Give her one calm room to come home to, with familiar bedding, a litter tray, water and somewhere to hide, and let her emerge in her own time. A hospital stay loads a cat with strange smells, broken sleep and handling by strangers, and appetite is often the last thing to return. The treating practice's discharge guidance governs her medical care. Your work is environment, patience and close observation.
The First Evening Home
Set the room up before you collect her, so she walks into calm rather than into rearrangement. Open the carrier, step back and let her choose the hide, the bed or your lap without being lifted out. Offer a small portion of her usual food once she has settled, warmed slightly to release its smell, and place water where she can reach it without crossing the room. Keep children and other pets away for the first evening, and resist checking on her every few minutes. A dim room, a familiar blanket and your ordinary voice in the background tell her the emergency is over.
Rebuilding Appetite Patiently
Offer food little and often across the day rather than leaving one large portion to go stale. Warm each small serving briefly and remove what she ignores, then try again later without fuss. Tempt with the foods she loves most within whatever the practice has advised, and note exactly what she eats and when. Some cats eat at night when the house is quiet, so leave a small fresh portion for the evening if the practice agrees. Track water intake and litter tray use alongside meals, because together they show whether her system is restarting. Report her intake honestly at any follow-up call rather than rounding it up hopefully.
Keep a discreet written log rather than relying on impressions, because appetite returning after hospital is uneven and a cat who ate well yesterday and refused today can look like failure when the log shows a clear upward trend across the week. The log also tells the practice exactly what to advise at the follow-up call.
Restoring Routine in Stages
Reintroduce her normal pattern one element at a time: feeding times first, then access to more rooms, then short play sessions when she shows interest. Let her set the pace on company, because a cat recovering from stress may want proximity without handling. Other household cats may react to her hospital smell, so keep introductions to housemates gradual and supervised, with space for her to retreat. Expect a few quiet days and the odd step backwards after a busy one. Steady direction matters more than speed, and a return of hiding that deepens rather than lifts is worth a call to the practice.
Knowing When to Phone the Practice
Use the discharge guidance as your reference, and phone if her appetite has not returned within the period the practice described. Call sooner about vomiting, straining in the tray, breathing changes, or any return of the signs that took her into hospital. Describe what she has eaten and drunk, when she last used the tray and how she is behaving, because those specifics let the team judge urgency. Keep the discharge sheet with her records so the details are to hand during the call. Her discharge notes, meal log and recovery milestones sit together in her KinsLe Pet Passport, ready for the follow-up visit and any future stay.