Suddenly, since yesterday evening, Smurfy started getting too scared to eat.
Before this, he was eating happily with his mother and brothers. But yesterday, someone he’s not so familiar with entered the room during dinner and that scared him off. After that, he just refused to eat.
Sigh…
And while some people tend to say, “Leave him alone, when he is hungry enough, he will surely eat.” I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t think this is true for all cats. Our senior has told before and an experienced animal handler concurred that cats can starve to death due to fear of other cats. Some (not all) cats are so scaredy that they refuse to eat out of sheer fear. Even hunger cannot overcome this fear (of other cats).
On this note, I am thoroughly relieved that this did not happen with Robin at his previous home. Robin was malnourished, but at least he still ate.
So now, coming back to Smurfy… He ate only a little bit this morning after which he simply refused to eat.
Rey, Lynx and Minnie
Smurfy
He only ate a little bit after which he decided he wanted to be scared. I changed positions a few times, but to no avail. I even locked him in the bathroom by himself, but he still refused to eat.
Robin is still confined in the other room to eat by himself because I’m trying to break his habit of snatching/stealing others’ food.
Sapu habis.
I waited for about 15 minutes, then I went downstairs and brought some dry Primal up (keeping it all raw). Smurfy was hiding behind the tv now so I pushed the bowl in, from below. He ate!
It’s been relatively easy to convert everyone back to 100% raw. I think this could be due to the fact that they were all brought up on 100% raw food for the six months that they were with me (for Rey, Robin and Lynx, this means from birth until the day they left). For Minnie and Smurfy, they grew up on the street. Smurfy was probably only 3 months old when Minnie brought him to our porch. Minnie, at most, 1 year old. And yet, Minnie took to raw food instantly. Smurfy too.
Okay, by now, Robin was already freed, so Robin came to sniff. That did it. Smurfy stopped eating. Sigh…
I had to stop Lynx from coming towards Smurfy’s hiding place too.
Robin “Unstoppable”
As for Smurfy, I’m going to try confining him for meals. If he still doesn’t eat, then and only then will I use Mirtazapine. It stimulates appetite and hopefully that might help overcome his newly-instilled fear. It worked for Cleo, Indy and Bunny (all of whom were just plainly too choosy and stubborn to eat whatever they were served). Mirtazapine overcame their choosiness and made them eat.
Robin eats non-stop.
Has Robin put on any weight? My husband says yes. I’m waiting for Robin’s next visit to the vet’s to find out. It’s better to use the same scale to measure.
I’m learning to be as patient as a cat!