Cat Not Eating? Causes and When to See a Vet

A cat missing one meal is not usually a crisis. A cat who has eaten nothing since yesterday is a different matter, and cats are the species where waiting costs the most.

Dogs tolerate a day off food reasonably well. Cats do not. When a cat stops eating, the body starts moving fat to the liver faster than the liver can process it, and that can develop into a serious condition of its own. So the not-eating stops being only a symptom and becomes a second problem stacked on the first.

Why cats stop eating

Owners often reach for fussiness first. In practice, a cat who has previously eaten well and suddenly refuses food is usually telling you about pain or nausea.

• Dental and mouth pain: a painful tooth or ulcerated gum makes chewing unbearable
• Nausea from kidney disease, liver disease or gastrointestinal upset
• Pancreatitis, which is easy to miss in cats because the signs are vague
• A blocked nose from a respiratory infection: a cat will not eat what it cannot smell
• Something swallowed that should not have been, including thread or string
• Pain anywhere else in the body, including arthritis and injury
• Stress: a house move, building work, a new animal, or a change of food or bowl

The respiratory one is worth dwelling on, because it is both common and easy to help. Cats rely on smell far more than taste. A cat with a congested nose can be hungry and still walk away from the bowl. Warmed, strongly scented food sometimes bridges the gap while the infection is treated.

What to watch alongside the appetite

Appetite on its own tells a veterinarian less than appetite in context. Before you get in touch, note:

• Exactly when they last ate properly, and whether they are drinking
• Whether they are using the litter tray, and what the output looks like
• Any vomiting, retching, drooling, or pawing at the mouth
• Whether they are hiding, or sitting hunched rather than curled
• Yellowing of the gums, eyes or the skin inside the ears
• Any weight loss you can feel over the spine and hips

Hiding is not sulking. A cat that has taken itself somewhere quiet and dark is usually a cat that feels unwell.

Signs that mean go now, not later

• Not eating combined with repeated vomiting or retching
• Yellow tint to the gums, the whites of the eyes, or the ear skin
• Straining in the litter tray with little or no urine, particularly in a male cat
• Open-mouth breathing, or breathing that looks like effort
• Collapse, or a cat who cannot be roused properly
• A kitten who has refused food for more than about twelve hours

What a veterinarian will want to work out

The question is not simply how to get food in. It is what stopped the eating. That usually means examining the mouth, feeling the abdomen, checking hydration and temperature, and often blood or urine tests to look at the kidneys, liver and blood sugar.

If you are unsure whether this needs an examination today, an online consultation is a reasonable first step: describing the timeline to a veterinarian will get you a straight answer about urgency. For a cat who has eaten nothing for a day or more, expect that answer to be a clinic visit.