Why are all my cats refusing to eat and hiding?
Multiple cats in a household can suddenly stop eating and go into hiding, leaving owners concerned when standard tricks like warming up their food fail. This sudden refusal to eat prevents them from getting necessary nutrition, leading to deep worry for pet owners who cannot figure out what is wrong.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1warming up the food with warm water or in the microwave
- 2buying half-size cans or single-serve portions
- 3storing leftovers in glass or plastic containers instead of the metal can
- 4adding food toppers, freeze-dried treats, or broths to entice the cat
- 5Using a water fountain to track daily water intake
- 6Mixing warm water into treats like Churu
- 7Adding water to higher quality wet food cans or blending canned food with water to achieve a treat-like consistency
- 8Trying different textures like pate, mousse, shredded, or gravy-heavy foods
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have this problem with one of my cats as well, warming it up doesn’t work either.”source ↗
“Now all 5 of her cats aren't eating anything and we're all concerned.”source ↗
“I’ve tried everything, every wet food on the market, mixing dry and wet food, mixing water in to his dry food, all of it, and he won’t even try it.”source ↗
“He’s definitely just a picky cat but I worry about him developing kidney/urinary issues later in life especially since he’s a male.”source ↗
“One will not eat wet food at all.”source ↗
“My male cat doesn’t either. And couldn’t be convinced.”source ↗
“My cat started to suffer from constipation, she wasn't taking in enough water and she was on dry food only for years because she would turn her nose up at wet food.”source ↗