Cat Health & Safety

If your cat starts eating less (or not at all), they could be stressed out (Tip #38), bored with the menu, sick, or in pain. It’s important to find out the cause quickly, because a cat that’s not eating well could wind up with hepatic lipidosis, or “fatty liver disease.” When a cat isn’t taking in enough calories for normal body function, their body will move stored fat to the liver, so it can be converted into energy. If a cat goes without enough food for too long, and enough fat is moved to the liver, the liver cells can become damaged by the fat and the liver will begin to fail. Because of their abundance of fat stores, overweight and obese cats are at significantly higher risk of hepatic lipidosis when they go on a hunger strike. Check out Tip #11 to see what you can do if your cat’s appetite goes “off,” and how long you can safely do it for.