Is My Cat Orthorexic?

magerum · April 2013

Moar burgers.

^This

ryry_ · April 2013

Like cat owner like cat

UsedToBeHusky · April 2013

Have you tried kitty on marshmallows?

AllonsYtotheTardis · April 2013

cmriverside · April 2013

You should give him milk!

NO no, cats won't drink milk in nature. They don't drink it in nature!!

magerum · April 2013

BurtHuttz · April 2013

This is a serious problem and all of these flippant problems are not helping the OP.

CacheRaddy, I recommend that you give your cat OPTIONS. Put small portions of things in bowls. Write down what he chooses and what he avoids. Also, make sure you're observing him; he might be a mouser and you don't even know; he could be getting his nutrition on the skreets. If you can set up some nanny-cams around the neighborhood, you could watch to see if he's secretly slipping out to rummage garbage or birds nests.

In any event, I really, really hope you find a way to work this out. Orthorexia in cats is the number one killer of orthorexic cats.

BinaryPulsar · April 2013

There has been a lot of good advice in this thread, and as you can see other people's cats have this same problem (people just don't usually talk about it), but please get the help of a cat psychologist. Your cat needs professional help. We can all just give you advice, but it's not a replacement for the professional help your cat needs. If you take care of this now, you might be able to prevent this from becoming a life long struggle. It's good that people are talking about this more openly now, but there is also the risk your cat could join on online forum. Those have been popping up for cats all over the place. It's tough because we do what we can, but cats are so secretive. Just be sure that you don't stand in the mirror and call yourself fat or unhealthy in front of your cat. They always see that!!! You think they aren't watching, but they are. I also agree that you need to start eating the cat food that you want your cat to eat. You need to model that behavior and help your cat see that the food is safe and good and healthy.

SpeSHul_SnoflEHk · April 2013

But for srs, the only thing you can do is leave Pop Tarts lying around. No one can resist pop tarts.

NO.

ONE.

I can. PopTarts.. .Meh. It's my mutant power- The ability to resist pop tarts.

LovesStrays · April 2013

I think you should respect your cats wishes - if he want to live on such a restrictive diet then you should be supportive. Eventually he'll trust you more and open up, then you might be able, after many conversations, to convince him that a little "bad" food now and again isn't going to kill him or derail his progress.

Who knows, he might even try a pop tart one day :flowerforyou:

Penelope2738 · April 2013

Hahahah, too funny. I started out with Friskies, I consider it the Mc Donald's of cat food, especially when I found strips of plastic in it! But now, he eats Fancy Feast, a brand I swore I would never use, but hey, he loves it, and will also never turn up his nose at MY food-chicken, fish, and the evil stuff, butter and cream. As for you, I think it is a game, and you must tough it out! Show him You are the one buying the food, lol

catmaster · April 2016

MEOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW

puffbrat · April 2016

I think you should give him goldfish crackers. If he is an indoor cat he won't know what a real fish looks like. Hopefully he will only know the general shape from the internet and watching tv all day. You can convince him it isn't moving because you oh so nicely killed his highness' dinner in advance so he wouldn't have to dirty his paws.

Lounmoun · April 2016

He should try a raw diet. Just sling down some raw chicken wings and let him make his own choices.

Are male cats more paranoid about body image and diet? All the threads lately about male cats have me wondering if the media gives them issues. Female cats don't stress about this stuff at all it seems.