Traumatized & not eating

[patriciameans]

We recently had a roof put on our house. My cat who is already afraid of EVERYTHING!, hid under our bad & only came out late in the evening. This went on for over a week. She didn't eat for 3 days & is only eating tuna a few tablespoons a day now, & will not touch her regular food that she has loved for 2 years. No dry at all! I am so worried what should I do? She is my first cat & the vet seems to think she is part wild based on her continued biteing and scratching for no apparent reason. Any ideas

 

[margd]

Aw, poor girl.  I can just imagine how scary all the noise was if she's already timid.  There are several things you can do to encourage her to eat.

1.  Warm up her food to release the aroma and make it more inviting.

2. Put her bowl near her mouth when she's asleep.  Cats will often eat automatically when they first wake up.

3. Give her tuna (like you are doing already) or other strong fish, such as salmon.

4.  Buy her some baby food - chicken and/or turkey, without garlic or onion.  Cats generally love this stuff.

5. Crumble cheese over her food, or add FortiFlora or Bonito flakes.

6.  Give her some scrambled eggs or some freshly baked or boiled chicken (again, no spices.)

7.  Try offering her small pieces of warm ham.  I've never had a cat turn this down.

8.  Try feeding her by hand.

9.  Offer her treats she especially loves.

You're right to be concerned about her loss of appetite so hopefully one of these suggestions will help her start eating normally again.  The growing time passing since the roof was redone should also help.  

Good luck!  Please let us know how she does.  

 

 

[things143]

Did you trying pouring some tuna juice on her regular food?

 

[iwilltakethem]

How does she react to your touch? I can see how all that work on your house is troubling for her but for some reason its scared her beyond eating and that doesn't sound right.