Cat stopped eating dry food; how much soft food should I give her?

[Anonymous]

I’ve always given my (1.5 year old) cat half a can of soft food twice a day, and some dry food to graze on. Over the past two weeks, she’s pretty much stopped eating her dry food.

She had all but three of her teeth removed back in January, but resumed eating her dry food about a month afterward. It’s only now that I’m seeing all of her dry food left in the bowl. I just bought another brand for her to try, and she barely touched it. Should I just give up and feed her exclusively wet? That means she won’t be able to graze throughout the day.

Finally, if your cat eats exclusively soft food, how much do you give them a day? My cat was eating one 3 or 4 ounce can a day...should I just add one more can a day? This is the first cat I’ve had that has rejected dry food.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

If your cat had all but a few teeth removed, it sounds like he/she may have had severe dental problems (like stomatitis)? Maybe those remaining teeth are causing pain? I'd talk to your vet and get it checked out, especially if your cat was eating dry and then stopped. I had a stomatitis kitty and we had to have a full tooth removal. She eats both dry and wet now, though mostly wet. I had another cat that ate only dry (wouldn't touch wet food), but he did that from the get-go. If you haven't changed the food, it is pretty unusual to have them stop eating a certain kind all of a sudden.

[Anonymous]

She did have stomatitis and has only 3 canine teeth left after extractions. I think she mostly swallowed the dry food without really chewing, to be honest, but she would usually finish what was in her bowl by the end of the day. Now she doesn’t touch it.

She’s been a bit more finicky in general, actually, even with her wet food. But her teeth and gums look fine, and her bad breath (which was what alerted me to her stomatitis) is totally gone.

[Anonymous]

Check with your vet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve always given my (1.5 year old) cat half a can of soft food twice a day, and some dry food to graze on. Over the past two weeks, she’s pretty much stopped eating her dry food.

She had all but three of her teeth removed back in January, but resumed eating her dry food about a month afterward. It’s only now that I’m seeing all of her dry food left in the bowl. I just bought another brand for her to try, and she barely touched it. Should I just give up and feed her exclusively wet? That means she won’t be able to graze throughout the day.

Finally, if your cat eats exclusively soft food, how much do you give them a day? My cat was eating one 3 or 4 ounce can a day...should I just add one more can a day? This is the first cat I’ve had that has rejected dry food.

Thanks.

That's pretty young to lose all her teeth. What happened?

[Anonymous]

The back of the can should tell you how many calories are in it and how much to feed the cat based on her weight. It can really vary across brands and flavors. I've seen 80 calories a can from one brand and 130 from another, both 3oz cans.

I would also check with your vet. Decrease in appetite and change in behavior is worth looking into. We also have a kitten who is currently being ridiculously picky with both wet and dry food. In his case, it's FIP. He's on an experimental treatment but he was underweight and not growing at the time of diagnosis so we are trying to cram calories in whatever form he'll take them, which means catering to his pickiness. We've probably been through 5 brands of dry food and 15 types of wet food in the past 2 weeks. It is so frustrating and anxiety-producing when you've got a cat who doesn't eat well.