why won't my new kitty eat?

I got a one-year-old kitty ten days ago. He did really well for the first several days. The introduction to my 9-year-old cat went very smoothly. The two cats followed each other around and, even if I offered two separate plates of food, they ate simultaneous from the same plate. They sleep near each other on the foot of my bed. So everything has been great, but now the new little guy has stopped eating. If I put him next to the plate while my older cat is eating (and that one NEVER hesitates to eat!), he just sits there and watches his older brother eat without taking anything. He won't take anything if I give him his own plate either right there or in another room. He was very playful and happy the first several days, but now he seems tired, which is not surprising since he has not eaten for three days. He does drink water, so I am not worried about dehydration so much, but why won't he eat? What should I try next?

--LauraW

 

Have you noticed any sneezing, coughing, discharge from his eyes or nose? Any vomiting, diarrhea, is he urinating okay? The water that hes drinking doesnt have all the nutrition that he needs. If your certain he hasnt eaten for 3 days you really need to take him to the vet.

 

why won't my new cat eat?

Thanks.

I will take him to the vet tomorrow morning if he doesn't start eating by then.

Has anyone else seen this happen with a new cat, after the first few days went really well? Could my older cat have given him some sign that he's not allowed to eat? Could the little guy be homesick?

What can I try at home to get him going? Wet food doesn't work. I haven't tried smearing a little wet food on his paw to make him lick it, but I will do this next. Any other ideas?

--Laura

 

I've never had that problem with my kitties when they were kittens so I can't help you there.

Since your kitty was fine and now his behavior has changed, it sounds like he has become ill. I agree that he should be taken to the Vet as soon as possible.

 

a cat should never go more than 48 hours w/out eating. If you see that drastic of a behavior change play it on the safe side and see a vet (well the kitten at least).

 

I AGREE WITH THE OTHERS

I agree :y_the_best: with the rest to take the kitten to the vet as soon as possible and see what is wrong. I had a cat that i had for a week and then it didn't eat for 1 day and then started to eat again and then it wasn't very playfull and then everything wnet back to normal. The cat was just homesick but i still think that you should take the cat to the vet! If I could help Great but if I couldn't help Sorry!

 

why won't my new cat eat?--thanks!

Thanks for your replies. I ended up calling the woman I adopted the cat from for help. She has been a vet tech for years, so I figured she'd be able to help me sort things out. She had me take his temperature, which was 105.5! Too hot!

We suspect he may have an abscess coming or an infection, so we have made the first appointment we can get with his vet for early tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, we gave him some subcutaneous fluids and some strained chicken by syringe and some amoxicillin.

His fever has already come down quite a bit, and this morning he ate a little on his own. He's acting a little peppier. I will keep encouraging consumption of water and food and will monitor temperature closely until we get to the vet.

--LauraW

 

be sure to let us know the outcome from the vet appointment.

 

now he's all better!

Gibbs is a healthy guy now. It turns out we did just the right things. His temperature came right down to normal, he's eating again, and he's running around playing and purring.

I'm glad I learned about taking a kitty's temperature. It was hard for me to tell whether his lack of appetite was just a part of his adjustment to coming into my home with my older cat or an illness. The fever was the piece of information I needed to figure out that he was actually sick.

Thanks for your comments!
--LauraW

 

Good to hear hes doing well now.

Important rule....never keep your pet thermometer and your own thermomter together.... seriously....I know people who have made this mistake :shock: (Thats if your not using the ear thermometer).