I adopted a new cat from the shelter on Saturday. She’s 7 years old and a total sweetheart. But since I got her Saturday morning, she has not ate or drank any water. She’s still up and walking around a bit, but not a lot. She’s mostly just stayed in this little corner of my bed facing the wall, sleeping. I’m not expecting her to be running around like she’s crazy, cause she IS older. But I feel like it’s been slightly more excessive.
When I brought her home, she acted fairly normal. She did some investigating, I showed her her food, water, and litter box, and then she claimed her corner on my bed and mostly has stayed there. She’ll get up and walk around a little, maybe socialize a bit more if my roommates are in my room. She’ll pur and roll around, and is still bathing herself. She’ll even walk up to the food and water and sniff it, but then she just walks away.
So far I’ve tried the food she was being given at the shelter, simply nourish, and I just set her down some boiled shredded chicken. I’m going to the store later and I’ll be getting a syringe and some wet food. I don’t want to force feed her yet until I can take her to the vet, but for now I at least need her hydrated. Her vet visit will be tomorrow.
For now, any advice? Tips? Anything?
Answers & Comments
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It's Monday now, so it's been 48 hours. I'd still say give her time. She's 7, older, and wants to be the queen of your place and she's taking her sweet time about it. This is common with older cats. When I adopted an older cat, even after the vet 4 days later, it still took him another 3 days to come around. He stayed under the couch or under our bed. I was just hoping that he was drinking during the night and nibbling something and at least saw SOME proof in his litter box that this was the case (very small clumps of pee, a small poo here and there). After a full week, he investigated more and became more and more comfortable.
I would hold off on the force feeding for now until you talk to the vet tomorrow. Again, at 7, she's older and it takes her more time to get adjusted. When she's hungry, she will eat and when she's thirsty, she will drink. Signs of dehydration are major lethargy, not grooming herself, and you can try the snap test on the skin on the back of her neck. GENTLY pick up her skin on her neck and if it stays up for 2-3 seconds, she's dehydrated. If it "snaps back" into place quickly, she's fine and getting hydrated from somewhere!
I will say that it's awesome that you are paying close attention to your new friend. She'll have a good guardian and never worry about anything again with you, that's for sure :)
My cat does not like to drink from bowls. She will drink from a cat water fountain though. I also give her cat food that is kind of a soup with lots of liquid.
Wait and see what the vet says.
This change is hugely stressful for your new pet and it will take time for her to settle in. Mrs. Frankenstein is spot on in all her advice.
I also discourage force feeding her, that will just stress her further.
Try picking up a couple of the meat versions of baby food and offer very small amounts of that. The shredded chicken was an excellent idea.
Try also offering something to drink a bit more enticing than water (not milk) I am thinking of the water from boiling the chicken - no salt added. When I am trying to hydrate my pets this is what I do.
She is still getting used to her new home.
She might just be a bit stressed.
I would get some wet food from the same brand and see if she likes it. Try getting some bonito flakes and putting those on top, they are very smelly dried fish shavings, my cat loves them.
She might be sniffing her food and not liking it because its not fresh. Dried food smells weird when its not fresh from the bag, so offer her a few fresh pieces and see if she likes them.
It hasn't been long enough to worry about it, so continue to give her time and get used to things. Cats don't eat when they don't feel safe, so shut the door to your room, bring her stuff inside, and let her chill and get used to the space and feel safe, then she will eat.
I would also advise against force feeding her. This will ruin any relationship you two have, and it can prevent her from eating anything while you are there. If you are at the point where you want to force feed her, take her to the vet.