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My stray cat is depressed and won't eat for days. What's wrong?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 2 lbs

Regular stray cat seems depressed and wont eat, normally he's full of life and first to the food bowl. He is alert, no sign of any gum problem or injury of any sort, but he seems depressed/subdued. Gave him some Cazitel earlier incase it was worms but no change so far. Am worried as have only seen him take a mouthful of food in last 4 days. He is drinking water though.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Susan England-Foster

Veterinarian

Published on October 20th, 2017

I am sorry your cat is not feeling well. Unfortunately with a stray cat many things are possible to cause depression and anorexia. I would be concerned about toxins, parasites, foreign material ingestion and even infection/virus. I would recommend taking the cat to your local vet. They most likely need to do some basic testing like blood work to determine the cause of illness and provide proper treatment. At home care most likely will not be aggressive enough for the cat. Ideally if you could keep the cat in a smaller area with close proximity to food and water that way you can monitor the eating closer. I hope that helps and he feels better soon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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