- Joined
- Jan 22, 2023
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Hello all! This is my first post here.
My foster cat has not been eating well since returning to my house. Here's the backstory:
For about a month and a half I fostered a mother cat and her three kittens. The mother was trapped by my colleague on a Sunday night and brought inside. Monday morning she gave birth indoors at my colleague's rescue! I began fostering the group of four when the kittens were about five weeks old, and the whole group was brought into the shelter for adoption a little less than two months later.
During the time the kittens and mom lived with me everyone ate a combination of kitten wet and kitten dry food. They all had good appetites with a slight preference for kibble over the wet. Mom was still nursing for a few weeks. They had free range of my office, with lots of toys, two cat trees, and many nooks to explore. The kittens were automatically very friendly with me, while mom was shy. Mom never got aggressive, she didn't mind me picking up the kittens, but she never let me get to close to her.
When everyone went to the shelter, it was quickly determined momma cat needed more socialization work before adoption would be realistic and it was going to be best done back in foster care. So she stayed only so long as to get spayed and now she's back to living with me. She's been back with me for about a week, primarily stationed in my office with a view into the kitchen, and we've been slowly working on building trust and her confidence with exploring more and more of my apartment. I had thought food was going to be a major asset to me in the trust building but she is not nearly as food motivated as when she was a new mom! Before she would loom at the gate at feeding times, her fear of me temptorarily overcome by excitement for chicken pate. And the bowl of kibble would get refilled multiple times of day! Now is much more indifferent to the wet food I give her, eating only a few bites right when I put the bowl down and walk back a few paces. Then she ignores it. The dry food she has been consuming inconsistently, some days more, some less. I worry if she's getting enough calories/nutrients.
This is my first time witnessing a cat transition through motherhood and back into independent living. Is it normal for a cat's appetite to change so much after their parental duties are over? Is it something I'm doing that's impacting her interest in food? In an attempt to stoke her appetite I've tried mixing tuna water into her canned food but that's had minimal effect. How else can I make her food more appealing? Should I explore more food brands and flavors? Could she be stressed from the transition from the shelter and spaying? Am I giving her too many treats in my attempts to socialize her?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Apart from the small appetite she seems like she's adjusting very well. She plays a lot every day, loves her cat tree in front of the window, and has been making progress in approaching me with curiosity. She doesn't seem to me like a cat that was every truly feral, but I know very little about her backstory other than that she gave birth right after begin trapped, and that she's on the young side.
Thank you so much for reading <3
Trying to do the best I can for this little gal!
My foster cat has not been eating well since returning to my house. Here's the backstory:
For about a month and a half I fostered a mother cat and her three kittens. The mother was trapped by my colleague on a Sunday night and brought inside. Monday morning she gave birth indoors at my colleague's rescue! I began fostering the group of four when the kittens were about five weeks old, and the whole group was brought into the shelter for adoption a little less than two months later.
During the time the kittens and mom lived with me everyone ate a combination of kitten wet and kitten dry food. They all had good appetites with a slight preference for kibble over the wet. Mom was still nursing for a few weeks. They had free range of my office, with lots of toys, two cat trees, and many nooks to explore. The kittens were automatically very friendly with me, while mom was shy. Mom never got aggressive, she didn't mind me picking up the kittens, but she never let me get to close to her.
When everyone went to the shelter, it was quickly determined momma cat needed more socialization work before adoption would be realistic and it was going to be best done back in foster care. So she stayed only so long as to get spayed and now she's back to living with me. She's been back with me for about a week, primarily stationed in my office with a view into the kitchen, and we've been slowly working on building trust and her confidence with exploring more and more of my apartment. I had thought food was going to be a major asset to me in the trust building but she is not nearly as food motivated as when she was a new mom! Before she would loom at the gate at feeding times, her fear of me temptorarily overcome by excitement for chicken pate. And the bowl of kibble would get refilled multiple times of day! Now is much more indifferent to the wet food I give her, eating only a few bites right when I put the bowl down and walk back a few paces. Then she ignores it. The dry food she has been consuming inconsistently, some days more, some less. I worry if she's getting enough calories/nutrients.
This is my first time witnessing a cat transition through motherhood and back into independent living. Is it normal for a cat's appetite to change so much after their parental duties are over? Is it something I'm doing that's impacting her interest in food? In an attempt to stoke her appetite I've tried mixing tuna water into her canned food but that's had minimal effect. How else can I make her food more appealing? Should I explore more food brands and flavors? Could she be stressed from the transition from the shelter and spaying? Am I giving her too many treats in my attempts to socialize her?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Apart from the small appetite she seems like she's adjusting very well. She plays a lot every day, loves her cat tree in front of the window, and has been making progress in approaching me with curiosity. She doesn't seem to me like a cat that was every truly feral, but I know very little about her backstory other than that she gave birth right after begin trapped, and that she's on the young side.
Thank you so much for reading <3
Trying to do the best I can for this little gal!