cat not eating

Question
we have just moved into a new apartment. Our cat hides under the bed and will not eat. Three days now. Is this normal in a move?

Answer
Cats do not like to have their world shaken up like through a moving experience.  This hiding and isolating is not abnormal behavior in that type of situation.  Not eating any protein for 3 days can cause problems for any cat.  They cannot process their body fat that they use for energy during starvation and so they get a condition called hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) which can make them very ill. You can try hand feeding or putting canned cat food on the cat's tongue and making him swallow some. If that does not initiate the cat's eating, then the vet can use a small stomach tube and put food into the cat's stomach without him smelling it or tasting it. There are appetite stimulant drugs, like mirtazapine or periactin, that usually stimulate a cat to eat.