Adopted a new cat and need some advice on eating and this awful smell! Please help.

I am new to this site and am not too sure how it works yet. So please be patient. I am learning.

I am Katie, from Cincinnati, OH. I adopted a cat named Purple.

I adopted her from the SPCA 2 days ago. She is super friendly and very loving. I am just concerned with a few things. First, she won't eat. She won't eat dry food at all. She didn't eat for almost a full day. So I opened a can of tuna to see if she would pass that up because if so then obviously something is wrong. She ate a little bit, but not much of it. Any suggestions on feeding? Or what I should try? I am going to pick up another brand later today and see if that works. I am hoping! I even tried 2 types of cat treats, she won't take them either. (I have to schedule a vet visit anyway. So if not then maybe they can figure it out.)

Next. She smelled fine for the first day. Now she has this awful odor. Not poop, but just super awful from her butt. It is lingering on my couch and stuff. Not sure what that could be. I have only read that it could be her glands. Which by the way there is no oily liquid. Just a smell.

She was spayed while at the SPCA, microchipped, and treated for ear mites. (Which is apparantly why the original owners gave her up.)

I am just concerned about her not eating, and I am trying to figure out the smell thing. She is so sweet, just sleeps ALL day. Doesn't want to play. She has meowed maybe 2 times since I got her. Other than that she is mute and sleeps the entire day away. She does show affection though. She lets me pet her and she will rub against my hand and get all sweet and stuff. So I for some reason don't know if it is stress or not. She will get right up in my lap and sleep.

Can anyone please maybe try and help me out with ideas at all?

Thanks in advance!

Keep in mind she has just gone through a very traumatic experience, being rehomed.  Imagine if someone you loved suddenly took you to the police station and turned you in as "no longer wanted."

She may have impacted anal glands.  A vet should check them.  Keep in mind those glands normally express when she has a bowel movement; if she's not pooping, it could build up.  And they do get infected or clogged sometimes.

I've had one cat I thought I would never get to eat.  But we finally tempted him with Purina Kitten Chow.  You may have to try something like that, just to get her started. 

A normal cat sleeps something like 18 hours per day.  Or at least looks like he's sleeping.
 

That is wonderful you adopted her.  Imagine surrendering a cat because she has ear mites........so treatable.

Why not call the shelter and see what she was eating there.  She does not look thin, so she must have eaten there.  There are so many foods out there you are probably just not getting the kind she was used to, and cats are very finicky sometimes.

Please have her checked asap by a vet.  She may not be feeling well and that will put them off their food.  And cats sleep alot even when they are feeling fine.

Oh, she is so beautiful!  I'm really worried (as I'm sure you are) that she is not eating.  Canned food is healthier than dry anyways so why not pick up a few different brands/flavors and try to find on she likes.  Or, like someone else suggested, contact the shelter to see what she was eating there.

I'd get her into the vet on Monday.  The not eating thing can cause a life threatening liver condition.

We adopted a cat with ear mites.. (and anal gland problems) this summer. (Actually they couldn't find any mites but she had a horrible ear infection probably brought on by mites.)   Just thought I'd say be prepared for a little hard work to get those ears into good shape.  We had to put cleaner and drops in Lucy's ears twice a day for two weeks.  It wasn't easy (had to wrap her in to a little kitty burrito with a towel...which she hated) but her ears have been clean ever since.  The vet was surprised we had such good results and said many people don't do the work with the ears.  So I thought I'd put in a plug for following the vet's directions....it pays off.

And definitely have the vet look at the anal glands.  They can tell whether they are full and express them (empty them) if needed.  They can get infected and other complications that are really painful...so definitely something to take a look at. 

I'm so glad you gave that sweet girl a home.  Please let us know how it goes at the vet.

How long ago was she spayed? Is her incision fully healed?

An awful smell sounds like her anal glands.  Have you called back to the SPCA to discuss it with them?

Cats do need to eat daily in order to avoid liver damage, as txcatmom said, so she needs to see a vet.

Where I live the SPCALA offers a free vet exam if you adopt a cat. Most adoption agencies will do this since they want to make sure when the cat is adopted it is healthy, and they are not releasing a cat with expensive medical issues--which will only make the new owner more prone to returning the cat or worse.