Why Your Cat Is Not Eating and What You Can Do
Cat health will deteriorate if the cat is not eating the food properly. There is no need for the normal healthy cat to stay away from the food. There are times the cat doesn??™t eat the food properly. There is reason too for that. In most incidences health of the cat will not be all right. The health problem can be digestive disturbance, infection, tumor in the digestive tract, obstruction in the digestive tract etc. The anorexia is the other condition, which keeps the cat away from the food. Let us discuss about it here.
Anorexia is sure to affect the cat health by masking the cat not eating the food sufficiently. Anorexia is a condition in which the cat will not like to eat anything or the cat will not be able to eat anything. Appetite and hunger though they appear the same in broad sense, in reality they different from one another. Hunger is physiological factor. Hunger develops due to physiological requirements. But the appetite is psychological.
Causes
The reasons are so many for the development of anorexia in cats. Anorexia is the first indication in most of the diseases that affect the cat health and make the cat not eating the food properly. The diseases of mouth, throat, skin, brain, blood, kidneys and even eyes result in anorexia. Pain in any part of the body of the cat do affect the eating habit of the cat greatly as the cats will be less inclined to move anywhere in fear of pain.
The cats also refuse feed due to other reasons that are less serious in nature. The cats may not eat new food. Some cats will refuse to eat the food if it moved to new place or house. Some cats will keep away from food if they spot any stranger in the house. Whatever may be the cause of anorexia, if it is left untreated for more than 24 hours or more then it becomes serious issue. The cat, especially the young one may even succumb to anorexia
Treatment
There are two types of treatment to prevent spoilage of cat health because of not eating the food properly. They are specific and supportive. In case of specific treatment the attempts are made to remove the root cause of the problem. The aim of this treatment is to permanently cure the problem by destroying the underlying cause. The specific treatment in a way indirectly makes the cat to eat food properly.
For example surgical removal of the obstruction of the esophagus and administration of antibiotics to treat bacterial infection to prevent cat health deterioration because of not eating the food are considered as specific treatment. Supportive treatments are those that help to keep the animal healthy till the root cause of the problem is eliminated. The supportive therapy includes intravenous fluid therapy, subcutaneous fluid therapy, appetizers, and hand feeding. The supportive therapy only helps the cats to pass the most difficult part of the illness and does nothing more.
Glossary
Intravenous fluid therapy- fluids administered through the vein [blood vessel carrying impure blood]
Subcutaneous fluid therapy ??“ fluids administered under the skin.