My new cat is terrified and hasn’t eaten

Skywynd

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My new 4 month old kitten came to us Thursday night she had eaten at her previous owners but she was reluctant to leave and was crying but the car journey home was fine and I thought she seemed settled. We came home and she started howling again after I opened her cat carrier, and she just went into a hiding spot and stayed there for a while and just shut down/froze. After a bit of research people online said this is normal behaviour for a new cat as they’re scared and stressed in a new environment.
I thought she would calm down and eat something but she didn’t touch her food so I went out and bought different branded food (mostly fish and a little chicken) but she didn’t eat any of them. The next day Friday I managed to have her lick some cat yogurt (weebox- chicken) off my finger and she had 2 of them so that was encouraging but she still didn’t take initiative to eat herself or drink any water and was hiding behind the tv stand the whole day. Today (Saturday) she stilll hasn’t eaten and is hiding and won’t come near me and hides when I get near, for now I’ve moved her in a room upstairs and closed the door with her essentials and left her to it after phoning the vets and they said to do that and call back tomorrow if she still hadn’t eaten.
I don’t know what to do I feel terrible that she’s so scared and I just want her to know I can do anything for her. I’ve only just realised that most foods I bought are fish based and haven’t tried any beef/turkey/duck/lamb or kibble so my plan is to go and get these foods and leave them in the room with her and check on her later tonight to see if she eats those instead. What else should I be doing because I’m worried she will starve herself and I’ll not be able to look after her anymore
 

di and bob

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This is ENTIRELY normal! Cats being relocated to a different place are so scared they almost shut down. It's only been two days and in a couple of more, you should see some improvement. I would definitely get her some poultry-based food and some kibble and see if she prefers that. The best thing to do is to just sit quietly in her room and read out loud to her in a soft voice from your phone, etc. She is young so should bounce back quicker than an older cat would. If you can get to her, try to stroke her softly and talk to her, if not just talk. Leave the food and maybe a couple of treats when you leave the room. As long as she is taking a few bites she will be fine, then feed her as much as she wants until she is a year old. Her behavior now does not in any way show you what her true personality is, that will come out when she is more comfortable. Just remember she is a baby, she has gone through a LOT of upheaval in her life and needs some comforting.
 
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Skywynd

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Thanks for the reply, I agree it’s normal and I hope she can come round soon. I don’t think I can pet her yet she’s backing away now if I reach my hand out so I need to give her more space. I’ve had cats before at my parents house and they were 9 weeks and settled so quickly and now that I’ve got my own house I keep forgetting that she’s older than just 9 weeks and is terribly shy so it will take some hard work and patience for her to be comfortable. She can ignore me all she wants and stay away I just need to have her eat something so I’m not stressed that she’s going to starve herself over this ygm xx
 

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Just let your cat be for now. Visit a few times daily to check on the food and water and clean the litter box but otherwise don't try to get your cat to interact with you. Offer both dry and canned food, whatever brands she was used to eating at the previous home.

 
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Skywynd

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Thanks for the reply, I contacted the previous owner and they advised whiskas/felix which is interesting because I didn’t buy these brands and why she might not be eating. I’ve bought then and going home now fingers crossed she will be eating today and I’ll give her the space she needs until she’s comfy. Feeling hopeful.
 

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It may take some cats weeks to settle in. Definitely give your cat alone time right now. When you are in the room, talk softly so the cat gets used to your voice. Maybe slowly work up to you reading a book or doing other quiet activity in the room for half an hour or so. The cat might creep out to watch you and may retreat back into hiding if you so much as look at her. That's fine and normal.

I wonder if you could ask the previous owner for something the cat might have slept on and has her scent on it, such as a blanket or cat bed. Even a pair of the owner's socks would be a familiar scent to the cat and might make her less stressed.

Feliway supposedly helps calms cats down . Are you in the UK / Europe? You mention Felix which is a UK brand. I'm not sure if Feliway is available in Europe but there may be something similar. V verna davies might know.
 

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I recently got something from my vet called Pet Remedy but haven't noticed it making any difference. Maybe your vet has something similar that might work for you.
All good advice above, try to be slow and quiet when you are in the same room as her, maybe play with a toy, feather, piece of string, small ball and see if she will want to play. She needs time to adjust to all the new noises, surroundings and people.
 
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Skywynd

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It may take some cats weeks to settle in. Definitely give your cat alone time right now. When you are in the room, talk softly so the cat gets used to your voice. Maybe slowly work up to you reading a book or doing other quiet activity in the room for half an hour or so. The cat might creep out to watch you and may retreat back into hiding if you so much as look at her. That's fine and normal.

I wonder if you could ask the previous owner for something the cat might have slept on and has her scent on it, such as a blanket or cat bed. Even a pair of the owner's socks would be a familiar scent to the cat and might make her less stressed.

Feliway supposedly helps calms cats down . Are you in the UK / Europe? You mention Felix which is a UK brand. I'm not sure if Feliway is available in Europe but there may be something similar. V verna davies might know.
Thanks for the advice. I will contact the previous owner and find out if there’s something like a blanket I can take. They did give me her favourite toy but this didn’t calm her down at all and she ignored it when put in front of her.
I’m UK based and I actually bought feliway yesterday and put it in the room she’s in. Doesn’t seem to be making a difference but maybe it takes time to kick in
 
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Skywynd

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I recently got something from my vet called Pet Remedy but haven't noticed it making any difference. Maybe your vet has something similar that might work for you.
All good advice above, try to be slow and quiet when you are in the same room as her, maybe play with a toy, feather, piece of string, small ball and see if she will want to play. She needs time to adjust to all the new noises, surroundings and people.
Yeh I agree with that, I’ll try do that when she’s calmed down a bit, she can’t even look past me when I’m with her so I’m trying to leave her alone as much as possible. I got Feliway which is an anti anxiety diffuser for cats so hoping that will help.
 
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Skywynd

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Hi thanks for the advice, I’ll give this a try. We had some progress tonight actually she allowed me to pet her and she was purring a lot and even ate a little bit of food, but went back into her hiding spot like square 1. But I’m glad she’s come out a bit and ate so hopefully more events like this will allow her to get more confident and overcome her shyness ♥
 

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That's good :clap2: Continue doing what you're doing and hopefully more progress will be made, if slowly.
 
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Skywynd

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That's good :clap2: Continue doing what you're doing and hopefully more progress will be made, if slowly.
I managed to pet her she’s actually really affectionate and purring like crazy and she even took initiate and ate throughout the night in the morning some of her bowls were empty 🤩 she’s back in hiding and is terrified by sudden movements/noises but loves being petted so I think she will get more confident from here on now ♥♥☺
 

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I used the imitation heartbeat (actually, a wall clock on the outside wall of the kitten's closet) and kept a radio softly playing on a talk station all the time to mimic household noise. That works pretty well to calm a kitten.

Indifferent interaction seems to stress a new cat the least. Go about your routine in "her" room matter-of-factly and don't try to interact much with her, except for sessions where you read or just sit in the room. She'll come out on her own.
 
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Skywynd

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Hi thanks for replying. I’ll try the imitation heartbeat, I also have the tv on as a little background noise she can get use to. She’s made good progress she’s not too shy around me anymore but if I move too quickly she’ll run back into hiding. Currently working on her becoming use to louder noises/ coming downstairs to use the £100 cat tree I bought her 💀🙄 she’s not confident enough to explore the house yet but she’s eating so hoping she grows into a confident cat ✨
 

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An old-fashioned alarm clock or a mechanical watch in a sock will work fine for a heartbeat too, assuming you still have one. No sense going out and buying one if it will only be needed temporarily. I'm a bit of a Luddite, so I have mechanical clocks and watches almost exclusively. Somebody suggested a purr toy. Cheapskate that I am, I'd just put kitty's box in the kitchen, next to the refrigerator, if that would work. A fridge purrs just fine.

Eating and using the box, along with a bit of interaction at times isn't bad at all, given you've only had her for a week.
 
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