up and sprinkled on the surface of the food.
Blessed are the cats who love cheese.
Warm food for cats
Warm food will stimulate your cat's appetite, so put the can in the microwave and "ding" it for 10 to 15 seconds.
Maybe add some "cat flavoring"
Some cat supplements also have an appetite-stimulating effect, such as the famous "cat flavoring", Fortifier Cat Macrobiotic from Purina.
The appetite-stimulating active ingredient it contains is not a macrobiotic and nutrient, but an appetite-stimulating ingredient often used in cat food additions.
For healthy cats, it is not recommended to choose a macrobiotic with an appetite-inducing ingredient (or even not to feed macrobiotics); however, for cats with no appetite in sickness, it may be useful.
For sick cats, willingness to eat is the most important
Shouldn't cats in sickness avoid eating more and eat strictly sick meals? For example, cats with kidney failure should eat low phosphorus (protein may be restricted at a later stage) diet, while a low sodium diet is recommended for many diseases.
Whatever works if you're willing to eat!
But the truth is that when a cat is in severe appetite loss that affects survival, eating, is the only thing that matters, and as long as it is willing to eat, it doesn't matter much what it eats. Of course, it should still try to be nutritionally balanced, high quality, and high energy.
Eat more second move: fancy tossing food utensils method
Tossing the feeding utensils, sometimes have a miraculous effect.
Choose a large and flat plate
Large, wide and flat food utensils will make it easier for cats to eat and avoid whisker fatigue.
Prop up the cat bowl
Add a base or rest to the bottom of the bowl so your cat doesn't have to put its head down to get to the food.
A little thought on the eating utensils may work wonders.
Use your hands to feed
Yes, you can try cupping or squeezing the food in your hand and using a gentle voice to praise and encourage the cat to eat, many cats are willing to eat in this state instead.
The fat cow in the back is going to cry with craving.
This is not pretentious oh, sick cats may need special pampering, just may develop a habit to eat so after.
Wipe some on the cat's mouth
Sometimes the cat can not smell the food and is not interested, you can wipe some on the side of TA's mouth, and let the cat lick to eat, maybe after the initiative to eat.
Third trick to eat more: medication
At this point, there may be no other way out, please make sure to do it under medical advice.
Vitamin B supplementation
Eating or subcutaneous or intravenous injection of some vitamin B can have the effect of improving appetite. It can also be used as a nutritional supplement for cats with average appetite in general.
Medications, especially prescription medications, can be more effective in stimulating cats with long-term chronic illnesses that result in a lack of appetite, but there are usually some side effects and some can cause counter-effects, so be cautious. And do not use them for a long time unless necessary.
Eventually, manual feeding or incubation may be required
How to say, as a last resort, Tran Chi still does not recommend the use of artificial feeding methods, because for some cats, if they resist too much, it will instead lead to stress reactions and even failure to return to normal feeding.
However, if necessary, please make the food as fine a paste as possible and pour it down slowly with a syringe or feeder several times a day to avoid choking and coughing.
Manual feeding requires patience and some skill.
For cats in the late stages of chronic illness who refuse to eat, you may want to consider a cervical esophageal tube or a pharyngeal feeding tube, which is not as scary as you might think and is less irritating to the cat.
A cat with an esophageal tube
Surgery under general anesthesia is required
After a successful surgery, daily feeding can be saved a lot of trouble
Of course, I hope we never have to go this far.
Finally, I wish all cats a good appetite, always eat well, and don't let them worry!
About the Creator
Taufik Olu
Money is round. It rolls away.
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