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A cat smelling the food but not eating is often a sign of a more serious condition. Usually, it’s not because a cat has lost interest in a particular treat. If your cat is refusing to eat, skipping numerous meals, or going days without food, you should take action. While there are things you can do at home to help your cat regain an appetite, sometimes a veterinarian’s help is essential.
Why is it a Problem if Your Cat Doesn’t Eat and Only Smells?
Even if your cat doesn’t like the food being offered, a lack of appetite is often a sign of a more serious problem. Your cat may stop eating and only smell if something has lodged in its stomach or intestines, or if it is ill from an underlying condition or infection. But it’s also possible that your cat doesn’t like the food you’re giving it. Your cat’s inability to eat can also be a sign of pain or discomfort. Whatever the cause, not eating is a serious problem.
If an obese cat stops eating, it can develop hepatic lipidosis within a few days of not being fed. Also known as fatty liver disease or fatty liver syndrome, this condition can be fatal if left untreated.
This is the main reason your cat, especially if overweight, absolutely needs to keep eating. In fatty liver disease, the liver is overwhelmed with converting fat into energy. Excess fat accumulates in the liver and impairs its function. The liver is a vital organ and if it is not working properly your cat could experience weakness, lethargy, and jaundice if not treated promptly by your veterinarian.
Food Problems That Cause a Cat to Stop Eating
Cats can be picky. A cat may eat one flavor of the same brand but flatly refuse another flavor out of preference. Sudden food rejection can occur when manufacturers make subtle changes to taste and ingredients without informing consumers – your cat may notice and rebel.
Appearance or structure of the food
In addition, your cat may be sensitive to certain types and textures of food. Some cats prefer triangular food, while others prefer spherical food. Still, others only eat crunchy dry food or canned wet food.
Contamination of the feed
If you give your cat outdated or spoiled food, she may refuse to eat it. Check the expiration date of the food. Or smell the feed to see if it smells spoiled.
A Cat’s Health Problems Cause it to Stop Eating
Diseases of the respiratory tract
Respiratory diseases can affect your cat’s sense of smell or ability to breathe, leading to a loss of appetite. Upper respiratory diseases can cause discharge to clog your cat’s nose and eyes, resulting in a temporary loss or impairment of sight and smell. Lower respiratory tract diseases can damage your cat’s lungs, making it difficult for them to breathe.
These respiratory problems can be caused by a simple bacterial or viral illness that requires minimal care, or they can be caused by something more serious, such as a heart attack. B. a malignant disease caused. Regardless of the severity of the breathing problem, your cat may not be eating if she cannot breathe normally or smell her food.
Digestive system diseases
Problems with the stomach, intestines, pancreas, or other components of the digestive system can cause your cat to stop eating. In addition to digestive problems, your cat may also vomit, have diarrhea or suffer from abdominal pain. However, a lack of appetite is often one of the first signs of a digestive system disorder. Acid reflux, tumors, an imbalance in the intestinal flora, parasites, and irritable bowel syndrome are just some of the possible causes.
Foreign objects
Some cats like to eat things they shouldn’t eat or pick up hairballs that can lodge in the stomach or intestines. A gastrointestinal blockage is a foreign object lodged in your cat’s gastrointestinal tract. Because a gastrointestinal blockage prevents food from passing through the digestive tract, your cat may vomit and most likely stop eating. Some foreign objects can pass through your cat’s digestive tract and cause only mild gastrointestinal irritation or a loss of appetite, while others may need to be surgically removed.
Dental disease
Your cat may stop eating if it has diseased or sore teeth and gums. Cats can erupt teeth, and develop resorptive lesions, gingivitis, tooth abscesses, and other dental problems that cause mouth pain. As with humans, your cat may refuse to eat if its mouth hurts. Dental problems, on the other hand, are often difficult to spot in cats, and your vet may need to sedate or anesthetize your pet to analyze the condition.