Can't won't eat but not totally sure what's up

Filigree3

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I adopted a rehomed 4 year old cat Friday. He's been a finicky eater in general so yesterday I gave him a sardine. I was very careful to remove bones. I thought. Shortly after he was gagging slightly and pawing his face but by the time I looked up the vets number he stopped and was back to normal. Now today he has turned his nose up and 4 breakfast options. He did eagerly eat one small peice of chicken with no apparent discomfort but when I offered him more he sniffed it and walked away. I am waiting for my cat carrier to arrive tomorrow. I don't have a car and i can't take him on mass transit unrestrained he'll bolt. So as soon as I have it i will get him to a vet.
BUT: I'm wondering if there's something else going on. He has not yet been neutered (ill be taking care of that) and I think there's a female stray in the area because he's staring out of every window he can get to with his tail all twitchy and sniffing hard and he's been meowing at the door. I'm not familiar with cat mating behavior. Could sexual distraction keep him from eating?
 

gilmargl

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I think it probably could! I am only familiar with neutered cats but we all read about tom cats who disappear in the spring as soon as females are ready for mating and only return completely emaciated and hungry when the mating-season's over. Poor boy!
Are you offering him normal cat food? Sardines and chicken are fine occasionally as a special treat. But cats need a regular diet of cat food.
I hope your carrier turns up quickly so that you can get him checked and neutered. Good luck!
 
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Filigree3

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I gave him both dry and wet cat food but offered him the human food since he was eating but only a little. I wanted to get his appetite going. Now I'm afraid in injured him. He woke me up at 4 am howling for food but when in gave him his food his sniffed it and walked off. I don't know what he wants
 
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Filigree3

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I'm mainly concerned because he was gagging for a few minutes after he ate so something was there. I just thought it passed.
 
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Filigree3

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He's just alternating now between quietly staring out the front window and then the back window for varying lengths of time
 

Maurey

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Him not eating much initially could be stress due to being in a completely new environment -- it can take cats a long while to get acclimated enough to eat normally. My girl took nearly a week to develop her normal voracious appetite after I brought her home :>

That said, if you're concerned about the gagging and the sardine, and he's showing less interest in food than he had been, it could be worth having that extra checkup. Since he has a history of being picky, could be that he just didn't want the specific food you offered him. If he starts eating at least some in the near future and shows no other symptoms, I think it can wait till his neuter visit, unless that's a ways off.
 
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Filigree3

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I don't even need to wait til his neuter. I would take him on Tuesday since the carrier is coming tomorrow night. But he's meowing alot
 
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Filigree3

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His dry food is the same the last owner used. The wet food i gave him he would lick up the gravy and ignore the chunks. I even offered him tuna this morning just to see if I could tempt him. Not going for it.
 

Maurey

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Have you tried offering pate? Some cats don't really like chunks in gravy, and prefer the smooth consistency they can just lap up. Him licking the gravy is good, though, if not ideal! It means he has an appetite, and is getting moisture into his system, even if he isn't eating much.
 
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Filigree3

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Previous owner told me he preferred the chunks. The more gravy the better
 
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Filigree3

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He was licking the gravy yesterday. Today he didn't have anything yet except that one bite of chicken. The sardine was last night
 
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Filigree3

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When the tip of the tail is twitching not back and forth but like a tic while he's sniffing out the window does that indicate a girl around?
 
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Filigree3

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It's freezing in nyc but he won't let me close the window.
 

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HI. Just read through this thread - you could have a combination of things going on. That being, he is following his natural instinct to want to mate, hence his refusal to let you close the window. Probably explains the tail twitching. And, he could still have something stuck in his throat from the sardine, or at least an irritation in the throat lining from a bone that isn't even there anymore.

If you have any pate food around, I would add water or tuna juice and make it into a slurry so that he more or less only needs to lap it up. See if he will eat something that way. You can do that with the chunky/gravy food as well - if you have a blender, or some other appliance that will puree the food into a slurry. You could even try that with the tuna.
 
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