# Help! New cat not eating!



## yehudap (Oct 5, 2004)

A freind of mine adopted a rather shy cat last Wednesday (pedigree British that was born long-hair).
The cat is 4 years old, and had lived with the same family in the same appartment ever since she was a kitten.
She is failing to adjust to her new home. She spends most of the time under the bed, and has even spent long periods of time in her litter-box.
She is also refusing to eat. She has refused her regular food (quality dry food that her owners gave my freind along with the cat). 
She has also refused tuna and wet cat food.
Yesterday (Friday) She drank some water for the first time since being adopted.
She is not apathetic and is beginning to show interest in exploring the rest of the appartment, but the hunger strike is very worrying.
Both vets we consulted with on Friday said to leave her alone until Sunday, and if she wasn't eating by then, to bring her in for a check up.
I think the problem is adjustment in general, and I doubt the vets will be able to do much.

Can anyone offer help or advice???


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## canismajor (Mar 9, 2008)

I adopted a cat a few months ago who had the same problem. He did drink a little bit, but he wasn't eating. I was very freaked out - he went about five days without eating. I tried a few different foods, and he would run to the bowl every time I put something in it, sniff it, and walk away. 

In the end I took him to a vet, who gave him medicine to induce appetite and also gave him fluids, because he was dehydrated from not drinking enough. The next morning he woke up, ate his entire meal, and ate every meal in its entirety every day after. I haven't had any problems since. For him it seemed to be just an adjustment thing, and then for whatever reason after his vet's visit, the problem just disappeared.

So, I would try what people suggested for me - try strong smelling foods, or try putting a little food on her face so she'll have to lick it off. If she doesn't start eating, definitely keep the vet appointment, and they will probably be able to give you more suggestions and help.


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## Lisa 216 (Oct 25, 2004)

The behavior you describe is normal. Cats can take their time adjusting and will often hide. 

Your friend should make sure the cat has some quiet and doesn't feel forced to come out. Your friend can try putting the food close to the hiding place so that the kitty doesn't need to come out far to eat and can dash back to her hiding space if she gets scared. 

I agree with the above post -- if those tricks don't get the cat eating a bit, then a vet check is worthwhile. The cat shouldn't go too much longer without eating.


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## Pheasant Cat (May 9, 2008)

Frosty was also very hesitant to eat after we moved. He had hardly gotten anything to drink on the trip, though, so he drank a lake as soon as he could.


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## yehudap (Oct 5, 2004)

*Update:*

Update:

Saturday night, with my help, Yaniv (my friend) caught Moon (the cat), lifted her on to a formica-topped table and gave her a good brushing with my ZoomGroom. Moon wasn't terribly happy with us, but she wasn't too unhappy either. The experience seemed improved her confidence a bit – but she still wasn't eating. She was drinking quite a lot though.
Sunday morning Yaniv phoned his vet and vet recommended trying to put sugar in her water as an appetizer.
Sunday mid-day, when Yaniv updated me, I told him to phone MY vets and ask for the appetite-increasing med recommended in a post above (they hadn't heard of it) and to buy some medicinal food. They sold him one tin of Recovery and one of Hills (AD? HD? – I forget which). Yaniv tried her on the Recovery in the afternoon – no joy.
Sunday night he asked for my help again to catch Moon, put her on the table, and try smearing the Hills on her lip as my vet had suggested. That worked a bit – but not much stuck. Then I tried mashing the spoon with food on her face. After a couple of tries of this – Halleluiah! – she started licking food off the spoon. Almost as much got dropped as got in to her mouth, so I diluted the Hills with some water. With some encouragement and lots of petting she ate 3 tablespoons of this before she decided enough was enough.
I told Yaniv to put Moon on the table and offer some diluted, warmed up Hills in her bowl twice a day and to spoon-feed her until she starts eating from the bowl. Once she's used to eating from the bowl he'll try varying with some warmed-up regular cat food.

By the way, Moon was called Britney by her former owners (because she's a pedigree British). She has very long hair shading from off-white to very light gray, a patch of light gray on top of her head, and some darker grey streaks in the fur on her back. Very pretty.


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## petspy (Sep 11, 2008)

can someone comment on the following strategy, as
I'm worried this loss of appetite problem will happen to me.

I'm getting 2 cats that will be stuck in carriers for 4 hours,
while enduring 2 30min car rides and a 90min airplane ride.

my strategy is to isolate the cats to one room of my home,
where they'll have beds, litter, food, water, and some toys,
and the ability to climb up and look out the window here.

I'm making sure to use the food and litter they had before.

Then I won't let them out to explore my home till they've eaten.

what do you think? and what else can I do to facilitate this transition?

should I regularly go in the room, sit still and offer to pet them etc.
or is it better I just leave them alone until they have eaten a bit.


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## yehudap (Oct 5, 2004)

It depends quite a lot on the temperement of the cat.
If there's a chance the cats may be hysterical at first - put them in one room (it would be best if there's a bed or couch or something they can run and hide beneath in the room). If they run for shelter as soon as they're let out of their carrier, or have hysterics of some kind, they obviously need time to adjust. If they're calm and cool - don't run for shelter but do a calm inspection of the room and maybe also come to you for some attention - I'd let them out to inspect the rest of the house. Just make sure they can't get out of the house and don't let them out for the first few days (at least).

My new cat (not Moon - she belongs to my friend) is very friendly and outgoing. When I went to see if I wanted to adopt him, he came up to me immediately to inspect me and ask for some attention.
He was taken back to my place in a carrier in a car - a 1 hour ride. He rested calmly in his carrier all the way.
When we got to my place I made sure all the windows were closed enough to prevent him getting out, and then opened his carrier. He came out and calmly did a breif tour of my appartment to check out all the rooms and came back for some attention. 
I put down some water and a bowl with his food (a dry food). He sniffed it and then went and sniffed at the 2 bags of dry food left over from my former cat (RIP), so I put some of each in different bowls. He wasn't interested in them either, so I put some wet food I had in another bowl. The wet food he did eat.
After that he did a more thorough inspection of my appartment, and that was it. As far as he was concerned, he was home!


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I agree...let the cats set the pace. I would open their carrier next to their litterbox so they have a reference point. Then let them decide how fast they want to progress. It's very normal for a cat not to eat or use the litterbox for a day or so when it comes into a new home. But there's no need to require them to eat before allowing them to explore. By denying their desire to explore (if they have it) you may be creating more stress. Being isolated to a room is stressful for some cats, comforting for others. If they do choose to remain in the room, go in often, read, play soft music...gently entice them with treats or toys, but let them set the pace (unless it gets ridiculous, then you may need to force the issue).

One thing to make sure of is that there are no places in your home that they can get into and you couldn't get them out if necessary. For example we had someone here who had a closet that was unfinished and the cat was able to get up in the ceiling, the cat was up there for weeks...in fact I don't know if we ever heard what the final resolution was.


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## yehudap (Oct 5, 2004)

Items from their old house that carry their scent can also help them adjust.
That could be toys, or something they used to lie on, or their old litter box/es (they can be emptied and brushed out, but shouldn't be washed).
If they're going to have new litter boxes with fresh cat litter at your house, some partially used cat litter from their old place added to their new litter box can also help.


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