Newly adopted cat won't eat
I just adopted an adult cat three days ago from a shelter. They didn't know how old she was because she came in as a stray. If I had to guess she is 3-5 years old.
When we offer her food she won't eat it. We have tried a few kinds of wet food but in the last three days she has eaten maybe a total of one can of food. When we open a can she will run up and take two bites then so purring and walk away. She won't even eat treats or lunch meat. She has also thrown up twice but both times seem to have been in reaction to beef.
Do I just need to keep trying different kinds of food for her? Is this just a nervous reaction to a new environment? (She seems pretty calm and happy). At what point should I be worried?
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It's a good idea to bring new pets straight to the vet in general. It may have been seen by a vet at the shelter already, but it's helpful for your vet at the least to have a record of what's healthy for your cat, and also it's possible for the cat to pick things up at the shelter, as it has many cats in close proximity. So take it to the vet and tell them you're concerned the cat has not been eating.
However, there are also cats that are very picky, or like to slowly "graze" on their food throughout the day. I suspect your cat is a "grazer" since "grazers" will often be interested when you first put new food down, and then nibble at it and wander off. In this case, keep trying foods to see if they seem to be particularly interested in one. Also, leave a constant supply out so your cat can nibble throughout the day.
Another trick is to get the cat's attention, pick the food bowl up, turn around so the cat cannot see the bowl, and then set it back down. Cats do not have object permanence, that is, the ability to understand that items out of view are still there, so when you take the bowl out of view, and then set it back down, the cat will think it's a new bowl, and it may then try nibbling at it some more.
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