Why are my 8-month-old cats suddenly picky about their food?

Often providing a wide variety of foods and flavors actually promotes picky eating. If they are otherwise well I recommend you pick a one flavor formulation of high quality brand sch as hills science plan or royal canin and put down one sachet at a time, adding more if this is eaten. Cats are grazing feeders and are likely to prefer little and often, as long a s a complete balanced dry food and fresh water is available at all times they should self regulate their own food intake. Be sure to have more feed and particularly water stations than you have cats to ensure there is no territorial bullying preventing any of them from eating when they would like to

That could be completely normal. I would try to change food to see if there are any improvement regarding appetite. It is important to check/monitor weight as well as any weight loss would not be normal in these cases.

It's possible the cat having diarrhea is having some sort of food allergy, or it could be stress related. Changing the diet or attempting a food trial with your veterinarian may help rule out any potential allergies and help relieve the diarrhea if there were no parasites or illness present. Reducing stress may also help, and adding in a pheromone diffuser in shared rooms can help with reducing stress along with making sure each cat has their own access to the litter box, food, water, etc without competition (that could lead to stress or accidents outside the litter box). As for your picky eater, switching foods may also encourage them to try a little more.

Thanks for the question. There are some dogs and cats that are picky eaters like Baluu. When you bring home a new food if Baluu is willing to eat it, this is likely what is going on. You can approach this two different ways. One is to stick to one food and see if after a couple days Baluu gets hungry enough to eat it. The other is to simply buy small bags of food, and switch to a new food every few weeks. My own dog is quite picky, and after months of trying, I gave up and now we just rotate through different foods. He is happy, and I am no longer frustrated trying to get him to eat. I do recommend that when you switch foods you mix the old food and the new food together for a few days to avoid stomach upset. I hope this helps.

Good Afternoon...thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I empathize with your struggle and Munchkin's picky diet. I certainly do not want to cause alarm, but many times cats will become "picky eaters" for many other reasons other than their teeth. As a veterinarian, this symptom always give me pause. Cats with dental issues still usually have a normal appetite, even with a bad tooth - they will still eat. There are many other conditions which can cause an older kitty to change their eating habits and influenced "what tastes good to them" - conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (even with no other GI symptoms), kidney disease, liver disease, and many types of cancers (that can be within any organ of the body...) can cause an older kitty to change their appetite preferences. I would want to know if Munchkin is maintaining her weight, or has she lost weight? If she has lost weight, this is also more concerning. I would recommend you monitor her weight very closely - if she is maintaining (and has not lost weight within the past 6-12 months...). You may want to consider a visit to your veterinarian for additional diagnostics including a full senior bloodwork/urine profile, and possibly an abdominal ultrasound and chest radiographs to ensure nothing more sinister may be going on. I hope this helps, good luck!

What you are describing does not sound normal. Certainly adult cats will eat a little less than kittens if they are less active, but it sounds like Mischa's appetite has decreased pretty dramatically. You can certainly try changing brands or flavors of food in case there is something she does not like about her food. I also do not recommend mixing the canned and dry food because if they do not eat it all at once, moistening the dry food can cause bacterial growth. So, if you feed both types of food, just put them in seperate bowls. If you try a different food and Mischa still does not eat well, I would recommend having your vet examine her and possibily run some bloodwork to makes sure that everything is normal. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It’s difficult to tell, but I don’t find it’s particularly common for a cat to suddenly change preferences as an adult and become picky. If your vet is concerned about periodontal disease it might be best to go ahead and schedule a full oral and dental exam under anesthesia if it was recommended- there are many oral and dental problems that just can’t be seen on an unsedated oral exam.