Cats not eating when they change owners?

My new cat Gemini, is barely eating. We have the same food her original owner fed her, and some she didn't. She is eating a bit. She does appear to drink a lot though. Is that normal?

Naveed: how long have you had her and do you have other cats? If she is stressed by other cats, you might try feeding her separately for a while so that she is not stressed out by your other cats. If this persists, suggest a vet visit is in order. The stress of a move can sometimes cause physical illness in cats and changes in eating/litter habits are a sure sign that something is wrong with them.

LuvReggae: you can delete your posts from this thread and start a new one!

You can give her some special treats to stimulate her appetite. For example, a little tuna in tuna water (from the can) might be irresistable. Or, pouring tuna water on her cat food might be good as well. You don't want to feed tuna regularly, but it just might do the trick in increasing her appetite.

This is my third full day of having her. I do have another cat, but at the moment Gemini is staying in my room till I can get her adapted to my dogs and cat. She does seem to be eating more, but only a little bit at a time. I have no idea what her eating our liter habits were like before so I really don't know if it'd be a sign of illness. I will give the tuna thing a go probably.

Originally posted by Naveed
She is eating a bit. She does appear to drink a lot though. Is that normal?

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If she were huddled under the bed shaking in fear and not eating, drinking, or interacting with you much I would say she is stressed from the new environment. BUT you say she is only eating a bit but drinking "a lot" — that to me is very different. Seems like there may be a health problem? Healthy cats usually eat and drink in proportion to eachother unless they are kittens and like to play in the water.

Why don't you weigh her, and then start measuring the amounts of food you give her (1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, whatever) so you can see exactly how much she eats? She may actually be eating enough, but just less than your other animals. I have a kitty that hardly eats anything but she stays the same weight.. . then again I have a kitty that eats all day and is too skinny from hyperthyroid.

Well, I didn't mean to make it sound like she drinks on a lot of seperate occasions, but when she does drink the couple times out of the day that she does, she drinks a lot. I'm thinking that she actually eats more when I'm not looking to, but if things keep up this way I'll take her to the vet just to make sure. She seems to be very nice and in shape to, like plumb, but not like overweight plump. So I think she ate fine for the last owner.

When my grandpa died his cat grieved itself to death (or so I was told) . But at least they are in heaven together.

Make sure to give him plenty of love and he'll be ok though!

I had this very problem myself a couple of weeks ago.I took in a 12 year old cat for a lady and I had the cat 3 days before she even touched her food.I offered her the exact same food her "mommy" fed her,but she wouldn't touch it.I even gave her the canned food that she sent.The cat does not like people food so anything I tried to give her to encourage her to eat,she wouldn't touch.

Just keep an eye on her to make sure she is eating and keep up with her weight and if she starts losing weight you need to take her to the vet.

The cat I have is doing much better about eating now.She is probably a little bit mad at me though because I cut out her 2 daily cans of food and she has to stick to the dry.I am about to have to switch her food so that's going to be another fun thing to get past.LOL.(She is overweight and I am going to have to put her on a weight control formula).

Good luck and keep us updated on how she is doing.

Gemini is the same way. She is totally uninterested in people food. She did drink the water from the tuna I tried giving her. She is eating more for sure. It seems to be more of a she'll eat when she wants to thing. She seems to be slowly getting used to stuff. I actually got sleep last night lol. She learned that when the light it off it means I need to sleep lol. She did wake me up a bit, but she always quieted down when I petted her and got her to relax. The biggest problem I think now will be to get her used to the other animals in my house. My gf and I went and bought a colar and leash for her yesterday. She has no problem with the colar. The leash on the other hand...not so fond of yet. I think when she learns that it means she can go out of my room for a bit, she'll like it.

Give her time to adjust to you and her new home. It's still early days. Keep and eye on her weight. You don't want her to lose weight. Make sure there's food available for when she wants it. This may mean leaving food there even if she didn't finish her meal at mealtime.