New cat hasn't eaten in a week, no progress

[blackcatfan]

Hello,

We adopted a 3 year old cat who arrived last Friday. It is now Friday of the next week and she has remained hidden under the wardrobe like she did since she arrived. She is sectioned off in a quiet room of her own, like online advice suggests. We have also been completely ignoring her, not looking at her at all, like advice suggests. The very few times I have tried to coax her out she simply moves further back under the wardrobe.

Now I know this is normal for cats, but she has not eaten a single thing. We give her the exact food, including raw meat, she is used to, at the times she is used to, and she won't eat. We leave the food out for her to free feed, and she won't eat. We try different food, she won't eat. We try different bowls, she won't eat.

She still will NOT at all shape to come out from under the wardrobe if we are in the room. However, my boyfriend has slept in the cat room for a few nights. Around 5am she will come out to sit on the window and use the litter tray, and has even began meowing. However if my boyfriend meows back or even looks at her she darts back under the wardrobe. Even if he doesn't acknowledge her, she simply goes back under at around 7am anyway and remains there until 5am the next day.

We are both very worried about her not eating. Where she has decided is her "safe" spot is VERY closed off and we fear its not forcing her to accept her new environment enough. Is it worth moving her to a cat cave shaped bed? Or will that set her back more? Should we lift her out and see what happens? We are really confused as to what we're meant to do.

Basically: new cat here a week, made zero progress, hasn't eaten. Please help!

[Janey]

Hi and welcome. Most of the foster cats we had when we fostered were traumatised for some reason or another and initially hid in a corner, but we kept picking them up gently and popping them on our knees every so often to cuddle them. I would get down on the cat’s level and try coaxing the cat out gently and talking to her softly and matter of fact i.e. have a chat, if that makes sense so she doesn’t pick up on any stress you may have at her reluctance to come out and starts to gain confidence. Sometimes it took both of us to get the cats out from hiding, then one of us would sit them on our knee and stroke them softly, then let the cat get off the knee when they wanted to but keep doing that on and off so the cat learns it’s actually ok. I think they start to think, actually it’s quite nice this! This worked very well and within a day or two they were absolutely fine. Some people say leave them to come out of their own accord but we have never done that, sometimes cats will just continue to hide away. The lady at the rescue agreed with us, she said she rehomed a cat once and the owner literally lost it in the house it hid away that well. She went round to help her find it, I think she said it was hidden behind a washer or in the cellar or something, but once she got the cat out and forced gentle interaction the cat was fine. So, I would also move the cat out of the bedroom and into the rooms you use more. But also allow the cat to get behind a sofa or somewhere if it wants it’s own space.Regarding your cat eating, it’s odd she’s ok if she hasn’t eaten anything at all - are you sure she’s not nipped out and nibbled some? Are you changing the food, in case she doesn’t like what you’re putting down.? You could try something tasty and smelly, some strong smelling fish like mackerel or salmon to get her eating. Best of luck, if she doesn’t improve I would give the rescue a call, they should be able to advise.

[lilynmitz]

I agree with Janey, I think you need to help this cat learn that she's safe, that you're safe people to be around. My last two, adopted three months apart, both hid under the bed and shrank back from human contact for weeks, but I did put a lot of effort into helping them learn that they were in a safe place. I spent ages lying on the floor next to them so they could see me, and just talked softly to them. I'd slowly offer them a hand to sniff, and then slowly withdraw it again. Next time, I'd lave my hand there a bit longer, and a bit longer, till eventually they'd let me just gently rub their cheek (scent swapping). Eventually they started head rubbing back. I'd also offer little treats (my two are suckers for Dreamies), withdrawing my hand afterwards.

Eventually they learnt that contact with me was safe, and finally they crawled out from under the bed and started exploring. We let them do this at their own pace, and they could see us in our "natural environment" not behaving in a way they might find threatening, and now they're completely soppy lap cats. They were both interacting with us freely after about 2-3 weeks, and a few more months down the line they're soppy lap cats.

I also put their food and water under the bed for them to start off with, so they wouldn't have to come out to eat it. This way I at least knew they were getting some nourishment. A week is too long without food, and particularly without water, and she must be feeling pretty rough by now. Just give her whatever she will eat. I found boiled chicken or white fish is good when they're really not interested - it was enough to kick start their appetite with my two when they were too scared to eat, but after a while they were back on "normal food" again. Any vet will say "something is better than nothing". Just keep trying till you find something that works. Refresh her water bowl every day too. Would you drink day old tap water?

While advice with scaredy cats sometimes is to ignore them, don't take that too literally. Sure, don't expect them to enjoy boisterous play or being picked up and cuddled for a while, but ignoring them completely isn't giving them the chance to get to know you. I hope this advice helps.

[Crewella]

Some of this sounds pretty normal, but the not eating yet is a worry - I hope she has now eaten?

[Jenni678]

Hi there. We have just adopted a cat and found the advice in this post really helpful. Any further views appreciated.

[Mollycat]

Hi there. We have just adopted a cat and found the advice in this post really helpful. Any further views appreciated.

Hi and welcome. Can you give us a bit more detail on your new cat and what's been happening and how you have been handling things? A few of us have extreme nervous or timid cats, hopefully between us we should be able to give you lots of help, reassurance and ideas.

[KrazyKweet]

Hello, I'm having the same issue. I just adopted my two fur babies on Dec 11, so its been about 3 days and they are stuck to their spot. They are not interested in anything, no food, no water, no toys. I have a girl and a boy. The boy (Binx) is much more afraid and cautious than the girl (Belle). He comes out if the box if the room is completely dark and quiet, but I want him to know he is safe. He hisses at me if I reach to pet them so I have to pet Bell first, then slowly ease my hand over to him, then he will let me pet him. The sleep ALL DAY! How can I help my babies? I have tried all the tips and tricks... or do I just give more time?

[Mollycat]

Hello, I'm having the same issue. I just adopted my two fur babies on Dec 11, so its been about 3 days and they are stuck to their spot. They are not interested in anything, no food, no water, no toys. I have a girl and a boy. The boy (Binx) is much more afraid and cautious than the girl (Belle). He comes out if the box if the room is completely dark and quiet, but I want him to know he is safe. He hisses at me if I reach to pet them so I have to pet Bell first, then slowly ease my hand over to him, then he will let me pet him. The sleep ALL DAY! How can I help my babies? I have tried all the tips and tricks... or do I just give more time?

Hi and welcome. Are they kittens, siblings, adult rescues ... what's their background? If kittens are not interested in anything and sleep all the time, then VET NOW. If they are adults who have been through traumas, this could be very normal and you would need to stop trying to force affection onto them, they can see it as threatening not reassuring as you intend.