# Will a cat rather starve itself to death if it doesn't like the food?



## fluffykittie (Jul 26, 2014)

Long story short, one of my cats was brought up on Felix "Doubly Delicious" Kitten Food (because I told told she liked it), it was also convinient. 

A month ago I tried to change her to Bozita after turning 1. She ate less, but ate nonetheless. Last week I ran out of food, and in the intervening week waiting for Zooplus delivery, the cats went back onto Felix kitten. 

Next batch of Bozita arrived, kitty is not eating at all. I relented initially because I still had a couple of Felix pouches left over. But now she refuses to eat properly. She begs me for food, I put her down. She runs to the bowl, takes a sniff then a bite, then runs back to me.

Will she starve herself to death rather than eat? It's like as soon as she went back to Felix last week she never wanted to let go again or something lol.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

I can only go by my own experience here,Meeko will flatly refuse to eat anything he doesn't like.I have never pushed it far enough to find out if he would actually starve himself to dangerous levels but I'm fairly certain he would.
I would love for him to eat all the wonderful foods out there but he has different ideas, so rather than have an unhappy,stressed starving cat I have decided that any wet food I can get him to eat has got to be better than the dry that he prefers.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

At her age she still has a lot of growing to do and if she isn't eating well she is soon going to lose condition. I had the same problem with one of my young cats when I tried to transfer her on to a better diet. She just would not co-operate and began losing weight after only a couple of days on less food intake than usual. I put her back on the food she likes (Felix) and just thank my lucky stars that at least I managed to get her off the dry food she was addicted to when I adopted her.


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## The Wild Bunch (Jul 16, 2014)

In short, I think it is definitely possible that a cat can starve themselves. Daisy can be a bit funny over foods that she has previously loved. The way we do it is I feed her and if she refuses I give her half and hour to make up her mind then give her something I know she really loves. Next feed, hubby feeds her- she will usually eat anything he puts down. If she still won't eat it she gets something else and refused food is taken out of rotation for a while. If it were me, I'd just feed the felix. At least it is better than dry


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## Cookieandme (Dec 29, 2011)

If a cat will eat something no matter how bad this forum thinks it is, let's face it 85% of the cat owning population doesn't use forums or have heard of Zooplus, you need to feed that.

I pushed April as far as I could and decided if she wanted dry food that's what she can have. She has been eating up to 50gms of dry food, but this week she has finished her small raw 35grm breakfast and teas and is eating less dry.

Cats will do what cats want to do


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## Matrod (Dec 22, 2014)

Sometimes you have to give in & feed them what they want even if it's not the best food. I have a greedy cat who will go hungry rather than eat good quality food, I managed to get him off the dry & he will eat a small amount of decent food so I have to be happy with that.


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

Honestly? I wouldn't stress about it. Perhaps she doesn't like the Bozita?
I'd just continue every now and again offering her a different food. Often cats will eat something once then turn their nose up! Try a variety, you may find something she likes.
However if she will only eat Felix and the occasional other food for the rest of her life, so be it


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## Blaise in Surrey (Jun 10, 2014)

I've had to give in with my two - tried every type of wet food but they will only eat dry.


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## GingerNinja (Mar 23, 2014)

Before having my current cats, I would have said no but my situation now tells me that this is possible! My Gipsy is overweight but would rather starve than eat wet food  in very conscious of the fact that this is dangerous, especially for overweight cats, so I'm afraid that I've given in.


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

Just curious. Does anyone know of a cat with access to food that starved itself to death or can anyone point to a documented case of this happening?


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## ZoeM (Jul 16, 2015)

Try just felix normal - its a bit cheaper and still good quality 

Ive had a very fussy cat in the past, especially as he got older but only pushed him for a few days before I gave in and went to felix pouches.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

@Satori
I would imagine that most if not all cats/animals would eventually eat rather than die of starvation,but personally I wouldn't be putting it to the test.
Forcing any animal to eat something it doesn't like just doesn't sit right with me .


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## MiloandTazzy (Dec 10, 2014)

I spent a fortune trying to get Milo to eat a better quality food, we tried pretty much every brand available and he hated them all, we got to a point where he would actually avoid his food bowl if there was something new in. He likes his Sheba and his Felix and he always comes running at meal times now. I think it's best to just relax and not worry about it. I'd rather see him excited to be getting his food.


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## fluffykittie (Jul 26, 2014)

*UPDATE* 

Well, after letting things play out, it appears my kitty will eat it afterall. Not very enthusiastically though, I might add.

*sigh* she's probably not eating enough though, even if she was running about during the day time. 

I've bought some more Felix for her. The bigger one doesn't mind Bozita.


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

_Just curious. Does anyone know of a cat with access to food that starved itself to death or can anyone point to a documented case of this happening?_
Not only as a food issue but I do remember having to cut a family holiday short when I was a child because the cattery called us back. The cat simply would not eat. I suppose there is a difference between pining and purely being stubborn but probably not that much when you think about it.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

I bet there are plenty who have starved themselves until hepatic lipidosis sets in, but doubt they'll be documented as the ethics of that as an experiment are questionable at best!


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

carly87 said:


> I bet there are plenty who have starved themselves until hepatic lipidosis sets in, but doubt they'll be documented as the ethics of that as an experiment are questionable at best!


Yes, but vets would know when a cat presents with hepatic lipidosis what the background was, fussy cat vs some other cause. And this is such a commonly asked question that I really expected to find some kind of serious work on the topic. I can't find anything anywhere.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

hmmm, that's true actualy. Very odd!


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## tochica (May 6, 2013)

I used to get super stressed with Bandit refusing to eat stuff last year. These days I rarely serve new food if a meal gets refused but I do offer something else for the next meal. There is definitely connection between fussiness and hunger with Smokey and Bandit, they are far more likely to accept something they don't especially like in the morning or in the evening than during the day. 

They are bloody smart they know 'the better stuff' is there, Smokey sometimes rubs in the pouches she wants after u put something else down. Yesterday Bandit didn't eat her supper but meowed around the plate so I put some biscuits on top and went about doing something. When I came back to the kitchen she was eating her food and when she saw me she looked at me so startled and ran away from the plate giving me 'don't you think for a second I enjoyed this' look. I am probably making it up but I swear it looked like she didn't want me to see she was gulping the stuff!


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

tochica said:


> I used to get super stressed with Bandit refusing to eat stuff last year. These days I rarely serve new food if a meal gets refused but I do offer something else for the next meal. There is definitely connection between fussiness and hunger with Smokey and Bandit, they are far more likely to accept something they don't especially like in the morning or in the evening than during the day.
> 
> They are bloody smart they know 'the better stuff' is there, Smokey sometimes rubs in the pouches she wants after u put something else down. Yesterday Bandit didn't eat her supper but meowed around the plate so I put some biscuits on top and went about doing something. When I came back to the kitchen she was eating her food and when she saw me she looked at me so startled and ran away from the plate giving me 'don't you think for a second I enjoyed this' look. I am probably making it up but I swear it looked like she didn't want me to see she was gulping the stuff!


LOL. Love this post. I doubt that you are making it up or reading too much into their craftiness. I know that one of my cats will eat certain foods when I am not in the room that he refuses if I am in the room. (I often spy on my cats eating through a window).


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## MerlinsMum (Aug 2, 2009)

Yes they will and can starve themselves, and that's not a good thing. 
They can develop issues with the liver if they go without food for too long. It's not usually a good thing to apply the "Oh they'll eat it if when they're hungry enough" attitude to cats.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I have a theory based on observation over many years that cat food faddiness can be displacement behaviour.

When a cat refuses to eat food he normally eats, he is either not really hungry (a definite possibility) or what he wants
is focused attention from his human, and he has learnt that one way to achieve this is to ask for food and then refuse to eat it.

The smart cat has found that when he is faddy the human is put in the position of having to focus directly on him, to stop multi tasking and just attend to his needs . The human then puts effort in trying to persuade the cat to eat, adds treats on top of meals to tempt him, strokes the cat, pleads with him, and sends out concerned/anxious vibes which the cat picks up.

So if my cat is faddy I say nothing, I take the food away and cover it up. Next, I coax my cat away from his feeding station and I give him lots of fuss, strokes, talk to him and I get one of the rod toys and play with him for a few minutes. After that I go back to the kitchen, take his dish of food, put it front of him without saying anything and I walk away. The cat is tucking in to his food before I have even left the room.  Nett result - we both got what we wanted, the cat got some fuss and attention, and I got him to eat his food.


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

chillminx said:


> I have a theory based on observation over many years that cat food faddiness can be displacement behaviour.
> 
> When a cat refuses to eat food he normally eats, he is either not really hungry (a definite possibility) or what he wants
> is focused attention from his human, and he has learnt that one way to achieve this is to ask for food and then refuse to eat it.
> ...


Yep that rings true. My Meezer wont eat breakfast until he's been groomed and he loves his food. He must know that I am emotionally invested in him eating. So he gets groomed first thing every morning nowadays.


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## tochica (May 6, 2013)

CM, this is very interesting and I also think it's true. Ours will do this quite often, they will run with you to the kitchen then refuse a meal I know they love. After taking them out on the staircase or after a short play session they will go back to their meal and happily eat. This shows especially during the weekend when we usually get up later. They often need some play/attention before going to their breakfast.


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## QOTN (Jan 3, 2014)

I agree with Chillminx that this faddiness can be linked to attention issues. The difference in kittens in the same litter can be striking. Some will be greedy little pigs who only care about their food when it is offered whilst others will take the opportunity to have a cuddle on their own, something not often available in a large litter. They have different priorities but I have to say that none of my cats have been faddy in the least, even those who prefer their cuddles. I assume that is because there is no opportunity in a large multi-cat household to offer many different types of food at every sitting. Those who do not eat what is on offer would simply go hungry. The only exception is when one is not well and has to be coaxed but I have never had a cat feign illness just so they can have their favourite food! (I do know who loves which food because the oriental chorus varies in volume according to the food being prepared.)


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

An interesting discussion and some great feedback from other slaves ( Millie like me to tickle the base of her spine and tell her how lovely she is while she eats )
I presume the degree of outdoors freedom that cat has will impact on this food issue......if they have free roaming right s then they can and will either pop next door for a better food selection or go hunt it down themselves.


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## reed bunting (Mar 7, 2015)

Very interesting. thanks for this. Will try giving a little bit more fuss to the cats and see if that improves things here.


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## claire8234 (Mar 8, 2013)

I


chillminx said:


> I have a theory based on observation over many years that cat food faddiness can be displacement behaviour.
> 
> When a cat refuses to eat food he normally eats, he is either not really hungry (a definite possibility) or what he wants
> is focused attention from his human, and he has learnt that one way to achieve this is to ask for food and then refuse to eat it.
> ...


Very interesting. I know if Stitch is genuinely hungry or just wants attention. However with him I know he will only eat felix and sheba. I have spent a fortune on zooplus trying to get him to eat the good stuff and have tried every way possible to get him to eat, to the point where I have given up as he decided to go on hunger strike.

In contrast our foster cat Lola will only eat the good stuff, natures menu and almo nature!! She only makes a real fuss of you when she is actually hungry.


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