Issue With Cat Not Eating...

[HellFrost666]

I have had this cat in my house since Saturday. He's a foster. He was at the shelter for almost two months and then stayed for about a week with a lady that works there before coming here to stay with me.

 

Saturday when I brought him home I saw him eating that night. So I figured there was no problem with the food I have here. This morning it occurred to me though, I haven't seen him eat since then. And he's been puking a lot too. When he pukes it's just liquid. (I know this is gross, sorry...)

 

A friend of mine told me he might have a dental issue and I should try feeding him wet food. Today when I got home from work I set a bowl of dry food in front of him and he sniffed it and walked off. I set a bowl of wet food in front of him and he went crazy on it like he was starving to death. So now I am really wondering if he has eaten at all since Saturday.

 

He ate dry food the whole time he was at the shelter. And he also ate dry food the whole time he was at the other house. So I know he can eat dry food and will eat fry food. So, I have no idea what the problem is.

 

He's a Himalayan if that matters.

 

Does anyone have any ideas about this... And does anyone have any suggestions for how I can get him to eat dry food while he's here?

[equinox]

I advise having a read of this:

 

link removed

 

If he doesn't change his behaviour soon, I would take him to the vet. He could easily have a tooth problem but the fact that he's puking suggests to me it's a digestive issue.

[HellFrost666]

Thanks for the link...

 

I think something here is making him nervous about eating. He ate hard food at the shelter the whole time he was there. I don't know if he puked a lot there. He was in isolation so didn't interact much with him.

 

I know he has had his teeth checked and no problems were found.

[BellaDonna]

Is the dry food you are trying to feed him at home the same kind/brand/flavor as the one he has been eating at the shelter?

 

Whenever I have changed my cat's food, I transition a little bit at a time, mixing it with the previous food gradually.

 

Cats throw up so easily that it could be due ot a variety of things: stress, eating something they shouldn't (i.e. a houseplant), hairballs, etc) A Diabetic cat will also throw up a lot.

 

 

Did he keep the wet food down once he ate it, or did he throw that up too?

[HellFrost666]

He kept the wet food down fine.

 

He got all different kinds of food at the shelter. About 95% of the food we have there is donated, so he just got whatever was in the food bucket that day. The shelter isn't loyal to any particular brand.

 

The first night he was here my female cat was really aggressive to him. She has calmed down a little now... But I wonder if this is a territory issue. Because the two cats I have eat out of the same bowl, I wonder if the foster one thinks he's no allowed to eat from their bowl or something. Idk...

[Catdancer]

definitely keep giving him the wet food. He will go into liver failure if he continues to not eat. I lost a beautiful Maine Coon because he stopped eating and his lilver failed.

 

So, definitely give him the wet food. Also, give him a bowl of dry food of his own and his own water dish. I know it's a pain in the butt for you, but until he comfortable he is the outsider in your household and he will try to avoid aggression from Saga. So, avoiding the food dish and the litter box is a way to avoid aggression. Also, is he pooping and peeing consistantly? Does he have any diarrea (sp?)? I'm thinking that the vomitting is stress related. To ease his mind, he needs his own space. A place for him to sleep where he feels safe, and food and water bowls that are his only, and possibly a litter box that is his, if he isnt using the community one.

[metrogirl]

I think he's just traumatized from being left in iso for so long at the shelter and then to Laurie's house for a week and now your house. He's probably got knots in his tummy because he's been bounced around like a ball.

 

Give it a little time. He needs to adjust to Saga and Snowball and get comfortable with his surroundings.

[Shortpants]

Yes, the switch to new surroundings may be stressing the little guy out and the wet food may be a little gentler on his tummy and thus easier to keep down. I used to have an issue with my two cats and my female not eating or throwing up food right after eating. Her brother was a little aggressive at food time and would woof his food down then bully her out of the way to eat hers too. Any time that happened, she would promptly go in the other room and vomit up what she had just eaten. I spoke to the vet and we determined since there was nothing wrong with her physically that is was the bullying from her brother.

 

If your little guy (kudos to you for fostering him, btw!!) was isolated while at the shelter then thrust into a home with other cats, he will need a little time to adjust to the new surroundings, and I'm sure the stress of all he has gone through is upsetting his tummy. I would get him to eat whatever you can and slowly work in the dry food. I'm sure once he's feeling a little more settled and a little less stressed he'll have no issues with the dry.

 

Good luck and give him some chin scratches!

[HellFrost666]

I gave him some wet food with dry food mixed in a while ago. He was eating it and Saga came up and was watching him. She wasn't being aggressive or anything, just watching. And I thought maybe that's a good thing because he knows he can eat in front of her.

 

Then, all of a sudden she just attacked him. He ran away and she tried to get as much of the food as she could before I took it away from her.

 

About ten minutes went by and he came back out. I put the food down for him again and she watched him eat the rest of it but didn't do anything.

 

He's obviously used to having his own bowl. And our cats are used to all food being community property.

[Citlali]

He might have been throwing up simply because he had an empty, upset stomach from not eating for a while. Just try mixing it up a little when it comes to food until he feels better about his surroundings. You might even try mixing dry food and wet food. Otherwise, if he is eating and keeping down wet food it means he is fine.

[HellFrost666]

Last night I saw him eating out of the community bowl... And he didn't puke at all yesterday (that I know of.) So maybe he was just adjusting to this house.

 

Him and Saga seem like they can at least tolerate each other now.

[Catdancer]

Yeah!! Keep us updated on how he's doing!! You never know. He and Saga may end up being play buddies once they get used to each other.

[BellaDonna]

Last night I saw him eating out of the community bowl... And he didn't puke at all yesterday

 

That's good news.

 

Silly question, but I just need to know for piece of mind: Do they test the shelter cats for feline leukemia before they send them into foster placements where they are around other cats?

[Citlali]

That's good news.

 

Silly question, but I just need to know for piece of mind: Do they test the shelter cats for feline leukemia before they send them into foster placements where they are around other cats?

 

I think they do full blood tests. I worked with a shelter fostering cats and the first thing they did there was take blood and run tests on it for everything imaginable (including FeLV and FIV) both to make sure they didn't get other cats sick and to know if they themselves needed treatment or unfortunately to be put down. Now, I don't know if that is done everywhere. I certainly hope so, though. It would only make sense because they would need to know what needs to be done for the stray at least.

[HellFrost666]

That's good news.

 

Silly question, but I just need to know for piece of mind: Do they test the shelter cats for feline leukemia before they send them into foster placements where they are around other cats?

 

That's not a silly question. Yes, they check them for that.

[HellFrost666]

I just want to let everyone know, he's still eating out of the bowl they all eat out of. But today shortly after I got home from work he puked.

[BellaDonna]

link removed

 

Parasites, viruses, hairballs, anxiety, and eating too fast are common culprits according to that article.

 

Strays do tend to eat really fast. Is he inhaling the food down quickly?