It’s still a “No” from Indy

It had been seven hours since his last meal of a tablespoon of raw food. The vet said to not feed him until 6pm to see if he would be willing to eat on his own. She was sure he would.

At 6pm, Indy came out from under the bed and waited at the grille. Ah, a good sign.

But when I came in to feed everyone, he wasn’t interested in the food at all. He did not come to the pantry. Instead, he walked out to the garden. I offered three types of food. He wasn’t interested in any of them.

It was time for his medicine, so I force fed him some food. He wasn’t happy about it at all and growled at each mouthful.

Finally, we managed a little more than a tablespoon. But in between, I did get him to lick a few blobs. However, it was just licking the surface and not eating on his own. For each blob, I had to rub it onto his upper palate. He would swallow the blob, but sometimes spat some of it out.

I think Indy has an aversion to food.

Cats may avoid a certain food because they associate it with feelings of nausea that they had with a particular illness. This is called food aversion and can contribute to a cat’s loss of appetite. Food aversion can occur when a cat is feeling ill and is continuously offered a particular food or is even force-fed.

How to fix it?

If the cat got sick after eating their normal food, it may result in food aversion in that cat. In simple cases, feeding a different flavor or a different texture (shreds instead of pate) or treats may be enough to stimulate the appetite. Others may respond to human foods such as deli turkey or tuna fish.

I have offered different types of food already, from two types of raw diet, to tuna canned food and kibble. I also offered plain chicken meat – he wasn’t interested at all. I’ve tried snacks as well. Finally, the only thing I could force feed him successfully is his Coco&Joe’s raw diet. But that’s still force feeding and not getting him to eat on his own.

If a cat has developed a food aversion, trialling different foods can help. Usually it will take 2-4 weeks for your cat to be able to tolerate that food again.

Maybe it would just take a longer time to get him to eat again.

Let’s see how it is tomorrow, Indy.