Answer: A complete loss (anorexia) or partial loss of appetite can occur in association with illness. For instance, both in renal failure, where waste product accumulate in the blood, and the diseases causing fever the appetite center in the brain is affected. In severe respiratory diseases the cat’s ability to smell or taste its food may be lost, thereby severely discouraging eating.
Pain in the mouth or throat or pain elsewhere in the body can also prevent the animal from eating. Some cats, mainly pedigree animals and frequently Siamese or Burmese can refuse to eat for several weeks after having recovered from a severe illness or major surgery.
Appetite may be lost, although usually only temporarily, following some psychological shock perhaps moving house, being hospitalized or boarded, the arrival of a new pet or some other member of the household, continuous loud noises, or even simply altering the position of the feeding bowl. Or the cat may feel full of all the time, as with ‘hairball’.
Many cats are reluctant to eat if they are being watched, especially by unfamiliar individuals, and those are not used to being handled, such as farm cats, will not eat if they are approached to within the so-called ‘flight distance’, usually about six feet away. And, of course tom cats can be distracted from eating by the presence in the neighborhood of a female ‘on heat’
Finally, some cats develop an aversion to certain foodstuff and may even prefer to stave to death rather then eat it.
