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[Egzandra]

Hi omleteers

 

We have just adopted a twelve year old cat called Buffy whose owner had to go into a nursing home. Buffy seems quite perky and is very affectionate, but has eaten hardly anything since she has been with us (three days). She was eating very little where she was before. We have tried her with chopped up chicken and a bit of white fish, no luck. We phoned the vet for advice and they advised getting her a feliway plug-in, which we did, and some prescription food which is like a pate and supposed to be quite palatable. She did eat a tiny bit of this, but the next time she refused it. We have tried mixing it with her usual food, which is Hills Senior sachets and she tried a little of this, but the next time she wouldn't touch it. Our other cat Sylvi is enjoying mopping up the left overs by the way so not much is getting wasted!

 

Have any of you any tips or suggestions to try and get Buffy to eat? We've got her in her own room at this stage so that she can be away from Sylvi. She has used her litter and done very small poos, but we're worried about her not eating much.

[Cat tails]

Have you had a look at her teeth? It might be that she is suffering from something, especially since she wasn't eating at her original house.

As she is already 12 years old, I wouldn't wait to long with going to the doctor.

 

My cat is incredibly picky and almost only eats Royal Canin Exigent (for fussy eaters) and Royal Canin Pure feline Beauty. Those two are good kibble too. Otherwise try warm chicken/fish or add some hot water to her wet food. Warm food has a stronger smell.

[Ursula123]

I have just found the Encore range of dried and tinned foods, my diabetic cat was on the point of being PTS a couple of weeks ago as she stopped eating and lost a lot of weight. We tried the pate food from the vets but she turned her nose up and by chance I saw a sachet in the supermarket and it is just fish and fish broth, doesn't look rubbery like other tinned foods, she went mad for it and adores the salmon in jelly. The dried biscuits are going down a storm also.

So far she has put on 300 g and looks so much better. She is 15 and had never eaten wet food before always dried so it must have something appealing in it. Might be worth a try.

[Blackrocksrock]

The other thing to try is warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds - sometimes it makes them eat.

[Egzandra]

Thank you very much for your replies. I went and bought some Encore today, and Buffy did eat a little bit of it, but she would only take it from my fingers. She seemed to be enjoying it and she took a few Dreamies in the same way from my husband. I tried warming the food later on but she still wouldn't eat unless I finger fed her. I will take her to the vet tomorrow, in case there is a problem with the teeth.

[clucker1]

My cat was like Buffy at times, we had to microwave his food. He was always on a young adults diet Ie no older cat diet with less calories as each bite he ate we had to maximise calorie content. Good luck at the vets tomorrow . Cats can take an age to settle in to new surroundings so that could always be it, but I think the vets is a good idea.

[Ursula123]

How did Buffy get on at the vets today?

[Egzandra]

I delayed taking Buffy to the vet until today because of the stress involved. The vet could not see any problem with the teeth, and said that they were better than some younger cats! There was no obvious thing wrong and Buffy is a good weight. Said that the non-eating issue must be due to all the changes and that hopefully Buffy will pick up; she gave Buffy a worming tablet.

 

Buffy has been doing better with her food since I last posted. She really likes the fishy variety of Encore and I bought some more today, not so keen on the chicken one - but my other cat likes that! I am also going to try some other proper food that the local cattery owner thinks is good and maybe introduce these foods including Encore into their diets. Apparently foods like Felix and Whiskas and also even Hills, that some of the vets recommend have a low protein content and are mostly water. But then, cats don't drink much, so maybe they need it? I don't know. But thanks for the tips everyone. I will have to wait and see how we get on.

[Groovychook]

Pleased to hear that Buffy is doing better.

So nice that you've adopted an older cat

[clucker1]

Really very pleased to hear Buffy is doing well, I know what it's like having a cat that doesn't eat, so I'm very pleased for you. Yes, do look into nutritional value, I don't know about cat food but I feed my dog raw meat as most of the dog food is very poor nutrionally. However, with Buffy if he's eating it then X

[chickencam]

We have a fussy cat of a similar age, I find that I need to change brands of wet food quite often, she eats Iams Senior at night and her new wet food is Bob Matins which she is polishing off completely. She also loves most varieties of car treat.

[Egzandra]

We have a fussy cat of a similar age, I find that I need to change brands of wet food quite often, she eats Iams Senior at night and her new wet food is Bob Matins which she is polishing off completely. She also loves most varieties of car treat.

 

Bob Martins - I didn't know he did cat food - that's another one to try. Buffy is doing a lot better with her food now. Still not eating a huge amount but more than before so I have stopped worrying about it now. She is still enjoying the Encore, and has started eating some Applaws which is going down rather well - I mix some of the Felix into it to use up what we have got. Sometimes in the morning I find she has eaten all her biscuits as well. And in two weeks she has really blossomed, has become more vocal (quite bossy really) You would not think she was 12. I am thinking of starting a new thread; for advice on how to help her and Sylvi to get on - they don't like each other at the moment.

[Cat tails]

They might not like eachother for quite some time, but they will learn to live along side eachother. As both are mature don't expect miracles. The chances of two non-related adult cats really falling in love so to say is very small.

 

Are they both used to having other cats around? If not, they might take their time in accepting eachothers presence.

 

The best thing you can do I guess is giving them a lot of space to avoid eachother and get out of eachothers hair. So at the bare minimum 2 litter boxes not to close to eachother and feeding them well apart. Over time you can close the gaps, but be aware of bullying. Cats sometimes deny other cats access to food or the litter box. You can prevent this by keeping them far apart.

 

Just don't rush it and let them be. With my dads previous cats it took more than a year for them to start really liking eachother. I'm not trying to get you demotivated, but just give them time.

[Olly]

Glad to hear she is improving. I agree with Cattails - chances are, they will never be best friends. I took on a second cat, now my only one - she never really got on with my lovely, friendly tabby Wellington despite overtures on his part. They were all met with spitting and hissing!

 

Give them plenty of space and just accept that they're probably not going to be bosom buddies, it will gradually get better but don't try and force the issue, feed them on opposite sides of the kitchen because food is a real flashpoint.

 

If you haven't already got some, Feliway is really worth while. It just calms the atmosphere a little.

[Ursula123]

Just thought I would let you know egzandra that encore food is on special offer in morrisons at 70p per tin or sachet. The offer lasts until 9th October

[Egzandra]

Thanks Ursula, I will check that out at Morrison's. Buffy's still enjoying the Encore. I'd like to get them eating the same thing (not from the same plate) but I guess that will take time! Also getting them to live together relatively peacefully, as Olly and Cattails have said, that may take time as well.

 

Buffy has been quite keen to get outside and it has been quite difficult keeping her in while we have had the heatwave, trying to keep windows etc not too wide open. So as she had managed to slip out anyway, I allowed her to have some little supervised strolls in the garden today, and she was very good. I could see her turning around from time to time to see the route back into the house. She obviously sees our house as home now, even after only three weeks!

[chickencam]

Glad things are looking up