# Hog won't eat cat food



## AlexWG (Jan 3, 2017)

But she's active all night, drinks water and gobbles mealworms. I'm making a vet appointment today but might not get her in until next week. It's the Fromm wild game Bird cat food she's always eaten, is it a bad batch? Stale batch? Not sure why she suddenly won't touch it.


----------



## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

If she ate it before and then suddenly stopped I'd definitely recommend taking her to the vet, she could have something wrong with her teeth or mouth and the kibble is too hard/painful for her to eat. How is her poop ~ normal or any green stools?

Also try a new fresh bag and see if it makes a difference. How long has the current bag been open, as I have read before about some hedgies refusing to eat their kibble if the bag is 2-3+ months old or like you said it could be a dodgy batch if it is new. Also ingredients can change so this might also have an impact, that's why its best to feed 2-3 types of kibble as a mix so if one food changes they're at least used to the others and less chance of food strikes. 

You could also try adding a a few drops of water to her kibble to soften it in case it is a mouth issue and book in with the vet to have her mouth examined asap.


----------



## AlexWG (Jan 3, 2017)

She has an appointment today in a couple hours.

Her poop is normal coloured but there's obviously less of it. Her activity level is normal and she's eating lots of mealworms. Entirely possible she has a mouth issue though. Guess I'll find out today.


----------



## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Good luck at the vet, keep us posted on the outcome ♡


----------



## AlexWG (Jan 3, 2017)

That was scary. They had to do a bunch of tests and I had to sign a dnr for her! 

She's ok and the vet couldn't find anything wrong with her except a small bump near her anus that isn't big enough to cause an obstruction. I'm to keep an eye on it though.

They cut her nails for me for free because they realized I was a bit scared. Good people.

Anyway they gave me some of that Mazuri food that I know isn't great for them, but if it gets her eating I'll be happy. I'll have to rethink her food all together, but she's very picky. Going to have to try a mix from now on but I'm in Canada so if people can suggest good mixes that are readily available here I'd appreciate it.

She's apparently very healthy, not overweight and apart from her butt bump there's no immediate explanation to her going on a hunger strike.

They suggested another food sold at vets for cats that won't eat, I'll have to look into it.

Should be noted the temperature of her enclosure is a steady 78, 13 hour light schedule and her wheel, enclosure, and food dishes are cleaned daily with dish soap and vinegar.

Not sure what her issue is.


----------



## Yukidama's mama (Apr 4, 2017)

Well I'm glad they didn't find anything seriously wrong with her . They checked inside her mouth as well?

I don't know what it is with vets and pet shops, they love to recommend Mazuri ><. The exoctic pet store I got my boy from was also feeding it to him. So I purchased a bag to keep him on the same food and slowly adding mixed cat foods to it but only now am I just finishing the bag! It's full of rubbish ingredients so I don't like it and it's not recommended but it is very small pieces so maybe she will try eating it (it's the only thing my boy will eat as a dry food, he'll only eat dry cat food wet and mixed with superworms ><). Maybe you could try adding the mealies to her old cat food and see if she'll eat it then? Try wet the food a little to soften it for her too. If she just picks out the mealies, maybe you'll need to make a wet mix so it's like a mushy consistency and the mealies are soaked in it. This is how I get my picky boy to eat and he loves it! ^^

Or did you try another fresh bag of her original cat food as it could have been a dodgy batch or maybe the company has changed the ingredients. Maybe try a new different cat food too as it's a good idea to use a mix. Just do it slowly though so she doesn't get an upset stomach from the change. I'm sure most recommended brands would be available in Canada on the Internet, I can get several ones here in Japan 

If she stops eating kibble completely, you'll need to syringe feed her as she can't just survive on mealies. There's a post about how to syringe feed on here... Or maybe try the Hills A/D which is probably the cat food they recommended to help kick start her appetite again. I've read on here, people often use it temporarily to help get their hedgies to eat again/or if they've been sick.


----------



## AlexWG (Jan 3, 2017)

Yeah they did recommend that A/D food. I'll have to get some. She ate a few piece of her Mazuri last night but of what she did eat I think she anointed with most of it. 

The vet did check her mouth. Nothing going on there. I'll probably get some baby food too and just try whatever I can to get her eating.


----------



## AlexWG (Jan 3, 2017)

Ok so she's eating some plain baked turkey, some meal worms and some apple pieces cut up small with no skin. Progress I'm hoping, I'll give her a bit of the Mazuri food and some of her regular cat food when she goes to her enclosure


----------



## AlexWG (Jan 3, 2017)

So she finally ate some of the A/D food and there was a poop explosion. Is that normal? She only ate about 1/6 of the tin but I put out about half a tin for her.


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I wouldn't worry about the poop explosion, her tummy is just probably upset from having new food.


----------



## AlexWG (Jan 3, 2017)

Alright. That's good. There was a second nuclear poop explosion over night, going to have to get her out of her cupboard and burn it down I think LOL. Just kidding, very happy she's getting something in her tummy.


----------



## Nanagar (Nov 25, 2017)

My boy was the same! He stop eating his cat food for 20 days until I started syringe feed him every night ( he hated that but it was for his best) after syringe feed him for a few days he recover his appetite for his kibble and started eating again


----------



## Sadie02 (Jan 1, 2018)

*My hedgie is underweight!!*

Im very worried, my hedgie that i got last month won't eat the dry food that the breeder was feeding her, I give her meat based wet cat food but she is really underweight, When we got her she was 211 grams and now she's about 130 grams. She runs on her wheel a lot but I dont want to take it out. Her poop is green also, I am very concerned please help!


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You need to take her to th vet as soon as possible. She has lost a dangerous amount of weight.


----------

