Shadow stopped eating again

I am so worried about Shadow. He has been refusing all food for two days now. I know he is in stage 3 CKD, but he used to eat his prescription renal diet without complaint. I just posted the details of his recent vet visit and bloodwork here Shadow's recent bloodwork so you can see exactly what we are dealing with.

I have tried warming the food up, which I read about in Does warming food help?, but he just sniffs it and walks away. Is this a pain issue? I saw Helping Milo with his hip arthritis and wondered if his joints are bothering him when he tries to stand over the bowl. Or is it just the stress of the illness? I feel like I am going in circles.

Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear this, Shadow is lucky to have such a dedicated owner. Since you are asking for consensus before making changes, I would suggest checking the environment first. I have found that even small changes can trigger stress in older cats. Have you moved his bowl recently? You might want to look at Stress related food refusal to see if there are any environmental triggers you are missing. It is easy to overlook things like the location of the litter box or noise levels.

This is so stressful! I remember when Felix was going through a similar phase. He is very vocal and I thought he was just being dramatic, but it turned out to be a texture issue. I wrote about it in Felix refusing the kibble. Did you try mixing in some of his old favorite food? Sometimes the change in texture is enough to make them stop eating. I hope Shadow feels better soon!

Short answer: check the pain. If he can't get into the bowl, he won't eat. Tiger is a Bengal and he is food motivated, but even he stops if something hurts. I detailed my approach in Feeding a picky Bengal. Try lifting the bowl to table height or using a raised stand. If he is in pain, the vet needs to know today. Do not wait.

yo shadowlady, my Milo is only 2 so he's healthy, but i've seen older cats do this. try the microwave trick but keep it low. also, check if the food is fresh. sometimes the protein breaks down and smells weird to them. i posted about this in Does warming food help? but forgot to mention the smell test. if he still won't eat, call the vet. no joke.