My little 3kg rescue cat (I have had her a year now) has always had a big appetite - so much so that up until now she would wake me early in the morning, pestering me until I fed her.

When I first had her, I fed her pretty much on demand (my previous cat would eat just what he needed and no more) but she became overweight, and on the vet's advice she was strictly rationed to 40g Purina a day until her weight returned to normal. This took several months.

Now she has achieved her ideal weight, I have upped her ration to 50g a day, split into two meals. Up until yesterday she would scoff the lot as soon as it was put down and still be looking for more. Then yesterday she left some, and today so far she has only eaten 9g of the 25g put down for her. She has fresh water at all times of course.

She is still quite happy and playful when she's not sleeping (if I tickle her tum I get the usual high-speed front and rear paw swipes) but I am starting to get a bit worried about her sudden change in feeding habits.

Should I be worried, or am I over-reacting?

I don't think it's the weather, since she was fine during all the recent 30+ temperatures.

Cats can be funny with food, it could be the weather or maybe she has got some food from elsewhere. Try a change of food, maybe some prawns or tuna. I would give it a couple of days and if no improvement maybe it is time for a trip to the vets.

She may have an upset stomach or getting some free food elsewhere. I'd consider keeping her in for the day so you can be sure she's not eating and if so, take her to the vet.

I'd agree about trying her with prawn/tuna - my Brooke loves cooked whitefish.

BTW Brooke pesters me for an early breakfast - I've solved that one by programming her autofeeder to give her brekky at 6am every day, so I don't have to
Mind you she still pesters me for an early morning fuss

Ours has had a couple of bouts of this in the past year or so.
The first time was when she'd chewed / swallowed foam ear plugs.

We noticed she wasn't eating and were taking her into the vet when she was sick in the car and she threw up the earplugs. They'd obviously been in there for a little while - no wonder she was struggling to eat.

The 2nd time we thought might have bee a repeat of the 1st as the visible symptoms were pretty similar, but it turned out she had some sort of infection. Vet put her on antibiotics for a week and it cleared up and her appetite picked up again.

So yeah if in doubt - get her checked out

Thanks for the replies. I will give it a day or two to see if things change. I don't think she is suddenly getting food from elsewhere but you never know.

(People who deliberately feed cats that are obviously not starving strays are a menace - but I don't think I have thoughtless neighbours like that.)

My cat used to bother us when we had our dinner. But in this hot weather she doesn't even bother with her own food. Perhaps the cat wants more water.

No, she has plenty, thanks

Actually, she seems to be eating when I remind her to, but nothing like as much as she needs for her weight.

I bought her some gourmet sachets yesterday, which she liked, but didn't wolf them down as I would expect her to. I will give it a couple more days of putting down normal food - if she is still not back to normal, I will take her to the vet.

There could be an obstruction or infection, though if it were the former I would expect her to be vomiting.

Could be pain in the teeth. Look for signs of discomfort whilst eating or unusual behaviour when it stops eating such as overly licking the inside of its mouth or scratching its face/mouth with its front paws.

My guess would be the weather. None of the cats at work are eating much either, and my boy (who's a pig normally) is slowing down.

Sorry, I thought I had come back with an update. (Maybe I did and forgot to post it )

She is fine now, thanks, and completely back to normal without any intervention. That includes jumping on me with freezing cold paws in the middle of the night for some cuddles (or more likely food) after she has come in from outside adventures.

I think she just had an off day or two. It's so easy to worry when things are not quite normal.

My cat hates this hot weather. She has been really moody. However, as it is a bit cooler, she seems to have gone back to her usual naughty self.