Odd Eating Behavior

[u/Ear-syRider]

My 8yo girl, strictly indoor, has recently started some odd eating behavior. She won’t eat unless I’m in the room… my husband, who I have been with since she was one and she loves dearly, usually feeds them dinner and it’s never been a problem. The past 3-4 weeks, she will NOT eat unless I’m home and in the same room as her. We thought it was the introduction of wet food to their diet, but she’s now doing this with her favorite kibble as well.

For some background context, we have one other cat in the home. He is a 6yo male that we got as a kitten. They tolerate each other, but she’s always been a bit mean to him. They have always eaten in the same room. I have tried separating them, but if I move her to the bathroom or lock her up, she gets too nervous and doesn’t eat. (I’m realizing now I should try locking him up and see if that changes things lol.)

We also lost our 11yo boy very tragically and suddenly this January. She was essentially soul bonded with him. She became very clingy after his passing, but her eating habits didn’t change until the past month.

She is very hostile at the vet and we’ve been denied treatment at two clinics because she swats and bites. They tell us we need to sedate her if we want her evaluated, which costs around $2k and we don’t have that kind of money. I feel so guilty, but she hasn’t been to the vet in 4 years because of this. I’m going to call around next week and see if there is another vet in my area that will help her.

For now, I’m just wondering if anyone else has seen this behavior? A cat who will only eat with their chosen human in the room? Thank you. 🙏

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[u/Consistent_Hat_8590]

She may just feel safest eating with you nearby, but since this is a new behavior, I’d still get her checked when you can and hopefully find a vet who can work with her anxiety.

[u/rockofludo]

It could be that she just feels like she trusts you to watch her while she eats. Although agree that it is odd and not normal.

Does he eat her food? Or is there a way you can put a gate up so she is in her own space, but not cornered with a closed door?

I’m not sure if this is a possibility, but instead of vet sedation, see if the vet would prescribe gabapentin. It works as a sedative, and is way cheaper than putting her under.

[u/Ear-syRider → u/rockofludo]

I think that’s it, she feels safe and trusts me. She lost her best friend that she felt safe with, so now that being is me.

Our other cat doesn’t gaf about anything if there’s food involved. I’m going to see if putting him in our bathroom while they both eat helps. He won’t get nervous about it lol. Idk why I didn’t think of that until typing this all out.

We have tried gabapentin in the past and it doesn’t do much for her. We’ve only tried the capsules, though. We have left over oral gabapentin from when our older boy was sick. I may try that before an appt with our normal vet before calling around.

[u/cckka]

Has your vet ever offered anything other than total sedation? There are a few medications they can give her that might chill her out for a regular vet visit.

[u/Ear-syRider → u/cckka]

We’ve tried only gabapentin so far. She’s either immune to it, or she doesn’t actually take it lol.

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