Sometimes when cats are sick, stress, or just senior age they tend to lose their appetites. Here are five tips to help your cat eat more.
5. Warming up food may help your cat eat more.
Older cats tend to lose their sense of smell and when they are sick it’s a battle to get them to eat. Heating the food for 10-15 seconds in the microwave helps to bring out the taste of the food! The warm food is also softer making it easier for the cat to eat. Stir the food to make sure it’s heated evenly.
4. Wake your cat
Normally, it’s not advised to wake up a cat. But if your cat is sick or sleeps are the time they may not be eating enough. If this is the case it’s fine to wake your cat and feed him a heated bowl of cat food. wave it below his nose and he is sure to wake up! Even if your cat only eats a few bites that are food going into its belly.
3. Food textures make a difference
If kitty has a toothache he may not be able to eat chunks of cat food in gravy may not eat it at all. Switching to the pate type of soft cat food may encourage your cat to eat with less pain.
Once the cats teeth are fixed then they normally go back to eating different kinds of cat food. mixing two different canned food tends to help them be interested in food too!
Making a warm broth from their cat food by mixing in water can work as a treat when really it’s increasing the amount of fluids they are drinking. Also putting your cat’s food in a blender making it wet mush may be easier for your cat to eat, no chewing required.
2. Hand-feeding is messy but worth it
Sometimes hand feeding your furry pal may also be an option when getting them to eat. IF your cat has experienced pain or illness during eating it may not want to eat out of the bowl. If this happens it may be best to hand feed your cat.
Put some cat food in your hand, just a little bit, and coax your cat into eating it. hand feeling or feeding the cat by a spoon is a great option if they are very old, have a tooth, or need to be fed small amounts of food every few hours.
This is a great way to spend quality time with your pet. It takes patience and can be time consuming but it will be worth it, as you will develop a deeper bond with your cat.
1. Try different foods.
It’s important to always check with your vet first before adding anything different. Be sure to read the ingredients on the baby food; it should not contain onions or garlic as this is toxic to your cat. A dish of plain, lightly cooked chicken strips drizzled with chicken broth is also a winner when nothing in a can of cat food will do.
Remember to always check with your veterinarian before supplementing your cat’s food. Garlic and Onion can be fatal to cats, so read all the labels carefully. Boiled chicken with broth is always a good meal. Also boiling chicken and adding heated chicken baby food and using it as a gravy can make a great treat.
