Unsanitary or Unsafe Eating Area
Pets can be surprisingly picky about their dining area. You don’t need to take them to a 5 star restaurant, but put some effort into cleaning up their eating area.
Make sure the eating area is sanitary and safe. Some pets may avoid their eating area because there are loud noises, frequent surprises, or other distractions in the area.
Clean up your pet’s eating area or try moving their dish to a new place. This can be a particularly common problem with skittish pets.
Bad Habits or Irregular Feeding Times
Most pets like to eat on schedule. If you feed your pet on schedule, it gets used to getting fed at a certain time of the day. If you frequently forget to feed your pet on time, then it may throw their schedule out of order.
Or, you could be giving your pet too many treats outside of meal times. That doesn’t mean they’re not hungry: but it does mean they’re accustomed to your tasty human food instead of their pet food.
Avoid overfeeding table scraps to your pets. Feed your pets meals at the same times every day. You may be surprised by how quickly their eating habits resolve themselves.
Expired or Spoiled Food
Your pet’s nose is probably more sensitive than your nose. There’s a reason dog and cat food has expiry dates. Check your food’s expiry date and make sure that’s not a problem.
They’re Bored of their Food
Sometimes we forget that pets have taste buds. Taste fatigue is a real thing with some pets. How would you like it if you had to eat the same pasta every day, at every meal time, for years?
Sometimes, you can solve your pet’s eating problem by buying them new food or higher-quality food.
Unhealthy Body or Other Health Problems
Sometimes, there’s a simple reason why your pet isn’t eating. Maybe the TV is right next to their food dish and the TV is bright and makes scary noises.
But in other cases, there’s a more serious reason why your pet isn’t eating. Look out for health problems and, if you suspect anything’s wrong, consider getting a vet to check on your pet.
There are certain warning signs when your pet might need closer veterinary care, like if they have frequent occurrences of diarrhoea or vomiting. If that’s the case, take your pet to the vet immediately.