# Will my cat starve himself? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-cat-starve-himself/797890 "2017-10-03T18:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-cat-starve-himself/797890/21 "2017-10-04T06:13:11Z")
Yes. 😃 I love the expression on Plunket’s face. Here is my cat [Boo](https://flic.kr/p/Z3rCk3) (born around Halloween, and appropriately colored for the holiday). ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-cat-starve-himself/797890/22 "2017-10-04T06:40:20Z")
Is it possible that tooth loss/gum disease/other source of mouth pain could be a factor? We always fed our cats dry food, and suddenly one stopped eating - we were on vacation and came home to a skinny cat, so we at first thought he didn’t eat because he missed us. It turned out to be a growth in his mouth that made eating very painful, however. Soft food was a lot easier for him to handle. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-cat-starve-himself/797890/23 "2017-10-04T06:43:44Z")
Very Handsome! Plunkett has a Harrison Ford kind of thing going on. Camry is more of a Timothy Daly type, I think. 12/10 - would feed many cans! ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-cat-starve-himself/797890/24 "2017-10-05T23:54:47Z")
Have you tried just… wetting their kibble? If the little widget is having dental problems, kibble might hurt. Kibble mush, on the other hand, may be acceptable, if not really his favorite. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-cat-starve-himself/797890/25 "2017-10-06T03:49:13Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Is it possible that tooth loss/gum disease/other source of mouth pain could be a factor? We always fed our cats dry food, and suddenly one stopped eating - we were on vacation and came home to a skinny cat, so we at first thought he didn’t eat because he missed us. It turned out to be a growth in his mouth that made eating very painful, however. Soft food was a lot easier for him to handle. This was my thought too. A couple of months after my mom died one of the cats I inherited from her lost a bunch of weight, maybe 3 or 4 pounds. The cat was very attached to her, so I chalked it up to missing Mom…until I heard her yelp for what seemed to be no reason (like she’d had her tail stepped on and she hadn’t) twice in the course of a couple of days, and realized both times was when she was eating dry food. The vet took out the bad tooth, and she gained the weight back. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-cat-starve-himself/797890/26 "2017-10-06T05:26:17Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Camry is diabetic, I would bet cat treats on it! This is what I came here to say. Food stealing and weight loss scream diabetes, in spite of the aversion to dry food. Also, your vet sucks and you should get a new one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-my-cat-starve-himself/797890.md?page=1)