Feeding Habits

[greenkitty]

I'm just interested to hear thoughts on this...

Noodley seems to go through funny eating phases where she goes off her food. She will only eat Gourmet reliably so that’s what she gets, she also likes the Lily’s Kitchen dry nibbles so she get those too. I opened a new tube of LK at the weekend and she won’t eat it. Bought the tins of Gourmet rather than the sachets both of which she normally eats but she is barely eating half a tin.

I wonder why it is she seems to go through these cycles of not eating every few months? I’ve taken her to the vet twice now when she’s had these episodes and they can’t find anything wrong either…
Totally normal in all other respects, her gums look ok (she had most of her teeth removed a few years ago), very cuddly, very playful (Christmas tree decorations on the floor again this morning) but just her appetite is off. I think she is hungry, she goes to her spot in the kitchen at meal times as usual.

Any thoughts?

[bobbys girl]

It is a puzzle isn't it?

Gracie will quite often sit next to the twin bowls we have in the hall (wet food in one dry in the other). There is often some food in both, but she sits there pleading, head on one side. I use to think perhaps she is telling me the food isn't fresh enough. But then Bobby will elbow her out of the way and scoff the lot. I wish I knew what she was telling me.

The other 2 girls sometimes go off a food that they previously loved - usually when I've just bought a fresh batch!

[Janey]

Someone I know has a cat who is just like this, he went off his food then he's been eating fine for a few weeks, now off it again. Like you she can't find out why either. I've also experienced this with some cats too.

[greenkitty]

That's reassuring, perhaps it just a thing some cats do.

[JulieandBarney]

Barney does this with amazing regularity !! Most times he has the appetite of a horse, then on other occasions he will look at his bowl of food, then back at me, as though to say " You needn't think I'm eating THAT !!" then struts away in disgust... even though it's the exact same food he wolfed down earlier in the day....!!x

[greenkitty]

It's the cycle that confuses me, we'll be going along fine for a couple of months and then she'll stop, be off everything for a week or so and then be ok again. Very odd.

[Crewella]

Peaches wouldn't exactly go off her food, but she did go through phases of not finishing her food and leaving about a quarter in her bowl, mainly the dry. They all do that to some degree in the summer when it's hot, but this was definitely different, any time of year, and would last 4/5 days before she went back to scoffing the lot at high speed and then sidling up to Daz's bowl, purring and trying (definitely succeeding) to look cute and distract him so she could snaffle the rest of his!