Teddy is burping and swallowing alot

I am a little worried that he's either got a hairball he doesn't want to let himself barf up or that his tummy is upset. Teddy came home Friday so I know he's still settling in. I got Purina Naturals dry cat food and he seemed to really like it and snacked on it all day till the bowl was empty on Friday. Saturday he didn't eat so much and the bowl still had food in it by evening. I was only putting about a cup of food in his bowl and not refilling it once it's empty. Today (sunday) he still has food from yesterday. Last night he barfed a small hairball and some yellow stuff on the floor (like digested food since the foods yellow) But then the rest of the evening, whenever I would check him, he'd be swallowing , over and over. It's very subtle but I still notice. He'll burp every now and then. Sometimes almost like he's going to start to barf. But then swallow it down. Then he is swallowing over and over.

I tried to give him some Hartz hairball remedy (the gooey stuff in a tube) and he wouldnt' touch it. This morning I opened a can of cat food and gave that to him and mixed 1/2 a tsp of olive oil into it. He licked the juice a bit but didn't eat much . So he's still got half a bowl of dry food from yesterday and didn't eat his soft food. He's pooped overnight 2 x so I know his digestion is still working.

I am sure I am just being paranoid and can't help but worry since I finally have my long awaited precious kitty. I was going to say I hadn't ever seen him wash his fur anyway, but now he's sitting there relaxed on the chair and washing his whole body. So yeah, it could totally be a hair ball, right?

But does it have anything to do with not eating so much now? I guess I am worried because I don't know if the food is upsetting his tummy or if there's something else going on or just a simple hairball. He doesn't act sick. Still purrs and seems normal. But today he's just been really lazy and sleepy. The first day he explored and asked for attention a lot. But maybe he's just settling in.

Please help assure me or make suggestions as appropriate.

Usually when a cat continually keeps swallowing its a sign that they are feeling very nauseated..along with the decreased appetite I would have kitty get checked by the vets. You say hes new to your home right? What food was he eating in his former home?. a change in food can cause kitty to be sick also.

We have a vet appointment for  Thursday but that's still several days away. I'll call Monday and see if they have anything sooner. I am not sure what he was eating before. I'll call the shelter and ask. He was at the shelter for just over a month so is probably used to whatever they gave him. And he ate the whole bowl full of food yesterday so maybe it did make his tummy upset. We've only had him home here 3 days almost.

I know I'm new to the kitty world, but from what I have read, changing food cold turkey can cause stomach issues. Keep us up to date on how he's doing.

I'll bet it's the food since he hasn't touched his crunchy food much today or at all. I will call the shelter first thing tomorrow and find out what he was used to. And he hasn't barfed any more so I'd not think a hairball at this point.

I still just worry though because I don't want him to have some other issue that's not easy to solve. He still seems happy enough. But we'll try to go the route of solving the food issue first.

Get him some good canned food to help, but give him small servings every couple of hours.  It's not good for him to go without food for more than a day.  You can also get plain meat baby food and try that.  When you feed dry food, you have to do it slowly so that tummy upset doesn't occur.  For canned food, you can rotate without much problems.  Besides that, wet food is so much better for him in the long run.

thanks!   I gave him a cat of a beef and gravy food and he seems to kind of like it. He doesn't really chow down but he licked up all the gravy and did eat about half the beef chunks. So that's something. And I noticed he'd eaten more of his dry food overnight.

I found out the shelter fed Science Diet, but not sure which version. So I went to Tractor Supply and got some of the basic adult cat Science Diet in case he was used to that . Also looked and they had a bunch of good brands too. I bought 4Life brand dry food. And I also got some cans of plain tuna and other soft canned food. I don't want to overwhelm him but want to make sure I find something he will eat and doesn't bother him either.

So I put the science diet and the 4 life in a split dish so he can choose. And left out his beef and gravy that he seemed to be eating.

I don't always know what to expect. The only cats I've fed have been strays in the past, and they always wolfed down every meal , as quick as possible. So I'm not used to the snacking /picking at food every now and then. it seemed like he was really going to be fine the day we brought him home and he emptied the bowl over the course of the day, so I was surprised he started acting like he didnt' like the food and not eating.

oops it wasn't 4 life, it was 4health brand. It's grain free and seemed good and the girl at TCS recommended it since she used it for her cats. It wasn't as expensive as Wild Blue or the other more expensive grain free ones.

AND Teddy is eating it!!!!! He sniffed the Science Diet but hasn't touched it. Too bad I opened the bag. I don't know if I can return it or not. But if not maybe I can donate it to the shelter since that's what they use, if they'll take an open bag.

Go for the grain-free over the Science Diet, but give him canned food daily as well.  Canned is much better for them than dry.