7 Reasons Your Cat Won't Eat ...

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When cats get sick, they don’t feel like eating, just like most humans. They could have a sinus infection or some other type of internal infection that you aren’t able to see. It’s hard to get excited about food when you don’t feel 100 percent. If you suspect some type of infection that is severe enough to warrant antibiotics, be sure to make an appointment for your cat to see a veterinarian.

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Sometimes cats just don’t feel like eating. Haven’t you ever felt that way? There’s just no desire to even get excited over the thought of food and it’s as simple as that. Give your cat some time. You can’t expect him to eat when you want him to. Humans can often be talked into eating, even when they aren’t hungry. Cats, on the other hand, can’t be talked into doing anything they don’t want to do. Most cat owners know that their feline definitely has a mind of his own.

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Take a close look at your cat. Some injuries are hard to find. I remember when one of my cats got in a fight with the neighbor cat, but I didn’t know he had gotten injured from it right away. He actually had a puncture wound that was hard to see under his fur. Cats are very clean, so he had taken care of any blood that would have otherwise been noticeable on the surface. I poured some peroxide on the wound every few hours for a day and then twice a day after that. The wound cleared up on its own and my cat was back to his old ornery self in no time.

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I apply flea medicine to my cats each month. They usually all do well with it and don’t have a reaction. I can’t apply the medicine between the shoulder blades as suggested, since all of my cats tend to lick it off. I had quite a few sick cats at one time, due to all the licking of flea medication. Poor things. It wasn’t serious enough that any of them were ill for more than a day, but what a fiasco. Each of my cats that had ingested the flea medicine had their inner eyelid showing. This is that inner part of the eye that is exposed often when cats are very ill.

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The heat takes a toll on us all. I know I eat a lot less in the summer time, due to the excessive heat. My cats are the same way. They are more content to find a cool place and eat in the early morning or late evening when the weather is cooler. I usually leave food out for them to snack on when they come in. If I try to get them to eat during the heat of the day, they simply look at me as if I’ve lost my mind. I can sometimes entice them to take a drink of some cold milk, but that’s about it. They would much rather lay next to their water bowl that I just dumped a tray of ice cubes into.

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Cats don’t usually seem to be bothered by much. I do have a couple of cats that get depressed when there are too many changes going on around the house. One of them gets depressed at the sight of cardboard boxes being packed. Both times that I’ve been packing to move, the poor guy became depressed and would simply sit in one of the cardboard boxes all day. He wouldn’t come out to eat for anything. He did this even when I was only packing a few boxes to put into storage. My other cat gets depressed whenever my husband or I have to leave for a couple of days. He seems to want us both at home. He will often mope around the house for an entire day before he decides he’ll eat.

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There are tons of things that can upset a cat’s stomach; getting vaccines, a change in food, car rides, unfamiliar people, and too many snacks. If any of these situations have recently taken place, then be sure to keep an eye on your cat. Refusal of food is common when you see your cat munching on grass. Cats do this to relieve their upset stomach. Some might feel better after their grass remedy, while others will still refuse to eat for the rest of the day.

There are more than 7 reasons your cat won’t eat, but these are the most common ones I’ve come across with my own feline companions. Do you have any other reasons that you think cat owners should be aware of? Please feel free to share them and be sure to tell us what you did to entice your cat to start eating again.

Top Photo Credit: Cuba Gallery