Spook won't eat her jelly-meat.

[Janeyk]

I agree with not letting her get at foods other than her own, sounds like a case of forbidden fruit! which can't be that good for her.  I would stick to cat food and just give her bits of chicken, fish or other meats you may have left over as treats.

[mallory]

Arggg! Spook is such a freak!  I've tried banning her from having people food, and she's been in a snit all week. I got home yesterday from my doctors appointment, and I found several bloody dark gobbets on the kitchen floor.... I had no idea what she'd been into - she's an inside cat, so hunting was doubtful, but I wondered if there had been a mouse or something. Then Spook finished her greeting dance (involves much head-butting and ankle-hugging, to the tune of frantic don't-ever-leave-me-again meows) and exhibited her new occupation to me. She hauled herself up onto the clothes-basket, jumped over to the radiator, walked along it, and stood on tiptoes to pull herself up onto the counter-top. She's never done that before - she can't jump well, so I didn't think she could get up there.  Once on the counter-top, she bounded happily over to... the fruitbowl. A fruitbowl of now somewhat-mangled fruit. So much for her no-human-food diet. Spook then proceded to daintily pick a cherry up by the stem, then bat it around the bench and down onto the floor, where she settled to enthusiasticly chomp it to death.  Each bloody lump turned out to be a well-chewed cherry. 

I've now dismantled her access route, and Spook is once again being subjected to the cruel deprivation of nutritionally-balanced kitten food.  She watches me intently whenever I enter the kitchen, and makes begging meows whenever I get food. Cutting up a papaya in front of her provokes the most frantic of meows and leg hugging, and desperate attempts to climb the kitchen cabinets. Poor baby.  I feel very mean having it in front of her and not sharing, but it's one of my favorite foods too!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Now she has eaten , I think you can give it a couple more days for her to eat normally again 

Afraid she has you trained and under all four paws and its time for you to crawl out from at least one 

[mallory]

Update:

Spook has now pooped, and eaten about half her usual meal, so I'm somewhat relieved.  Following the 'no human food' advice, I didn't let her taste my dinner, whereupon she bit my ankle and went off back to her own dinner (I thought). It turns out she in fact went to raid the kitchen rubbishbin so she could investigate the food wrappers and scraps. Apart from her few favorites, she usually just wants to have a good sniff and maybe lick things - I give her maybe a teaspoonful to investigate so she'll leave my plate alone.  This is the first time she's actually rejected her own food though... I'm going to have to train her better. And get a stronger rubbishbin.

Cat food is supposted to be nutritionally complete for them, and she's getting wet and dry food. Is there any chance there's something missing from her diet that's provoking the odd behaviour?

If she's not back on her food properly by tomorrow, she will have to endure the trauma that is the vet. *sigh* Last time I took her to be vaccinated, she decided that she didn't like the new vet, and climbed into my handbag to hide.

[Millys Mum]

Is it a prescription worm treatment or something from the supermarket?
Get her checked over at the vets for this behaviour and its also an opportunity to discuss neutering her 

[Gillian Harvey]

Yes I agree, she really needs checking at the vets first of all.  She shouldnt be having things like dried fruit, tea and other human food, so I'd stop giving her plates of things like that right away as you are only encouraging abnormal eating behaviour.

The only appropriate food out of that list you posted is the turkey, so I'd start from there and gradually re-introduce normal cat food to a meal of the cooked turkey until she is eating a suitable nutritionally balanced cat food. Cooked turkey on its own is not nutritionally balanced either, so the sooner you getting her eating proper cat food the better.

[Dawn F]

could she be filling herself up on human food??

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I would have her checked out by the vet cos if a cat is not eating for two days this becomes serious if it goes on any longer.

[mitch]

That sounds highly odd. As regards the vegetarian suggestion, cats cannot survive on fruit and vegetables. They need, amongst other things, taurine in their diet.

I would find that behaviour quite worrying in one of my cats. Have you tried her on other food? Perhaps she'd prefer some dried food? I have one who won't eat anything but biscuits (despite having barely any teeth, but that's cats for you). It is odd that she's not eating what she usually relishes and is craving unusual foods. I wonder if she's trying to make herself sick? I'd be tempted to nip to the vets if she hasn't had any proper food for that long.

[mallory]

Spook the weird is being weird again.  She's refusing to eat anything except a little dried fruit, some fresh papaya, kitty treats and wheatgrass, for the past 2 days, ever since I put the spot-on worming medication on her. I've used it on her before with no problem.  She also hasn't pooped in 2 days.  She keeps demanding food, but when I put it out for her (the same food as ever) she won't eat it.  The wheatgrass consumption isn't necessarily indicative of her feeling sick - it's her favorite thing. She's like a little rabbit, and will eat as much as I grow for her.

Does it sound like something's really wrong, or is she just being weird? I thought there was something wrong with her, or her food, but I've opened new packets of food, and she's eating... just not a cat-appropriate diet.  Otherwise she's acting as normal as she ever does, and she doesn't seem to be in distress.  Do cats suddenly decide to go vegetarian?

By the way... I know it sounds strange that she's getting dried fruit and papaya.  That's what I've been eating, and she comes along and snitches it. Despite what people say about cats and citrus, she particularly seems to love the mixed peel.  (A love of lemon isn't new for her, she also likes lemon-drizzle cake, and lemon in her tea.)
Yes, Spook the Spoilt does get regular 'people food'.  She trained me more effectively than I trained her, and we have reached a compromise where-by, if she is given her own little saucer with a taste of people food, she'll leave our plates and cups alone. Usually she just wants to sniff it, or lick it a bit, but sometimes she eats it and demands more. Her favorite things are lemon-drizzle cake, papaya, peaches, strawberries, roast turkey, anzac biscuits and homous. She likes tea with lemon - no milk or sugar, she will drink herbal tea, except for chamomile, and she doesn't like coffee, though she does like to be given a coffee bean to play with if I have them. She won't touch dairy products, seafood, or anything chocolate.