Will my cat starve himself?

In My Humble Opinion
1

There should be a dog and cat forum.

I’ve got two cats that the vet dismissively calls “ancient”. One is 15 and the other 18. They’re big guys and at one point in their lives they were both well over 20 lbs. Moving from an apartment to a house had them both drop down to a more respectable 12 and 15. Still, the dismissive vet called them both fat the first time he saw them. The vet is newish to us as we only started seeing him about 3 years ago.

The cats ate only dry food. Wet food was for special occasions like Thanksgiving or when we had a party. They each have a bowl, we filled them with dry at 6 pm. They ate at it all day. “On demand” the vet called it. Said it wasn’t good for them as it made them fat.

2 years ago Plunket, the 18 year old, got very sick. It was his thyroid. He dropped to less than 8 pounds and it was scary. He looked like a cat head on a skeleton body. He also developed arthritis in his back legs. Dismissive Vet shrugged about the arthritis. "He’s old, " was his diagnosis and plan of treatment. About two months ago when Dismissive Vet was out, Secondary vet advised giving Plunket Joint Maxx sprinkle caps over wet food.

We couldn’t give Plunket wet food without giving Camry, the 15 year old, wet too. We started off with just a few spoonfuls of wet in addition to their usual bowl of dry a day. It’s a half a can each now. The thing is, neither is thrilled about the dry food. Plunket will still eat some if he’s hungry but Camry refuses it.

Camry also cries and whines all day for food. Will steal Plunket’s medicated wet if not watched. Has started going after our food in a big way. We cannot leave any food unguarded for any length of time because he will try to steal it. We can no longer leave defrosting meat in the sink. He has toppled over our garbage can in search of people food, but will not even look at dry food anymore. He has lost a significant amount of weight. Not sure how much since he doesn’t go to the vet as often as Plunket does. He’s not scary skinny like Plunket was when he was sick. Dismissive Vet will probably think it’s great. He does continue to lose weight, however.

So I’m thinking, if Camry were actually starving he’d eat the dry, which was perfectly fine food two months ago. It was so fine, in fact, that he had no want of or need for people food. I absolutely refuse to give him people food. He can starve first! But he wouldn’t, right? Also, what to do about his new, annoying behaviors? I can’t beat him with a stick even though I would like to. Stupid ancient cats.

2
  1. Switch to a new vet (no more dismissive vet).
  2. Take Camry to the vet. He may also have a thyroid or other issue that is driving this new behavior.
  3. On the plus side, wet food may be more healthy for older cats. It is easier on their kidneys (higher moisture content).
  4. Cats can stop eating, and die. I don’t know if I would say it was starvation in those cases. There is usually an underlying illness, and you would likely see some behavior changes indicating a problem (beyond raiding the trash can). Things like hiding, lethargy, dull coat, and so on, would be other indicators that you might see.
3

Just popping by to +1 that your vet sucks.

Even if the answer IS that your cats are getting old, you deserve someone capable of at least simulating empathy.

4

Sunny, he’s eating. Just not his food. At least not his dry food.
Johnny-- you get what you pay for. We switched because this is a low cost animal clinic and hospital. As Plunket has gotten older, he’s been in need of more and more medical care. Although we loved Dr. Carl, we could no longer afford him.

5

Well, if possible, try to schedule for Secondary Vet, then. Dismissive Vet sounds like a waste of time.

You can’t out-stubborn a cat, so you probably just need to feed him what he wants. Well, you can, but he’ll get sick before you win. Cats who stop eating can develop a condition called Fatty Liver and die from it, surprisingly quickly. This can happen even when they’re otherwise healthy and just on some kind of hunger strike because they want wet food, not dry.

It’s true that being overweight is a problem for cats, too. I don’t know what an ideal weight for your boys would be. Secondary Vet would know.

The short answer to your immediate problem is probably to give both cats wet food. It’s better for older cats because it has more moisture. It’s easier on their kidneys. It’s also easier on their teeth.

I would probably give them half a can each, at morning, noon, and evening. But check with your better vet. If you need to stretch it, try to add some kibble to it.

Once your voracious cat becomes accustomed to knowing that wet food will be available, he might relax about it and even deign to eat some of the kibble on his on. But, you won’t have any luck trying to strongarm him into it.

6

Short version, your vet sucks rocks and so you need to educate yourself on cat health because he’s going to kill your cats by being a shitty vet.

And yes, cats will absolutely starve themselves to death rather than eat or drink things they don’t like. They are very susceptible to something called fatty liver disease if they lose weight rapidly, and they are stubborn and neurotic enough to put themselves through starvation if their food or environment changes and they aren’t happy. The resulting liver failures will absolutely kill them and it’s not something easily treated either.

Feed them both high quality wet food and try to provide enough to keep them at a stable weight. Find a forum of cat people and start reading advice and posts, get yourself a good cat vet textbook from Amazon, and stop listening to your asshole vet.

7

I’m gonna stick up for Dismissive Vet. He sounds like a realist, and isn’t just doing shit to make his next boat payment.

Empathetic Vet put my sister in the poorhouse. And the dog died anyway.

8

Camry is diabetic, I would bet cat treats on it!

9

This. Dismissive vet is a jerk because he was completely unwilling to treat painful arthritis.

He’s crying for food and he’s losing weight. He’s hungry, whether it’s due to a medical reason or he just doesn’t like the dry food. As others have said, wet is better for them anyway. Cats tend to run dehydrated and kibble sucks even more out of them. Older cats are prone to developing moisture-sapping diseases (kidney insufficiency, diabetes) so feeding them wet food keeps you ahead of that somewhat.

But please, give the old guy what he wants.

10

Both cats tasted something they find tastier to them which is also healthier for them and now insist on eating that tastier, healthier food. That’d not really something to worry about.

Camry losing weight may be a result of switching to healthier wet food. You should still check for potential problems if there’s significant weight loss.It would be a good idea to give them constant fresh water/a water fountain no matter what.

11

Ayeup, I’m stubborn but not as stubborn as my cat. Looks like it’ll be all wet. Now I have to figure out how much is enough since I can’t just dump a bunch in a bowl and let them have at it. For one, Plunket needs to be fed a small amount first, to make sure he eats all the medication. And also guarded as Camry will just shove him out of his own bowl and eat it all. I wonder if the joint medication is bad for him.

And I’m not leaving wet food out all day long so that they can eat at their leisure. I honestly don’t know how much to feed them. One little can a day? Two little cans a day? A whole big can a day? He’s not due to see the vet until January and he’s not sick or lethargic. As I said, he’s the mighty stalker of our dinner plates and unattended cold cuts. He eats, just not his dry food and obviously half a can isn’t enough.

12

I dunno if you have one, but when my cat started getting a bit on in years I got one of those electric water fountains. They like the running water more and it encourages them to keep better hydrated.

13

It’s understandable to be worried about the effects of food changes in your cats. It will take some time but you’ll adjust. Perhaps the cans have a suggested serving size. It’s better to give them a bit too much than not enough although and see how they do after a while.

Switching from all day feeding to regular meals feeding was probably a good idea.

14

Joint Maxx is more of a vitamin supplement than a medicine. It won’t hurt your other cat, if he sneaks in and eats his mate’s rations when you’re not looking.

It can be helpful stuff. I’ve had my dog on it for a while, before switching to something cheaper.

Without knowing your cats, I would say three or four little cans a day, with half a can for each cat, spread out at mealtimes, would be about right. But it might be worth calling your vet and asking for recommendations.

I’d put their plates down and then pick them up in 20-30 minutes, to encourage your cats to eat up when it’s there for them. And I’d probably still leave a bowl of the dry sitting out, just because.

I wouldn’t bother with weight management food but you might consider a senior formula. Really, at their age, it’s mostly about keeping them happy.

15

Try one little can, split between both, twice a day and see how that goes. If they are both still hungry, then you can up the amount. I find prices at CostCo (probably Walmart too) for a case of those cans is pretty reasonable.

My advice: don’t set that morning feeding any earlier than you want to get up. In fact, set it to after you’ll have had your coffee and started your day. They will start asking for food earlier than you generally offer it, so don’t set a 6 am expectation unless you like a cat butt in your face and a lot of yowling at 4 am. :wink:

16

I agree with this. I euthanized my Big Noz last June and my vet basically said the same thing. She also said to have blood tests done when the cat gets older (12) so she could get a baseline for kidney function. Graycee is scheduled for tests this January.

I miss my Big Cat.

17

They already eat one half a big can a day each. Plunket is happy with this, although he does go back to the dry when he feels like it. This is most definitely not enough for Camry. My plan-- half a can at noon and half a can at midnight. A bowl of dry will be available all day if wanted. And yes, these hours work perfectly for me.

All this talk about my big guys, there is no reason why you can’t see 'em. The dark tabby on the left is Plunket and the handsome grey and white is Camry.

18

Good plan! A larger can per day per cat is just right. Depending on size, cats need 160-200 calories a day and that’s what those size cans run, too.

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Photobucket tried to sell me all the thingz, but I could not see your handsome boys. :frowning:

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Is this better, Sunny?