How long can cats go without eating

Cats will become hungry if they miss one meal. If the cat does not eat for 12 hours, it may affect the cat’s gastrointestinal health. Owners should develop good feeding habits when raising cats.

How many days can a cat go without food?

Although eating is an animal instinct, many cats are very particular about food. Owners often find that cats are not interested in the food in the bowl and refuse to open their mouths to eat even if the food is placed in front of them for a whole day.

So, how long can a cat go without food?

Theoretically:
As long as sufficient clean water is provided, a healthy “adult cat” can survive without food for about 2 weeks.
Dr. Joanna Woodnutt, a veterinarian, said:
Although cats can theoretically survive without food for 2 weeks, long-term deprivation can make them sick and severely malnourished.
Cats are just like us humans. Eating is the main way for cats to obtain the vitamins and minerals they need for growth. Therefore, not eating food for a long time will have very serious consequences for them.

Why does a cat suddenly stop eating?

The most common include:
Recent vaccinations or new medications
Anxiety or stress caused by changes in daily life
Sudden change of cat food types
Slower metabolism – this is common in older cats
digestive problems
Tooth/tooth pain
kidney disease
Obstruction/indigestion/constipation
pancreatitis
bored/irritable
Cat’s behavior is very complex, and there are many reasons why a cat suddenly doesn’t like to eat food. The owner should carefully select based on the cat’s living environment!

When do I need to see a doctor?

Veterinarian Dr. Joanna Woodnutt recommends:
If the cat stops eating, the first priority for parents is to observe their overall health. It’s okay not to eat for a while. The owner can let the cat rest for a few hours before offering food again. If they are still willing to eat, that’s fine.

However, if your cat always refuses to eat (regardless of its age) for more than 48 hours or if your cat is sick and has symptoms such as vomiting, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Tips for getting cats to eat

1. Heating cat food

Cats hunt prey in the wild, and the food often contains body temperature, so warm food is more likely to stimulate their sense of smell and increase the cat’s desire to eat.
Note: Do not make the cat food too hot. If you heat it in a microwave, remember to stir the cat food in time and let the cat food cool down slightly.

2. Ensure food diversity

No matter how delicious the food is, you will get tired of it if you eat it every day.
If your cat has been eating a certain brand of dry food, you might as well try feeding your cat dry food of different varieties and formulas. You can also try feeding wet food. Wet food has a higher water content, and some cats prefer wet food. The taste of food increases the willingness to eat.
Rich food can not only stimulate the cat’s interest in food, but also provide the cat with more comprehensive nutrition. After nearly a hundred years of development, American commercial pet food now has many brands and full lines of pet food. Pet food in the form of dry food, wet food, freeze-dried food, etc. can be easily purchased in the market.

3. Regular and quantitative feeding

If you want cats to eat well, you must develop good feeding habits and adopt regular and quantitative feeding methods to make cats feel hungry and have a sense of crisis, so that they will cherish food and reduce picky eating behavior.

4. Reduce the feeding of snacks

Many parents will feed their pets snacks like crazy. When they see what the pet likes, they will buy whatever they like. Cats will naturally not like to eat if they eat too many snacks.
Just like raising children, it is best not to feed your cat snacks before eating its main meal.

friendly reminder

If your cat is anorexic, there may be something wrong with the food.
The weather is hot now, and pet food is very easy to deteriorate. When storing American commercial pet food, you can keep the original packaging bag. The packaging bag of American commercial pet food is more than just a bag.
It contains a lot of black technology, which can effectively reduce the contact between pet food and external air, insects, ants and pollutants.
Pet food particles will be sprayed with some grease, which is easy to deteriorate in the sun. Pet food packaging bags can effectively block the sun, prevent the internal temperature of the pet food from rising, and delay the deterioration time of the pet food.
Pet food packaging bags also have product barcodes, expiration dates, shipping numbers, feeding recommendations and other information, which are all very important.