Reduced appetite in cats

Your cat may eat less or stop eating for a variety of reasons. Most cats have the occasional ‘off’ days when they don’t eat or finish their dinner. But not eating can signal more serious concerns and should be investigated by a vet.

Eating less or not eating is also called anorexia or poor appetite. It suggests your cat either can’t eat or doesn’t want to eat. The causes may vary from simple dislike of the food on offer, to serious dental disease or an underlying illness. Treatment and outlook depend on why your cat won’t eat. Always speak to a vet if your cat stops eating or if they’re eating less for more than a day, especially if it’s accompanied by other symptoms.

What to do

What to do if your cat has a reduced appetite

Find out whether they:

Want to eat but physically can’t
Don’t want to eat /aren’t interested
Are being prevented from eating
Are acting normally or have any other symptoms

And also:

Check they’ve not been fed elsewhere
Consider whether they could have started hunting or hunting more
Check their mouth for evidence of injuries or broken teeth. But don’t get bitten!
Make sure they’re drinking
Check your cat food is in date and looks/smells as it should
Check they haven’t eaten anything they shouldn’t
Check side effects of any new medicine to see if they include tummy upsets
Check your cat’s weight as an indication of more severe problems
If you have more than one cat, check that they all get equal opportunity to feed

Causes

Common causes of reduced appetite in cats

Feeling hungry is a natural response to the body’s need for the energy and nutrients in food. The body sends messages to the brain to trigger hunger when it needs energy and building materials. Hunger is a ‘biological’ need.

Appetite is different. It’s the desire to eat. Appetite can be closely tied to hunger. But other factors, including emotions, behaviour and environment, can also affect appetite. Many cats come looking for food even when they’ve just been fed. They can’t be ‘hungry’.

Possible reasons for:

Reduced hunger – less need for fuel:

Ageing – older cats need less food
Reduced activity or convalescing
Neutering (although appetite behaviour may not change in some cats, resulting in weight gain)

Reduced awareness of hunger – the brain fails to register need for fuel and/or to trigger appetite:

Brain injury
Dementia

Reduced appetite – real or apparent loss of interest in food:

Eaten too many treats between meals
Hunting and eating live prey
Holding out for something better!
Overfeeding
Severe pain anywhere in the body, such as arthritis

Feeling nauseous – ‘real’ loss of interest or aversion to food:

Tummy bugs
Hair balls
Illness; especially pancreatitis, cancer, liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease
Infection – cat bite abscesses or fight wounds, urinary tract infections
Certain medicines – some painkillers and antibiotics
Balance problems – vestibular disease

Wanting to eat but can’t – physically struggling or unable to eat, though hunger and appetite are unchanged:

Severe dental disease and tooth injuries
Ulcers on tongue or throat (stomatitis)
Muscle or jaw weakness
Nerve problems causing swallowing difficulties or weakness
Chewing pain – pain in the ‘hinge joint’ of the jaw or severe middle ear pain
Traumatic injury – broken jaw
Foreign body in mouth
Neck pain – unable to lower head to food bowls
Cancer of mouth, throat or jaw

When to worry

When to worry if your cat’s appetite is reduced

If your cat isn’t eating, it’s always best to talk to your vet.

This is particularly urgent if your cat is:

Not eating anything and/or not interested in food
Losing weight
Acting differently – cats won’t make it obvious when they’re in pain, so look out for changes in behaviour or habits
Wanting to eat but can’t
Dropping food or eating on one side
Showing other symptoms- vomiting, diarrhoea, changes in drinking habits
Developing jaundice – a yellow tinge to their gums or the whites of their eyes

Prevention

Tips to reduce some preventable causes of reduced appetite in cats

Keep your cats mouth healthy with good dental preventive care, including brushing your cat’s teeth and regular vet checks
Feed a balanced diet appropriate for your cats age and lifestyle
Feed healthy treats in moderation
Regularly groom long-haired cats to reduce risk of hairballs, and use a hairball preventive/treatment like Katalax if your cat does get hairballs.
Worm your cat regularly to reduce the risk of tummy upsets (and more!) from worms
Keep your cat up to date with their vaccines

Our Joii vets are available 24 hours a day for advice, call us now if you have any concerns about your cat.

Diagnosis

Things to look out for if your cat isn’t eating

Clues that your cat is eating less than usual, and the possible causes include:

Being quieter than usual and/or becoming withdrawn
Overgrooming
Spending longer outdoors hunting
Drooling saliva
Going to food bowl and walking away
Taking longer to eat or eating on one side of the mouth
Dropping food
Leaving food
Not asking for food at regular mealtimes
Losing weight
Having low energy

Home treatment

How to help with a reduced appetite at home

If your cat is eating less, it’s important to find out why.

Depending on the causes of eating less, the following measures may help to resolve the issue. Or at least help your cat to cope while the underlying problem is investigated and treated.

Making sure your cat continues to drink water to prevent dehydration.
Offering special sugar and salt solutions for cats while they aren’t eating. These are available to buy in pet shops or online. Or ask a vet for a suitable home recipe for your cat.
Offering softer food if your cat is struggling to chew or dropping food.
Feeding warm tempting foods, like chicken and rice. Possibly adding salt-free gravy. Warming food heightens the smell, making it more appealing to cats. Especially good for cats who are recovering from surgery or an illness:
Offering food by hand to encourage your cat to first start eating
Treating for hairballs
Feeding Hills Prescription Diet a/d to support recovery
Reviewing feeding requirements as your cat gets older or has other illnesses

Vet treatment

How can vets help cats with a reduced appetite?

When your cat is eating less or not eating, your vet will aim to find and treat the underlying cause.

This means:

Treating underlying illnesses
Carrying out dental surgery
Repairing fractures/injuries

This is usually enough to restore appetite. But if appetite is still poor despite treatment, vets may use the following for a short time to help improve or kick-start eating:

Appetite stimulants: mirtazapine, cyproheptadine, capromorelin
Anti-sickness/anti-nausea medicine: maropitant, omeprazole, ondansetron
Pain relief
Prescription diets
Feeding tubes: nutrition is an essential part of recovering from acute illness. If your cat hasn’t started eating again, your vet may place a feeding tube. Feeding tubes take liquidised concentrated food directly to the stomach. The tube is removed once your cat starts eating again by themselves.

Risk

Are some cats at more risk of a reduced appetite?

Cats who are most likely to stop eating or refuse food include:

Older cats
Cats who go outdoors
Cats with other illnesses- heart disease, kidney disease, pancreatitis
Cats who scavenge – risk losing their appetite because of eating things that cause tummy upsets
Long-haired cats are prone to hairballs
Cats with dental disease