Why Does My Cat Refuse To Eat?

Does your cat show any symptoms of respiratory diseases, like sneezing, runny nose, and eyes, etc.?

Does your cat show any symptom of digestive system diseases, like vomiting, diarrhea, belly pains, etc.?

Does your cat show any symptoms of dental diseases, like inflamed gums and mouth, pain in teeth, etc.?

Did you notice your cat’s loss of appetite shortly after you took it to the vet for routine vaccinations?

Does your cat shows symptoms of anxiety or depression?

Did the appetite loss happened after a journey or change in cats surrounding?

Respiratory problems can affect your cat's sense of smell or ability to breathe and lead to a loss of appetite. Upper respiratory diseases may clog your cat's nose and eyes with discharge resulting in a temporary loss or restriction of sight and smell. Lower respiratory tract diseases may affect your cat's lungs causing it to have difficulty breathing.

Problems with your cat's stomach, intestines, pancreas, or other parts of its digestive system may cause it to stop eating. Your cat may also vomit and have diarrhea or abdominal pain alongside digestive issues. Usually, a decrease in appetite will be one of the first signs of a digestive system problem.

Diseased or painful teeth and gums can cause your cat to stop eating. Cats can fracture their teeth, develop resorptive lesions on their teeth, become inflamed on their gums, form dental abscesses, and experience other dental issues that cause mouth pain.

The reason your cat won’t eat may be an adverse reaction to the vaccine. Although vaccines have been lifesavers for millions of animals, they do cause side effects in some. Loss of appetite is among the more common of these side effects, which are usually temporary and mild.

If your cat is not physically sick, then anxiety or depression could be the reason your cat won’t eat. Changes in the household can be disturbing to sensitive cats, and sometimes new people or changes in familiar schedules can affect a cat’s emotional well-being.

Change in routine can result in a loss of appetite in cats. Additionally, some animals experience motion sickness when traveling by car or plane, which can lead to nausea and a refusal to eat.

Cats can be particular. Some will eat one flavor of food for months or years and then suddenly decide they don't want to eat it any longer. Your cat can also be sensitive to certain shapes and textures when it comes to food. Some cats like triangle shapes, others like round shapes, and others will only eat crunchy dry food or canned wet food.