New cat Not Eating
I adopted a 3-year-old male cat two days ago from a friend. Before I picked him up, he ate normally that morning and also pooped. Since coming to our apartment, though, he hasn’t eaten a proper meal or really drank any water that I’ve seen.
The only thing he has eaten was one full Churu tube on the first day. I offered another one yesterday and he sniffed it and walked away. I’ve tried different foods, treats, fresh water, giving him privacy, putting food near where he feels comfortable, etc., but so far he still isn’t interested.
What confuses me is that otherwise he seems to be adjusting pretty well. He was hiding in my closet at first, but now he comes out, explores, sleeps on our bed and is SUPER cuddly and affectionate with both me and my partner. He doesn’t seem scared of us at all. I believe he has used the litter box since arriving, but I’m keeping a much closer eye on it now so I can confirm whether he’s peeing.
He has also had quite a stressful couple of weeks. Before coming to us, he was given to another home for about a week and then came back to his previous owner, and shortly afterward he moved again to our home. So he has basically had multiple changes of environment in a very short period of time. I’m wondering if all of that stress could be affecting his appetite even though he’s already becoming comfortable with us.
I called a vet today and explained the situation. They told me that it can take cats a couple of days to adjust to a new home, but I’m still worried because he hasn’t eaten a real meal and I haven’t seen him drink. I will contact the vet again/get him seen if this continues or if anything about his condition changes.
Has anyone had a newly adopted/re-homed cat do this? How long did it take before they started eating and drinking normally? Was there anything in particular that finally encouraged them to eat?
I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to help him settle in and that I’m not missing something important.