Feral Not Eating

[Rockrose]

I have a wee feral that lives in my orchard, been there for 3 years, has had several litters but I managed to trap her 18 months ago and got her spayed. She is now letting me and only me touch her and stroke her with an occasional belly rub.
She has always been keen on her food twice a day without fail!
But the last 3 days she hasn’t eaten I have tried everything chicken beef prawns finally managed to get her to eat today thanks to tuna! That superfood!
The thing is I don’t want to upset her little tummy so do I just give her normal food on the premise that she will eat if she’s hungry or continue with the tuna but reduce the amount every meal so she doesn’t get too use to it?
Taking her to the vets would cause her too much stress I think, she certainly isn’t thin as I do feed her a lot so she has a good winter belly on her.
Any advice gratefully received

[woofgang]

Can you get worm meds down her? could you collect a poo sample? It also may be that there is a vets around you who is used to dealing with feral and could give advice.

[spathiphyllum]

Keep eye on the weight of the cat. If it drops there may be some internal issue.

I would just give it tuna. Perfectly fine for a cat.

Aging can simply cause a cat to eat less also.

[spathiphyllum]

Try get the tuna in spring water, and add the water to the meal.

[Rockrose]

Yes woof I will see if I can get some liquid worm medicine from the vets and see if that helps.
Spath she is very young no more than 4 at the oldest.

[Rockrose]

The reason I’m not too keen on given tuna all the time that I know that all 4 of mine ends up with the runs if they have too much tuna.

[spathiphyllum]

Oh really? Fairly youngish middle age.

[murraymints]

respect for caring for the wee baby...Mia can be like that at times...perhaps she has had some "wild kill" that has put her off for a day or two ? there is a tuna cat food that I buy from Home Bargains that seems to go down well...although her preference is always chicken/turkey/pork .. perhaps a mix of a little tuna and her normal feed and lessen the tuna content..and of course water...maybe a wee biscuit or two in the mix to encourage her to eat ?

[murraymints]

liquid wormer is a good idea

[spathiphyllum]

Cats can sometimes just be fussy.. If she is acting normal, i think her behaviour is more critical to observe than how much she's eating, especially if she is eaying at least something

[Rockrose]

She’s a cute little thing, I had hopes of taming her enough to rehome her but she’s far too timid and get upset easily, she also only seems to respond to me!
I have built her a lovely warm house that she does actually sleep in and even when I’m away my cat sitter makes sure she’s fed.
Well she has eaten this morning so I will try the tuna trick again tonight as the temperatures are falling and I don’t want her sleeping with an empty belly in the cold.

[pastafreak]

I seem to remember reading that too much human tuna is bad for cats...so go easy with that. Try mixing it with whatever she usually has.

[Rockrose]

Pasta that’s what I did this morning she got about 1/4 of a tin, will try and reduce it so it’s just enough to tempt her.

[pastafreak]

I once took in a whole family of feral kittens...they were several months old. They adapted with varying success, but only 1 was truly a pet.

[Rockrose]

Unfortunately Trisha is just not going to be able to settle as a house cat

[elsablack005]

Maybe she just needs some variation in her diet, or she maybe suffering with upset stomach, however this may be serious, get her to a vet if possible.

[Rockrose]

Elsa unfortunately that would cause her too much stress at the moment, good news is she has eaten everything in her bowl which was a sachet of cat food some biscuits and the tuna

[maggiebee]

Could it be that she is also getting fed elsewhere? We had a feral that we fed on occasion, but think he was being fed at a few houses.

[Rockrose]

Maggie no she’s basically in our orchard and garden all day, maybe something just upset her and it’s taken a few days to get over it, will see how she gets on and take it from there.
Thanks for all the advice

[roopower]

She may have caught a mouse or bird which either filled her up or upset her. She may give in a little if it turns really cold and snows. Keep up the good work. Great news that you managed to get her spayed.

[Rockrose]

Too pleased to say she has eaten this evening without the need for bribery, so it appears that your right and she had probably caught something that didn’t sit quiet right with her.
Once again thanks for all the responses