Due to the popularity of keeping cats as pets in the counties where the majority of our readers live, we have seen more and more people reaching out and asking a wide range of questions about various problems that they are having with their pet cats.
A large number of the different questions that we do see people asking about their cats involve either food or their cat not eating so we have decided to go over why cats leave food crumbs in their bowl due to seeing people asking about it recently.
There are a number of reasons why a cat may leave food crumbs in its bowl but the majority of the time, it is simply due to the food crumbs either being moist or too dry.
Cats can be very picky eaters and even a slight texture change in their food can be enough to put a pet cat off eating it and the food crumbs are far more likely to get too wet or too dry for these texture changes to discourage your cat from eating it.
Thankfully, the food crumbs that most cats will leave in their bowl are very small so it doesn’t really have much of an effect on the costs of keeping your pet cat.
Just keep in mind that if you leave your cat’s food out too long it may end up having texture changes and your cat refusing to eat it all or even maggots growing in it.
This is why portion control with cats is so important as if you offer too much food, your cat probably won’t eat it all and then it starts to dry and its texture changes reducing the chance that your cat will actually eat it.
Why Does My Cat Leave Crumbs In Its Bowl?
The most common reason that cats will leave crumbs of food in their bowls is usually due to the food crumbs being too dry or too moist for them as most cats are very finicky eaters.
In older age, there can be some health problems with your cat due to jaw or teeth issues that can make it more difficult for your cat to eat these smaller food crumbs so they will commonly just be left.
There are some other health problems that can cause your pet cat to leave parts of its food with it being difficult to diagnose these so if you do suspect your cat has any issues with its digestive system then you should book a video call with a veterinarian to get some professional advice if possible.
The vet will be able to check your cat over via the camera on your smartphone and as you a small number of questions to help diagnose the cause of the issue and get your cat back on the path to a full recovery.
The older your cat is, the more common these issues are but thankfully, many of them can be managed or even fully treat to help your cat live as normal. In some situations, though such as tumors a relatively easy surgery may be required to remove the tumor from your cat’s stomach or digestive system to try and get it eating like normal again.
Why Does My Cat Have Trouble Picking Up Food?
If your cat is having problems picking up the smaller crumbs of its food then this could be due to a problem with its jaw, teeth or gums.
This is very common with older cats as old age sets in and starts to take an effect on your cat with some people switching over to senior cat food products that have been designed to be as easy as possible for older cats who have these issues to eat.
Now, this is where it can get a little confusing for some people as there are essentially three types of cat food designed for senior cats.
There is the cat food that has been designed to be as easy as possible to eat due to the issues we just covered, the cat food that has a macronutrient profile designed for the nutrition requirements of an older cat, and a third senior cat food option that offers both of these features in a single product.
If you do have an older cat that is struggling just to pick its food up then it may be worth looking into making the switch in the food mix that you feed your pet cat.
An older cat leaving the smaller pieces of food such as its crumbs is often an early sign of these problems setting in giving you time to plan ahead and try to prepare for switching your cat over to a new food mix.
The actual switch over is often overlooked by many people but it can be challenging to get a cat to eat a new food mix so mixing the old and new food together in various ratios during the switch over period is usually the best option.
Is There Anything I Can Do To Get My Cat To Eat Its Crumbs?
If your cat is not eating its food crumbs due to them being too dry and hard for its taste then you can try feeding your cat less so it eats all of its food, including the crumbs before they dry out.
If your cat is not eating its food crumbs due to a health issue such as a jaw or tooth problem then you will have to look towards treating the underlying issue in your cat.
There are various types of cat food broth on the market that you can sometimes take advantage of not help with both problems.
Not only do these broth food toppers soften the food of to help your cat eat it if it doesn’t like dried up food but this can also reduce any jaw problems or tooth pain when eating too.
These modern cat food broths can also help to get your cat to eat its food sooner too due to the more enticing smell to what it is used to and this reduces the chance of its food drying up too.
If your cat is currently on a dry food mix then you can also try to switch over to a standard wet food option that may be able to help prevent your cat from leaving its food crumbs in its bowl.
The effectiveness of switching over to standard wet food will usually depend on why your pet cat is not eating its food though and may not work.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over why your pet cat leaves its food crumbs in its bowl to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you encourage your cat to eat all of its food and not leave the crumbs but this can be very difficult, especially with older cats. Thankfully, the majority of the health problems that can affect the way that your cat eats can often be treat or managed and shouldn’t have any long term problems in your cat.
