Maybe I am doing it wrong

Everyone I personally know that has cats always leaves the dry food out all the time and then some give a small portion of wet food at a meal time. And yes, cut back on the treats. She is probably not eating knowing that you will give treats instead -- our dog will do that trying to hold out for a treat or a bite of people food. She only waits so long and then is hungry and eats her dog food. Ask your vet how you should feed.

Just make sure you're feed a good brand of dry food. With some of the cut rate brands a Cat or Dog could eat and eat yet starve because of all the fillers and other **** put in that just passes through there system because they can't absorb it.

Thanks CA POPPY, she seems fine, I guess I worry too much. I appreciate everyones responses.

Our orange tabby Edna died last year at age 19. We got her at 5 weeks old and never in her life would she ever eat any kind of canned cat food. I had never seen a cat like that. We free-fed Edna, left the dry food in one of those little hoppers so she could get it when she wanted it. She loved snacking and would take a piece or two of kibble and go about her business. She was never overweight and had a beautiful coat all her life. When she was young, she loved Deli-Cat which is carried at the grocery store. I am sure cat experts would be horrified at that, but it was Edna's favorite. When she got older, her belly couldn't handle Deli-Cat anymore, so we switched to a senior cat formula, still the dry type. She also loved treats. I think it is more the idea that it is from your hand, makes it special, so you might try feeding Rowdy just one kibble at a time. And yes, cats do like to get between you and whatever is taking your attention, whether TV, a newspaper or computer. You are doing great with her. :)

I just don't want to cause her harm. I give her her treats while she is pestering me while standing on my printer. Tonight I gave her her regular dry food as a "treat". She ate it all, then went to take a nap.

It's been a rough couple weeks, didn't want harm to come to her. Still going to have her vet check her out.

My old Tomcat lived to be 22 but I got him when he was about 10 so this kitten thing has been a learning experience.

I think it's time for a Xanax and bed.. To All a Good-Night.

dturm wrote:

darsben1 wrote:
CAT will not starve itself. Put out food leave it there if cat is hungry it will either eat or hunt.

I disagree with this philosophy or feeding technique in cats.

Fatty Liver (Hepatic Lipidosis)

A fatty liver can develop in as soon as two weeks with an appetite reduction of 50-75 percent.

The so-called fatty liver is one of the most common causes of liver failure in cats and it stems from the basic design of the cat. Cats evolved as predators of small birds and rodents, eating multiple small meals throughout the day. Their physiology is geared towards a completely carnivorous diet and with the presupposition that cats would live lean and never have the opportunity to develop extensive fat stores.

Of course this all changed when cats become domestic. The modern housecat has every opportunity to become overweight and while this may not be of disastrous consequence on a day to day basis, should the cat get sick or lost and stop eating, a big problem erupts. The fat stores mobilize. Normally, in starvation, fat is moved from the body's storage depots to the liver for processing into lipoproteins but the feline liver was never intended to handle huge amounts of mobilized fat. The liver becomes infiltrated with fat and fails. Complicating matters are the high dietary protein requirement that is unique to cats; protein malnutrition develops very fast when cats do not eat.

The real question, is the cat maintaining weight and otherwise normal. If so, your expectations regarding feeding may be off.

Doug, DVM

I agree with this. Some cats will indeed starve themselves - even with no underlying health issue - and it can be very dangerous because by the time you realize there is something really wrong, the cat has given up and can't be turned around.

She may just be a nibbler by design and will eat a little bit here and there but never a "meal" - that can make it hard for us to know if they're really eating or not. Also, some ex-feral/homeless cats won't eat with people around - they have learned that people near food means being grabbed/caught/etc., and so they wait to eat until you're gone.

With her being only a year old, it may be difficult to tell if she is eating enough or not (their physique is changing at this age), so weighing her regularly until you're sure she's eating properly is a good idea - you'll catch a potential problem sooner.

My cat is a nibbler. She prefers to eat just a few pieces of kibble many times a day. So I leave dry food out for her all the time. And I put her out some canned food at night--not much, usually about an ounce. Sometimes when I get up in the morning she's just nibbled at it and sometimes it's all gone. Some cats will eat everything in sight when free fed, so you can't always do that. But mine stays lean.

Ditto Dr. Doug about fatty liver. Cats are NOT dogs (not that I advocate taking the "they'll eat when they're hungry" approach with most dogs, either).

Dr Doug, her weight seems normal and she is active. I suspect it's my expectations that are off.

I am going to make an appt. for her 1st year check up this week. Thanks again to all who answered. Bob J.

darsben1 wrote:
CAT will not starve itself. Put out food leave it there if cat is hungry it will either eat or hunt.

I disagree with this philosophy or feeding technique in cats.

Fatty Liver (Hepatic Lipidosis)

A fatty liver can develop in as soon as two weeks with an appetite reduction of 50-75 percent.

The so-called fatty liver is one of the most common causes of liver failure in cats and it stems from the basic design of the cat. Cats evolved as predators of small birds and rodents, eating multiple small meals throughout the day. Their physiology is geared towards a completely carnivorous diet and with the presupposition that cats would live lean and never have the opportunity to develop extensive fat stores.

Of course this all changed when cats become domestic. The modern housecat has every opportunity to become overweight and while this may not be of disastrous consequence on a day to day basis, should the cat get sick or lost and stop eating, a big problem erupts. The fat stores mobilize. Normally, in starvation, fat is moved from the body's storage depots to the liver for processing into lipoproteins but the feline liver was never intended to handle huge amounts of mobilized fat. The liver becomes infiltrated with fat and fails. Complicating matters are the high dietary protein requirement that is unique to cats; protein malnutrition develops very fast when cats do not eat.

The real question, is the cat maintaining weight and otherwise normal. If so, your expectations regarding feeding may be off.

Doug, DVM

Thanks for the replies, I think she is in fact playing me.