Desperately Anxious – New kitten not eating

[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]Hi there, I adopted a new kitten from a rescue home on Saturday. A 7 month old tabby stray. He hadn’t been there for long only a few days and in that time he’d been neutered and chipped. They told me that he absolutely loved his food and was on 3 sachets a day and especially loved chicken.

Brought him home on Saturday afternoon and put down a little chicken to help him settle and half a sachet of the food I’m assured he was eating at the home. He did eat the chicken (tiny amount) and wouldn’t touch the kitten food. Yesterday I tried to mix in the chicken in to the kitten food as I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with him and he wouldn’t touch it. I called the home and they said to take the food away and try him again at dinner time but still nothing. I’ve tried heating it slightly to tempt him but nothing.

He’s settled in really well and is bouncy and great fun to have around but the not eating thing is making me very upset as my previous cat developed cancer suddenly and very aggressively and was put to sleep after 3 days of not responding to treatment anymore and not eating.

Any help, advice or ideas would be gratefully received!

I hope this is because he is so excited and a little nervous of his new place.  So he doenst has time nor peace of mind for eating.

But try with other suitable and even not so suitable foods anyway, just to entice him.  Tuna, minced meat, perhaps even som human food... Cheese...

Gerber baby food is popular among cats... the variety of pure chicken or turkey, no funny additives.

A couple of different bowls with water.

Good luck!

I wouldn't be concerned yet. He has been neutered, chipped and moved houses in just a few days. Cats do not eat when they are anxious, and he probably is. Let him adjust to his new place, but make sure he does start to eat soon.

Has he been drinking well? If he has not done this either, you need to make sure he isn't getting dehydrated.

Also, you can try giving him food and walk away, leaving him alone in the room. It's possible he's anxious and doesn't eat when you are around, but when he's alone and feeling a little more comfortable not being watched, he might eat something. He can probably feel you watch and feel your worry (Cats can tell) because of what happened with your previous cat (I'm very sorry to hear about it ) and that might cause him not to eat as well, aside from the stress he is probably enduring.

Take care, let us know how he's doing!

He's eaten a tiny bit of chicken and I've spoken to the vet. They said to try temp him but not push him. He's also got REALLY bad breath! They think that's because he's losing his kitten teeth. I feel so helpless he's a tiny thing I'm deathly afraid he's just going to die on me.

Squishee said:

He's eaten a tiny bit of chicken and I've spoken to the vet. They said to try temp him but not push him. He's also got REALLY bad breath! They think that's because he's losing his kitten teeth. I feel so helpless he's a tiny thing I'm deathly afraid he's just going to die on me.

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That's good, every bit of food is a progress! And your vet is right, if you push him he will only get more scared, resulting in the complete opposite of what you want.

How bad is his breath? What does it smell like? If it makes you feel any better, my cats smell like rotten fish all the time, even when they didn't eat any fish haha.

As long as your kitten is playful, don't worry. If a cat is really badly sick you will know, as they will become extremely lethargic. He won't just die on you all of the sudden.

Biancavd said:

 
I wouldn't be concerned yet. He has been neutered, chipped and moved houses in just a few days. Cats do not eat when they are anxious, and he probably is. Let him adjust to his new place, but make sure he does start to eat soon.

Has he been drinking well? If he has not done this either, you need to make sure he isn't getting dehydrated.

Also, you can try giving him food and walk away, leaving him alone in the room. It's possible he's anxious and doesn't eat when you are around, but when he's alone and feeling a little more comfortable not being watched, he might eat something. He can probably feel you watch and feel your worry (Cats can tell) because of what happened with your previous cat (I'm very sorry to hear about it ) and that might cause him not to eat as well, aside from the stress he is probably enduring.

Take care, let us know how he's doing!

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I agree. My new foster, Henry, was doing the same thing when he first got here and I was a wreck. He's been doing better every day as he relaxes more and more and has developed a very good appetite. He is eating canned only now and has been enjoying his food. He has been leaving his dish clean.   He has also been using his litter box and aside from a touch of diarrhea a couple of days ago, everything is doing well in that department. I did expect some runny stool because of stress and diet change but it was just a touch and only once. I have a feliway diffuser in his safe room and I really think it's helped. You may want to try one, too. Amazon has good deals on them.

Feliway is on its way. His breath smells like.....well poo!! (

If he is teething I guess he'd not want so eat so I got him some kitten milk he had a few licks of that and another couple of bites of chicken. He's been running around like a crazy kitty so fingers crossed for a full meal tomorrow.

Squishee said:

Feliway is on its way. His breath smells like.....well poo!!

(

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How IS his poo?  If it is rare and he washes himself, he may smell poo...

Another instance they get foul smell is if they have problems with their anal glands.  These are smelly in this situation, and them washing of themselves... Get bad breath yes.

Did you said anything about deworming?  They did surely standard deworming at the shelter, but its often necessary to do it again.  Especielly if he got reinfected, perhaps by a litter used by someone who wasnt proper dewormed.

Pure indoor cats, once well and good dewormed, often they dont need any more deworming in their whole life.   But to get rid of all worms may be tricky and usually needs repetitions.

He did a big poo when we got home on Saturday and nothing much since. The home said they wormed and flead him so I'm not sure it's that, they had all separate pens in the shelter so he had his own litter tray but he was a stray so god knows what happened to him. But he's still not eating so I've made an appointment at the vet. I'd rather he was checked out properly and I was told I'm crazy and nothing is wrong rather than have something seriously wrong with him and have done nothing about it.

Hi Squishee. Have the vet measured his temperature? One major reason that cats stop eating is fever. And long time without eating would do harm to their stomach and liver, too. My suggestion is, the most important thing right now is trying to let him eat. You could try some appetite supplements like FortiFlora for your cat. If with that he is still not eating, you should definitely take him to the vet and get a complete check for him.  

dangotkmn said:

 
Hi Squishee. Have the vet measured his temperature? One major reason that cats stop eating is fever. And long time without eating would do harm to their stomach and liver, too. My suggestion is, the most important thing right now is trying to let him eat. You could try some appetite supplements like FortiFlora for your cat. If with that he is still not eating, you should definitely take him to the vet and get a complete check for him.  

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Yeah, fortiflora, BeneBac or some other probiotic may be useful, regulating the intestine bacterial flora.  Yeah, this may help for the bad smell, this too.

Temp. Its easier to measure temp with such an modern instant ear thermometre.  If you just have some standard termometre. and by any reason dont want to measure in the behind, you can measure in the armpit of the forearm.  Pretend you are playing a new merry game!

This is not as exact as in the behind, but you will get nicely the tendencies.   In the armpit its about 1 full Celsius grade lower, or 3 Fahrenheit lower.

Its lower in the ear too, but I suspect modern thermometers have a build in compensation.  So perhaps measure first on yoursel, so you will know if it compensates, or shows the temperature there is.

Hi all, vet said to try not to worry and that he was in great condition as far as she could see teeth, coat etc. She said he's probably stressed with being a stray and within a week going to a rescue home getting neutered, chipped and rehomed. She's going to call me tomorrow to see how he is. He had a couple of bites of salmon earlier but that's been it. Fingers crossed I'm worrying about nothing, thank you for all the messages I'd really like a healthy and happy kitty!

Hi all, good news is that kitten has eaten a proper meal at last but bad news is he stole a chicken drumstick from my partner who was tearing it into his bowl! He won't touch the 'prepared' chicken so to speak but is now on his way to polishing off the second drumstick. We think it's because this is how he'll have been used to eating when he was a stray but now concerned as to how to domesticate him as I'd rather he wasn't eating drumsticks under my bed for the rest of his life! Any ideas?? Thank you!

Squishee said:

Hi all, good news is that kitten has eaten a proper meal at last but bad news is he stole a chicken drumstick from my partner who was tearing it into his bowl! He won't touch the 'prepared' chicken so to speak but is now on his way to polishing off the second drumstick. We think it's because this is how he'll have been used to eating when he was a stray but now concerned as to how to domesticate him as I'd rather he wasn't eating drumsticks under my bed for the rest of his life! Any ideas?? Thank you!

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Don't feed him any drumstick. It does sound like he's hungry, so eventually he'll go with the food you have provided him. He won't starve himself to death. However, if you give into him, he will continue to behave this way because he knows he'll get his way sooner or later; it's like teaching a little child

Also, prepared drumsticks can be rather dangerous as the bone can splinter. Please be very careful.

If you notice he only eats underneath your bed, you could put his food and water bowl there for a while. He probably feels saver hidden underneath a bed and you have a bigger chance he'll eat there rather than the place his food is at now. It might be inconvenient, but as soon as he's used to the food and to you guys, you can move it and he'll continue eating it at the "regular" place.

Hey. Does that mean your cat prefer to eat human food than eating cat food? That is a bad news. It takes long time to lead him to the right way. My cat has the same problem, so I really hope one day your cat would accept cat food.

Hi all when we woke up this morning we found ALL of the chicken, salmon, tuna AND kitten milk that's been his buffet for the past week was gone! He's eating actual kitten food as I type!! I've not been this happy in the morning since Christmas morning when I was 5 I think, hurrah!!! I think Feliway really did its thing thank God!

Squishee said:

Hi all when we woke up this morning we found ALL of the chicken, salmon, tuna AND kitten milk that's been his buffet for the past week was gone! He's eating actual kitten food as I type!! I've not been this happy in the morning since Christmas morning when I was 5 I think, hurrah!!! I think Feliway really did its thing thank God!

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That's great!!! The Feliway does help.