# Cat keeps leaving bits of her food



## Angela_UK (Nov 26, 2009)

I have a strange cat problem, which I suppose isn't really a problem but more of an annoyance. I have a 10 month old tabby girl, who eats dry food. I recently switched her from Wiskas Kitten to Tescos Premium Cat Crunchies and then to Iams Adult (after checking with the vet) as I was told Wiskas is kind of the McDonalds of the cat world. It's quite expensive, but it promises on the bag -- 109 meals! Ha.
The problem is, a couple of weeks or so since switching to adult, my cat has stopped eating the entire cat crunchy. She'll pick it up, perhaps kind of move back from the bowl a little bit, chew it a bit, and then anything that falls out of her mouth goes on the floor or back in the bowl, and she won't go back and eat it. So, she eats about two thirds to half of her food. I've had lots of cats and I've never had this problem before.
I was hoping that since the IAMS pices are quite small that this would solve the problem, but it hasn't. Anyway, the Wiskas kitten bits were bigger and she didn't seem to have a problem eating all of those. 
It's really annoying as I hate to see wasted food, kitty or otherwise, and Iams isn't cheap. Does anyone have any ideas on how to solve this? I've tried just leaving the 'remains' in the bowl until she eats it (actually, I did this accidentally when she first stopped, since I saw food in the bowl and presumed she was ok for it. She kept mewing like she was hungry until I got the hint that she would like some new, whole cat crunchies please), but she really won't. 
I had a brief fling with wet cat food while she was a kit, but she didn't like it one bit, and that would often end up getting thrown out too, and what she actually did eat came out of the other end smelling gas-leak-bad, so I didn't try that again. Again, the vet said this is fine.
She seems to have absolutely no problem eating treats whole lol, but obviously I cannot feed her on those.
Any help really appreciated.


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## velvet6 (Dec 17, 2008)

It may be a dental problem. Sometimes, if there's something wrong with gums or teeth, cats don't eat. They're hungry, but it's too painful to chew (especially the dry food) so they give up on it. Sometimes they can also get sores in their mouth which results in a similar "lack of appetite."

When I first adopted my cat, he simply stopped eating the 2nd morning after I had taken him in. He would howl like he was hungry, but would hardly eat any of the food I set out. If I stroked him too close to his mouth, he would shy away as if in pain. When I got him to the vet, we discovered a nasty sore in his mouth that was a result of his cold. 

Try some wet food...add a little water and mash it up really well so it's more watery/mushy and see how that goes. And a vet appointment would probably be a good idea as well if her appetite doesn't improve soon.

Edit - sorry. Didn't see the bit about how wet food doesn't agree with her. The brand can really make a difference though. She may be more enthusiastic about a higher quality brand (Wellness, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack, etc) if you haven't tried that already. Or a little bit of canned tuna might be a good idea about now.


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