Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

We are the owner of two cats, one a 13 year old Tortoise Shell, and the other an 11 year old Black. The 13 year old occasionally vomits after eating her food, but after reading other posts on this board, I have found some good tips that might stop that

The 11 year old is a different problem. Up until 2 or 3 weeks ago, she was always a big eater. Eating fast, eating anything, and occasionally trying to push the other cat out of the way to get her food. But now she is hardly eating at all. When she does eat, she merely take a couple of mouth-fulls and then walks away. So far we have thought that it might be the heat (it is VERY hot here in Germany at the moment, and has been for over a month), or even too much hair in her stomach (which we have tried to help with certain types of dried cat food for Seniors and malt-extract), but she is still off her food.

any hints or tips? We spoke to our Vet, and she suggested it might be the heat as well, and did not seem very concerned.

Thanks in advance

Hi There,

Hot weather can definitely be the cause of a cat not eating well. I am facing that also in southern CA, as we are in the midst of a major heatwave.

I don't normally leave out dry food for my 10 cats, but now I do so they will always have something to nibble on. Canned food I only give when it is cooler, early in the morning and late at night. I don't know what you feed your kitties, but doing this has worked well for mine. And the dry food holds up a lot better in the heat.

Now, there is also the possibility that your cat is sick and that is affecting her appetite. An 11 year old cat is at high risk for a lot of things, such as kidney failure, hyperthyroidism, and diabetes. I have a cat with kidney failure and I am watching her very closely in this heat.

To be safe, it might be a good idea to take your cat in and have a blood panel done. Just in case the stress of the heat is further affecting some chronic problem. But I do tend to be a bit paranoid when it comes to my furkids.

Take care, and please keep us updated.

PHKitkat