Help! New cat won't eat!

Princess Pea · Aug 19, 2006

I'm hoping a long time cat owner can help me here ...

I adopted 2 cats from the Humane Society yesterday. They already know each other; that's why I chose them. They've been home for about 24 hours, and one is doing fine, but the other hasn't eaten a bite since they got home. They're in a safe room in the basement (which is probably too big and noisy what with the central air conditioning unit, but it's the best I could do) and I've served them 3 meals so far. A few minutes ago I brought down 2 bowls of the same food they got at the shelter. I put the well-adjusted cat in her crate with her bowl, thinking it might help to get her out of the way. Then I put the second bowl down right in front of the shy cat's face (she's in her favorite hiding spot.) She seems to be in one of those cat trances - she sort of looked at the food, but hasn't made a move toward it.

She doesn't seem to be in any distress; she just won't eat. I don't know her well enough yet to know if this is weird for her or not. She does appear to be the more cautious and aloof one, but I've never known a cat to turn up her nose at food after a 24 hour hunger strike.

They have vet appointments scheduled, but not until Monday afternoon. I called the Humane Society, and was told to take her to the vet on Monday if things didn't improve. I've never had my own cats before, and I don't know what to do! Help! :help:

aaron · Aug 19, 2006

Hello, just so you know what experience I have when speaking, I have been working at a vet hospital for over 3 years and am going to school to become a small animal veterinarian.

It is hard to say too much w/o actually seeing the cat, so what I say will be kind of brief and general. First, the cat just moved into a new environment and may take time to adjust. Going a day w/o eating isn't bad. If it continues for a couple days (2-3) it would be good to get it into the vet so the vet can look at him (you already have an appointment scheduled, so that's good

)

Cats, unlike dogs, will starve themselves. A dog will hold out for a bit, but will finally give in. Cats though are more stubborn and will starve themself. Seeing the vet is necessary though to make any comments on exactly what could be wrong.

Is the cat drinking? If she is it isn't as bad. If she is not drinking though that is not good and the sooner you could see a vet the better, they need water.

As far as what you are feeding the cat. Don't feed the cat human food and it is best to keep the cat on dry food. There are a couple reasons that dry food is better than the wet canned food. A) it is better for their teeth, they won't get dirty as fast which is best for the cat health wise. B) cats are picky and if you give them variety in their food and keep changing it up like that they may choose not to eat because it is 'not good enough' for them. Keeping them on the same diet of dry food will not promote this behavior. Also, when and if they get sick and don't want to eat their food you now have something you can bribe them with. You can then give them the canned food to get those calaries in them while they are sick.

I hope this all helps some and let me know how it turns out

Princess Pea · Aug 19, 2006

Thanks, Aaron!

Things are going better, I think. She seems to have eaten some of her food, and she's been acting fairly normally. She comes to me to be petted, and has let me brush her. She and the other cat have been chasing around playing together - she hasn't been interested in playing with toys yet, but she doesn't seem to be lacking in those bursts of cat energy.

She has also come out of the hiding place where she spent most of the afternoon. I saw her drink water last night; haven't seen it today, but from her behavior she seems to be feeling pretty normal. Maybe she'll be ravenous tomorrow morning.

I had no idea cats could starve themselves!

That's a good thing to know. I'll be watching her pretty closely until her vet appointment. I have a long list of questions for the vet!

Thanks again! :wave:

aaron · Aug 19, 2006

Princess Pea said:
Thanks, Aaron! Things are going better, I think. She seems to have eaten some of her food, and she's been acting fairly normally. She comes to me to be petted, and has let me brush her. She and the other cat have been chasing around playing together - she hasn't been interested in playing with toys yet, but she doesn't seem to be lacking in those bursts of cat energy. She has also come out of the hiding place where she spent most of the afternoon. I saw her drink water last night; haven't seen it today, but from her behavior she seems to be feeling pretty normal. Maybe she'll be ravenous tomorrow morning.

I had no idea cats could starve themselves! That's a good thing to know. I'll be watching her pretty closely until her vet appointment. I have a long list of questions for the vet!

Thanks again!

Very good to hear. I am guessing she was just getting used to her new home. It can be hard for a cat to adjust at times. I don't think you have anything to worry about (from what I have read). It is still a good idea to take her to the vets to get a general exam and get her yearly vaccines if she didn't get them from the HS. I also highly recommend you get both your cats spayed/neutered. How old are they? I recommend doing this for a couple reasons. A) health: If they are still young it is even better, but if you spay/neuter them they can't get cancer there and it is even more so decreased if it is before the females first heat cycle. males are also less likely to fight (part of the behavioral part as well) which means less likely to cause bodily harm B) behavioral: A male cat is more likely to spray around the house if intact. Neutering a cat can stop this behavior and if he hasn't started yet even better. Once a cat starts and then is neutered, he may continue to spray out of habit >.< As I said there is less fighting as well.

I'm going to go for a short run now, but if you have any other questions go ahead and ask, I'd love to help

ChildOfGod15 · Aug 19, 2006

Try not to be too worried.

Our smallest dog didn't eat normally for nearly a week when we first got her. She's probably just having trouble adjusting. Our cats are having some trouble adjusting to our recent move, but I make sure to comfort them and give them plenty of attention at least twice a day. They're doing much much better now. I was worried that my kitty would stop eating for quite a while when she moved. She seemd to be in complete shock when we first moved her... She still hides in the closet most of the day, but she hid a lot at our old house.
Anyway, I'm sure they'll be ok.

I just think she's having some trouble adjusting. Though she has a companion and you seem to love them both a lot, so she'll be just fine.

I'll pray for them. :hug:

Princess Pea · Aug 19, 2006

They are already spayed, which was yet another reason I went with the Humane Society. I hadn't realized that it prevented cancer, though. I'm learning all kinds of things here - we had outdoor/barn cats when I was a kid, but this is my first experience with housecats, and I'm realizing my responsibility to provide for all their needs - if I don't, who will? Thanks for your help - you're going to be a great vet.

Princess Pea · Aug 19, 2006

Thanks, Kyrie!

aaron · Aug 19, 2006

my please

oh yea, one other thing that I forgot to say in the previous post w/ them being indoor cats. Some owners will think about possibly declawing their cat because it begins scratching. I highly highly believe in not doing this for a couple reasons. 1) it would be like cutting all your fingures off at the second knuckle, not too nice :S 2) a declawed cat is more likely to develop arthritis in its later years 3) a declawed cat is more likely to be a mean biter. the reason for this is due to the fact that it has lost one form of defense (it's feet in essence) and then goes to the next best thing it has, it's teeth. having one less defence it then also has to be more aggressive.

as an alternative I suggest just clipping the nales short every so often (which varies from cat to cat). If you aren't sure how short you can go, ask your vet on Monday to show you

Princess Pea · Aug 21, 2006

Thanks again!

I never got around to asking the vet about the claws, because it turns out that the cat who wasn't eating is indeed sick.

She has a respitory infection - was slightly dehydrated, so they gave her IV fluids. They sent me home with 4 different kinds of medicine for her, and some special canned cat food, which they told me to microwave so her poor stuffy nose could smell it better. I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed at the moment, although I felt better when I saw how eagerly she ate the food (I had to start by feeding it to her off a tongue depressor.) Poor thing. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to manage all this medicine, having never given medicine to a cat before, but I guess I'll learn. It's part of being a pet owner, I suppose. And they probably won't get any more colds if they're never exposed to any other cats - right? :help:

PS - the sick cat is declawed, but the other one isn't, and I'm planning to leave it that way.

TheSerenityPrayer · Aug 22, 2006

I hope all goes well for you both! We have a calico cat, they can be VERY sassy! Ours is anyways!

I hope you enjoy the life of being a cat owner! It has it rewards! Just stick it out through this and you'll see! She'll love you so much because you are showing her how much you care!

Be blessed! :hug:

aaron · Aug 22, 2006

Princess Pea said:
Thanks again! I never got around to asking the vet about the claws, because it turns out that the cat who wasn't eating is indeed sick. She has a respitory infection - was slightly dehydrated, so they gave her IV fluids. They sent me home with 4 different kinds of medicine for her, and some special canned cat food, which they told me to microwave so her poor stuffy nose could smell it better. I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed at the moment, although I felt better when I saw how eagerly she ate the food (I had to start by feeding it to her off a tongue depressor.) Poor thing. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to manage all this medicine, having never given medicine to a cat before, but I guess I'll learn. It's part of being a pet owner, I suppose. And they probably won't get any more colds if they're never exposed to any other cats - right?

sorry to hear that

Mind me asking what the 4 meds are they sent you home w/ and how long you're supposed to give them? Also, what kind of food is the cat food? Best of luck w/ all of this and if you have any other questions/concerns go ahead and ask me, i'd be glad to help

Princess Pea · Aug 22, 2006

TheSerenityPrayer said:
IShe'll love you so much because you are showing her how much you care!

She'd better!

I just spent the better part of 3 hours on the little furball. 30 minutes giving meds and spoon-feeding her the microwaved gourmet cat food from the vet, and the previous 2 looking for her. I've been limiting them to the basement, originally to help settle them in but now to make it a bit easier to find them when it's medicine time. And I had no idea there were so many hiding spots in the basement. And because she can't smell much right now, it was pointless to try luring her with food. She finally turned up in a spot I'd checked at least five times. :doh:

How on earth did she do that?

Anyway, so much for a low maintenance pet ...

But yeah, I'm really falling in love with her. After I'd given her all her meds and finished spooon feeding her I cuddled with her for about 10 minutes and told her, among other things, that she'd better not dare die on me after all this.

Princess Pea · Aug 22, 2006

aaron said:
Mind me asking what the 4 meds are they sent you home w/ and how long you're supposed to give them? Also, what kind of food is the cat food?

Sure! Let's see ...

Both cats get Lysine and Interferon, 1 ml twice a day for 2 weeks (except the Interferon gets a week's break in between the 2 weeks.) Then the extra-sick cat gets .7 ml Clovamix twice a day until gone, and also gentamycin opthalmic solution 3-4 times a day for 5-7 days. The cat food is A-D something (I can't remember the brand, and am too lazy to go into the kitchen and check, but you'll probably recognize it.

)

Since you're going to be a vet, I'll tell you that I really appreciated the way my cats' vet seemed concerned not just about the cats but also about me. I feel so dumb for having let her get so sick - chalk it up to being a first-time cat owner with a new unfamiliar cat, I guess. Both cats had been sneezing since I took them home (which I didn't say in my first post) but the little one was eating like a little pig, so I didn't recognize that the bug was hitting the tabby so hard. I really thought I had two cats with colds, one who was more reserved and skittish than the other, and was comfortable waiting through the weekend for the vet appointment. Anyway, I was feeling like a horrible incompetent person for letting my cat get so sick that she needed an IV, and I was pretty overwhelmed at the long list of meds and different instructions. I'd also never given a cat medicine before, and was really intimidated. And then the bill ... and then the final touch: "Did they tell you this antibiotic might cause vomiting and diarrhea?"

I mean, I'm still not quite past getting grossed out by the litter box! Anyway, I think the vet recognized my deer-in-the-headlights look and took a minute to ask how I was doing with all this. I was actually feeling completely overwhelmed, and awfully close to crying, but I appreciated her concern.

I'm looking forward to knowing what this cat is really like when she feels completely like herself. She's a sweetie, I know that much ...

aaron · Aug 23, 2006

Princess Pea said:
Sure! Let's see ...

Both cats get Lysine and Interferon, 1 ml twice a day for 2 weeks (except the Interferon gets a week's break in between the 2 weeks.) Then the extra-sick cat gets .7 ml Clovamix twice a day until gone, and also gentamycin opthalmic solution 3-4 times a day for 5-7 days. The cat food is A-D something (I can't remember the brand, and am too lazy to go into the kitchen and check, but you'll probably recognize it. )

Since you're going to be a vet, I'll tell you that I really appreciated the way my cats' vet seemed concerned not just about the cats but also about me. I feel so dumb for having let her get so sick - chalk it up to being a first-time cat owner with a new unfamiliar cat, I guess. Both cats had been sneezing since I took them home (which I didn't say in my first post) but the little one was eating like a little pig, so I didn't recognize that the bug was hitting the tabby so hard. I really thought I had two cats with colds, one who was more reserved and skittish than the other, and was comfortable waiting through the weekend for the vet appointment. Anyway, I was feeling like a horrible incompetent person for letting my cat get so sick that she needed an IV, and I was pretty overwhelmed at the long list of meds and different instructions. I'd also never given a cat medicine before, and was really intimidated. And then the bill ... and then the final touch: "Did they tell you this antibiotic might cause vomiting and diarrhea?" I mean, I'm still not quite past getting grossed out by the litter box! Anyway, I think the vet recognized my deer-in-the-headlights look and took a minute to ask how I was doing with all this. I was actually feeling completely overwhelmed, and awfully close to crying, but I appreciated her concern.

I'm looking forward to knowing what this cat is really like when she feels completely like herself. She's a sweetie, I know that much ...

haha, very nice. sounds like you are getting real close w/ your cat already

And you'll be a pro at giving meds once it's all done

I'm glad to hear your vet took the time to care for you as well as your cat.
The only one I'm not really sure what the med is is the Interferon, I'm going to have to take a look now ;P The others I know, and the food is exactly what I was guessing, great stuff, the cats (and dogs) love it; science diet a/d. I'm kinda shocked she got IV fluids and not just sub-Q. Also, don't worry about not taking them in right away, you didn't know. Now you have learned quite a lot and will be able to recognize things better in the future

Take care and I can't wait till they get better for you so you can enjoy them healthy as well, and best of luck finding them a little quicker, they sure can be sneaky, can't they?

Help! New cat won't eat!

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