Not eating well & very warm paws

[LizzyS]

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this question: I have been having a hard time getting my 9 month old F1 (George) to eat some mornings (probably 2 to 3 mornings a week). He loves to herd our domestic cat (against her will) into the kitchen at mealtime and then runs away when I try to get him to eat (usually full of energy and seems too busy to stop for food) And this is usually after I have played fetch with him for 1/2 hour to an hour. Well today he turned down breakfast again, so I tried at lunchtime, but no interest. He has been very mellow all afternoon and evening. I finally got him to eat at 7:30 p.m. by offering some freeze dried chicken (which he was very vocal about wanting) and then a 3 ounce can of his food (he usually eats 6 ounces). After he ate, he disappeared to the top of his cat tree and isn't playing with my hands when I reach up. He is usually by my side at all times (even when he's tired) The pads on his paws feel a lot warmer than usual. I don't know if this means anything. Any thoughts? Could he possibly not care for his food anymore? Is it a good idea to try something different at his age. Thank you so much for reading.

 

[LizzyS]

I forgot to mention that I feed him the following:
Morning: 1 - 5.8 ounce can Royal Canin Kitten
Evening: 1 - 5.8 ounce can Royal Canin Kitten
occasionally - if he seems hungry before bed, I give him a 3 ounce pouch of Weruva pumpkin lickin chicken

He seems to be wetting in the litter box (but I have 2 cats). No poop today, which is unusual for him.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Have you checked his hydration levels? Scruffing at the back of the neck and watching rebound of the fur can tell you if that is also a symptom. I don't think being off food for a day (and he DID eat it seems even if not much) is necessarily something to worry about, kittens can go through growth spurts that lead them to want to rest more and not eat as much then the next day they may make up for that by eating twice as much. Of course if this continues, then a visit to the vet can at the very least reassure you.

If you think that maybe he's no longer interested in the kitten canned food, does he react more positively to the Weruva?

 

[LizzyS]

Have you checked his hydration levels? Scruffing at the back of the neck and watching rebound of the fur can tell you if that is also a symptom. I don't think being off food for a day (and he DID eat it seems even if not much) is necessarily something to worry about, kittens can go through growth spurts that lead them to want to rest more and not eat as much then the next day they may make up for that by eating twice as much. Of course if this continues, then a visit to the vet can at the very least reassure you.

If you think that maybe he's no longer interested in the kitten canned food, does he react more positively to the Weruva?

 

[Patti]

I can understand your concern, it is always worrisome when we see a change of behavior in one of our cats. It is possible that he is just slowing down and in between growth spurts right now, but 3oz of food all day for a young F1 sounds pretty scant.

One thing you can try to get him more interested in eating is to crumble some of the freeze dried treats over his regular food. Another thing you can do is weigh him every day to confirm that he is not losing weight. If he is, or if he continues to lac, an appetite and remains lethargic (e.g., not playing with your hands while in the cat tree) then I would consider taking him to the vet. I always worry about a bowel obstruction when a cat goes off his food, but there are probably at least a dozen other things that could be causing this, including his natural progression of development and maturation.

 

[LizzyS]

Brigitte: Thank you so much for the information / feeback. I scruffed him and the skin returned very quickly! With him being young and so active, I didn't know if it was okay for him to miss some meals. I always leave dry for him when I go to work (he has the run of our master bathroom), but he doesn't usually touch it. Yes, he is usually more excited about the Weruva, but the last couple weeks he's turned his nose up at that as well (or eats very little). If I am in the kitchen with raw chicken, cooked bacon, grated cheese, or fresh cilantro (lol) he goes crazy. That is what got me started thinking about his food and whether I should change it.

He is still very lethargic, and I am hoping he is just tired. I'm going to take him to the vet tomorrow if he doesn't perk up. Thank you!!!! Thank you!!!!!

 

[LizzyS]

I can understand your concern, it is always worrisome when we see a change of behavior in one of our cats. It is possible that he is just slowing down and in between growth spurts right now, but 3oz of food all day for a young F1 sounds pretty scant.

One thing you can try to get him more interested in eating is to crumble some of the freeze dried treats over his regular food. Another thing you can do is weigh him every day to confirm that he is not losing weight. If he is, or if he continues to lac, an appetite and remains lethargic (e.g., not playing with your hands while in the cat tree) then I would consider taking him to the vet. I always worry about a bowel obstruction when a cat goes off his food, but there are probably at least a dozen other things that could be causing this, including his natural progression of development and maturation.

Thank you Patti: I have been a little freaked out about the possibility of a bowel obstruction. I've read a few stories on this site about other kitties that have had that issue. I just found a lovely pile of kitty puke (5 min ago) in our spare room that looks like it has been there a few hours. (unfortunately, not sure which kitty it is from). I've been watching him like a hawk since he ate his dinner to make sure he doesn't vomit. Thanks for the suggestion of weighing him every day. I'm going to get him on the scale in a few minutes. He knows that he gets a freeze dried chicken treat for "sitting nice" on the scale! lol...... They are so stinkin smart!!! Thank you so much for your response!!!!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

It's hard not to worry sometimes, and I happily admit to erring on the side of paranoia most of the time. I often regard the cost of a vet visit as the cost of my peace of mind. I'd rather the vet tell me that I am worrying over nothing than later on regretting not taking action.

Do keep an eye on him to be sure the puke is not from him nor continuing. On the subject of his greater interest in other foods, maybe he would be more interested in a raw diet and that is definitely something to consider. I offer my cats choices, and some prefer canned and some prefer raw... and I leave out kibble which is snacked on occasionally, and sometimes only in front of me to object to my tardiness in delivering another snack to them! My warning if offering your kitten raw meat is to pay attention to making sure it is a balanced diet, best option is a commercial raw diet (such as Radcat or Primal or Nature's Variety I have seen in the freezer section of Petsmart even) or read up on websites devoted to this subject. You can't just feed chicken breast for example. My rule with feeding raw meat to my cats has always been that if it doesn't smell fresh enough that I would consider cooking it to eat then I won't feed it to my pets. I agree that if he's showing little interest in his canned food but great interest in other foods, it indicates disinterest in his diet not a lack of appetite.

 

[LizzyS]

It's hard not to worry sometimes, and I happily admit to erring on the side of paranoia most of the time. I often regard the cost of a vet visit as the cost of my peace of mind. I'd rather the vet tell me that I am worrying over nothing than later on regretting not taking action.

Do keep an eye on him to be sure the puke is not from him nor continuing. On the subject of his greater interest in other foods, maybe he would be more interested in a raw diet and that is definitely something to consider. I offer my cats choices, and some prefer canned and some prefer raw... and I leave out kibble which is snacked on occasionally, and sometimes only in front of me to object to my tardiness in delivering another snack to them! My warning if offering your kitten raw meat is to pay attention to making sure it is a balanced diet, best option is a commercial raw diet (such as Radcat or Primal or Nature's Variety I have seen in the freezer section of Petsmart even) or read up on websites devoted to this subject. You can't just feed chicken breast for example. My rule with feeding raw meat to my cats has always been that if it doesn't smell fresh enough that I would consider cooking it to eat then I won't feed it to my pets. I agree that if he's showing little interest in his canned food but great interest in other foods, it indicates disinterest in his diet not a lack of appetite.

Thank you! The "raw" diet was the next thing I was going to ask about. I would definately consider commercial, but didn't know what brands to look at. I've only owned 4 other cats (3 which have passed on and our current tabby Ethel). They have all eaten whatever I have fed them without an issue. I've never had a cat that wanted something else (but I've never owned a Savannah before!) If he doesn't perk up tomorrow morning, we are off to the vet!!! If nothing else, I will hope to get confirmation that he is okay and, of course, a nail trim! Thanks again!

 

[Rafiki]

How much variety is he currently getting? Does RC Kitten come in one flavor or several? What is the protein source? And what the Weruva? Only the one flavor of pumpkin lickin chicken?