Cat Chat Feline Forum

Mama Cass has gone off her food. We were feeding her 30g biscuits twice a day with a little meat on top on a morning (less slugs about than on an evening). This week she had decided to only eat the meat. I feel bad not offering an alternative, but I don't really want to go down that route with any of our cats, least of all our 'garden cat' as I call her. We've fed her this for well over a year with no bother (and I have another 3 bags of it!)
She has not been living in her kennel this winter either, although she always appears for her meals or when we call so I don't think she has found another home.
Is it mean to just keep offering the same food? Could it be a sign she is poorly (goodness knows how I'd catch her to get to the vets if she is)? She still appears at meal times every day and will eat the meat and maybe a little biscuit but looks most put out if there is no meat!

If she's happily eaten the same food for a while I would be tempted to try something else. That way you will have a better idea whether she has genuinely gone off food. If this is the case, is she I'll or is she eating elsewhere?

Does she look ok?

I know what you mean about getting hold of her to take her to the vet. I used to have the same concerns with my two former outside cats before we all bit the bullet! I must admit, I often question whether Squeak would have been better off semi-feral. She still gets bullied to some extent by Tips.

Val and the gang x

She's the fattest feral I've ever seen, mostly fluff I imagine but she has very chunky ankles, she can certainly go a day or two of being picky without suffering. We've seen her eating rats in the garden too (a month or two ago) so it could be that she's still hunting while the weather is fairly mild and do just not hungry.

Is it possible she has dodgy teeth, or might have broken one? The first sign of one of mine needing a dental was going off the dry food. I agree it might be worth trying a few foods to see if it's particular foods or if she's off food in general.

I agree with Val that it's worth trying her with something else to find out whether she really has gone off food. It could be that she's decided she prefers meat now. Or, dare I say it, she could have a tooth problem Hopefully not.

(Just seen Helen's post)

The little monkey; I did a test today. This morning she got 30g of the usual food with some meat on but I also added a bit of extra gravy from the boys breakfast and a bit of water, stirred it all round and fed her that, she polished it off except a few bits of biscuit.
Tonight I gave her 30g Royal Canin Siamese. The pieces are large so she would have had to crunch it, she's polished the lot off in record time! Now I'm a bit late in tonight and it's really cold so she might have been really hungry, but I'm guessing her teeth are fine if she's crunched through that lot so easily.

So what do I do with a fussy feral? I don't really want to feed her RC, it's quite expensive!

What a relief!

I think you probably know the answer to your question

Hmmm. At least it looks like she's OK.

LOL. She's got you now, Hazel!

Do you think they could have changed the ingredients to the biscuits?.... i know sometimes Felix etc smells different and sure manufacturers they change/add something ....bit like the Cadburys Eggs !!! bother at the moment.

Fussy ferel....you are not alone, Luca had a large ready roasted chicken bought yesterday AGAIN, but i work out that if he turns his nose up at lots of things i offer and loves his chicken ( only roasted mind) in long run it works out nearly same as box of cat food .. and i know he is getting food.

Hey don't be giving her ideas, I'm not roasting chicken for her!