My New Adopted Cat Won't Eat

When you adopt a cat and bring it into your home, the change of environment and routine can cause your cat to experience stress. A cat under stress can become lethargic and refuse to eat. Make your new cat feel more at home by taking measures to reduce its stress and coax it to eat to prevent it from developing more serious medical issues.

  1. Reducing A New Cat's Stress

    • The entire process of bringing your new cat home -- the ride in the car, the new scents and the change in its environment -- can all overwhelm your new cat. Reduce its stress by setting up a quiet room, away from other pets, with a litter box, food and water dishes. Give your new cat a comfortable place to sleep, such as a cat bed or soft blanket. If possible, ask the shelter you adopt the cat from if they have a towel or blanket that your cat has slept or snuggled on. Put this item in your cat's new room to make it feel more at ease.

    Medical Causes

    • A cat that suffers from an illness may vomit, have diarrhea, sneeze or appear lethargic. The majority of cats from shelters suffer from the herpes virus, a disease that causes a stuffy nose, leading to a reduced appetite, according to Seattle Himalayan and Persian Rescue. If a cat cannot smell its food, it will not eat, says the Vetinfo website. Dental disease causes a lack of appetite due to the pain that eating causes. Other medical causes of a lack of appetite include kidney disease, infections, liver disease, pancreatitis, cancer, heart problems and intestinal parasites. A reaction to a recent vaccination can also cause temporary appetite loss, according to WebMD.

    Dietary Changes

    • If you begin feeding your new cat a food it has not eaten previously, it may not eat the food. Find out from the shelter personnel or previous owner of the cat what type and brand of food they fed it; continue to feed this food to your cat during its initial time in its new home. Your cat requires a diet rich in meat proteins as the primary ingredient, along with taurine to maintain its health, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. To change its diet, begin adding larger and larger portions of the new food to its original diet over a period of one to two weeks.

    Solutions

    • Take your new cat to a veterinarian for an exam to make sure it does not suffer from an illness causing it not to eat. A cat that does not eat for 24 hours needs veterinary care to prevent hepatic lipidosis, a condition that leads to a build-up of fat cells in the cat's liver, according to Vetinfo. Tempt it to eat with cat treats sprinkled on its food, tuna juice or crumbled pieces of cooked chicken. Plug in a synthetic cat pheromone diffuser in its room to calm it and reduce its stress.