For HippyKitty - HL

[Desley (booktigger)]

I Was close!! Not 100% sure on that, i know when I first took Tom for his weigh in, I was told that I couldn't reduce his food by more than 15% as it could cause a shock to his system and then cause health issues - but HL is more common in overweight cats, normal weight cats dont have the fat stores to send to the liver, as it is that that causes it, unlike humans and dogs, the cats liver can't process it, and just stores it up - hence it's other name, fatty liver disease. I dont actually know how it would affect them in the wild, all the articles I have read are only about domestic cats - it is one of the biggest health issues in cats in North America.

[Hippykitty]

Desley (it's Catherine), does this still apply if the cats are nibbling reluctantly at food, but not eating normally? I suppose in this case they are getting some nutrition and not relying upon fat stores entirely. As Ela says, a fussy cat (which mine are) will sniff (or nibble) then walk away.

That's the great thing about having cats who are normally piglets: a complete refusal to eat indicates illness.

Thanks for the info.
But how do wild (not feral) cats cope if they don't make a kill for a few days?

Needless to say, I NEVER starve my moggies. I love to see them eating and purring!

[Ela]

if you know your cats well, you can normally tell if they are refusing food cos they are just being fussy or not - t

Absolutely, if they are being fussy they usually  will go up to the food sniff it and look up and say mum I don't want this, I am sick of it then beg for more  food.
If they are not well the cat will either stay put or walk to the food then just walk away.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I can see HippyKittys point of view (is your name Katherine?), if you know your cats well, you can normally tell if they are refusing food cos they are just being fussy or not - the reason for this thread was to show that HL can develop sooner than 2 weeks of not eating, so as much as I might know mine are being fussy, I wouldn't leave it more than a day before offering something else, esp when I have overweight cats in.

[forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa)]

yea i agree , it usaully means they r poorly if they r off there food

my cats r totally obsessed with eating  so if one was sudenly off there food id worry

[Ela]

he general behaviour of Tango suggests that he was ill - hiding etc. Cats often have hot ears when they have a temperature (unless they've been sitting infront of a warm fire!).
I think there's a difference between illness and fussiness.

Tricky (got it right this time) was not hiding just resting in a different place than normal but  in my full view. Often the cats that I have taken to the vets because of a gut feeling have shown absolutely no sign to  indicate a high temperature.

In any case I would rather be called fussy than delay treatment  or lose a cat   because I waited till tomorrow. As it happens to date only once in all the years have I ever taken a cat to the vet and nothing could be found, and in that case the cat did come down with something a couple of days later and was very ill, so again I picked up on something before the cat actually shown signs.

[Ela]

I must have been having a really bad day (whats new) where did I get Tango from ,Tango was my little one I adopted from the Isle of Man in 1986 and lost a while ago. It was Tricky who I was writing about.

[Hippykitty]

At the moment P and S won't eat anything but Whiskas Chicken Supermeat. Unfortunately, my local shop ran out of it a few days ago and I had to give them Felix. You should've seen the looks of disgust! They nibbled, walked away, then went back a few hours later for another disgusted nibble, but wouldn't finish it. I let this go on for a couple of days then scoured the area for a shop which sold their fave. I knew they weren't ill, just put out by the food-type.
Ela, the general behaviour of Tango suggests that he was ill - hiding etc. Cats often have hot ears when they have a temperature (unless they've been sitting infront of a warm fire!).
I think there's a difference between illness and fussiness.

Your point about the change of ingredients brings to mind a huge row one of my friend, Rebekah, had with Whiskas. She had 5 cats at the time (only 4 now ) and they'd all started refusing it. The smell of the food had changed also. I tried the variety and mine wouldn't touch it; so she phoned the company, who admitted to changing the recipe. Not being a person to take things lying down, she demanded her money back!
 

[Ela]

But I don't panic because they've refused food for a day or so.

I would as there are many other reasons a cat may be refusing food other than just changing types. it could be just a coincidence that on the day you changed type the cat was ill with something else. If my cat refused food I would offer it something else I knew it liked  (like Tuna) to ensure it was just a fad and not telling me mum I am ill.  E.G. One cat Tango a huge Tabby was about 16  and he  looked so well there was absolutely no hint there was anything wrong. He ate his breakfast as normal on the Saturday, come Saturday tea time I put his food out and he just sat in a different place than normal and did not go to his food. I just knew all was not well, so I rang the vet who was still at the surgery and he asked me to bring Tango straight down. Tango was a little feisty to say the least and so the vet sedated him slightly to give him a thorough MOT and there at the back of his throat was a large tumour.   Honestly it was one of my biggest shocks as he looked so well.

Other times a cat has not eaten for no apparrant reason, I have taken it to the vets and it has been found to have a very high temperature or something, I would rather nip things in the bud.

Also occasionally makers change the ingredients slightly and that puts off the cats, I go off different foods so I would not necessarily expect my little ones to like the same food forever.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Pebbles would also rather starve herself than eat certain foods - when I first got her, she wouldn't touch wet food at all, it was a struggle finding one she would eat. And she would only eat about 3 brands of dry too. I will allow my cats to miss 2 meals, but after that I tend to relent - esp when I had Tom, as he was so overweight, he would have been a prime candidate for it.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

You are lucky then Hippy cos my cat Kocka was willing to starve herself to death rather than eat food she didnt want

[Hippykitty]

Thanks, I've briefly read and bookmarked these.
Surely, african jungle cats (from whom the domestic cat originates) frequently fails to catch prey for several days? In fact I've seen some 'natural diets for cats' (popular in the 80s) which advocated a one day fast per week for cats.
I have never subscribed to the notion of deliberately fasting cats, but believe that if I KNOW why my cats are refusing food (such as a change from satchet to tinned food) then it's best to ignore their emotional blackmail, knowing that they will eat when hungry. But if one of my cats stops eating for no known reason, I'll treat for furball then take her to the vet if she doesn't respond.
But I don't panic because they've refused food for a day or so.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Couldnt remember which thread we were talking about it on, couple of links showing it can occur sooner than 2 weeks of not eating

http://www.healthypet.com/library_view.aspx?ID=42&sid=2

http://www.hhpcc.org/happenings/ocnode01/hepatic.html