Also called · not eating after moving house · appetite loss after hospitalisation · won’t eat in a new place
What it looks like
- Stops eating after a move, a vet stay or visitors
- Stops eating after the bowl is moved
- Spends more time hiding
Why it happens
Cats are sensitive to environmental change
Large changes such as moving house or hospitalisation often stop them eating. On top of that, under strong stress they become wary of new food and refuse it.
Not eating is itself partly a defence
Infection and stress increase signalling molecules in the brain that directly suppress the feeding centre. It is thought to conserve energy for the immune response.
What to do
Go back to the familiar food
Trying a new food under stress works against you. Restore eating with what they already know.
Find what triggered it
Retrace what happened where they eat. Noise, another animal, a slippery floor, or a bowl placed too close to the litter tray are common causes.
Give them somewhere that feels safe
Move the feeding spot and make sure they have a place to hide, so the underlying anxiety drops.
Consider a calming supplement
α-S1 tryptic casein (alpha-casozepine), L-theanine and GABA are used for anxiety. In a trial with cats showing signs of anxiety, aversion to contact, fear responses and displacement behaviour fell significantly; in dogs the effect was comparable to an anti-anxiety drug. No effect on aggression was found. (Beata et al., J Vet Behav 2, 2007)
Watch out for
A continuing refusal to eat creates a new disease on its own. Overweight cats are at particular risk of hepatic lipidosis.
See a vet if
In an adult cat, appetite loss lasting more than two to three days needs a vet immediately.
Common questions
There is reason to think it can help to some degree, and it is worth trying. But it works as a support alongside changes to the environment and behaviour, not instead of them.
Related behaviors
Was this useful?
General behaviour and nutrition information. It does not replace diagnosis or prescription. Similar behaviour does not always have the same cause, and the cause is not necessarily diet or environment — have a vet rule out illness first, and consult a behaviour specialist where needed.