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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

Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

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

Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM
Veterinarian
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

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