Cats mainly depend on Food and water to live. If these two sources were cut, the cat would die through days, food is considered as vital elements to them, we will cover in this article how long can a cat survive without food and how far that depends on the cat’s health and its environmental condition. Cats are known for their survivability, they are good at surviving due to their flexibility and sufficiency, but when it comes to food and water, we should be careful.
Through this article, we are going to know exactly how long can a cat survive without food? And also we will explain the reasons that lead the cat to that and how to deal with this issue.
NOTE: We want to inform our blog readers that before we publish any article the team “Proudcatowners” Do deep research based on experience and knowledge about cat’s and everything related to them, to guarantees reliable and precise information, satisfy the readers is our first priority
How long can a cat survive without food?
People wonder for how long can a cat survive without food? actually not for so long.
Your cat can still be alive and survive the hunger for almost seven days.
About 75% of the body of the cat is made of water, and we can not forget that food is a source of water too, so if you notice that your pet stop eating this is a bad sign and this could be very harmful to your cat, don’t force your cat to eat or drink, the best thing you can do for it if you face this issue is to prepare the best food that your cat’s love.
Important notes you should know about your cat’s stomach:
Cats’ organs, especially the cat’s stomach, close very quickly if you don’t feed them.
As the opposite of many living creatures like humans, goats, and dogs, cats livers do not support them for a long time, as their livers store lipid and nutrient but not for so long so they can not survive for more around seven days.
Your cat digestive system consists of (The mouth, The esophagus, the stomach, the duodenum and its pals, the liver and pancreas, the small intestine, the large intestine, the rectum, and the anus).
Through your cat’ rectum and anus, the stool is collected and formed, through seeing the stool, you can predict the health of the cat or also you can predict the last time your cat ate. The normal range of ejecting the stool is about every 20 hours.
The large intestine of your cat can be a great indicator for your cat’s health, and also it can serve as a good explanation for why your cat refuses to eat as the large intestine which is also known as the colon is the keeper for water, electrolytes, and the digested nutrients which your cat ate through the day so any problem through the colon can make it keep the food for a long time then your cat would refuse to eat.
Knowing about the small intestine for your cat is good, and you can use it as an indicator for your cat’s health and also as an explanation of why your cat refuses to eat.
The small intestine is considered as the longest part of the cat’s digestive system.
Every food your cat eats is absorbed there, the small intestine of the cat is lined with small bodies called villi which helps in absorbing water, enzymes, electrolytes, and protein thus any problem with this villi can cause in keeping the water for a long time thus the cat would feel filled and would refuse to eat.
What can cats eat?
Cats love to eat meat so that they need to have a source of protein to get the optimal diet.
Thus you will be in need to search for high-quality commercial cat food for your cat, which should be matched to your cat age and health condition.
If you find it hard to choose the best food of your cat, you can ask the advice of your veterinarian before picking up what you want to feed to your cat, as the good food will control the mental and the physical health for your cat so you should choose the right type of food carefully to your cat.
You should be aware of the fact that cats cannot live and thrive on a vegetarian diet.
The foods that you can introduce to your cat are varied, and you can feed them a commercial dry, wet food, cooked or raw, and fresh meat.
It is well known that most cats love to eat fish, but fish is still not very welcomed food to be taken every day, fish consists of fatty acid, which can cause deficiency of vitamin E, and that can lead to chronic health problems to the cat.
How much food does your cat need?
There are various elements that control the amount of food the cat needs daily, which are weight, size, and age, so everyone should separately draw the plan of the diet of their cats.
You should care about the meals that you provide to your cat because obesity is a common problem that happens to the cats, so you should pay attention to the amount of food and how many times you serve meals to your cat. So if you can’t decide what to do you should ask your veterinarian.
The relationship between the food and the age of your cat:
There is a fixed relationship between the age of the cat and the amount of food and type of food you serve to your cat.
You will learn more about the right amount of food and types of food you should serve to your cat.
Kittens:
This stage is so important, so you should pay attention to what you serve to your kitten as your kitten always needs high-value nutrition because they are in a growing stage that needs a great amount of milk for their bones and their joints.
The right diet for your kitten should have high-quality, commercial kitten food.
Moreover, you can over also for them cooked or raw meats, but you should notice that the little kitten should not have raw meat until they reach 20 weeks due to their immune system.
It is necessary to not feed your kitten cooked bones because cooked bones can hurt their intestinal tract.
Also, you can add wet food. It will serve as a good choice for your kittens as it is proven that wet food enhances the urinary tract health.
The amount of the food the kitten should take is different depending on size, weight, breed and overall health status for the kittens.
Adult cats:
The adult cat’s condition is similar to kittens. The diet of these cats should be mainly focused on premium commercial cat food.
You should check the date you would find on the food you are going to buy to avoid buying expired food, it should match your cat’s age, and if you had problems with that, you could always get back to your veterinarian.
Like kittens, adult cats always need various sources of food to be served to them for optimal growth, so they need a fixed source of protein, and this source of protein should be free from any kind of preservatives that could be harmful to the cats.
You can feed them meat and fish, they would be a good protein source for the cats as they would help in strengthening the bone and the joint, and also the fish is a good source for fatty acids.
Senior cats:
There are many signs for the age of the cat, for example, the bad health is considered as a sign for old age for the cats, and that is due to a long time of bad diet which certainly has a side effect on the cat and its overall age.
The balanced diet is the fastest and the most certain way to ensure the long age and health for your cat, and you should feed your cat, fresh or cooked to assist in increasing the amount of fluid they consume, and always seek the help from your vet to eliminate any health problem that your cat may have.
The number of meals you should serve to your cat daily depends on the age of the cat, the size and the health condition too.
You should always set a balanced diet for your cat as the adult cats prefer to eat small meals during the day.so the best choice you should is to feed them 3 or 4 times a day.
If your cat refuses to eat these meals or wants to eat more, ask your vet for advice, that can be related to the mental condition for the cat or the type of food.
List of foods you should avoid feeding your cat:
No doubt that food is a critical element in controlling your cat’s health, as some foods are hard to digest and that may lead to many problems like pain in the cat’s stomach…etc., thus choosing the cat’s food is a wise choice you should go for.
On the other hand, there is a list of foods you should be aware of, and they can enhance the health of your cat and promote their digestive system.
This list, you will see the most common food that you should avoid and keep your cat as far as possible for good health.
- Grapes
- Fruit stones
- Coffee
- wine
- Mushrooms
- tea
- stimulant drinks
- Fruit seeds
- sugar and spices in general
- Candy and gum
This one should make you wonder but what you are going to read is true. Milk and dairy products, you should not feed your cat a great amount of milk as cats are lactose intolerant.
You should keep your cats away from the cooked bones, and the uncooked bones may hurt the stomach of the cats.
You also should pay attention and don’t let your cat eat plastic and wooden stuff because that would hurt its stomach and make it suffer for a long time.
Also, you should pay attention to the expiration date for the food you bring to your cat, as so many people don’t pay the proper attention for this point and end up causing suffering for the cat and maybe lead to its death, so it is a critical point you should be careful with.
Here is a list of the foods you should feed your cat for better health and normal growth.
- sardines
- tuna
- salmon
- vegetables
- cooked meat
- Fish
- Canned fish.
- Skinless chicken.
- Lean beef.
Being careful with the diet of your cat is a good step forward for good health and good growth, so many people don’t pay proper attention to what their cats eat then become surprised why their cats are not having good health and always weak.
Well, the answer lies in the food they eat daily as it matters to humans. It matters to cats, it is well known that humans need a good and balanced diet to have good physical and mental health, so it is the same for cats, as they need a balanced diet to grow and have good health.
A well-balanced diet throughout the day would ensure the health and vigor of your cat, and sure all these elements would lead to a happy life for your cat.
What should you do if your cat does not want to eat?
We know that you love your cat and want the best for it, we feel all your concerns about the health of your cat, and here are some tips you should follow to make your cat eat more.
Change the amount and the type of food:
Like humans, cats love to taste new things so always search for new types of food you can serve to your cat, for example, you can try wet cat food or even try to add pet gravy.
Changing the times you serve the food to your cat is also a good thing that can help in making your cat love to eat the served food.
Mix food slowly:
When your cat becomes sick, encourage him to eat slowly so with time he will stick to this habit and he will enjoy the food more.
Control the environment:
Cats love to eat in a quiet place, so keep your cat in a calm place to avoid the noise that may make it distracted.also, don’t force it to eat or drink.
Ask for help:
If your cat kept on refusing the served food for days, you should take it to the vet to examine it.
What makes your cat refuse to eat?
There are many reasons that can lead to this, some of them are psychological reasons, and others may be associated with health problems.
We will cover the most common reasons that may lead to this.
Lack of flavor:
Like humans, cats love to change, they seem like they don’t care at first, but then they become more bored about the food especially when it lacks for flavors so from time to time you should add some to their food, that would be an attractive element which would make them eat the food again.
Medications:
Some medications have side effects that may lead your cat to refuse the served food.
Stress:
People with a busy life or people who travel a lot have a great chance to make their cats feel stressed.
Sometimes this element leads the cat to refuse eating thus you should notice the changes and always try to calm your cat.
Hidden wounds:
Cats always love to play, and they may play with harmful things that can hurt them, feeling the pain is a strong reason for refusing the served food.
Conclusion:
Cats need food and water, they can not live for so long without these two sources, but the question here is for how long can a cat survive without food? They almost can survive without food for seven days, but anyway, if they spent all that time without food, they would be weak.
There are many elements that control for how long can a cat survive without food, like psychological elements as the sad and depressed cats can not survive for many days while the happy cats can survive more days without food. Also, the health condition for the cat is such a critical element as the healthy cat can survive without food more days while the unhealthy cat can not.
You should provide a balanced diet for your cat to have good health. Thus you should know about the food you should feed to your cats and the other kinds of food you should avoid.
There are many reasons that may lead your cat to refuse to eat like stress, medications, feeling pain, and getting bored, it is important to know these elements to avoid.
