Barely eating, which needs a vet rather than a new food

What this tends to look like

• Approaches the bowl and turns away, or ignores food entirely
• Refusing things they would normally never refuse
• Sometimes hiding, quiet, or curled tightly rather than sprawled out
• Occasionally drooling, swallowing repeatedly, or turning the head to chew
• Weight and muscle loss becoming noticeable over the spine within days in a cat
• May be drinking more, or less, and both matter

What is usually going on

A genuinely fussy animal still eats. An animal that has eaten almost nothing for more than a day is not being fussy, it is telling you something, and the list of causes is mostly physical. Dental disease and mouth ulceration are near the top and are routinely missed, because an animal in mouth pain approaches food eagerly and then backs off, which reads as fussiness. Nausea from kidney disease, liver disease, pancreatitis or a gut obstruction produces the same picture. So does pain anywhere in the body, and so does fever.

In cats there is an additional and specific reason not to wait. A cat that stops eating mobilizes fat into a liver that cannot process it at that rate, producing hepatic lipidosis. It becomes self-sustaining, because the sicker the cat feels the less it eats, and it can be fatal. The treatment is assisted nutrition and it is much more successful when started within days rather than weeks.

This is also the wrong moment to go shopping. Buying a more tempting food when the problem is a painful tooth or a nauseating illness does not fix anything, and worse, it can create a lasting food aversion if the animal associates the new food with feeling ill. An examination and probably a blood test is the efficient path, and it usually settles the question in one visit.

What you can do at home

• A cat that has eaten nothing for 24 hours needs seeing today. For a dog the line is 48 hours
• Note precisely when they last ate a proper meal, and how much. Most owners find it is longer ago than they thought
• Look in the mouth if they will allow it, and check for red gums, a broken tooth, or a smell
• Do not syringe or force food unless you have been shown how. It risks aspiration and it creates food aversion
• Do not introduce a new food right now. Save the tempting options for after they are diagnosed
• Note water intake, vomiting, stool changes, and any new medication, and bring all of it to the appointment

What progress should look like

How long to give this before you conclude it is not working.

• NowBook the appointment. In a cat this is a 24-hour clock.
• At the visitExpect a mouth examination and a blood test. Ask specifically about dental pain and nausea.
• 24 to 72 hours after treatmentAppetite often returns quickly once nausea or pain is dealt with, which confirms the cause.
• Once clearedIf nothing is found, the fussiness and digestion patterns on this page are the right place to look.

When to stop and call your vet

• A cat that has eaten nothing for 24 hours, which is the line
• Vomiting repeatedly, or retching without producing anything
• Yellow tinge to gums, eyes, or the skin inside the ears
• Lethargy, hiding, or collapse