Basil has stopped eating

[Lesley Frankie]

Thanks for the responses. I have checked his mouth by gently feeling along the outside of his gums plus I checked his tongue. Other that a gust of sardine-breath, he seems ok. My suspicion is either an upset tummy or mouth problems. Anyway, he will be under strict observation today, plus I will try him with smelly food a few times and hope it's nothing serious.

[swampmaxmum]

sounds like you are doing the right thing. If you are around today, you could try him with something he likes and that's smelly (in case he's got a cold brewing) little and often and smooth it out so it's really easy to eat. A couple of teaspoons on a hand held plate (or spoon, even) every 3 hours adds up to enough to keep him going for a day or two. I would take him to the vet tomorrow if he doesn't eat or hardly anything goes down today. Hope it's just a temporary thing and he's feeling better and eating well again very soon.

[Teresa Pawcats]

It could be that his mouth is sore esp if he is sneezing, can you check his tongue for ulcers? Think vet visit is a good idea

[Lesley Frankie]

Thanks for the response, no I don't think he's being fed elsewhere as everyone knows he's our cat. I also doubt that he is eating anything he has caught as he's not much of a hunter although anything's possible. That's why I'm gong to keep him indoors today and tonight to ensure he can only eat what is here. I'll take him to the vet tomorrow if necessary.

[Maddiesmum]

Could one of your neighbours be feeding him do you think?  Otherwise a quick trip to the vet might be in order to nip anything harbouring in the bud

[Lesley Frankie]

Yesterday I noticed that Basil did not seem to eat or drink anything. Normally when he returns home from being out overnight, he wants to eat but I don't think he did yesterday morning.  He definitely did not eat anything later in the day- I keep dry food out for him and Ollie so they can help themselves, then they get wet food twice daily. This morning, he came in and turned up his nose at his usual food and went straight to bed. I then put some sardines on a saucer and stuck it under his nose and he ate a few mouthfuls but that's all.  I know that cats can become very ill if they don't eat for a few days so I want to be sure to get this sorted so if he goes without eating today, I'll take him to the vet. He would normally have a long nap in the morning and go out during the afternoon for a few hours but yesterday, he came back in very quickly and went back to bed! The only other thing that I did notice was that on Monday, I heard him sneeze a few times so perhaps he has lost his sense of taste?  I don't think he eats anything outside, but I'm going to keep him indoors for as long as it takes to sort him out. I just wondered if there is anything obvious that I should be doing?