New cat - eating issues

Entriech

We just got our first cat this past saturday. He's a year and a half old tabby, very affectionate, very gentle and docile. We got him from the local shelter. The only problem with him is his eating so far. We have Wellness brand canned food and dry food. I've been feeding him a 5.5oz can per day split over two meals, with a bit of dry food sprinkled on top.

Saturday evening he wolfed it down happily, coming back twenty minutes later to polish up what was left in the dish. Sunday morning he ate completely again, though this time it took around two hours. Sunday evening the trouble started. He only ate around 1/3 of what was given him, and didn't seem interested in finishing it off. Monday morning the same deal, I fed him and he seemed uninterested, though he did eat a little bit later in the morning after my wife was up. Monday evening he showed no interest in the food at all. When I put him to bed for the night, I left him out a little bit of dry food in a dish in case he wanted to graze. He headed over there and started investigating, but in the morning I found he hadn't really touched it at all. Same issues this morning, tried feeding him just canned to see if it was the dry he was avoiding, but he was uninterested. I left him both the canned food in his dish and some dry food in a seperate dish before heading off to work (wife'll be awake a few hours later to check on him), and I'm just quietly praying he'll eat something so I can stop worrying.

I figured I would call the shelter today to ask what they'd been feeding him, in case he's just being picky. At this point I'm not worried about feeding him whatever junky type food he wants as long as he'll eat something. I can always transition him to healthier food once I'm not concerned he's malnourished. The other factor may have something to do with his mouth. He was in for his rabies shot monday afternoon, and the vet found a small cut in his mouth that he cleaned. Could the cut be causing him enough discomfort to not want to eat? The vet said he was completely healthy, so I don't think it's illness related. He also doesn't seem afraid to use his mouth on things, he occasionally grooms my fingers or nibbles on them.

Because he's new, I'm not sure exactly what the problem is, or how much this is differing from his normal routine. He seemed like he was doing so well initially. As of noon today if he hasn't touched this morning's food he'll have gone an entire day without eating something. I know that around two days of that and medical intervention will probably be necessary. At this point the only thing I can think of doing is to buy every different kind of food I can find in the pet store and keep trying them til I find something appetizing, to get this problem solved before it becomes much more serious.

I know I'm also breaking a cardinal rule by having a pet thread without pictures. I'll resolve that later today when I get home.

Does anyone have any advice? I love the cat dearly, but I'm exhausted of worrying constantly if he's doing okay.

Aurin

Check the expiration dates on the dry food... and I'd take a look in his mouth yourself if you can. My cats only tend to completely avoid the food when it's gone bad, or if they've suddenly become depressed for some reason (had to deal with this when we added the newest kitten...).

Djeet

Is he active? Does he have access to water? Could he be eating other things, human food, bugs, rodents? Has he pooped? It being an unfamiliar environment, plus the shot from the vet, it's hard to say whether there's a problem or if it's just adjustment. Also not sure if the mouth wound is an issue (cats are pretty tough and heal fast).

Try feeding him just the dry food (I have a cat that doesn't like wet food, only dry, and will avoid even wet/dry mixes). If that doesn't work, get some cheap kibble from the grocery store (which is sometimes preferred to high quality food). Look out for lethargy and jaundice in the gums/eyes as that's a pretty good sign his lack of appetite is a real problem.

Entriech

Djeet wrote: »

Is he active? Does he have access to water? Could he be eating other things, human food, bugs, rodents? Has he pooped? It being an unfamiliar environment, plus the shot from the vet, it's hard to say whether there's a problem or if it's just adjustment. Also not sure if the mouth wound is an issue (cats are pretty tough and heal fast).

Try feeding him just the dry food (I have a cat that doesn't like wet food, only dry, and will avoid even wet/dry mixes). If that doesn't work, get some cheap kibble from the grocery store (which is sometimes preferred to high quality food). Look out for lethargy and jaundice in the gums/eyes as that's a pretty good sign his lack of appetite is a real problem.

He's active. I mean, he does his usual snoozing on and off through the day, but if we get out his toys he's running around and pouncing and such. I highly doubt he's been eating anything other than what we've been giving him. He doesn't have access to human food, and is strictly indoors and we don't have a significant bug population, and no rodents. He has pooped, and the stools were well formed and firm, no diarhea. His personality hasn't changed at all since getting him, he seems as friendly and affectionate and gentle as he's always been.

In response to Aurin, his food was purchased very recently, and the expiration dates are fine. I haven't taken a look in his mouth myself, but the scab the vet scraped off was very tiny, like maybe a sixteenth of an inch if that.

I'm hopeful it's just that he's craving the (likely) junky food he was being fed at the shelter for a month and a half, and the higher quality stuff isn't that appealing yet. That would be my first conclusion if he hadn't scarfed down his first few meals just fine. Is it possible he tucked into his food initially because he was stressed from the move home and was laying in supplies, and now that he's getting comfortable and settled he's trying to be more picky?

Definitely going to pick up a variety of foods today to see if I can get him to prefer one or the other. I'll keep an eye out for jaundice and lethargy, but so far I haven't seen either. Thankyou for the responses, talking about the problem is helping keep me calmer as well.

Dog

My cat decides to fast every now and then for a day or two (or three). While he has never had the same appetite as when he first came home from the shelter (he used to eat two bowls a day, now its between 1 and 1/2), he always ends up scarfing down food when he's hungry enough. Or he just puts it in his water bowl so it expands to gigantic sizes and then drinks out of the toilet.

If he continues to not eat for another day I'd start to get worried, but rescues have probably gone a lot longer without food before.

Kate of Lokys

Don't run out and buy one of everything: call the Humane Society, ask what food they gave him at the shelter, then buy just a small bag of it. On the first day, give him a bowl of 100% that stuff. On the second day, mix in about 10-15% of whatever food you want him to be eating. I have my cat on Go! Naturals grain-free dry food, and she just loves it - she's healthy, sleek, full of energy, and her coat is gorgeous. I've also heard very good things about Innova.

Anyway. Over the course of a week, gradually increase the ratio of good food to shelter junk, until by the end of the week your cat is eating 100% new stuff. I'm actually really surprised the shelter didn't send you home with a little bag of kibble - mine did, along with specific instructions to introduce it gradually.

MagicPrime

Not to delve into cat psychology - but here I go. My wife and I have three cats and we adopted all three from the Humane Society. What I've noticed is when you first bring a cat home from the shelter they are more or less in a culture shock. They will see food and scarf it down because they don't really know what the fuck is going on and they aren't sure if the food is still going to be there an hour from now.

Eventually the cat will acclimate itself and fall into habit with how, when, and how much it eats. Wellness is good food - but if its worrying you, you can always try switching to a new brand of food. Good-life Recipe is what we normally feed ours. Unlike a dog, you have to be careful when switching the food a cat is eating. They might come to expect a change in food every week or so and will not eat while expecting it.

onceling

Cats should always get a transition period with food where you slowly migrate to a new food, as you say, the healthy stuff can come later after they have settled in.

This said, the pressing issue is making sure he's ok. If the cat honestly hasn't had anything to eat in 24 hours, and he's not using the box, its time to get a vet checkup (which is probably a good idea after a shelter anyway). If he's using the box, and drinking water, give him some time to come around. Some cats hide under the bed for a couple days when they get to a new place. Solid Gold Tuna, warmed up very slightly just to make it stinky will be the final test. Most cats will be unable to resist this - it will show you if he's being picky or has an issue.

It is very possible that he was quite hungry after the shelter and was taking whatever he could get.

Entriech

Kate of Lokys wrote: »

Don't run out and buy one of everything: call the Humane Society, ask what food they gave him at the shelter, then buy just a small bag of it. On the first day, give him a bowl of 100% that stuff. On the second day, mix in about 10-15% of whatever food you want him to be eating. I have my cat on Go! Naturals grain-free dry food, and she just loves it - she's healthy, sleek, full of energy, and her coat is gorgeous. I've also heard very good things about Innova.

Anyway. Over the course of a week, gradually increase the ratio of good food to shelter junk, until by the end of the week your cat is eating 100% new stuff. I'm actually really surprised the shelter didn't send you home with a little bag of kibble - mine did, along with specific instructions to introduce it gradually.

They did, actually, but it was presented more as a 'sample' and less as a 'this is the stuff he eats now, you probably want to start with that'. They didn't give any instructions on feeding him, so I've just been going by the cats I've had before (however that was years ago, and they were outdoor cats, whereas this guy is strictly indoors). Because the food they gave us was just generic purina or whatever, I decided to head right to the good grain-free stuff. The enthusiasm with which he downed his first few meals had me thinking he was fine on the new stuff. But then again, I don't know the last time ate prior to the saturday we brought him home. He might have been a day and a half without, and ate it just because he was starving, and now that he's fuller and comfortable he's expecting the old junk food.

The general rule I've seen for picking a good cat food is avoid grains, and try to choose stuff which has actual types of meat listed in the ingredients, rather than just meat meal or more general statements. Both the Wellness brand and the Innova Evo brands have been reccomended to me.

Entriech

onceling wrote: »

Cats should always get a transition period with food where you slowly migrate to a new food, as you say, the healthy stuff can come later after they have settled in.

This said, the pressing issue is making sure he's ok. If the cat honestly hasn't had anything to eat in 24 hours, and he's not using the box, its time to get a vet checkup (which is probably a good idea after a shelter anyway). If he's using the box, and drinking water, give him some time to come around. Some cats hide under the bed for a couple days when they get to a new place. Solid Gold Tuna, warmed up very slightly just to make it stinky will be the final test. Most cats will be unable to resist this - it will show you if he's being picky or has an issue.

It is very possible that he was quite hungry after the shelter and was taking whatever he could get.

He was at the vet's just yesterday afternoon for a checkup and rabies shot. The vet indicated he was in perfect health, and I've not seen him in any distress. He's not hiding, he's not tender anywhere, he's just not eating. He's even still using the box just fine.

My wife'll be up soon, so I'll check with her if he's eaten anything he was left, and if not maybe get her to try the sample bag of lower-grade stuff the shelter included and see if he'll tackle that. I'll also follow up with the shelter about what he's been having, and maybe pick up some tuna from the grocery store tonight just to make sure he gets something into him. Thanks, everyone.

Caramel Genocide

Also: try heating up the wet food/tuna to help release more smell. Just make sure it isn't too hot.

TL DR

Kate of Lokys wrote: »

Don't run out and buy one of everything: call the Humane Society, ask what food they gave him at the shelter, then buy just a small bag of it. On the first day, give him a bowl of 100% that stuff. On the second day, mix in about 10-15% of whatever food you want him to be eating. I have my cat on Go! Naturals grain-free dry food, and she just loves it - she's healthy, sleek, full of energy, and her coat is gorgeous. I've also heard very good things about Innova.

Anyway. Over the course of a week, gradually increase the ratio of good food to shelter junk, until by the end of the week your cat is eating 100% new stuff. I'm actually really surprised the shelter didn't send you home with a little bag of kibble - mine did, along with specific instructions to introduce it gradually.

I came here to say "You shouldn't eat your cat!"

Since that is not the topic of the thread, I'm going to agree with the quoted post here. Although it is important to note that shelters don't always have junk food. The place I volunteer at gets donations from name-brand companies.

Entriech

I want to thank everyone for the advice. My wife put some of the dry Iams that the shelter gave us in his food dish, and next time he happened by he noticed it and chowed down, carefully avoiding the Wellness brand dry food underneath it. Going to keep feeding him this til he's settled in the house, then start trying to transition him to better foods including canned food. At least I feel better knowing his picky ass isn't starving.

And of course, a picture of the feline in question:



He's very dignified.

TL DR

Glad there's nothing wrong with the cat. Although now you've established that there will maybe be his favorite food sometimes. That may make it harder to transition, but eventually he will get hungry enough.