Neighbor Died, Now His Cat Won't Eat - Help

Hello,

My neighbor died and I have his 2 YO neutered male cat "Mikey" here to give him a foster home until we can place him in a new home. Mikey got here Friday about 5 PM and he hasn't eaten a thing since then, it's now Sunday at 8 AM [it's been 39 hours]. I live in a house with my 2 neutered, clawed cats age 2.5 and 6.5. I have Mikey in spare bedroom with his big cage that's 4' tall but 3' wide, and the cat food he had been eating at my neighbor's house but he hasn't touched it and has had no litter box activity at all - no pee or BMs. What should I do? Will it damage his liver if he doesn't eat soon? He's a little over weight, his weight is probably about 12 pounds.

He was rescued as a kitten from near death by my neighbor, he was born outside in a feral cat litter in which his other family members were probably destroyed. He has never seen many other cats, probably never been close to other cats all his life. Neighbor had 2 dogs that Mikey liked to play with and got along quite good with, now they have been placed in new homes. I'd say he's probably grieving plus he's in a new home with my 2 very healthy cats, and that's a challenge for him too. PS - Mikey has been declawed but my cats have claws.

I keep Mikey in my spare bedroom most of the time, and I put the food in his cage with the door shut or open and right now with the bedroom doors closed to try to get him to feel relaxed and eat. He hasn't seen his owner / my neighbor, in close to 2 weeks now, and the dogs were taken to their new home 4 days ago, so now he's missing them and in my home with cats he'd never seen. I'm going to contact neighbor's daughter very soon.

We promised my neighbor we'd find good homes for his 2 dogs and 1 cat. He loved his animals very much, now it's our duty to see that Mikey is OK and will be placed into a good home. Please advise. Thanks.

I wanted to bump this so it would hopefully get some attention.

Mikey still hasn't eaten and he's dug around in the litter box but hasn't passed anything. I think he's constipated because he hasn't eaten since Friday.

I called his former owner's daughter and she's at church or something so I left a message. I also called his vet and will email him but haven't head anything back yet.

Is it true that his liver can shot down if he doesn't eat soon?

Hi there

First, just wanted to welcome you to TCS and to say that sometimes it can get pretty slow on weekends, so a quick response might not be forthcoming until tomorrow. In any case I'll ask to have your thread moved to the Cat Health forum where it can get more attention.

Second, yes, it is true that cats can get hepatic lipidosis if they go too long without eating. Anything more than a day and a half or two days is getting into the danger zone. He needs to go to the vet first thing tomorrow or as soon as they open. They'll evaluate him and help you learn how to force feed him if necessary. They'll also be able to get to the bottom of his constipation.

He is likely nervous, anxious and upset more than anything, but he still needs to eat. At this point, I would try offering him extra tasty luxury things, like deli meat or maybe raw/cooked chicken pieces, to get him to eat. It could jump-start his appetite.

Is he on canned or dry food? Is he sniffling or sneezing at all?

Hi there,

She gave me his food which is Purina kibble for indoor cats and a lot of cans of Friskies poultry blends.

He's not sneezing. I'll try giving him some turkey meat. He refused mackerel and kibble and canned.

Thanks for replying. I'll take him to vet on Monday AM ASAP or sooner.
 

Getting him to the vet's tomorrow is a good idea. Most cats find deli turkey irresistible. Another thing you could try is some KFC (just the meat), water-packed tuna and Fancy Feast, a.k.a. kitty crack. that he'll start eating.

It is true indeed about the liver and I'm so glad you came here to ask that. I'm also glad he'll be going to the vet tomorrow. He's grieving the loss of his owner and cats can truly become very depressed and lethargic. I feel so bad for him but he's so lucky to have you looking after him after all that's happened. If you could get some chicken broth tonight and add it to some tuna that might help. if he gets worse today please bring him into the ER, i.e. if he gets feverish and shows signs of jaundice. Please keep us posted, we'll keep checking this post to make sure someone is here for you.

OK thanks. I gave him some salty water in a turkey baster and he did seem to drink some. He's very feral tho and he gets mad and starts growling, he's looking to bite and hurt you.

He seems to have no interest in anything to drink or eat, not even turkey, but I haven't tried deli turkey yet.

Hi, an update :

Mikey is going to live with my former neighbor's grand daughter, she's about 30 and has a son, husband and a small dog. I told them of his refusing to eat. She has worked with vets so hopefully Mikey will be OK. I sure hope so, Bruce loved Mikey very much and it meant everything to him that Mikey get into a good home. It was their choice, I sure hope the best for him. Thank you for your replies.

Good luck to Mikey and thank you for caring for him when he needed you. He's lucky to have had you.