picky eater transition

Whiskey is 7 and a total pain in the ass when it comes to food. I moved her to the guest room for a few days to let her settle after I renovated the kitchen, and now she refuses to touch her dinner. She will look at the bowl, sniff it, and walk away. I've tried the exact same kibble, the exact same wet food, even the same brand of treats she loves. Nothing. She's not eating anything. I'm worried she's going to start losing weight fast. Has anyone else dealt with a cat who just flat out refuses to eat in a new spot?

This is so frustrating. I had this with Luna when I moved her to a different room for a few days. She stopped eating for two days straight. I finally had to bring the food to her instead of the other way around. I just set the bowl right next to where she was hiding and left it there. She ate a little bit. Then I started putting the bowl a few inches away each day. Took about a week. I wrote up the whole process in cat stopped eating after moving if you want the details. It's not a big deal but it takes patience.

I've seen this a lot with older cats. Skye is 10 and deaf in one ear, so she relies heavily on smell and routine. When I moved her to a different room, she stopped eating for a day. What helped was keeping the food bowl in the exact same position relative to the door, even if the room was different. Cats are very spatial. I also used a diffuser in the room. I wrote about that in pheromone diffusers for stress. It calmed her down enough to eat.

Rocky is 5 and hyperactive, so he eats like a madman wherever he is. But I've seen this with picky cats. My advice: check if she's drinking water. If she's not eating but drinking, she's not in immediate danger. If she's not drinking either, call the vet today. I wrote about this in getting cats to drink more water. Picky cats often stop drinking first when they're stressed, and that's the real problem. The food is just a symptom.

Oh, I'm so sorry. Tater is 10 and has dental issues, so she's also picky about where she eats. I tried warming up her wet food a little. Not hot, just warm. It makes the smell stronger and she actually ate more of it. I wrote about this in warming wet food for picky cats. It's a small thing but it worked for her. Maybe try that with Whiskey?

Thanks everyone. I'll try the warming trick and the diffuser. I didn't think about the water thing. She's been drinking a little, so that's good. I also realized I moved her bed to a different spot in the room. I'm putting it back exactly where it was. I think the spatial thing makes sense. I'll update tomorrow. For now, I'm just going to sit in the room with her and let her get used to the smell of the food. No pressure.