If you remember a few weeks ago we lost our precious Samantha (Mantha Kitty) suddenly.
We went on vacation and came home and adopted another cat. She's a kitten but an older kitten. She's 6 months old (about).
We brought her home on Friday night. She does not seem like the same cat we visited with at the pound. It's the same cat, but she won't eat, won't drink and doesn't want to use her litter box.
Well after seeing her not eat (she'll go and sniff at her food) I was getting scared (after what we just went through) and forced fresh goats milk down her last night. It went well. I know she's sore from being spayed, vaccinated and microchipped - not to mention she was a stray and quite skinny already (our last one was dirty and skinny and she turned out beautiful!) She also keeps sneezing but it's clear so i'm thinking a cold from being at the pound. She's affectionate and purrs LOUD when you barely even touch her and she loves to just be near us or on us (yeah! a lap cat).
She does have a vet appt. this afternoon for a check up (over) with a new local vet i'm going to try (reasonable on both office visit and vaccines - good reputation).
I've put the litter box where she wants to "go" but it won't work 'cause it's by the kitchen table (yuck) and she's used it there but this morning I saw her sniffing in another area and had to pick her up and put her in the litter box. I figured when she starts using it on her own, i'll slowly keep moving it bit by bit into the bathroom.
I'm thinking she's stressed at all she's been through and it will take a week or so - which is fine since i'm home a lot (stay at home mom - don't work outside the home, inside with kids and clothes and house and...and...and... is enough
Have any of you had any similar experiences and what did you do? Kids are already attached so I don't want to return her (30 day return policy @ the pound).
Wish we had more $$$ - there was a cute baby kitten I wanted - but the kids wanted the older cat (!) Shocked me! Made me proud too - they realized because she wasn't AS cute as the babies and wasn't as "regal" as the full growns all filled out but was that inbetween kitten stage - not cute but scrawny 'cause they're growing so fast" age they said she wouldn't be adopted as easy and they wanted her because she was being ignored by everyone who was adopting cats/kittens that day.
BTW: You'll be happy to know that my other local shelter we walked in when they opened and had 3 in mind then narrowed it down to one but ALL of them (ALL the cats in cages - about 20 which is all they had) we're adopted within 15 minutes! We didn't get a single cat. Only one's left were a couple of sick one's not available for adoption - but they had holds on them for when they were well. I know they still put way too many down but was glad to see adult cats of all ages being adopted so quickly! Guy said they are like this almost every day and I have to give Kudo's to Seacca Animal Center for their "cat sale" of $25.00 any cat, any kitten to making it affordable for people to adopt and finding homes for these animals! The place I ended up going charged WAY too much and several people who wanted cats left after they found out the price to adopt.
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I believe you have analyzed the situation pretty accurately - she will come around, I'm sure, when she is a bit more acclimated. And your kids were right - the "tween-aged" animals are harder to get adopted for just the reasons they said: that gawky stage is no longer "cute" and they are too immature to be filled out prettily yet. Thank you for adopting a shelter animal !!!!
One thing we have done with our last couple cats when we got them was to isolate them for a while - if you have a 2nd bathroom (or even just one), you could keep them in there with food, water & litter box, a toy or two, perhaps some soft music to help calm them, and just visit periodically, spend some time & talk to her & pet her. That way she can acclimate quietly to the smells & sounds of your home. You might also try some pheromone stuff to calm her - Feliway is one brand. We used this when introducing our "new" 2-year-old to our older cat & home, when we adopted her 2 years ago, and it did seem to work. Good luck!
If you are having problems with the litter box, I'd definitely look into confining her in a smaller space with it until she gets acclimated. You don't want to be getting any bad habits started, and that will help her develop the correct ones.
Comfort Zone/Feliway is a great product and can be very helpful with a stressed cat. So can catnip, and a string on a stick to play with her with, if she's interested in such. A rolled up ball of paper chucked across the floor is good, too... I've had several turn into retrievers. Anything that will get her moving and playing around will get her feeling more at home in her environment.
If she has a cold, she may not eat because cats often won't eat if they can't smell. Also, once they don't eat for a few days, their blood sugar drops, and they basically get anorexic. In that case, you'd want to syringe feed her until she's got her appetite back. Baby food... plain strained meats and a little of something carb-ish, sweet potato being my preference, will go into a syringe and give her the basics that she needs. If you've got an acidophilous supplement, that would be a helpful addition, stress can throw off the flora balance and that upsets the system and can make them feel less hungry. If she isn't drinking, then you can either add water to that or learn how to do sub-q fluids... not necessarily essential, but a VERY good skill to have. Oftentimes a few rounds of syringe feeding will get them more interested in food, so it may not take long. Hopefully. Oh and forget taking her back, you're already attached. And she's going to get through this phase in a little while, and you'll see the kitty you thought you were getting again.
Your kids sound like absolute gems, please rub all their ears for me!
susan
What I want to know is, when are they going to start selling Comfort Zone for HUMANS????? 'Cause some days...
She had her visit to our new vet (first office visit free on adopted shelter animals).
The vet pronounced her healthy overall - but gave her antibiotics for her cold and said she was a bit dehydrated.
Said all the changes from being a stray, to being picked up, to being in the pound to surgery, shots, micro chipping was a lot for a little animal to take. The cold is also keeping her from smelling her food so she doesn't feel like eating.
So...my new baby is being syringe fed 3x a day with baby food (turkey and beef) mixed with a bit of water, additional water through another syringe to help wash it down and antibiotic 2x a day for 10 days.
Hopefully in a few days her cold will be better and she'll move to canned food (per vet) and then finally onto dry kitten food.
Will post a pic in a day or so when she's feeling better and looks like her cute self that we had seen when we found her at the shelter.
kknowlton wrote: One thing we have done with our last couple cats when we got them was to isolate them for a while - if you have a 2nd bathroom (or even just one), you could keep them in there with food, water & litter box, a toy or two, perhaps some soft music to help calm them, and just visit periodically, spend some time & talk to her & pet her. That way she can acclimate quietly to the smells & sounds of your home. You might also try some pheromone stuff to calm her - Feliway is one brand. We used this when introducing our "new" 2-year-old to our older cat & home, when we adopted her 2 years ago, and it did seem to work. Good luck!
Absolutely,, that is a given,, don't rush her by any means,, confine her to an alone place with food and water and box,, and don't scold her if she misses the box,, she will get the hang of it.. may take a week,, but ..... you and she will be better for it in the long run.
first of all thank you and your children for adopting an older cat. I have been a volunteer with our local SPCA for 25 yrs and have found that most of them when they come to the shelter are nervous and confused and will hide in a litter box and not really eat much for 3 days but then they come around. Once her cold is better she will eat you out of house and home and that is a good sign. take this tome that you hand fed her to cuddle her and talk to her and tell her how beautiful she is. they know what we say. keep us posted and do post pics.
congrats
Our orange tabby was 10 months old when we adopted him from the pound, and was past the cute kitten stage. He had been found wandering the streets with his "sister". She was adopted by the time we got there, so he was lonely. He was sad the first few days we brought him home, but then bonded to our other grown female. It has been 5 years since then, and the two of them are best buddies. Give it a few days, and I'm sure as he gets stronger it will get better. I'm glad he's purring for you.
Kitty is doing well on syringe feedings but still won't eat by herself - anything. I've tried it all. Now she's strong enough from the syringe feedings to make it near impossible to syringe feed - last night I could barely hold her and got a few of her claws stuck in my hand pretty deep and my legs scratched up. She pee'd on the throw rug in the kitchen.
Now i'm getting frustrated. Yesterday morning I though we turned a corner because halfway through the syringe feeding she started licking my fingers and then licked the rest of the liquified food out of the bowl - but last night - nothing. This morning I haven't even tried. Just put the liquified food in a bowl and put it where she's confined at this moment. My hand hurts where she clawed me and i'm wondering if there's a reason she's was a stray.
I've tried confining her with a towel to feed her, sat her on my lap and tried to lovingly do it. Had 3 of us at one point but as you all know when a cat wants to get a way, ain't nothin' gonna stop them.
My house is set up as such as keeping confined to a room isn't easy. We have one main bathroom that everyone uses so it's hard to keep her confined in there. Our master bath barely has room for the sink, toilet and shower and a person so a litterbox, food dish etc won't even fit. All other areas of the house have pocket doors - which open very easily with just a push of the nose.
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And she's going to get through this phase in a little while, and you'll see the kitty you thought you were getting again. 
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