My cat won't eat his new food; he just sniffs it. Is he sick?

First, you'll want to make sure to do a gradual change over 7-9 days, slowly adding in more new food and less old food, otherwise Shiro can get an upset stomach which may be why she doesn't want to eat the new food. If the food is a dry food, you can wet it with a little water and warm it up in the microwave for 3-5 seconds. If the food is a wet food, you can just warm it up as it is. Cats are driven by smell, and so a smelly, warm food is likely to entice them to eat. If Shiro still doesn't want to eat the new food, I would return to the old food for a bit, and then try again (slowly). A vet visit to rule out any issues such as stomach upset, illness, etc, is also a good idea if you see any other problems.

Purina certainly isn't the worst of foods available for cats, but unless it was Purina ProPlan, it isn't the best brand of food out there for cats. It's cheaper because it's made with ingredients that are not as high quality as those you would find in more high brands such as Royal Canin, Hill's Science diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. Now it could be that Jabba (love his name!) simply does prefer the taste of the Purina to the Taste of the Wild, especially since Purina will have grains. Cats due utilize grains for energy, and I never recommend giving a cat a grain free diet unless they have a diagnosed grain allergy. Given that only 10% of allergies in pets is food related and the majority of these allergies are due to protein, so a grain allergy is rare. Jabba may be missing having grains in his diet, and that could be why he doesn't like the new food. You can keep trying him on it for another few weeks, but he has to eat daily so do not keep offering it to him if he won't it. Cats will develop a fatty liver which is fatal without treatment if they don't eat, so it's important to avoid that. Should he not eat it, then I would switch to another brand of it such as one of the above I recommended. Good luck, I hope this helps!

I'm sorry Bonnie isn't doing well at the moment! Cats can be picky about their food, and she may not like this new brand of food even though it has salmon as the first ingredient. It will still be a different formulation of food, and the taste may not appear to her. It could also be that she is sick, and that is causing her to not eat. Anorexia is a very general sign of illness in cats, and it can by caused by systemic illness, infection, inflammation, or injury. I recommend having Bonnie seen by a vet for a health check to rule out a medical cause behind her not eating. If one isn't found, I would switch her back to the old brand to see if she will go back to eating as normal. I hope this helps!

Yes, i would recommend reverting to her original food which she preferred as long as she was doing well and gaining weight on it. Changes in diet are ideally gradual over a week to reduce the risk of refusal or stomach upsets

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 possible they could be picky eaters, however a complete checkup with your vet is a good first step to make sure there aren't issues such as GI upset, allergies, parasites, illness, etc that could be causing them to not eat as much. If they check out healthy, removing all extra snacks and treats between meals and only offering their food may encourage them to eat. You can moisten the food or add in a little bland boiled chicken to make it more enticing as needed. Cats also tend to be drawn to things that are smelly, so warming up the food to make it smellier may encourage them to check it out as well.

Hello, and thank you for your question. Did you suddenly switch diets when the problem started? If so, I would suggest going back to his old food and trying a more gradual transition over 7-10 days. If this is not the case, then I would be worried about a more serious underlying cause. Pain, infection, pancreatitis, kidney, liver disease, dental disease, or even cancer are all possibilities. If Felix is not eating, I would recommend getting him seen by a vet within the next 24 hours. Cats that go several days without eating are at risk of secondary liver problems, so it is important that we do not leave this too long. In the meantime, you can try different diets to encourage him to eat anything. I hope this helps, and that Felix is feeling better soon.