Ask the Veterinarian/finnicky cat

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Expert: - 12/19/2009


Question
My grandmother cat-sat for me when I was out of town and would give my cat scraps.Now, my cat Pavvi has turned his nose up at cat food, and wants ONLY people food. I have offered him both kibbles and wet food (and have tried IAMS and Science Diet) and he takes a bite or 2 then walks away...but when we are eating he BEGS for our food. He appears to be hungry. He drinks water and uses the bathroom the same as he did before, and there is NO signs of runny stools or worms, or even constipation, and his urination doesn't appear to be changed. He has no broken teeth, and I brush them once a month (even though he hates it). I suspect that he developed a taste for people food and now is being stubborn. He has lost a little weight, but nothing that has me concerned--yet, but I worry that if he continues to be stubborn that he will begin to starve himself until I give in and feed him people food. I don't want to do that, I want him eating his kibbles again.
WHAT CAN I DO TO BREAK THIS HABIT AND GET HIM EATING HIS KIBBLES AGAIN??
Thank you in advance.
Jennifer B

PS- Pavvi is a 3 year old neutered Siamese mix male. He is indoors ONLY, and pretty spoiled as he is a mama's boy. He is one of 3 cats...the others are healthy AND eat their kibbles.

Answer
This can be a real problem Jennifer. You have to get him to start eating his own food as soon as possible, as a starving cat can get very ill very fast.

One thing you can do is get some canned food and put a small amount of that in with his dry- just a little dry. Get him some Science Diet indoor cat and try some of the Hills canned foods. If not, a little tuna (cat tuna) and tuna water from your tuna poured over his food and then lessened daily will help.

Ignore him completely when you are eating or better yet fix his food with the tuna/tuna water and set him in the bathroom and shut the door while you eat your dinner.

Very soon he will realize he isn't going to get his way and that he better start eating.
If he doesn't, there might be something else going on that you are not aware of and you might want the vet to look him over.

Since you don't mention the time frame here I can only guess that his weight loss hasn't been significant and that he must be eating something.

You have to persevere to get him back on track.

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

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PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

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I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

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Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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