Why is my cat suddenly hiding, not moving, and refusing to eat?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 9 years and 6 months old | 10 lbs
My cat is being reclusive and hasn't moved from the same spot in two days and I have to physically move her food in front of her for her to eat like she won't get up and go to it
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on September 29th, 2017
Any cat that is hiding and not eating is sick. She needs to see a vet ASAP. When cats don't eat for about 3 days their liver starts to mobilize fats for energy and this causes fatty liver disease. So, she may get fatty liver disease on top of already having another illness which will make her prognosis even worse. Please get her to a vet ASAP.
3Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
-
Published on March 16th, 2017
Oh my. It seems the vet needs to do some tests in your poor kitty to determine what exactly is going on here. Not eating and lethargy indicate that she is very ill and potentially she may have organ malfunction (kidney, liver, pancreas, etc) causing her illness. She needs to have bloodwork (chemistry, CBC), urinalysis, and potentially radiographs to determine the underlying illness so that we know how best to treat her. Cats that refuse to eat can cause serious damage to their liver causing a condition called hepatic lipidosis, which is a fatty liver making them even sicker and can be fatal in and of itself. So it's best to either take her back to the vet or get a second opinion with another vet who will run the necessary tests to find out what is happening so that she gets properly treated, especially since the antibiotic resulted in no improvement with her. I wish you the best with your cat and hope that she makes a full recovery. Until you can get her seen offer her small amounts of tuna juice or low sodium chicken broth and non-flavored Pedialyte diluted with water to help provide some nutritional support. Best of luck.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
My cat is 12 years old and she has stuff coming from her eyes, she doesn't eat and hasn't come out from under the bed in about 2 days. She also hasn't pooped or peed either. I'm getting really worried and I'm not sure what to do. She also has been pu
Hi my cat has stopped eating on thursday she is normally indoors during the day but now is outside under the car what could be wrong with her also we are not sure if she is drinking fluids
My cat Sassy is suddenly not eating and hiding. She ate this morning, i came home from work 2 hours ago and while feeding the other cats she went in the corner. Only changes recently is I am fostering a 4 month old cat for last 2 weeks but thats nev
Is it true change in routine like moving will make a cat change it's behavior ? My cat Rosie who is 17 years old has started hiding under the bed , and isn't very interested in eating will only drink some water .
My cat has not ate In 3 days but is drinking water and she is staying hidden under my bed all day only to come out to drink water
our 10 year old femail cat has not eaten in a couple days. she will drink and urinates. she hides under a bed for most of the day. seems weak but still moves around. Has kind of snotty discharge from her eyes. she has lot weight. should i try to ride
My baby suddenly hates her beloved food. I have tried a dozen other cans and she just grazes them or takes a few bites and leaves them. She hasn't gone without food for anything over 4-5 hours though. She eats some treats but not all. She has also be
My cat has been under my bed all day and won't come out. Even to eat or drink or go to the bathroom. What do I do? Is she sick?
Hi there my cat approx 8 months Is always full of life always hungry usually eats alot very active an Happy, past 3 days he's just been sleeping he won't eat anything and he isn't even purring anymore it's starting to concern me as this is seriously
Hi, I have a black male cat named Skully. He's about 5 years old and I've had him for about 3 months. Skully lately hasn't been touching or eating his food. He gags constantly but nothing comes up. He hides and lies around all the time which is new.
Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.
