New Cat Only Eating a Few Tablespoons a Day

Hi,

I adopted two 3 1/2 year old Bonded Siblings from my local shelter 10 days ago. They were both underweight, the boy needs to gain a pound, the girl needs to gain a couple. They're both very sweet, but the girl is more timid than the boy. The boy is my little shadow, following me everywhere, always nuzzling my face. He's adjusted well and will eat his wet food, and then part of his sisters.

The girl is definitely a little shy. She'll hang out under the ottoman, or under the bed most of the day - then jump up and sleep in my lap when I watch TV at night. I think she might be a vampire.  She also sleeps on my stomach every night. She'll avoid strangers for an hour or so, and then she'll be in their laps too. Basically a complete sweetheart. 

The problem is getting her to eat... ANYTHING. They were fed dry food at the shelter (they were there for a month) so I got a little of that - and planned to transition to wet. Neither one was a fan of dry, no biggie though. They both prefer wet Pate mixed with warm water. They won't eat anything with chunks or shreds, they'll just lick the gravy. They will only eat pate. She'll never come to the food bowl, I usually take the food bowl to where she is and she'll lick up a few bites of the mushy pate. But only a few little licks! 2-3 tablespoons of watered down pate, twice a day. She's so skinny, I just wish she'd eat! Her hipbones are pretty prominent. 

Before you ask, they've been vet checked twice in the last week. The shelter always does an exit exam, and then I took them both to my vet when I got home. My vet says they're both in great health, just under weight. Both are using the litter box normally. They're also the only animals in the house.

I've tried:

Dry Food

Wet Food (Several Flavors - Pate, shreds, chunks) Wellness, Science Diet Canned (from vet), Wuerva, Natural Balance

Tuna/Tuna Juice

Treats

Rotisserie Chicken

I also currently separate them to eat because the male will get bored with his (identical) food and will switch to her bowl ... and she'll just let him and walk away! So I've been separating them to eat so she'll at least eat a few bites. 

I'm planning on picking up chicken baby food tonight. Any other tricks to get this cat to eat? Should I syringe feed her? She's healthy, she's just not food focused. Also, I'm sure she's still adjusting. I've just heard bad things about Hepatic Lipidosis, is that a danger? I don't know much about her history, so I'm not sure if this is normal. I'm not sure if she lost weight at the shelter, or she's always been a tiny thing.

Thanks in Advance!

Bump - headed to the store after work. Was hoping to get some ideas on things to try. Thanks!

You could try using FortiFlora as a topper - a lot of cats love it. You could try freeze dried raw too - it has a really strong smell that some cats love. You could talk to your vet about trying the royal canin gastrointestinal wet food (pouches). It's high energy, so you'll need to get less of it into her, and I swear it was like crack when my girl was on it - my ultra fussy boy clamoured for it, and wouldn't give up til he got some!

Other than that, just keep trying different flavours and brands. I can't make suggestions as brands are different in the uk. Warming the food up can help too - even a little hot water can help bring out the aroma to make it more enticing.

Hepatic Lipidosis is a risk, but the fact that they're starting out underweight protects them to a degree. As long as she's eating a bit, I think I'd try to get her eating on her own for now.

Look at the food bowl too - cats will often prefer to eat from a wide shallow bowl instead of a smaller deeper one. Saucers can be even better (though potentially messier!).

It's hard finding out what fussy eaters like sometimes. Keep trying, and if it continues go back to your vet for advice.

Hope some of this helps.

You can also try a one ingredient freeze dried treat like Pure Bites and We Pity the Kitties crumbled on top as a topper. Maybe canned sardines in water/ no salt as an enticement or treat.

Paiger8 said:

 
Bump - headed to the store after work. Was hoping to get some ideas on things to try. Thanks!

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Hi

I would also try Hill's prescription A/D, it has fish oils and is VERY tempting to many cats, and also given the seriousness of it, you may want to try 9 Lives.  Awful food but many cats can't resist and right now any food is better than none.

Also i would invest in a baby scale ASAP and start tracking weight.  If there is loss, then you have a medical problem.

An example of one is

UPDATE:

SHE ATE! 2oz of a 3oz can of Turkey Fancy Feast Classics. Give a cat steak, and they want to eat McDonald's.  I actually had to lay down next to her while she was eating for her to actually eat. Maybe it made her feel safe to eat? I wonder if the other cats in the shelter (cat room) bullied her and ate her food? And then this morning, she ate a couple ounces of Turkey Wellness - which she refused to eat last week. Going to try to give her some chicken FF tonight, I refuse to let her straight eat Turkey flavor everything.

She likes it warmed for 10 seconds in the microwave, with no water added. Brother likes it mixed with lots of warm water and a little pumpkin. Cats are weird!  

Thanks so much for the help everyone!

Great news! Some cats are social eaters and will want you near them or petting them in order for them to eat. There's nothing wrong with turkey, if that's what she likes why not let her have it?

StephenQ said:

There's nothing wrong with turkey, if that's what she likes why not let her have it?

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I'm fine with Turkey and will feed it several times a week, I just prefer to feed a rotation of food in case of recall, etc. I don't want them to get used to only one type of meat, and go on hunger strike if it's not available. 

Great news. Don't worry about rotation too much at this stage. Being underweight to the extent that she is can actually reduce appetite. As she gains weight and strength she should be more open to food rotation. For now, let her eat what she likes.

My girl (also a rescue) is a very social eater too. Generally, she'll only eat if I'm sitting with her. Not anyone else - ME If it's a mealtime, she'll also insist on waiting for me to start eating before she can eat! Very cute, but crazy too :lol3: