Your vet's instructions set the boundaries
Tempting a post-operative cat is not about finding the tastiest food in the house — it is about making the food your vet has approved as tempting as possible, at the times and in the amounts your vet described. Discharge advice usually covers when the first small meal can be offered, whether a particular recovery food or your cat's normal food is preferred, and how much to give while the stomach wakes up after anaesthesia. If any of that was unclear in the rush of bringing her home, a quick call to clarify is always appropriate; guessing with rich or novel foods can cause vomiting that complicates recovery.
Why appetite is slow at first
Anaesthesia, pain, unfamiliar smells from the clinic, and the strangeness of a collar or a shaved patch all suppress appetite, and most cats eat little or nothing the first evening. Smell drives a cat's willingness to eat more than flavour does, and a recovering cat with a dulled appetite needs food that announces itself. That is why presentation — warmth, freshness, quiet, and patience — matters more in these days than variety.
Making the approved food appealing
Serve small portions, a spoonful or two at a time, offered every few hours rather than a full bowl left to go cold and stale beside a sleeping cat. Bring refrigerated food to room temperature, or warm it very briefly so it smells stronger, stirring and checking that there are no hot spots before offering it. A shallow, wide dish helps if a protective collar makes dipping into a deep bowl awkward; raising the dish slightly can help a cat who is stiff after surgery reach it without crouching. Offer a little from your fingertip or a spoon if bowl eating stalls — some cats accept hand-offered food when they will not start alone — and sit nearby in a calm room with other pets kept out, so eating never competes with being jostled or guarded.
Fresh water within easy reach matters alongside every offer, and the litter tray should be close enough that a wobbly cat is not choosing between eating, drinking, and toileting across the house.
What to track, and when to call instead
Write down each offer: the time, what you served, roughly how much was eaten, and whether there was any vomiting, retching, or diarrhoea afterwards. That simple log turns a worried phone call into a precise report your vet can act on. Call the practice promptly if your cat has eaten nothing by the time your vet said she should, if vomiting repeats, if she seems increasingly withdrawn or painful rather than gradually brighter, or if the wound or swelling changes alongside the poor appetite. Appetite that improves for two days and then disappears again is also worth reporting rather than waiting out.
Do not introduce rich leftovers, new treats, or appetite tricks that contradict the discharge sheet, however well meant — a bland, approved recovery is the goal, and novelty is the enemy of a settling stomach.
Storing the discharge instructions, each day's eating log, and recheck details together in KinsLe in the Pet Passport means the whole recovery packet is in one portable place when you return to the vet.