Help, both new cats Barely eating - 7 days !!!

[gm_thomson]

Hi

We adopted two cats , a brother and sister, from a rescue 7 days ago. They are 3 years old.

However despite playing, purring etc they aren't eating well at all.. The boy is 15lbs and the girl is 10lb and between the two of them at the most they are eating is 2oz total.

They are losing weight.. The girl has lost 1/2lb in a week.

They are both nervous and distracted since they run and hide under the bed at most noises, and retreat there often but still play and purr etc. The girl even sleeps with me in bed. The food is in a quiet bedroom where they hide. They are peeing and pooping (not often though).

After day 5 I took the girl to the vet who did bloodwork and all was normal. No felv or dehydration or liver or kidney issues or anything. He said if it wasn't for her not eating well he would have said nothing is wrong with her. The boy sees the vet Wednesdsay.

But it's been 7 days now barely eating. The vet even tried an appetitie stimulant for three days and it did nothing.

I have tried all sorts of things to get them to eat - all brands/ types of food, chicken, tuna, tuna water, cheese, etc etc and best I get is a sniff, a few licks, then covering the food and walking away. Both of them!!

Is this normal? It's been 7 days and I am very worried about them and don't know what to do..

 

[gm_thomson]

Help? Any thoughts would be good.. How long can they survive like this?

 

[catwoman707]

I think they're stressed.

They likely lived a quiet, secluded life formerly, and will take some time to adapt to their new world.

You might try giving them a quiet room to themselves where there is minimal activity so they can begin to acclimate and adapt.

Do you have a dog? Kids?

 

[aislinn]

Try putting some Bach Rescue Remedy for pets (not humans) in their water bowl. It will relieve their stress. They are nervous in their new environment but should feel more comfortable soon. Thank you for rescuing these two.

 

[di and bob]

I've seen it take several weeks for cats to get used to a new home, but they must start eating soon. Try to find out what they were eating before, call the place where you got them, Maybe they weren't eating there either though. All you can really do is try to reduce their stress by talking softly to them while sitting in the same room and trying to engage them with play, get some of those small catnip mice or a wand. You might try Gerber baby food, turkey or chicken, cats find it hard to resist, lunch meat or even fast food, my cats really gobble up Arby's beef and kentucky fried chicken. Then when they are more comfortable change them to a better diet. now is the time to just get them to eat. Maybe try Purina Kitten Chow, many cats like it and it's much higher in calories. All the luck and keep us posted!

 

[gm_thomson]

Their history is they were abandoned on the streets aged 6 months when their owner moved. A neighbour took them in but the boy was fighting her cats so she put them in a back room.. for 2 years!! . while trying to find a home for them.  

Then she decided to do renovations and wanted them gone,  so a week  last Saturday the rescue drove them 2 hours to a foster home. The Sunday they took them to the vet.  They didnt eat much at that foster. Oh and they diagnosed a mild URI so started oral meds which was also stressful given they had never been sick before supposedly.

Last Monday night we picked them up and they have been here ever since ( just over a week ago). URI is now gone and meds finished.

We don't have any other pets or children - our house is quiet but probably not as quiet as being shut in a back room.

We knew what they were eating at the neighbours house, they wont eat much of that either..

I do think its stress but the weird thing is they are rolling on the carpet, and playing (a lot) and purring...

but they just pick at their food!!

 

[catwoman707]

So it doesn't sound like they will starve themselves, not sure what you are feeding them, whether it's store bought food or premium, but at this point I would offer them anything that works and gets them eating well again.

I agree with chicken baby food, warmed up a bit even.

Offer them KMR, and/or babycat (the one that says mother and baby)

These are loaded with all the good/right ingredients, higher protein and cals, and pretty irresistible.

Babycat is not cheap, but you will only need one small bag just to get them through the transition period.

They hide because they were stuck in a back room for 2 years, poor babies

Glad they are with you now!

 

[gm_thomson]

We are feeding whatever they want and for now that's temptations treats mainly... With some wet and dry. 1/3 of what they need but they just nibble and walk off... Not interested in KMR. I have tried pretty much everything at this point...

 

[MoochNNoodles]

When one of my cats was barely eating; and mostly going for those temptations cat treats I went out and bought a bag of Purina Naturals.  They had been eating a higher quality food and getting wet.  The Purina got her eating again.  (Now they get both wet and the purina.)  I was trying to keep them on something better for them; but even my vet said there was nothing wrong with feeding it if it meant it was getting her to eat again.  

I have used a few treats as topper to food to encourage her to eat.  I've also used dried bonito fish flakes.  I call it kitty bacon.