cat not eating, please help

BECKIN1507

He seems a little more willing to eat this morning, ho has eaten a little a day but how much is enough? He went out this morning, came back in and he's eaten nearly half a tin of tuna, which is the most he's eaten the last few days. I fed the other 2 cats and he was sat on the stairs waiting for some food, he hasn't been doing this until now. He might of eaten more but one of the others came over and he moved for them, by the time I took the other cat away he'd gone upstairs. I'll try again in a couple of hours. The snow is still coming down so I can't get him to the vets this morning but might be able to later on today. Don't worry I will get him to a vets to be checked out asap even though he is seeming a little better.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

BECKIN1507 wrote: »

He seems a little more willing to eat this morning, ho has eaten a little a day but how much is enough? He went out this morning, came back in and he's eaten nearly half a tin of tuna, which is the most he's eaten the last few days. I fed the other 2 cats and he was sat on the stairs waiting for some food, he hasn't been doing this until now. He might of eaten more but one of the others came over and he moved for them, by the time I took the other cat away he'd gone upstairs. I'll try again in a couple of hours. The snow is still coming down so I can't get him to the vets this morning but might be able to later on today. Don't worry I will get him to a vets to be checked out asap even though he is seeming a little better.

Don't let them push him away. If he's feeling a bit ill and weak, that could be what causes him to get ill.

Give him a safe space for eating unbothered by the others now. It doesn't matter whether it's in the living room, hallway with the doors closed, bathroom or even the bedroom, but you need to give him a safe space.

And toughen up against the other two if they're horrified that he's getting something they aren't - it's their hard luck. Family involvement can also be an issue - I had arguments about how I wasn't being fair to the other cats by feeding the oldies extra treats, and when I discovered that the oldies' treats were secretly being fed to the others to redress the balance somehow, I went nuts - let's just say I have sole control over animal catering again now


The point is, he needs more food and if they scare him off or push him out the way, he might start feeling so ill that he completely loses his appetite.

So get him his safe space away from the others and he should feel like eating a little bit more, especially if you give him mush (in case it's hurting his mouth)


Hopefully, the wretched white stuff will stuff off soon, and then you can get him off to the vet to be sorted out!

podperson

If he seems to be struggling a bit with actually chewing/getting it down and his breath is a little funny as well then he may have a tooth/mouth issue. Mine went off her food and her breath went quite bad - she had a tooth going rotten that had to come out. Try mashing up or cutting into very small pieces for now so he can try and get it down whole (and away from the others in case they try and swipe it ) - but yes sounds like he'll need a trip to the vet when it's safe to get there. Hope he's better soon x

BECKIN1507

Thank you for keeping me sane, finally got my old boy to the vets, I had to sit in the car for 10mins trying to stop myself from crying, felt like such a idiot. The vet thinks its his teeth, he's had a pain killer injection and a anti inflammitry if he is no better then he'll be going in on Monday for bloods because of his age if that's all ok then they'll take a couple of teeth out and give them agood clean. Thanks for all the advise. I've is usually the boss of the other cats but they're obviously trying their luck as they know he's unwell. I'll be sorting them out if he can't.

BECKIN1507

That should be ice not I've.

LavenderBees

Glad to hear you've managed to get puss to the vet, and some treatment. From what you say about his general health, I'm sure he'll be fine, but the vet will go through the correct procedure to make sure he is fit enough for the op to remove his teeth.

I've always found something strong smelling like tuna tempts a poorly puss, so I'm glad that helped.

The info from others about checking his mouth was also very useful and I've stored that away myself for future use.

My own oldboy is having an op tomorrow to remove a growth from his back. I'm trying not to worry as he is generally fit and healthy for his age. I have lots of fishy foods in to tempt him to eat when I get him home. Mind, it's forecast for awful snow again tomorrow here, so I'm praying I'll get him home ok.

Take care, and please let us know how you get on next week with your puss. It would be lovely to hear some good news about him.

LB xx

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Brilliant.

If he has a slight improvement, but then it tails off again, that could also be his teeth, not just if he's no better.

Hope it is his teeth, as the transformation in them once it's sorted out is lovely.

You're doing great, though. And the crying stuff is normal, it's hard work trying to keep them going when you don't know what's wrong with them.

BECKIN1507

Good luck with your cat tomorrow! I hope the weather holds off for you. Let us know how he gets on.
Ice is doing great already, I might just be able to sleep tonight ;-). He's eaten nearly a whole little tin and came running down the stairs when he heard the bowl. He'd probably eat more but I don't want him to have to much at once and upset his stomach so he's been having little and often meals, offering him a couple of different foods at a time. He's choose to eat a pât! type food that I mixed with a bit of warm water.
I'm quite convinced its he's teeth now, but we'll see how tomorrow goes. I didn't explain very well, if he's still refusing food by Monday the vet wants him in for bloods and teeth if she still thinks its that, if he's eating she's still going to sort his teeth but the medications he's had will last 2weeks so we'll leave it a little longer before he has his teeth done.
Now I've just got to learn how to look after a old cat, and get a litter tray back out, I've not had 1 for 7 years, what's the best cat litter to use? And what foods will he be able to eat once he has teeth removed? I've had old dogs but cats seem a little harder. I want to make his life as nice as possible, I don't think I'd really realised that my boy was getting old untill this happened. Thanks again, my partner or family are not really cat people so your the only people that have been so helpful and understanding.

waaag

You sound very caring Beckin - and that's good. I have had similar episodes with some of my 'oldies'. It turned out to be teeth needing extraction, one was over active thyroid, and sadly one was a tonsil tumour. However, yours seems to be teeth and I'm sure that your puss will be back up to normal real soon, may need extraction or two. Its real worrying when the behaviour that you know so well changes though isnt it.! I have an old puss at the moment (Mr Murgatroyd) and he has lately not been eating much and been faddy, vets tests - bloods etc, show nothing wrong, he's about 15, I have just put it down to him sleeping constantly due to the bad weather and not using up energy though today he has eaten a lot more than usual.

Cat litter - I like the wood pellet one which is in wilkinsons, also a similar wood pellet- just different make in asda. Absorbs smells and is absorbent and doesn't stink like clay type, and I think economical. Also the pound shops do one that is wood pellet, smaller size for a quid. fine for just one cat.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I've seen toothless cats with half a pigeon in there.......


Crunchies if they aren't too big.

Once the gum heals over, there's not a lot they can't or won't eat - just no long bits of meat or ham, really.