Cat refusing to eat - Help

[Miss Inquiry]

I have 2 cats, and one is refusing to eat, which is totally unheard of, he normally eats absolutely anything he can get his paws on. He is 2 years old and not displaying any abnormal signs, he is purring, he has no belly swelling, his teeth are fine, no scratched or cuts. He wouldn't eat breakfast yesterday afternoon, so when i got home from work I tried him on fresh mackrel, tuna, polish sausage, ham, he sniffed at it and walked off. This morning he is still off his food but displaying no other abnornal signs.
What should I do?
I did have lillies in the house, in a room the cats don't go in but the smell coming from them was very overpowering, so I binned them yesterday morning, could this overpowering pollen smell be the cause? Any suggestions much appreciated.

[allanmabel]

could he be getting tit bits from an indulgent neighbour??? I had a cat actually move out and take up residence with a neighbour because of this although he was much loved and pampered at home.He is back now because they have moved away.

[Miss Inquiry]

That is a possibility, I have no idea what he gets up to when I am at work, however I think even if I fed him 24/7 he couldn't ever refuse fresh fish or meat, both cats go mad for it.
He still meows and twists and turns round my feet @ feeding time, but then just sniffs and walks off.

[JockSporran]

I also have 2 cats and I know that cat behaviour can be inconsistent and erratic. But as allanmabel suggests, it is possible that a neighbour is feeding them. Cats like a change of diet - they are curious creatures and get bored with familiarity. Try a change of cat food. If you feed them on wet food, try dry. If you feed them on dry food, try wet. Try different flavours and ingredients.

But in the end, cats are weird things, aren't they? You can't analyse their odd inconsistent behaviour.

[HJT40]

I don't think that there is anything wrong with your cat, must be the time of year, one of mine has been doing it and I indulged him and bought a different kind of food to try to get him to eat. Little monkey is now also eating the stuff he wouldn't eat before.

As long as they seem happy and content and don't seem to be in pain I would leave it for a while. I am sure he will eat when he is hungry!

[wolf63]

And as I read this mine are trying to lick the pattern off the plates, food long gone.

I think that they do things to wind us up sometimes.

All we can do is obey their every command.

[Miss Inquiry]

Thanks everyone!

[puddycat]

He might have a bit of a cold - cats are drawn to food based on scent more than anything else. If hes's got a cold he might not be able to smell the food and so isn't eating. You could try warming the food a little as this will make it smell stronger. Try someof the Felix roasted range - they're quite pongy!!
Hope he's eating well again soon.