cat forgot how to eat

13 years ago

I've noticed for some time my cat's dry food bowl has a lot of broken pieces in it. She's lost a lot of weight in the last year and I'm now paying a lot of attention to what and how she eats.

Vet says she has bad teeth but nothing that'd be painful or discourage eating, and in fact when she's in the mood for dry food she crunches it just fine. Bloodwork says thyroid is normal, kidneys a little high but normal for an older cat.

I'm feeding her wet food now and she has done almost no vomiting in the month she's been eating that. That's an improvement. She was a frequent puker on dry food alone.

Problem is, no matter what she eats, dry or wet, hardly any of it ends up down her throat. The dry she'll crunch on and leave lots of pieces in the bowl. Wet she'll push around and mash her mouth into, and mash around in her mouth, but after several minutes of this almost all of it is still in the bowl. Semi-wet, the stuff that has the consistency of tuna, she'll push around and appear to be eating, but some just falls out of her mouth, and after several minutes most is still in the bowl.

It's like she's forgotten how to swallow. Sometimes she's able to get down food and other times she works at it but leaves most in her bowl.

It helps to elevate the bowl, and I've even held it up and at an angle for her. This encourages her to try, but she isn't any more successful.

Any suggestions?

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Comments (5)

amyhughes
Original Author
13 years ago
Other vet-related things...

She had a cancerous mass removed from her paw, and two toes amputated. Testing shows they got it all. She was x-rayed to see if there was any signs the cancer had spread. X-rays are fine.

Her poop is a beautiful, long tootsy-roll, good color, but infrequent because she eats so little. She doesn't struggle any more than usual. She drinks well.
laurief_gw
13 years ago
Have you considered an endoscopy to see if there are any anomalies in her throat that could be causing the problem? That's the next step I'd take, I think.

You could also provide food that she doesn't have to chew at all. Mix canned food into a thick gruel with a little hot water. If you do this in a kitchen blender, even better, because it will create a smooth, thick gruel that won't separate as it sits.

Laurie
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annzgw
13 years ago
Ditto what laurie said. There are canned cat foods that have a pate consistency but if she has a favorite brand, put it in a blender as mentioned above. Since she drinks with no problem, I'd offer her some canned food that is almost in liquid form. Broth could be used to thin it down.
With her cancer history I'd be concerned something is going on in her throat. X-rays can't see everything............
calliope
13 years ago
How old is she? My 1 yo female did the same thing after her companion male cat died. I found evidence of an intestinal parasite as well and you'd think that would spur her appetite, but it had quite the opposite effect, evidently. Yes on the pate food, and add liquid to it to make a gruel. Feed in small amounts and give her an uninterrupted space and time to be with it. My female can ignore her food at the slightest distraction. But if I put her in a quiet place of the house with it and keep her confined, she seems to 'discover' it again and it's gone. She's also hideously finicky and it had to be a certain brand of pate. It's the only kind she's the least bit interested in. Cats can be finicky to distraction and it seems the longer they are off food, they harder it is to cultivate an appetite or interest in it. It's the first symptom something is amiss. She may have something going on she can't smell it. If it doesn't register to the nose, they aren't interested. I know tuna is bad for a cat as a regular diet, but it won't hurt her to try a little canned in water to see if she's even interested. It smells strong enough, it usually elicits some sort of response. You can at least tell if she's even interested in eating that way and go from there. I used a really stinky pate for my female.
cyalexa
13 years ago
Dental x-rays (taken with a dental unit, not a regular x-ray machine) would be a good idea. There are fairly common problems in the feline mouth that cannot be seen without x-rays. If her teeth are bad they should be treated. I have seen quite a few cats have a big improvement in the quality of their life after their periodontal disease and "bad teeth" were treated. Most cities have at least one and usually several veterinarians that are interested in dentistry and have the necessary equipment and properly trained staff.