New Foster Not Eating Or Using Litter Box!

[Dinosnores]

Hi everyone! While my grandmother is recovering in a rehab facility, I've agreed to foster her cat, Blackjack. Blackjack is a 5(ish)-year old front declawed, spayed female cat who was originally a stray. She's extremely shy and would often hide so deeply in my grandmother's house that no one could find her for hours. However, she's very sweet and loving and has been completely starved for affection these past weeks alone in my grandmother's house, which is why I'm fostering her at my apartment.

Blackjack arrived at my place today, and it was a 2-hour trip. she already hadn't been fed the night before so that we could entice her into her carrier, and she hasn't eaten or used the litter box since being here (it's been 8+ hours). I have her set up in a large dog crate (36" x 24") with a bedsheet draped over the sides to keep it dark. I plan on keeping her in there until she's confidant enough to have the whole bedroom to herself. In the crate, she has a litter box with her usual litter, a bed from my grandmother's house, toys from the house, and her familiar food bowls with her usual wet and dry food, and water. She definitely seems shy, but not outwardly distressed.

The strange thing is, she's EXTREMELY affectionate when I talk to her and open the crate to pet her. She rolls on her back, headbutts me, and purrs very loudly. But she still refuses to eat. If she's comfortable enough to be exposing her belly and letting me pet her, why wouldn't she want to eat? She'll sniff the bowl and then lick her lips but not eat anything. I have the food that she's used to, both wet and dry out at all times. I even tried hand-feeding her while petting her but she didn't want anything. She also has been spending most of her time laying in her litter box, so I hope she doesn't do that once she starts using it...

Any tricks to get her to start eating/using the box? How long should I wait before taking her to the vet? I'd really like to avoid that as travel and big changes are super traumatic for her and I'm afraid a vet visit would set her back.

 

[5starcathotel]

Wow! First, congrats to you for taking Blackjack on....

Next, 8 hours is nothing. Even considering the 2hr trip, and not eating for the night before (another 8 hours?)....we're talking maybe 18 or 20 hours without food. Every creature on the planet can handle this without a problem...just be sure she has access to clean water and a litter box.

Moreover, that she responds to you, with purrs and headbutts.....that is amazing! Really!!!

Honestly, I'd give it at least 48 to 72 hours. Place food in several plates, a few feet away from each other, away from her 'home base / litter box'. Repeat each day, encouraging her to investigate all areas of the house.

If you get to 3 or 4 days, and she still won't eat....or especially if there is change in her behavior (non-responsive, lethargic, that kind of thing)...then you can panic.

 

[Dinosnores]

Phew, that's a relief, thank you! do you think I should be increasing her roaming space? I was planning to keep her in the crate until she was eating/using the box reliably and then allow her to free-roam in my bedroom if she wanted. I have one resident cat, so I'm keeping him and Blackjack totally separated for at least a week, with her in the bedroom and Spooky (my cat) in the rest of the apartment. If she starts to act confidant, I plan to try and slowly introduce them.

My other concern is that she's been known to poop in front of her litter box (I think it's a declawing issue), so I don't want to give her free range until I know that SHE knows where the litter box is, haha!

I'm thrilled that she's being so affectionate. I just want her to be happy and comfortable and the fact that she's responding so positively to my attention is making me feel like all the stress from these changes is worth it for her.

 

[5starcathotel]

YES!! If at all possible, give Blackjack a place to hang out that is NOT in his toilet! If you have any throw blankets or towels from your grandmother's place that you can use to create sleeping/resting places for Blackjack, that can only help.

Honestly, in my opinion, pooping just outside the litter box is a complaint about either the type of litter in the box (try using a clay litter!), or the type of box (size, covered), or how often it is cleaned (auto / manual). A cat that poops on the carpet 1ft away from her litter box knows that is the preferred area, but doesn't like the box for some reason.

As far as introductions with your resident cat, that of course can be tricky, and you want to take that step by step. Scent introductions, outside-the-same-door feedings, sight introductions, and mutual playtime, etc......There are lots of resources/threads here to help if you need.

 

[MrHandsomesMama]

Dinosnores while 5starcathotel advises waiting 48-72 hours before panicking at Blackjack's refusal to eat I would caution that it's best to see a vet if she hasn't within a 24 hour period. Maybe a few hours longer. I say this because cats who go longer than 24 hours without eating are at risk of developing Fatty Liver Disease which can, in turn, lead to Liver Failure, and death, in a matter of days if they don't eat and/or you are unlucky. I experienced this with my own kitty just after adopting him. I didn't know how big an issue it was, and so, I am tremendously lucky to be able to say he is alive and healthy today.

It may be unnecessary, and it may be something that would otherwise resolve on its own if you waited a few hours more, but for the one's we love it is always better to be on the safe side than take a risk you might come to regret.

All that said, if she still doesn't want to eat her usual food try a plain, meat-only, baby food in the chicken flavor, purée style. And make sure there aren't spices like onion and garlic in it. I was told by the vet who treated my cat when he got sick that if they pass the 24 hour mark and also won't eat the baby food that its time to bring them in to see what might be going on. If stress is the issue it may also help to purchase a product containing "Feliway" in either, or both, the diffuser form and the spray form. The diffuser is more for long-term and the spray is good for quick response.

Best of luck! And bless you for taking in your grandmother's furbaby! You are obviously a very special person!!

 

[rubysmama]

Dinosnores : thanks for fostering Blackjack, while your grandmother is recovering in the rehab facility. I hope she has a speedy recovery and can get back home soon.

So how many hours has it been since you think Blackjack last ate? I don't want to worry you, but cats shouldn't go too long without eating. Unlike humans, and other animals, cats can get hepatic lipidosis, aka fatty liver, if they don't eat enough. This can start to set in after as short as 24 hours.

Hopefully this morning Blackjack has eaten something. If not, try to entice him to eat with anything - treats, tuna, chicken, etc.

Here's a TCS article with more info:
Why Has My Cat Stopped Eating And Is It Dangerous?

And How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again

Please keep us posted.

 

[Dinosnores]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I have some good news - I was able to get her to lick up a little gravy from her wet food this morning. I smeared it on her mouth while I was petting her and that seemed to entice her. It's been around 48 hours since she's had a full meal at this point. I'm going to pick up some baby food and a feliway diffuser on my way home from work today and hopefully those will make a difference.

I did open the door to the crate to see if she wanted to explore a little, however, I'm thinking that it might have overwhelmed her. She's been slinking around the bedroom for the past hour with her belly practically on the ground just sniffing everything and meowing loudly.

I have different kinds of wet and dry food placed around the bedroom to hopefully entice her as well.

 

[MrHandsomesMama]

I have some good news - I was able to get her to lick up a little gravy from her wet food this morning.

That isn't good news! It's fantastic news! Excellent tactic, too, putting it on her chops! I am so happy to see she's doing better, congratulations!

 

[Dinosnores]

Here are two photos of her, one in her little crate hideaway and the other just taken with her on my bed. She's a real mess, her fur is greasy and full of knots. I'd like to have her groomed or try to cut them out myself, but it'll probably be traumatizing for her so I'll wait until she's more comfortable.

 

[MrHandsomesMama]

Here are two photos of her, one in her little crate hideaway and the other just taken with her on my bed. She's a real mess, her fur is greasy and full of knots. I'd like to have her groomed or try to cut them out myself, but it'll probably be traumatizing for her so I'll wait until she's more comfortable.

What a pretty girl! You might try waterless/rinseless shampoo for the greasiness, but only after the knots are out otherwise they will be much tougher to get rid of. The shampoo come in a foam pump form and is pretty easy to use and way less stressful than an actual bath. For the knots I have had great success using de-matting rakes/combs on my mom's cat's extensive matting, and her cat is very nervous and anxious and just a handful. But it is by far the easiest we have ever treated her mats and didn't hurt her or stress her out one bit. I will post a link to the products on amazon, in case you think you want to try them.

 

[MrHandsomesMama]

I personally own/have used both of these successfully and recommend them:
Dematting comb:

And Waterless Shampoo:

Another shampoo; not one I have tried personally

Dematting comb; no personal experience with it but it's amazon's "best seller" in the category and has advantage of being double sided, ie two separate combs of varying distance between teeth- one tool.

Again, Good Luck!

 

[MrHandsomesMama]

Ps. The combs look scary but are perfectly safe when used appropriately, and won't harm kitty

 

[rubysmama]

Awww... she's a pretty girl. Glad to hear she ate some. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before she gets a bit more comfortable.

 

[mikameek]

Just to add in my own experience with fatty liver with a cat who only licked gravy: what really helped her eating again was getting a mousse food. It was easy for her to lap up. I got the mousse from TikiCat because they are high in protein and good in calories which is VERY important for fatty liver.

To let you know: she needs to be getting as close to her daily caloric intake as possible. For every 1 lb, you need 20 calories. Therefore if Blackjack is supposed to be 8 lbs, she needs 160 calories daily.

I don't want to scare you, but have you informed in case it gets to this. If she does not really eat (only doing the gravy you're rubbing on her), you need to syringe or force feed her. The mousse food is easy to syringe feed because it needs very little water to make liquid but can also be syringe fed as is.

If she does not improve, she needs to see a vet. Licking lips while looking at food is a sign that her stomach is upset.

 

[Dinosnores]

I got some chicken baby food and some of the smelliest cat food I could find to try on her. Nothing worked, except for those Temptations treats, I got her to eat about 4 of those. I tried crushing them to sprinkle on her food, but she was too smart for that. If she still doesn't have anything in her litter box by morning, I'm calling the vet.

I was able to giver her a good brushing and got a fist-sized amount of fur off her. I actually have the Vet's Best cat bath listed above, so I'll try that on her! I'm going to order one of those de-matting brushes as well. My new concern is that she's pacing the bedroom at night WAILING. If I turn on the light and talk to her for a little, she stops, but then starts right back up again. I really hope this is a temporary "settling in" thing.

The Feliway diffuser will be here tomorrow, I'm really hoping it makes a difference.

EDIT: YOU GUYS SHE JUST PEED IN HER LITTER BOX, I HEARD IT. She must be drinking when I'm not in the room!

 

[rubysmama]

Poor kitty. Poor you. Sorry she is worrying you so much. She's been under a lot of stress with all the changes in her life. Hopefully the Feliway will help calm her.

Glad she peed in the litter box. But the not eating much is still concerning. Four Temptations treats is not much. If she hasn't eaten overnight, perhaps call the vet just to get their advice.

 

[Dinosnores]

Per all your advice, I called my vet as soon as they opened, they advised me to keep trying random wet foods with Blackjack to see if I hit a jackpot, and also to try sprinkling catnip on the floor to see if it will make her more relaxed. They're happy that she's drinking, and they said if she doesn't eat or poop by Monday, to give them a call (they're not open Sundays). They do house calls, so I'll probably go that route so I don't re-traumatize this poor cat.

She's really a stressed-out mess. She hisses at my boyfriend and I whenever we stand up and walk near her, but then will headbutt my hand and roll over as soon as I pet her. I've taken to navigating the room on my knees just to keep her calm, haha.

 

[mikameek]

I would recommend starting with the cheaper wet foods to try and get her appetite back up. Friskies and Fancy Feast both are reasonable and you can buy different flavors from them to see how she responds to them. I'd test out different meat proteins to see which ones she seems most interested in and then if she doesn't eat a whole lot of those, find a brand with the flavor that she likes that she will eat. Another option would be to try kitten food. It's typically smelly and loaded with calories. Royal Canin has a mother and babycat one that comes in mousse and chunks that is really high in calories!

You may have to sit with her and keep coaxing her to eat. I would sit with my cat when she wouldn't eat and stir the food up when she walked away from it and offer it again. She'd typically eat more of it. We'd repeat that process till she either finished the bowl or refused it more than 3 times (then I'd give her a 20 minute break and try again). It takes a while and can feel frustrating, especially when you feel like there is nothing you can do to get them back into eating. DON'T GIVE UP.

She is so very lucky to have you to watch over her through all this stressful stuff in her life.

 

[rubysmama]

mikameek beat me to it, but I also would suggest trying canned kitten food. There's quite a large selection at Pet Smart, so you can buy a few different flavours to try. And you can return any you don't use. Kitten food also has more calories, so is good since she's not eating much.

Also, maybe try buying some goat milk. It's different from cow's milk, which cat's should not drink. And goat milk is recommended for young kittens, so would be safe for her to drink.

And there's always super stinky sardines. Or KFC. I've read that even feral cats who are trap savvy have trouble resisting KFC.

 

[Dinosnores]

PROGRESS! Thanks everyone for all the tips and encouragement, I actually have some kitten food left over from my previous foster litter so I'm going to try that out on her.

I actually got her to eat a few kibbles just now! I was in the room with her for about 30 mins, I kept smearing wet food on her lips to force her to lick it off, but she refused to lick anything out of the bowl. However, I was able to lure her to the kibble bowl with a trail of Temptations treats, and when I tossed one in the bowl, she actually ate it this time PLUS a few kibbles! Now I just need to get her eating the wet food, haha.

This little bit of improvement is really encouraging to me, I was feeling pretty down after last night when her meowing was keeping me up, thinking that maybe I made a mistake and she'll never adjust. Seeing that's she moving in the right direction is making me feel that all the stress she's going through now will eventually be worth it for her. I really just want her to be happy.

Attached is a pic of her sprawled out on her side kneading the air and purring up a storm.