Why is my cat suddenly refusing to eat his normal food?

Question

Why is my cat suddenly refusing to eat his normal food?

Answer 1

Could be because his mouth hurts, he could have an upper respiratory and can't smell his food, or you changed the brand of food on him too fast.

Need more details to this question to get more specific.

Answer 2

My cat stopped eating, and had to be put to sleep 2 weeks later from mouth ulcers. I suggest if he doesn't eat in a day or two, call the vet!

Answer 3

Give him some hard crunchy treats that you know he likes. That'll let you know if there's a problem with his mouth or teeth that you can't see on visual inspection. If he's just being finicky, he'll eat when he gets hungry enough.  

Answer 4

depends whether the cat just does not want to eat a particular food (because of taste or the food can be spoiled) or refuses to eat anything. animals usually refuse to eat when they are sick. you should take it the vet just to make sure.

Answer 5

thats what happens to my dogs

you should have your cat try new cat food for a while

Answer 6

Without more detail, it's impossible to say.  Even with more detail it's only going to be a guess.

It could just be one of those things.  Cats sometimes do decide they no longer like what they've been happily eating all along.  

It might not be feeling well.  My girls have gone off their food for 24 hours or so and then they go right back to it.

It could be dental related.  The food could be bad - you might have gotten a bad batch or something got into an open bag/can or something like that.

My suggestion is to observe your cat's behavior and respond accordingly.  If it's hiding it's probably ill.  If it's drooling it could be dental.  If it seems to want to eat, but just not what you've offered, it might just want something else to eat.

Whatever it is, be sure to take care of it quickly because it's very dangerous for cats to go much longer than 24 hours without eating.

Answer 7

Hello,

What kind of cat food do the cat eat hard or soft? Cats sometime take their precious time to eat,so be patient with it. I usually feed my cat hard food and as a treat give her the soft food to eat.Offer the cat both types of food and see what happens.

Answer 8

Cats can be very picky. It is not unusual for my cat to sniff of his food and walk away. Have you tried a different food? For the longest time, my cat would only eat the flaked food in "sauce" or "gravy", now he likes the solid type. He will eat chicken tuna and salmon, but not beef of 'mixed grill'  If he won't eat at all,even real tuna or salmon, have him checked.