New shy cat not eating

[Ladyrosee]

Hiii. I adopted a kitty yesterday- she has been in foster for 10 months and she's only a year and 3 months old I got her because she really loves other cats and I thought it would be good to add a cat friendly one into the house. I told the foster parent how she's treating me and she's thrilled she's warming up to me so fast but she isnt eating! I even got her the food she ate in foster. A part of me feels cruel for taking her out of her comfort zone where she was doing just fine confined to a bedroom with her cat foster friends but everyone needs a home of their own right? It's so hard to tell if I'm making the right choice. I'm more than fine with her being shy probably the rest of her life but I just want her to eat... she ate her breakfast and lunch I'd assume yesterday at her foster place. She has peed in the litterbox twice since I got her at 6pm yesterday. Once over night and tonight peed again. I know it can take cats a few days but please someone tell me a success story. She is perfectly healthy too no issues there. Just super wary of people..even smacked my poor husband in the face so needless to say only I will be going in her room for a while

 

[Sarthur2]

She’s upset and likely frightened by the change. It will take some time (possibly weeks) for her to adjust. Right now she’s still missing her foster home. The memories will fade, and my guess is that she may eat overnight when the house is quiet and sleeping. Just be patient with her and she’ll come around eventually.

Do you have other cats?

 

[Ladyrosee]

She’s upset and likely frightened by the change. It will take some time (possibly weeks) for her to adjust. Right now she’s still missing her foster home. The memories will fade, and my guess is that she may eat overnight when the house is quiet and sleeping. Just be patient with her and she’ll come around eventually.

Do you have other cats?

I do have other cats. One is very very fearful (thankfully not aggressive) to new cats. My senior is the most well behaved one he hisses a lot at first and grumbles but tolerates anything eventually and if they leave him alone he likes them and will often groom the other cats I've had. I'm just happy she peed today. But man it stresses me out when they dont eat. I'm being sure to give my fearful and insanely jealous one smothering attention and hes liking it.

The new kitty seems to want to eat when I'm in the room.. she goes for the food and looks nervous and stops. But my presence makes her move around and she even played with a toy the last time I came in the room. Always greets me with hisses though then her raspy cute meows

My shy young cat was my bottle baby from a week old.. others have given me warning to never get another cat because he clearly doesnt like them. But hes never dealt with one in the foster bedroom closed in for more than a week so I really dont feel that's enough time to judge. People have told me to return the new kitty because of my shy kitty's personality. I think the bottle baby in him makes him super possessive and jealous over anything. He had his eyes closed and I was saying how handsome he was and he shot his eyes open because he wanted to make sure I was talking to him realistically I'm not just going to have him be the only cat after my senior passes until he himself dies of old age. That wont do. He also sneaks and cuddles with my senior cat allll the time so I know there is a likeness for cats in him but I think how incredibly skittish and fearful he is in every day life makes getting a new cat really hard for him

 

[silent meowlook]

Did you do a slow introduction confining her to a small area away from the other cats? If not, please read the articles on this site about introducing a cat to a home with established cats.
Thank you for rescuing a cat.

 

[silent meowlook]

How To Help A New Cat Adjust To Your Home - TheCatSite

 

[Ladyrosee]

Did you do a slow introduction confining her to a small area away from the other cats? If not, please read the articles on this site about introducing a cat to a home with established cats.
Thank you for rescuing a cat.

Yes I have a foster / guest bedroom and shes been in there the whole time

 

[silent meowlook]

Oh, good. I would give her more time. It takes cats a while to feel safe. You can try playing to rev up the hunt eat cycle in cats. Use a good wand toy. Maybe she will eat after a good play session,

 

[Ladyrosee]

Oh, good. I would give her more time. It takes cats a while to feel safe. You can try playing to rev up the hunt eat cycle in cats. Use a good wand toy. Maybe she will eat after a good play session,

She found her way back into the closet. I put her food she ate for all those months in foster in the closet with her and she started eating it really fast but once I praised her she stopped. So I just left at that point. She comes and goes with being social. This morning she came out of the closet fast to greet me and be sweet and a couple other times today but now shes back in the closet and uninterested in me

 

[Sarthur2]

This will take time! Just be patient. At least she has now eaten a bit. That’s progress!

 

[Ladyrosee]

This will take time! Just be patient. At least she has now eaten a bit. That’s progress!

I feel cruel though almost like I should go adopt the cat she was with for 10 months. Ugh. I know my cats will take to her but it's like she needs someone NOW.

 

[savannahjansson]

Congratulations on adopting your new kitty!

It's entirely normal for her to take some time to adjust to her new environment. Eating habits can be one of the first things affected when cats are in a new place. Give her some space and time to settle in at her own pace. You're doing the right thing by being patient and letting her get used to her new home.

It's fantastic that she's already using the litter box, which is a positive sign. Remember, each cat is unique, and it may take a bit longer for her to feel completely comfortable. Many cat owners have experienced similar situations, and their feline friends eventually warmed up and started eating regularly. Keep offering her the food she's familiar with from her foster home and spend some quiet, quality time with her.

Before you know it, she'll be feeling right at home and enjoying her meals.

 

[Ladyrosee]

Congratulations on adopting your new kitty!

It's entirely normal for her to take some time to adjust to her new environment. Eating habits can be one of the first things affected when cats are in a new place. Give her some space and time to settle in at her own pace. You're doing the right thing by being patient and letting her get used to her new home.

It's fantastic that she's already using the litter box, which is a positive sign. Remember, each cat is unique, and it may take a bit longer for her to feel completely comfortable. Many cat owners have experienced similar situations, and their feline friends eventually warmed up and started eating regularly. Keep offering her the food she's familiar with from her foster home and spend some quiet, quality time with her.

Before you know it, she'll be feeling right at home and enjoying her meals.

Thank you! I gave her more friskies as she ate what I put in the closet. She likes the shreds and I feed my cats higher quality than that so hopefully she will take to raw (she actually ate a couple pieces of freeze tried turkey over the kibble that was in the other bowl) and foster said she prefers wet over dry which is amazing! She came out of the closet the last time I went in there and is allowing me to pet her head to tail. she didnt yesterday just head bonks. But foster is so thrilled and shocked how she is because idk if I mentioned but my cat hates my husband even swatted him HARD in the face. Shes never had her nails trimmed so if she actually was trying to hurt him it would have been really bad. I told him to avoid her and not go in there at all. Hes the same cat crazy like I am but needs to understand shes very uncomfy and is choosing me currently.

I really hope she eats the other bowl of friskies I put in the closet!

And yes shes ysed the box to pee 3 times since getting her Friday evening. She grooms in front of me too and is very demanding for attention once she warms back up to me when I enter the room

 

[Ladyrosee]

I just wanted to post an update that her eating habits are driving me insane. yesterday I woke up she ate her food I left over night and my husband fed her breakfast which I think she ate in the evening? I gave her dinner around 11pm and she barely ate any over night when I checked this morning. Also fed her before I left work today and looks like she ate nothing. It's like all she wants is attention. Like starving for attention which I give her. I let her out all day to hang with my cats because theyve been really getting along. But i dont know why she is barely eating. She went to the vet and all is well. I almost want to lock her in her room until she eats. She doesnt look skinny she's only 7lbs just a super tiny cat

 

[fionasmom]

Is she showing any pattern of eating food that has been left out for a while?

 

[Ladyrosee]

Is she showing any pattern of eating food that has been left out for a while?

So I gave her a tiny dose of mirataz on her ear yesterday. She ate all her food between 11pm and 4am this morning maybe because of that but I also closed her in her bedroom so she wasnt distracted. She was clawing the carpet (which I need to sort out by the door) to get out to play with my other cat so I let her out at 3am to roam the house and I checked her food and it was all gone. She ate some freeze dried raw food I gave her before I left work. my other kitty is obsessed with raw he gets it for breakfast daily so thought I'd give Holly some. I honestly probably wont even offer her anything until tonight when I close her in again. But I mean it's been 3 weeks and her weight looks good to me so it's not like shes starving. I asked my friend (a vet I worked with today) and he said one of his girls only eats once a day and he just ran blood work and shes perfectly healthy. I'm just so used to cats on a strict 3 to 4x a day eating pattern

 

[fionasmom]

Some cats have a "thing" about letting their food age before they eat it...not something putrid on the floor that was set out days earlier, but for some reason it is more appealing once it "airs". That is why I asked.

I did move my cats to eating twice a day and it resolved the pickiness that came from them not being that hungry when food was offered. Now they are eating all their food.

 

[Ladyrosee]

Some cats have a "thing" about letting their food age before they eat it...not something putrid on the floor that was set out days earlier, but for some reason it is more appealing once it "airs". That is why I asked.

I did move my cats to eating twice a day and it resolved the pickiness that came from them not being that hungry when food was offered. Now they are eating all their food.

I hope I figure her out soon. I dont know her language like I did my other cats. The way she acts to us is like shes starving and begging for food but instead she just wants pets. like she will cut me off when I'm walking and scream at me purring and kneading the floor. Shes done that since she got comfortable with us. Then she goes and slams her head on my other cat. No one is safe lol

 

[Purrfect Meow]

Some cats have a "thing" about letting their food age before they eat it...not something putrid on the floor that was set out days earlier, but for some reason it is more appealing once it "airs". That is why I asked.

I did move my cats to eating twice a day and it resolved the pickiness that came from them not being that hungry when food was offered. Now they are eating all their food.

I found this very enlightening. I have a cat that always ate when her food was put down, but after a trauma last year (heat exhaustion) she will only eat her food if it is left out for 3 to 4 hours. Even kibbles, if they are fresh not a chance she is touching them until they have aged appropriately. I keep thinking she maybe thinks is like fine wine, it gets better with age!

 

[fionasmom]

One of my cats will rake his paw over his food dish when it is first offered and walk away in disgust, but return in about 3 hours and eat it. He is not sick; no medical reason causing this. But I have seen this behavior over the years in lots of cats, including ferals who might be expected to eat right away as food is not left out all the time.

 

[Ladyrosee]

This cat is driving me bonkers. She technically ate passed her calorie goal from overnight early saturday morning hours but idk what to do or what her problem is other than she is still very nervous but now hasnt eaten anything but some kibble. she ate a can of wet food and Iike 60 calories of kibble from midnight to 6am yesterday morning then yesterday afternoon had a tiny bit of wet and kibble then by 8pm ate all her kibble. But now its 4am and she only ate a little wet I offered. So she has to be closed back in her room in hopes she'll eat. I might be offering too much food I know they can go off of 20 calories a lb right? She has been here almost a month and she is still probably a 4/9 body scale so it's not like she's losing weight but eating once a day is just so odd to me. she went and got an exam a couple weeks ago too. She was eating out of the closet fine for like a week or more now I'm wondering if I need to leave her food back in the closet. She purrs, plays, kneads, hook tail/shaky tail when she sees me and my cats are finally being very good to her but she still hides from my husband and runs from him she decided she wanted to be afraid of him again and maybe thats when she started being picky again because she was eating over night then would eat lunch daily like a meal. But now it's like over night and then has some kibble which dont get me wrong for her tiny size that 1/8 cup of kibble is almost half her calorie goal so that's a decent meal for her I guess.