Cats not eating.

Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry to hear that your kitties are under the weather!

It's definitely possible that your cats have an upper respiratory tract infection. These types of things are contagious between cats. Of course there is a possibility that there is something else going on, but most likely an upper respiratory virus is the culprit.

Here are some criteria that I use to help determine whether a cat needs to see the vet for symptoms like this:

-How is their appetite? If they are eating at least half of their normal amount of food then it's ok to wait a few days. But, if it's less than half and it goes on for more than 24 hours then it's not a good idea to wait. If a cat goes without food for a couple of days then they are at risk for getting a serious condition called fatty liver.

-Is there any green or yellow discharge? If there is a green or yellow discharge from the eyes or nose then this may mean a bacterial problem in which case they would need antibiotics.

For now, it's probably ok to keep an eye on them. You can encourage them to eat by heating up some canned cat food. (Make sure it's not too hot though!). The heated food will be smellier and if they are stuffed up, they can smell heated food better.

If their appetites are getting worse rather than better then I'd have them checked out. We're making the assumption that this is a flu-like problem but it could be something else like ingestion of a toxic substance such as a plant. This wouldn't cause a cat to have throat irritation but could cause the hiding and lack of appetite.

I hope they improve soon!

Dr. Marie.


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