Hi there and welcome to Pet Forum. It sounds as though your cats sense of smell has been affected by something, and as a result they are not finding their Felix as appealing as they usually do. Also they are not reacting to cat nip either.

Did they get vaccination boosters at their recent vet visit? If so, it could be a bit of a reaction to the vaccine. It happens sometimes, more often than you might think.

If not, then I can only think they have picked up a mild respiratory infection, which is quite possible if they go outdoors and there are other cats around. Cats are prone to respiratory infections and even if they get a mild one it can affect their sense of smell causing them to refuse their food.

It is important to keep them eating and taking in fluids. I would try and tempt them with strong smelling foods such as sardines in Spring Water (from Waitrose or Sainsburys) (Note: do NOT give them sardines in brine). Or even a little pilchards in tomato sauce. Or would they eat poached white fish perhaps?

I would not give them a lot of dry food until you are sure they are 100% OK again, as it is always difficult to ensure cats on dry food take in enough water to rehydrate the food. You need to avoid any risk of them becoming dehydrated, which could happen at present if they are not eating their wet food.

As well as the fish suggested above, I'd experiment with other wet foods to see what appeals to them. Natures Menu (Pets@Home) is quite strong smelling and popular with many cats. Lily's Kitchen is also popular (sold by Tesco).

Hopefully they will be back to their usual selves in a few days, but if they should develop runny eyes or runny noses, or laboured breathing, get them to the vet a.s.a.p. for antibiotics.

 

Thank you very much for your reply. Thankfully, they have no runny noses etc, but one of our cats was sick last night. It seemed as though his food was undigested and there was quite a lot so I wonder if maybe he was really hungry, ate too much, vomited and now won't touch a thing! He has ate a small amount of cooked chicken and a little bit white fish but nothing else and he usually loves fish and chicken.
My partner went to Asda and picked up some Sheba as they usually love it and 2 ate some our boy wouldn't touch it though. The sachet he ate yesterday was feline fayre I believe, tuna and prawns, a one off so hope it hasn't upset him as a few weeks ago I gave them dried Feline Fayre and he got a bit colitis and the vet said it's actually quite common. I threw the dried food away though in case there was an ingredient he didn't like.
I'm going to ring the vets soon, but I'm really worried as my partner doesn't get paid until Friday and we only have £10 until then which has to include milk and bread so there's not much more we can try. We do not drive so we can only go to Asda and the corner shop, the 2 girls are eating normally (other than the AGAIL) but I'm worried he has a tummy upset again.
Yesterday we tried some whiskers that we've had in the cupboard for ages (Dated Jan 15 so in date) and they licked the gravy but wouldn't touch the food. I also bought some Asda dried food and they haven't touched it! I seriously feel like something is up, probably up but I have no idea what. Could Feliway do this? Our oldest girl has just ate some chicken and has had some cat milk. Our youngest had some Sheba.
I have no idea what could be causing this. I am seriously thinking of ringing Felix (or rather, Purina) to see if any contamination may have occurred, or change in ingredients. I emailed them last night but who knows how long it will take to receive a response.

 

Also, they have not had vaccinations for over a year, they are due boosters but we can't afford them at the moment as I no longer able to work (hopefully not permanent).
They all have been microchipped this last 3 weeks though, with our male only getting microchipped on Friday gone.

 

Duplicate message...

 

I've just rang the vets and they've booked him in for the morning as he is very quiet too just lying in the cat carrier :-(
This happened a few weeks ago and he had colitis but there was blood in his stool then whereas now his stool is perfectly fine and we haven't introduced any new food in their diet this time (other than Harringtons but none of them will touch it anyway, our youngest has tried it but I haven't noticed the other two try it).

 

He's sitting on the windowsill at the moment watching the birdies. Hopefully he'll perk up. I will give him some more fish soon in the kitchen so the others can't pinch it first.

 

If I have understood you it sounds as though 2 of your cats are now eating again, even if not as much as usual? But your boy cat is not?

If he has had colitis in the past it could be due to a food sensitivity. I would not give him any dry food at all, as it can make bowel problems worse. Also I'd avoid giving him food that contains grains and sugars. This means most supermarket foods like Felix, and Whiskas.

There are a couple of budget priced supermarket foods that are OK - one is Sheba Fine Flakes :

Sheba Pouch Fine Flake Poultry 12X85g - Groceries - Tesco Groceries

and the other is Butchers Classic cat food:

Classic Mixed Variety Pack In Jelly 12 X 400G - Groceries - Tesco Groceries

Neither of those contain grains or sugars, so are better from that point of view. But if your cat does not improve on them it could be he is sensitive to a particular meat protein as 2 of my cats are.

The most common proteins to which cats react badly are beef, fish and chicken -- in that order.

Unfortunately there is beef in a lot of cat foods, even if not stated openly it will be in it, if there are "meat byproducts" in the food. (most cheap cat foods use meat byproducts).

There are guaranteed single protein foods available if you need them. They can be bought on line from Zooplus, or from a company in Germany called Vet Concept.

Adult Katze Nassnahrung Shop - Vet-Concept GmbH & Co KG

 

Thank you so much for replying.
Yes our two girls are eating, but mainly the fish. They also seem fine in themselves.
Our male (Ginge) has ate some fish earlier (3 bitesize bits) and I'm pretty sure he's hungry as he sat at the door about 20 minutes ago when I made some more fish. He is smelling the food but not eating it, I am wondering if maybe his mouth could be in pain? A few weeks ago he was at the vets (for suspected Colitis) and we were told he had mild Gingivitis but were also told it wouldn't cause any problems just yet. We have bought cat tooth paste and have made laughable attempts at using it.
The vets told us to stay away from the AGAIL for now, which we had planned to, at least until they respond to my email.
We will try them Sheba sachets as they seem ok cost wise (we have a £10 per week budget for cat food, but I occasionally buy Lick-e-lix and milk), but they will not touch any tinned food, we have tried them all.

Do you think the Vets will test for these sensitivities? I feel completely helpless in this situation. Would it be ok to try tuna in spring water? Obviously just a small bit to get something into him. The vets pretty much told us most commercial cat food is basically crap at their petwise appointments, but we don't know what to do as we have a budget due to me not being able to work (Depression and anxiety) and my partner being only part time. I bought Harringtons as I read it was good quality and I thought a good quality dried food is better than nothing but they don't like it. I feel like crying my eyes out as if we have to get special foods we will have to sell household items and eventually that money will run out. I feel like a worthless cat owner, due to not being able to get them the best. I feel like I am slowly killing my cats with the food we are giving them (which I have read on Google).
We got some Hi Life Indulge Me sachets at Pets at Home the other week at 75% off (we got 20 sachets for £3.90 and clicked and collected but I can no longer select this option) and they adored the chicken and brown rice one! I wish we could bulk buy when offers like that are on.

 

Some cats are allergic to fish ... I never give anything with prawns to my Pooh.

 

Hi, how would you determine an allergy? Would they also be allergic to white fish too, or all fish for that matter (or just other shellfish)?

 

I have had the very same thing with my 3 kitties.
They always had Felix and then one day all 3 wouldn't eat it.
I rang Felix up and they said that the recipe might have changed.

They now eat Sheba fine flakes.
I have tried over the last few years on really good quality food but they have all turned their noses up.
They liked Butchers classic for a couple of weeks and so when I bought a load of it they wouldn't eat it

 

Typical as they used to love it! Strange how all 3 cats went off it, copycats ;-)
I will get some Sheba on Friday, my partner works at Asda so I'll see how much it is there as he gets staff discount. Hopefully the vets will shed some light on the situation.
I wonder if the bad taste of the AGAIL (assuming the ingredients has changed) has made them weary as I have read putting medicine in cat food can turn them off all food as they think it will taste the same.
Typical, that's what happened with out cats and the Whiskers tins.


Anyone have any ideas on why they haven't been reacting to catnip? Could the 'calming' effects of the Feliway be overpowering this? I doubt it though as I mainly bought the Feliway for vet trips and have only sprayed it a few times in the living room.

 

Hi

I've been through the sensitivity thing and it was grains with my cats ... so the links to the foods Chillminx gave you are great to try him on. They're probably the only ones you can buy in the Supermarket that are grain free.

The vet may put him on a sensitive food which are expensive, they usually give Royal Canin dry. Mine were put on Royal Canin Gastro as a starting point, you could buy that on line and try yourself if you wanted to, but I think I'd start with the Butchers for Cats cans and go from there.

If your vets do want you to try Sensitive food, remember you can get it online cheaper than from the vets so don't buy from them.

 

No the Feliway spray won't be causing them to go off their food or lose interest in cat nip. Assuming when you spray it you let it settle for 5 minutes before allowing the cats into the area.

If you were using the plug-in diffuser type of Feliway there is a very small chance maybe that one or more of them could be adversely affected - the diffuser Feliway gave me an asthma attack when I used it (because of the carrier that is used to diffuse the stuff) and one of my cats became wheezy. But the spray does not cause a problem.

I think your cats maybe caught a mild bug that affected their sense of smell. Not necessarily a respiratory infection, could just as easily be a tummy bug, as that can cause cats to reject their normal food.

Your vet sounds like a good one, many vets are not as enlightened as he/she seems to be about decent food for cats. But I do understand if you are on a tight budget it is difficult to afford the better quality foods. Please don't feel bad about it.

Many of us on the forum buy our cat food in bulk on line from e.g. Zooplus, or The Happy Kitty Co. That way we can save money and afford better quality food for our cats. Buying canned food gives you better value for money than buying pouches, and many canned foods from Zooplus and The Happy Kitty Co are better quality than most of the wet cat food sold in UK supermarkets.

It might be worth you having a read of the Food Club thread on the Health Forum. Members offer sample cans of different foods for just the cost of mailing them.

http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-health-and-nutrition/248352-welcome-food-club.html

Vets can't test for allergies. The only sure method to use is an elimination diet where you put the cat on a novel protein for 6 weeks, and then reintroduce normal foods at the rate of one every 2 weeks (single protein foods are essential). Novel proteins are kangaroo, horse, reindeer, goat, ostrich. There is a company in Germany that supplies these canned, if you need to go down that route. It is called Vet Concept.

 

Thank you both for replying. Hopefully it will just be something minor, but with Ginge unwilling to eat anything I am worried. (He will eat small nibbles of the white fish, but nothing decent).
We actually go to the PDSA and make small donations at each appointment, I have managed to arrange a lift for tomorrow, so will donate my bus fare.
When he has suspected colitis he was very similar to now, but then he had blood in his stools and would still eat whereas now his stools are fine but he won't eat much.
I know there are many cat owners who cannot afford the best, but ever since our 1st pet wise appointment I have just felt awful.
Looking at Royal Canin and the likes, I simply do not think I could feed 3 cats on £10 per week, obviously 1 or £2 a week extra will not matter. I am just terrified that if we have to buy a specialty food, we will not be able to cope financially and giving up a pet for financial reasons was always something I swore would never happen, but when we got the cats we were both working, now I struggle to simply leave the house. I feel guilty enough not being able to afford their booster shots. I can't tell anyone as they will say 'you'll have to get rid of them' as they always say when we mention financial worries.
Now I feel like crap because I am moaning and telling my life story to a forum I only joined last night!
I'm going to try and stay calm until we hear what the Vet says, we still have to find an alternative cat food though as they don't like that one and as of today I'm guessing Sheba foils aren't to their fancy either. I might try a single tin of that butchers as it'll only be 80p or something.
One of my girls has just went and ate some Sheba foil, are they any good? Incidentally,
the vet nurse told us Sheba was bad, I don't know if she just meant the foils?

Thanks again guys sorry for being a pain. I just never thought I'd see my cats unwell at only 3 :-( Both times has been him too, the most laid back one and the only one of our 3 who will let you pick them up.

 

Sheba Terrines and Sheba Fine Flakes are the grain free ones. I think the Terrines are in foil trays.

Try the Butchers - you can rotate it even if its not their favourite food. The pound shops sometimes have the cans, as do Home Bargains (39p) - and Poundstretchers do the Butchers foil trays. Have also seen these in Tesco's for 40p but not in the pet food section, in the newish cheap section they have.

Don't worry if you can't afford the expensive diets - I was paying for Royal Canin for Ben on the vet's say so but after coming on here for advice found out he was just as good on the Butchers - or any grain free. Allergies are just looking at ingredients and finding what does/doesn't work, so just keep posting as you learn more about his illness and people will help.

 

My cats have been a bit off their food recently, they usually eat felix gail as well, i usually order it to be deilvered from Tesco when they have it on offer, but last week i decided to try the Tescos own brand supermest, and they LOVE it,cant believe how much they like it,its in tins too which goes further, and mixed flavours, the tuna especially is quite strong smelling, i know its not the best but at least they are eating, also its only £2-50 for 6 tins, might be worth trying,

 

Thank you very much I feel a little better now. Yes I will definitely try them on them. They haven't had tins for a few years so maybe their tastes have changed. The vet did say some of the cheaper brands are better than 'popular' ones and she gave an example of Chappie for dogs.
I know we will manage, my partner knows how much the cats mean to me (he loves them too, bit not as much as me hehe) and we'll sort something out, I am just guilt ridden at the moment due to them and their crappy food we're giving them and the fact Xmas is around the corner and we aren't sure how we are going to afford it this year. When we had our petwise appointmentso the nurse weighed all 3 cats and gave us an estimate of what to feed them which was pretty much 1 wet sachet and 55-80g of dried food each, each day. We also got them microchipped for free (we just made a donation on each appointment as we don't drive so had to make 3 trips ha).

 

Hi Jaycee, yes I would be happy for them (ginge mainly) to eat anything at the moment. My partner is buying some lick E lix on his way home from work and I'm hoping he will eat it as you just lick it up. They usually go crazy for it and I was actually thinking about putting worming tablets in them next time they get wormed.

 

3furryfriends....don't worry if you cannot afford the yearly booster injections.....there is lots of evidence that yearly boosting is really not necessary. many people choose to boost only at 3 yearly intervals, and some (like me) do not intend to boost at all after the first year.
Also please do not feel that you are 'killing your cats' with the diet you are feeding them. We all do the best we can, and your 3 cats are better off with you in a loving home than they would be anywhere else, no matter what food they are eating.
One of the reasons I feed mainly raw food to my cats is that it is so very much cheaper than buying any decent wet food. My older cats did very well for many years eating mostly dry food topped up with odds and scraps of meat such as supermarket (value) mince and chicken wings. I really believe it is possible to feed and care for a cat well without having to spend a fortune.

 

Hi Jaycee, yes I would be happy for them (ginge mainly) to eat anything at the moment. My partner is buying some lick E lix on his way home from work and I'm hoping he will eat it as you just lick it up. They usually go crazy for it and I was actually thinking about putting worming tablets in them next time they get wormed.

Never heard of lick e licks, but im really pleased with this Tescos food, i tried them on Butchers they had a sniff and a lick and walked away, i havent seen ant Butchers in foil trays or i would try them, but i have 7 cats plus 1 not mine i need to rehome, but not having much luck, but im feeding him too, so the puches plus dry are working out very expensive ,if they carry on eating the Tescos ill take the dry away,
Good luck and hope they are all feeling better soon

 

3furryfriends, how about mashing some wet food with a fork to change the texture? My cats sometimes fall for this trick

Chin up, you're doing the best you can and you clearly love your cats.

Also, please look at this popular website and check the prices of tins like Ropocat, these are good quality (grain free and sugar free) and very reasonably priced.
The Happy Kitty Company

 

Hi Guys,
Thank you all so much for your replies. Paddypaws, thanks for letting me know about the Boosters as we have been feeling guilty about it and the Petwise nurse has mentioned it on each of our 3 visits. We had originally intended to booster every 2 years due to costs, but then last year, which would have been our 2 oldest cats 2nd year, I had to leave college due to panic attacks (which subsequently meant I was missing out on £10,000 student finance) and since then I haven't personally brought a penny into the household which doesn't feel good at all. Anyway enough of my life story!

We had Ginge at the vets today and the vet said she cannot see anything wrong with him. She said it is quite possible all 3 of our cats have a virus and that could also be why they were off their food (although Ginge appeared to be off all food, he was the only one who was sick so maybe that put him off). She said if in a weeks time, he isn't back to normal, to go back. We went in Pets at Home as we had literally no food for them (other than AGAIL) and I bought a sachet of HI Life chicken and Ham and Ginge ate some of that (as did the other 2).
There was also a box of Science Plan reduced to £2 as it is out of date the end of this month so we bought that for them to try until we can get our proper food tomorrow when my partner gets paid. I think I will try those Sheba flakes.
Purina also responded to my email and asked a few questions (batch number, cat type, etc) and are going to look into possible ingredient changes or whatever other reason they may be off it.
Incidentally, the vet thinks it is possible that they may be off their food simply due to a possible virus and she thinks they may eat it again. Having seen the texture of the science plan I am pretty confident they will not touch it, but for £2, there is no harm in trying.
Again, thank you all for responding.

 

Remember you can mash food up with hot water if you think making a gravy will get them to eat it.

 

Hi Jannor,
Will this need to be boiled or can it come straight from the hot tap? Which foods would this work for eg. pate, dried, Jelly?

They haven't touched the Science Plan unfortunately, not even linked the gravy, I also bought some Applaws pate for the same price, again they won't touch it, they've never been fond of pate though. The vet said if we keep giving them the same food, eventually they will eat it..... is this true? What if they genuinely do not like the taste, I'd rather give them something they like as I wouldn't eat something that I didn't enjoy the taste of.