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Newly adopted adult cat not eating.

  • 22-09-2020 7:56am
    #1
    mel.b
    Registered Users Posts: 3,130 ✭✭✭


    I have just adopted my grandad’s cat. I’ve had her for almost 3days now. Sadly, she had been living in my grandad’s house alone for around 12mths with my aunty going in and feeding her but not giving her any attention so she’s gone a bit wild. My grandad is in a nursing home and was initally going home for day trips to see the cat but then Covid happened and his own health has deteriorated as well. No one else wanted the cat and i only got into a position where i could keep it (which i’m happy to) recently.

    Anyway, as i said she hasn’t eaten since i got her. I’ve tried the food she was eating, roast chicken and also some stewing meat which apparently she used to eat as well and nothing. I don’t think she has eaten any of her dry food either or had a drink. She did use the litter tray for the first time last night for a wee. I purchased a feliway diffuser yesterday for her and she seems a little calmer...not hissing at me every time i go in the room now anyway! I talk to her evrytime i’m in the room but try not to get too close at the moment as i don’t want to stress her more. What else can i do to encourage her to eat? That’s my main worry at the moment...we can work on becoming friends as we go.


Comments

  • #2
    Mollyb60
    Registered Users Posts: 6,546 ✭✭✭Mollyb60


    Are you leaving the food out for her? If not, are you staying in the room while the food is out?
    Our second cat was terrified of us for about 6 months and would not go near her food while we were in the room with her.


  • #3
    mel.b
    Registered Users Posts: 3,130 ✭✭✭mel.b


    Mollyb60 wrote: »
    Are you leaving the food out for her? If not, are you staying in the room while the food is out?
    Our second cat was terrified of us for about 6 months and would not go near her food while we were in the room with her.

    I’m leaving the food out for her and then leaving her alone in the room.


  • #4
    o1s1n
    Registered Users Posts: 34,367 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    Cats are really terrible at looking after themselves. They'll not eat for stupid reasons too. There have been cases where my cat's regular food wasn't available so I bought something similar - both of them just sat in front of their bowls with a 'wtf is this???' face on.

    Leave the pellets as you have been on a regular basis so there's always something there. maybe try to get a better brand that has higher protein and less grain in it.

    Then twice a day try to add something 'fancy' to the mix. My cats go absolutely ape for tuna. The moment a can is opened they can smell it and they're climbing me like a pole to get to it.

    It's quite high in sodium though so if you are giving it to the cat, it's a good idea to give it a rinse first and maybe don't make too much of a habit of it.


  • #5
    s1ippy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,980 ✭✭✭s1ippy


    They like to eat in a quiet and high up place where they won't be disturbed by anything.

    Whiskas is cat heroin, if we ever have an issue with our lad we'll give it to him as a treat. We usually have to wean him off out afterwards by reducing the ratio of Whiskas to other food gradually.


  • #6
    o1s1n
    Registered Users Posts: 34,367 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    s1ippy wrote: »
    They like to eat in a quiet and high up place where they won't be disturbed by anything.

    Whiskas is cat heroin, if we ever have an issue with our lad we'll give it to him as a treat. We usually have to wean him off out afterwards by reducing the ratio of Whiskas to other food gradually.

    Hah! They're gas little feckers aren't they?

    Mine also love my fish's food too. Whenever I open the fish food container, they're over on top of me trying to stick their heads into it. They'll then be licking the feeding hole on the tank for any flakes that didn't go in.

    Not that I'm recommending anyone feeds their cat fish flakes, it's just really weird what they can be into!


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  • #7
    Baybay
    Registered Users Posts: 1,034 ✭✭✭Baybay


    They are notoriously fussy & quite prepared to hold out til they get what they want though it’s hard to guess what that may be sometimes!

    Ours likes one particular type of pouch only in a whole box so he only gets that when he’s not so hungry to encourage him to eat the others also. As in, he has breakfast but he likes lunch & dinner one after the other so he gets the not so desirables for breakfast & lunch otherwise they just go to waste...

    Anyway, what he loves are those little treats in the cats head shaped box. I think they’re Whiskas branded. I don’t buy them often but perhaps nibbling on them might encourage your cat to eat a little, OP, when she sees that you’re not trying to trap, poison, kill her!


  • #8
    jaxxx
    Registered Users Posts: 3,230 ✭✭✭jaxxx


    o1s1n wrote: »
    Hah! They're gas little feckers aren't they?

    Mine also love my fish's food too. Whenever I open the fish food container, they're over on top of me trying to stick their heads into it. They'll then be licking the feeding hole on the tank for any flakes that didn't go in.

    Not that I'm recommending anyone feeds their cat fish flakes, it's just really weird what they can be into!


    I guess your cats are.. .. .. catfish :p


    .. .. ..


    I'll get my coat.


  • #9
    Mollyb60
    Registered Users Posts: 6,546 ✭✭✭Mollyb60


    Tuna is a good call. And I've heard people mention warming it up in the microwave for a few seconds which apparently makes it smellier and even more appetising to the cats. You could even try that with the wet food you're giving her.
    I'd make sure to keep changing the food though at the regular meal times to keep it fresh, even if you feel like you're just wasting food. If it goes on much longer I'd suggest maybe a trip to the vet just to check her out.


  • #10
    mel.b
    Registered Users Posts: 3,130 ✭✭✭mel.b


    Thanks, i’ll get some tuna and give that a go


  • #11
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,418 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    Our cats totally ignored tuna so it doesn't always work. One thing that always worked for us was something called licke-e-lix. It comes in little sachets and if you squeeze some of that into their food, or even put a little bit on your finger and let them lick it off, it seems to get them eating. I've seen it in MaxiZoo and even in Aldi occasionally.

    https://www.webbox.co.uk/lick-e-lix


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  • #12
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    mel.b wrote: »
    Thanks, i’ll get some tuna and give that a go

    In sunflower oil, not brine? ( re the poster who mentioned sodium) They love the oil.


  • #13
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    s1ippy wrote: »
    They like to eat in a quiet and high up place where they won't be disturbed by anything.

    Whiskas is cat heroin, if we ever have an issue with our lad we'll give it to him as a treat. We usually have to wean him off out afterwards by reducing the ratio of Whiskas to other food gradually.

    Dreamies are kitty crack! We were given some last Christmas and I have hidden the most for emergencies. I mean really HIDDEN!

    Oh by the way . water? As long as she is drinking?

    How long have you had her? Poor wee thing. So unsettled


  • #14
    aonb
    Registered Users Posts: 3,277 ✭✭✭aonb


    Graces7 wrote: »
    Dreamies are kitty crack! We were given some last Christmas and I have hidden the most for emergencies. I mean really HIDDEN!

    Oh by the way . water? As long as she is drinking?

    How long have you had her? Poor wee thing. So unsettled

    DREAMIES we call cat cocaine!
    Ive got 1 cat who is without doubt the fussiest cat ON THE PLANET - and she loves them. The obese one would eat yourself, including Dreamies. The other who eats anything adores them too. The ONLY food (can it be called food?) that all 3 will eat

    Other things that are successful - Tuna/oil or Sardines/oil, Greek Yogurt (full fat), Ham (yes I know - salt) If you are desperate you could buy some Kitten Milk? Just to get something into her?


  • #15
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    aonb wrote: »
    DREAMIES we call cat cocaine!
    Ive got 1 cat who is without doubt the fussiest cat ON THE PLANET - and she loves them. The obese one would eat yourself, including Dreamies. The other who eats anything adores them too. The ONLY food (can it be called food?) that all 3 will eat

    Other things that are successful - Tuna/oil or Sardines/oil, Greek Yogurt (full fat), Ham (yes I know - salt) If you are desperate you could buy some Kitten Milk? Just to get something into her?

    Well, on my budget and with my limited access to shops, they eat what they are given! The one thing they all eat fast is raw chicken joints so they do well. They thrive on it and are fit and well..And the Supervalu tinned .I saw what might happen with the Dreamies and confiscated them! They will have their uses at some stage . In all my years of cats I never had one starve... they come running at the sound of a ring pull... lol...

    Oliver is a shameless thief, street urchin that he is. Wolfs HIS food then goes after everyone else's unless I intervene.


  • #16
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    OP; will she lick eg tuna oil off your finger? Sometimes once they get a taste... One of my older Siamese would eat what she saw ME eating.


  • #17
    New Home
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 76,314 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    Alun wrote: »
    Our cats totally ignored tuna so it doesn't always work. One thing that always worked for us was something called licke-e-lix. It comes in little sachets and if you squeeze some of that into their food, or even put a little bit on your finger and let them lick it off, it seems to get them eating. I've seen it in MaxiZoo and even in Aldi occasionally.

    https://www.webbox.co.uk/lick-e-lix

    I got those in Tesco, it was literally the only thing my sick cat would/could eat without gagging, shortly before he died.
    mel.b wrote: »
    I have just adopted my grandad’s cat. I’ve had her for almost 3days now. Sadly, she had been living in my grandad’s house alone for around 12mths with my aunty going in and feeding her but not giving her any attention so she’s gone a bit wild. My grandad is in a nursing home and was initally going home for day trips to see the cat but then Covid happened and his own health has deteriorated as well. No one else wanted the cat and i only got into a position where i could keep it (which i’m happy to) recently.

    Anyway, as i said she hasn’t eaten since i got her. I’ve tried the food she was eating, roast chicken and also some stewing meat which apparently she used to eat as well and nothing. I don’t think she has eaten any of her dry food either or had a drink. She did use the litter tray for the first time last night for a wee. I purchased a feliway diffuser yesterday for her and she seems a little calmer...not hissing at me every time i go in the room now anyway! I talk to her evrytime i’m in the room but try not to get too close at the moment as i don’t want to stress her more. What else can i do to encourage her to eat? That’s my main worry at the moment...we can work on becoming friends as we go.

    Try with tuna, make sure you get a brand with as little salt as possible, but try and make sure she eats, if cats go for more than a day or two without food they develop liver lipidosis which can put their lives at risk.

    I would definitely recommend those lick-e-lix things, even though they're only 15g each, even squeezed on top of the "normal" food could be enough to entice her to eat. She very likely misses your granddad...


  • #18
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,418 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    New Home wrote: »
    I got those in Tesco, it was literally the only thing my sick cat would/could eat without gagging, shortly before he died.
    Exactly the same here :(


  • #19
    New Home
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 76,314 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    Alun wrote: »
    Exactly the same here :(


    I'm really sorry to hear that, Alun. Poor little thing... Kidney problems for yours, too?


  • #20
    scilover
    Registered Users Posts: 80 ✭✭scilover


    Loss of appetite is one of the key markers that something is off-base. So be beyond any doubt to pay consideration on the off chance that your cat all of a sudden stops eating. A number of diverse conditions may be dependable, counting contaminations, kidney failure, pancreatitis, intestinal problems, and cancer.:(


  • #21
    bobbyy gee
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,306 ✭✭✭bobbyy gee


    Stress


    https://chewonthis.maddiesfund.org/2013/03/what-to-do-when-shelter-cats-wont-eat/


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  • #22
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,418 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    New Home wrote: »
    I'm really sorry to hear that, Alun. Poor little thing... Kidney problems for yours, too?
    Yes, just before Christmas last year. We had a cupboard full to the brim with all kinds of little tins and pouches of the most exotic (and expensive!) cat foods and treats we could find as it was uphill battle getting her to eat anything towards the end.


  • #23
    Graces7
    Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    When my little one had kidney problems decades ago, they told me to feed her a no-protein diet, eg rice that had been cooked with liver without the liver, then let her eat if she wanted what she wanted.

    As long as they are drinking eg water and I made rehydration fluid, . We knew there was nothing they could do for her so I just loved her all the way. It is like us the fluids that matter most.

    I always have syringes to hand; any pharmacy will give them free, and make rehydration fluid.

    Nursed one cat through leukaemia and thereafter all she would eat was tinned tuna. She lived for years.


  • #24
    Tangleytuftles
    Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭Tangleytuftles


    Not going to lie, I'd take your cat to the vet for a check up. If she's been allowed to wander she could have caught any number of diseases from other cats and stress can make usually dormant diseases flare up.
    I had this happen a while after my cat got a vaccination and a trip to the vet gave him such excess stress that fip took him down, he was given excessive exposure to outdoor cats and fip was dormant in his system. The only symptoms he showed was refusing to eat, I took him to the vet over it and he was normal if running a bit of a temperature, I took a nap and 6 hours later he was half dead, absolutely frigid and showing neurological problems. I'd rather take my pet to the vet 10 times and be wrong those 10 times than hesitate once and potentially cost them their lives. Especially cats.
    They hide so much so if they're showing you symptoms like not eating, it must be something pretty serious.


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