new 4 yr old sleeps all day

Hello,  I brought my kitty home 9 days ago from local shelter.   She is 4 yrs old.  I'm very concerned that all she's been doing is sleeping. She does play in morning for maybe 15 minutes because I really entice her to play.  The rest of the times I try she shows very little interest .  She does love cuddling and loves sitting on everyone lap (she super sweet).  She constantly is purring--which i read could also be a sign of distrees.  She does eat, drink and has on average of one bowel movement per day.  I took her couple of days ago and vet said she looked good .

Is it normal for a 4 yr old cat to want to sleep so much.  She was at the shelter for 6 months (not sure if that has anything to do with it) and is a little overweight (15.2 pds).  I'm not sure what she is up to at night

Hi! Thanks for adopting a shelter kitty. She sounds like more than a little overweight. I volunteer in a shelter adoption room at Petsmart. The cats have time out of their cages several times a day to be played with but the overweight cats never get enough exercise. It doesn't help that we leave dry food out for them all day. I would ask your vet for advice about putting her on a diet to get her weight down. She has a better chance to lose weight on a lower calorie wet food. I have personal experience with using prescription food because I've had two cats where their weight got to 15-16 pounds. It does work. You'll see the cat become more active as they start to lose the weight. This has to be done slowly based on your vet's advice.
If you don't already have wand toys, be sure to get a DaBird wand. These are available through Amazon and many independent pet stores. Metpet wands and laser pointers are good too.
I have a three year old cat who does sleep most of the day, even when I'm home. He is much more active in the evening. He is not overweight.
Another thing to try is training her to a leash and harness. There is a Metpet walking jacket and Kitty Holster jacket that work well. Then you can take her outside for walks though I would caution to stay in an enclosed area like a backyard for safety.
For more information on pet obesity, check the web site petobesityprevention.com
Also, check Jackson Galaxy's web site and his My Cat From Hell for great ideas on enriching your cat's environment. Does she have places to climb to like a condo or shelves? Check the web site Hauspanther for more inspiration.
Hope this helps.

Sounds fairly normal to me, take it as a good sign that she isn't hiding from you, or jumping in an anxious way.  If she is coming up to sit on people and seeking company and contact it is far more likely that her purring is out of calm  and contentment than fear or pain.  Some cats are just more active than others and are more easily tempted in to play, and others will sit and wait and not bother unless you are almost pushing them off their seat!  Mouse has a really high play drive but even he has taken to snoozing away huge chunks of the day now he is 3 years old, and when playing he is more prone to sitting in wait than wasting his energy throwing himself about in mid air then there is no chance of him catchning something: he has learned how not to waste his energy.  Cats sleep and cats wait and watch for oportunities for hunting.  They are experts at conserving energy one might say.  For those with a lower play drive you have to be more strict on the diet front and make sure the food intake is in line with their activity level.

It is good to encourage all cats to be active, to keep their environment interesting and stimulating by giving height and things to watch and run after, and move things around / swap toys around so they don't get too bored of them.  And again like @Murr7maggiom has said, a high protein wet diet also helps, along with not leaning free feeding dry food out at all times.  If your cat is very food driven, if you do offer dry food try to keep it actieve,either in one of the food dispensing balls or by hand throwing the odd biscuit for your cat to chase after.

A reasonably active cat that is not stressed and not over weight has a much better chance of a long and happy life. If she has settled in this quickly with you I am sure you will be able to draw her out of her tubby tendancies. 

I'm guessing since she was in a shelter for 6 months, she wasn't able to do much but sleep, so she's used to doing that.  She'll probably slowly break that habit as she adjusts to her new environment, with new stimulation from YOU, and with losing some of that weight.  I was amazed what  just losing two pounds did for my little porker.  Now he runs around with his tail straight up in the air and wants to play a LOT!  Don't get me wrong, he still sleeps half his life, which is quite normal for cats, but now I find him up on top of the china cabinet (with a little help from the cat tree) and other places where before he was a little skeptical of going

Thanks I feel better and not as worried about her sleeping all the time.  It is so cute that she will get up when one of us calls her , she really, really wants to sit on someone all the time !!  The day after I adopted her I went a bought some new cat toys (da bird, laser light, balls, cat nip toys, cat tree, etc....).   The two toys that get a little bit of her attention (very small burst of energy) is Da Bird and laser light.   I did notice that she had access to bowl of dry food in her cage at the shelter.  I purchased some of the cheap dry food and Wellness dry food...been slowly acclimating her from the cheap to premium dry...i'll do that for about two weeks.  I'm also introducing her to premium wet food...i've tried three types and she doesn't really eat much of it...she just wants the dry stuff.  Today a mixed dry with the wet and she ate little bit more of that.  If I leave her dry food when i go to bed...its gone by morning.   I'm not sure if i should slowly get her weaned off dry or just take it away all at once.

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
I'm guessing since she was in a shelter for 6 months, she wasn't able to do much but sleep, so she's used to doing that.  She'll probably slowly break that habit as she adjusts to her new environment, with new stimulation from YOU, and with losing some of that weight.  I was amazed what  just losing two pounds did for my little porker.  Now he runs around with his tail straight up in the air and wants to play a LOT!  Don't get me wrong, he still sleeps half his life, which is quite normal for cats, but now I find him up on top of the china cabinet (with a little help from the cat tree) and other places where before he was a little skeptical of going

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I have been pondering your post for a bit today and I think mrsgreenjeens is onto something.  She's probably not used to having space to play, so she's used to doing nothing but sleep.  With time and with the attention and love you're giving her, hopefully, she'll come out of her shell and open up and be more "cat like".  Do you have a DaBird toy?  I've not seen a cat yet not get some playtime out of that toy!!

stephanietx said:

 
I have been pondering your post for a bit today and I think mrsgreenjeens is onto something.  She's probably not used to having space to play, so she's used to doing nothing but sleep.  With time and with the attention and love you're giving her, hopefully, she'll come out of her shell and open up and be more "cat like".  Do you have a DaBird toy?  I've not seen a cat yet not get some playtime out of that toy!!

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I agree, thinking about what @mrsgreenjeens has said it makes a lot of sense.  Keep up with the DaBird and laser, maybe offering a dry biscuit at the end of the laser play, and hopefully she will slowly draw out. Try tp rotate the toys every week so she doesn't get bored.  Home made, like using old boxes on the floor and playing at hiding stuff can work well, things don't have to cost a fortune.

Most of the time when I get a new cat they hide/sleep during the day and explore all night.

Cats are  nocturnal. Merlin sleeps all day then runs around and patrols all night! I call it "Merlin's Nightly Nonsense" or Merlin's Midnight Madness".

Sorry been so long to respond back to everyone.  Update on our kitty is that she is playing more and more everyday.  She's also awake more during the day hours.  Her favorite toy is my far the "Da Bird"  !!  She also loves laser light and of course her cat nip filled toy. 

        thank you DaBird and laser toys!  Lovely to hear how she has settled in and learned how to be a playful cat having fun with you.  Wishing you many happy, healthy years of play and cuddles with her.  

As she adjusts to your home and your routine, she'll probably adjust her sleeping schedule to your routine.  My kitties have a routine that involves a lengthy nap from mid-morning to lunch time and then from mid-afternoon to somewhere around 5:30pm.  They are used to me playing with them in the evenings and us being awake, so they are awake.  Once the lights go out, they settle down and sleep all night.

Too my kitty to vet today to have feline leukemia test done before my daughter brings her cat over.  The leukemia test was negative but the FIV test came out positive.  Having another test done to confirm it, vet says it could be a false postive

Hoping it comes back false positive first result and you don't have to wait too long to get the second result. 

MServant said:

 
Hoping it comes back false positive first result and you don't have to wait too long to get the second result. 

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Vet called yesterday and spoke to my husband.  Vet said it was good and bad news ...the test came back indeterminant  (not negative , but no positive either).  She explained to my husband that the test needed to have two bars to be positive but only had one bar (no bars is negative).   I somewhat feel that I spent a lot of money on the Western Blot and still don't know for sure.  Think I'll start a new thread and see if anyone else has had this happen with their kitty.  Blood work came back all normal

I think it is worth starting with a specific question for where you are at now.  How is she doing generally?  Is she playing any more or still sleeping a lot?

Even if she does test positive for FIV, she can still lead a productive, happy, long life with a few lifestyle adjustments on your part.