Cat won't eat new prescription food
Prescription diets can cause cats to reject their food entirely or eat only a small fraction of their meals, leaving owners worried when the vet is closed for the weekend. This sudden refusal to eat stops cats from getting the nutrition they need and leaves owners feeling helpless without guidance.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Adding Purina Hydration packs to enhance taste
- 2Adding Churu treats
- 3Trying different flavors
- 4Giving very small portions like a tablespoon at a time
- 5Feeding in a quiet and comfortable location
- 6Heating the food up very slightly
- 7Letting the cat get hungry enough to eat the new food
- 8Mixing the new food with something the cat likes and slowly changing the ratio
- 9Wetting the food
- 10Giving extra favorite snacks to compensate
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My boy Loki is getting real picky with eating and it's starting to worry me. He is still slightly eating but not to the amount that I feel comfortable with.”source ↗
“When it is feeding time he fully wants to eat and follows me as I prepare and place his food. He'll eat maybe a quarter of it then have no interesting at all.”source ↗
“Of course this happens going into the weekend when my main vet is closed. I feel like this is food aversion or he doesn't like any of it.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Why does my cat refuse to use a dirty litter box?
- 2How to diet a cat when family members keep feeding them
- 39Why does my anxious cat scream and panic over closed doors?
- 2What to do when vet recommended cat food causes digestive issues
- 4How to get a cat with food allergies to eat
- 3How do I pick an adult cat food with clear ingredients?