Why won't my senior cat eat their food but only wants human meat?

You may want to look at his teeth, especially his molars (cheek teeth). Mikkel may have a lot of tartar on his teeth and severe inflammation of his gums which then hurt when he eats dry food. If you see brown concrements on his teeth, then he should be seen by a veterinarian and get his teeth cleaned under anesthesia. There is no need to have a tooth ache, and the bacteria in tartar can actually cause heart and kidney problems.

This sounds a lot like your kitty has problems with his teeth or possibly severe gingivitis or ulcers in his mouth. If he lets you have a look, inspect his mouth for red spots, a red gum line and severe tartar, especially on the molars or any swelling. He will likely need a dental cleaning under anesthesia, if he has not had one in the last year or two. Cats get so called FORL, that is the neck of the tooth often rots underneath the gum and eventually starts hurting. Typical signs would be red gums and some swelling and not letting you have a look at his mouth. Affected cats often want to eat, go to the food, eat a little and then stop only to return later for more but few bites. Please make an appointment with your vet for an exam very soon. In the meantime feed canned food which will be less painful to eat.

It is pretty likely that he has a tooth ache, has severe gingivitis or other problems in his mouth that make eating hard dry food difficult, so he will not eat enough to satisfy his hunger. Keep giving him more wet food and schedule an appointment with your vet for a dental exam. Older kitties often have dental problems and eating with a tooth ache is horrible.

She may have a tooth ache or ulcers or other painful conditions in her mouth. Get some Fancy Feast canned food for her and feed her that until you can take her to a veterinarian (preferably today) for an exam. She is obviously hungry, so there is a chance that eating hurts her or the food is spoiled (sometimes that is not obvious) or the formulation changed significantly.

You need to take your cat into a vet now for treatment. You cannot give him any human pain medications, as many are toxic to cats and are fatal if given. Not eating is extremely serious, as it will lead to a fatty liver if he goes long enough without food. A fatty liver is fatal without treatment. Please bring him into a vet immediately.

Hello! Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! So sorry that Maca is having this issue. It sounds painful for her :( Honestly, she probably does have a bad tooth (or teeth). You should get her to your vet for an exam so they can get a better look inside her mouth. It is also very common for cats to ulcers/tumors in their mouth so that is another option. Your vet can check for this as well. In the meantime you can feed her soft foods like canned food or human baby food. The other option is to put warm water on the dry food and let it soak for a few minutes to soften it before feeding it to her. Just realize that this is only helping her chew easier, it is not fixing the underlying problem. Hope this helps. Please feel free to post again if you have more questions! Best wishes!

This is urgent. Your cat likely has a problem with his teeth, excessive tartar, severe gingivitis and pain. Please take Mackswell to your veterinarian for an exam and schedule a dental cleaning if needed as determined by the vet.