New Himalayan cat hiding and won't eat or drink

swanangel

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Help Please.
I just got a female Himalayan cat 1.5 years old from a nearby breeder 5 days ago. I kept her in bathroom first couple days (with food, water and catbox) and she hid behind the toilet the whole time. She is very shy and docile, but will let me hold her. I let her out yesterday. She is hiding and I can't find her. As far as I can tell, she has not eaten or had anything to drink since got her. I did spoon feed her some water the second or third day. I'm very concerned How can I get her to eat and stop hiding?
I do also have 2 2-year old siberian cats acting their normal loving selves.
Thanks.
 

mrblanche

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Put her back in the bathroom with food, water, and litter. Go in and sit on the floor, maybe reading aloud, but just ignore her.

However, if she truly isn't eating and drinking, her health is in serious jeopardy.
 

yosemite

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The very first thing you need to do is find her! Then you need to keep her isolated and spend time with her just reading or talking to her until she is more comfortable. This can take weeks. I had a himmie/siamese cross that hid behind our headboard for 4 weeks. He did however come out to eat, drink and use the bathroom if we were not in the bedroom or if we were sleeping. You will need plenty of patience, love and understanding.

If she has definitely not been eating or drinking in 5 days, she is in danger of liver failure.

Please make every effort to find her and isolate her ASAP.
 

elana55

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As everyone has said, you need to find her. She will hide and die. She may be dicile but she is terrified. .

You need to get a cat cage and put her in that with her litter and food and water. Put the cage out where she can see what is going on around her and is not 100% isolated but cannot really hide either. They make cages and you can get triangular carpeted shelves for two corners of the cage so she can be up on those.

I would put the cage up on a table. Most cats become quite sociable when caged.

You will need to do all you can to get her to eat and to drink (you may need Veterinary advice for this). You may need to get her to a vet and get her rehydrated if she is not drinking. 5 days is deadly long to go without water.
 

skimble

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My opinion would be to contact the breeder. Ask the breeder about her life history. Do you know her medical history?

If she has not been eating or drinking, a vet visit (at the least a call to the vet) is of most importance. High possibility of liver failure and dehydration from what I have experienced.

As suggested, find her and put her in a safe room. Do you have a spare bedroom?

I personally would NOT put her in a cage in the open....not now anyway. She needs a safe room and safe places to hide so she will learn to feel secure. Keeping her in a safe room will give her time to let the room smell like her and she will be comforted there.

Spend time with her and follow the "introductions" thread in the sticky going very slow with the introductions.
 

twokatz

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As mentioned you need to find her ASAP. If she is not drinking and eating she may need to go in for some Sub_Q fluids due to dehydration. Then you need to get some food in her. If needed you can water whatever food she is used to down, run it through the blender and syringe her. You can try getting her to lick it off your finger first. She may not like this but at this point she needs some help. I would keep her in a place she feels safe until she is eating, drinking and relaxing, then you can put her in a crate where she can watch her surroundings. Good luck and keep us posted.
 

meowers

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hopefully she is coming out at night and drinking/eating.

find her and put her back in bathroom. that will be her comfort zone. spend lots of time bonding with her in there. good luck!
 
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swanangel

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After looking high and low, in every cupboard, closet and small space, I finally found her in a record cabinet with sliding doors. I don't know how she got in there, but my other cat went over to it and backed up which gave me a clue. I put her in her cat carrier in the room I'm in with food and water. I let her free overnight back in the bathroom. I think she might have had a very little bit to eat and drink, but I'll call the vet today.
Thanks for all your advice. I was and am so concerned about her.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Elana55

As everyone has said, you need to find her. She will hide and die. She may be dicile but she is terrified. .

You need to get a cat cage and put her in that with her litter and food and water. Put the cage out where she can see what is going on around her and is not 100% isolated but cannot really hide either. They make cages and you can get triangular carpeted shelves for two corners of the cage so she can be up on those.

I would put the cage up on a table. Most cats become quite sociable when caged.

You will need to do all you can to get her to eat and to drink (you may need Veterinary advice for this). You may need to get her to a vet and get her rehydrated if she is not drinking. 5 days is deadly long to go without water.
I would not recommend putting her in a cage at all and especially not leaving her in a cage in an open area.

Originally Posted by Skimble

My opinion would be to contact the breeder. Ask the breeder about her life history. Do you know her medical history?

If she has not been eating or drinking, a vet visit (at the least a call to the vet) is of most importance. High possibility of liver failure and dehydration from what I have experienced.

As suggested, find her and put her in a safe room. Do you have a spare bedroom?

I personally would NOT put her in a cage in the open....not now anyway. She needs a safe room and safe places to hide so she will learn to feel secure. Keeping her in a safe room will give her time to let the room smell like her and she will be comforted there.

Spend time with her and follow the "introductions" thread in the sticky going very slow with the introductions.
I agree with this post. She needs a safe room where you can spend quiet time with her and comfort her. Once she is comfortable with you she will gradually come out of her shell and start interfacing with others in your home as well as the other cats. The main thing is to not force her.

I'm glad you found her. She was probably terrified. Will she let you touch her? If so, lift the skin at the back of her neck - if it doesn't go back down quickly she is dehydrated and probably needs to see a vet for sub-q fluids.

Try tempting her with good wet food and maybe even stage 2 baby food (meats) to get her to eat.

Please keep us posted on how she is doing.
 

twokatz

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Any updates on your baby, wondering what happened and how she is doing.
 
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