My two house cats who are coming up to 2 have hardly been touching their cat food for the past few months. They're both house cats so I know they're not getting food elsewhere. They do eat the biscuits (which is a complete food), but a tray of them about the size you'd get a takeaway Chinese in last the two of them a few days. If I put the meat down for them all they seem to do is lick the gravy off and then leave the rest of it. They're even losing interest in treats and human foods they like as well which for them is rare.

I've tried leaving the food there for 24 hours, taking their biscuits away, splitting a packet between them (that got me a 4-paw shake out of both of them which let me know how disgusted they were about it), and even mixing in treats with their food (all they did was pick the treats out and leave the rest) and it's not worked. The annoying part of it is though, come 7am and 6pm and they'll stand there gobbing off at you to feed them. There'll be the odd day or two were they eat the food within an hour or two of it being put down, but that happens at most twice a month.

They seem fine and they're still tearing around the house as usual, begging for the gun (the laser pointer they chase) and being far too clever for their own good. I'm just wondering why we're continuing to waste £15 on cat food each week. We have thought about just not buying it and letting them get over it, but I know cats get a lot of the fluid they need from their food (cats have a highly efficient digestive system which is excellent at stripping moisture out of foods which is why their urine is so concentrated). They've got access to water - which they refuse to drink out of anything but a pint glass - so I'm just wondering if I did quit the meat food whether they'd just start drinking that or raiding the coffee cups again as they have a taste for cold coffee which would be fine if they didn't knock the cup over to get it.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Are they losing weight? If not there is nothing to worry about.

Try changing their food, I have to do this with mine every few years, I go between tinned food and pouches.

My 2 get half of an 85g foil or pouch 3 times a day (3 different types) plus access to Iams biscuits 24/7.

They hassle me for each meal (breakfast / dinner & super)but don't always eat it all.

As it's both of them it's less likely to be a health problem.

Just try different brands (don't be ashamed to try cheaper brands). Mine have tesco own brand for brekky, sheba for dinner & gourmet (their favorite) for supper.

Mine go through stages like that , sometimes its down to the fact they are being bloody picky and I change brands for a while , also the warmer weather can affect them. I always try them with some of their favourite treats hard biscuit based ones not soft ones as that can show if they maybe have a tooth problem , if they turn their nose up at them then there may be something wrong , but if they scoff them down as normal then generally they are ok .

I also find that if one has decided its time for a brand change her sister will follow suit.

If they are eating dry food then they need to drink more water. You could get a water fountain if you dont have one to encourage them to drink.

You could weigh out the dry food to get a more exact handle on whether they are eating enough. Dry food goes a lot further in weight terms because it has no water in it, so they may be eating more than it appears.

Dry food sounds boring, but I think cats quite like crunching their way through it. Although mine get fed both.

They pester me for food sometimes, because its time and they want attention, not because they are hungry. After i put food down, sometimes they will choose to eat the previous meals leftovers rather than the new stuff.

So the "gobbing off at you to feed them" might just be attention seeking.

We've tried almost every cat food brand out there including the cheaper options and it has the same result. They're not losing weight so I'm not overly concerned, it's just annoying that they pester and then don't eat.

They're definitely not asking for attention. Cats do have a range of different vocalisms usually, and ours chirp at us if they want attention. We've discovered what most of their vocalisms mean and the one for food is more of a pitiful miaow as opposed to the chirp. If you try and pick them up or play with them while they're doing this miaow they look at you as if to say "are you deaf?" and then go and parade around in front of the food bowl. One of my wife's friends suggested putting catnip in the food, but considering what these two are like on catnip it would just be asking for trouble and I like my ornaments in one piece. I also don't fancy having to send them to rehab because they've become nip-heads.

I found that changing their food usually works, if they are house cats as you say and about 2yo they are probably not getting much exercise and have stopped growing so their appetite may just have dropped off naturally. Make sure they are drinking plenty if they are on dry food.