At my wits end....

shoppingnoodles

Hi everyone.


I am honestly at my wits end and would really welcome constructive advice.


My beloved 16 year old cat just will not eat. This started about 2 months ago and of course, we immediately took him to his vet (Vets For Pets). The vet examined him and carried out bloods and other tests ( I was offered them and wanted him to have the best treatment as he is an old boy, so I paid extra - all tests were normal and in fact his bloodwork was deemed "excellent"). It was decided that he wasn't eating due to dental problems.


He had all bar 2 of his teeth out. When I took him home he wolfed everything in sight, then the following day stopped eating again. I tried absolutely every type of food known to man to tempt him to no avail.


He subsequently went back to the vet 5 times and eventually, they gave him a steroid injection about 2 weeks ago, as sometimes thins kick starts their appetite. About 3 or 4 days later it seemed to work and he ate normally for about a week, but has now stopped again. I have had to syringe feed him just to keep him going.


I phoned them today to ask what to do. The receptionist was quite rude to me when I asked if she could ask the vet if she wanted to prescribe something else, as it was getting very expensive to pay the consultation fee each time the cat is seen. She snapped "well, if the cat needs treatment, we charge you".


Eventually she went to speak to the vet who said that we should start the same testing process all over again, in case something shows up now. I have only finished treatment for cancer last Monday, so am only working part time and this is ploughing through my saving. Obviously I would spend the lot to save my cat, but we seem to be getting nowhere. It's been such a rubbish year that I can't bear to lose my little mate now.


Has anyone any advice? I said I would chew it over and call them back tomorrow. I would welcome any positive input.


Thanks in advance.

Fosterdog

After so many vet visits in such a short space of time and still no answers I would be changing vets.

Have they been charging you a full consultation fee every time? Most vets have a first consult fee and then a follow up fee, as this is all linked to the initial problem every visit but the first should have been charged at the follow up rate. Maybe your vet is different and only has he one rate.

Find a new vet and get all of his records sent over, they may be petty and insist on you sending an official request (subject to access request) and paying a fee but they can't charge more than £10 for this.

If the new vet still can't find anything then I would be more concerned that there is something more going on and more tests would be needed, it would also be worth speaking to the practice manager about the rudeness of the receptionist. They are dealing with people who are emotional about their pets, they need to have a degree of tact about the way they speak to them, even if the answer is the same there is no need for rudeness.

danih

New vet!!!!

Seems pointless to repeat tests for same physical symptom if nothing showed up first time.

Go to completely different vets. Make sure the basics are done - flea and worm treatment, physical check for lumps and bumps. Look into the stress reducers you can get for cats. Could be something that will be relatively cheap and simple to resolve.

At home measure and weigh whatever food kitty gets, before and after eating. There must be something going in for him to survive 2 months. Try him on high quality kitten food and milk - higher protein and calories per mouthful.

My sisters cat lost weight as she aged - and lived to be 20. She showed no signs of anything to be treated - was just a reduction in appetite due to her advanced age.

danih

Also try adding hot water to dried food, turns it to mush as it cools which some animals really love. the smell changes which some pets like.

WeAreGhosts

My cat is an extremely fussy eater. You have my sympathies. It can be so infuriating.

Do you feed him in the same place each time?
Try putting a small saucer of wet food in a place where he wouldn't normally expect to see food.

Have you tried (real) fish? Salmon, tuna, cod etc?

Does he eat grass?

I agree about seeing another vet. Can you see another vet within the same surgery? I use Vets 4 Pets too and find them better than any of the others I have tried. If that's not possible try and get recommendations from other people.

pinkteapot

Definitely a new vet!!

Ours is always happy to answer follow-up questions by phone. I can leave a message at reception and a nurse or vet (as necessary) calls me back.

If you can tell us what area you're in you might get lucky and get someone local on here who can recommend a vet, if you don't know anyone who can...

spookylukey

Does he eat dry food? My cat stopped eating his normal wet and dry food and refused all treats/chicken/ham/fish/cheese etc etc - I was googling for ideas and came across Royal Canin Exigent for fussy/difficult cats, it was a life saver as he ate this while still refusing all other foods.

He's never been a fussy cat so obviously there was something 'wrong', he had a barrage of blood tests and and a scan but nothing untoward was found.

There's three different types of the RC Exigent, my cat's favourite is the 'Savour Sensation'. I got the small 400g bags to try first of all (from Jollyes), I now get the 2kg bags from Amazon or Zooplus - £12.90 which I think is pretty good value for RC.

Hope your cat perks up soon.

TBagpuss

AS well as cat food, have you tried anything else? My elderly cat would still eat sardines even when he wouldn't eat anything else.
Lightly microwaved mince would also be acceptable (not cooked - just enough to be warm rather than room temp)

with hindsight I think possibly his sense of smell has been affected and he was not interested because he couldn't smell the more 'normal' food.

A little hot water on wet food can help in the same way as it warms up the meal and makes it mushier and easier to eat.

shoppingnoodles

Hi everyone.


Thank you so much for all of you lovely replies. I was thinking about taking him to another vet too, as we seem to be going around in circles. What has held me back is that I know the vet we use is a real cat lover and particularly likes treating them, but if she isn't getting to the bottom of it I think we must vote with our feet.


The rude receptionist told me that I have been paying a reduced fee each time (full fee is £32.50 and I have been paying £26.95), but last time with the injection it was still nearly £50.


I have literally tried every kind of food that is safe for a cat. I have cooked him fresh chicken, fish, tried every brand / flavour of wet food, 2 kinds of dry food, sardines in tomato sauce, tuna in oil, tuna in brine, raw mince, raw chicken, every kind of cat treat and even made up a very smooth pate type food with chicken livers, fresh chicken and rice. The fridge has been full of food for him to no avail. At the moment he will drink a little bit of cat milk, but I am hand feeding him the Hills high calorie wet food.


He weighed 3.8Kg before his operation, but this dropped to 3.4Kg when he was weighed 2 weeks ago. Despite my efforts I think he has lost more as he is so skinny. I did wonder if it was stress, but he has always taken everything in his stride and seems quite happy in himself.


We are supposed to be having a few days away in about 2 weeks as we haven't had a break since last summer due to my cancer treatment. I have no idea what we will do if he still isn't eating - probably cancel our break, which I feel is very unfair to my family. Timing huh?


Thanks again for all you suggestions and help.

JulieM

I know exactly how you feel. I have a cat who's a fussy eater and when she was ill recently her appetite was very poor. I managed to tempt her with strong tasting food like bits of fatty pork and sausage, I know these aren't good for cats but at least I was getting some food into her and seemed to get her appetite for normal cat food going again. I also found it helped to stroke her when I put her food down which seemed to encourage her to eat.

shoppingnoodles

JulieM wrote: »

I know exactly how you feel. I have a cat who's a fussy eater and when she was ill recently her appetite was very poor. I managed to tempt her with strong tasting food like bits of fatty pork and sausage, I know these aren't good for cats but at least I was getting some food into her and seemed to get her appetite for normal cat food going again. I also found it helped to stroke her when I put her food down which seemed to encourage her to eat.

Hi JulieM.


It's terrible isn't it? My cat is interested whenever we eat or if I open the fridge, but we have offered him everything that we can, even from our plates, but he licks it and walks off. He does seem interested in the idea of food, just not in eating it!


I have started trying to make the feeding routine less stressful, as we had been syringe feeding which he hated. So now I sit him on my knee and we have a cuddle before I feed him by gently squishing the food into his mouth between his 2 remaining teeth. I have been doing little and often so he doesn't get annoyed, but crikey does it take up some time. I just keep hoping he will start eating again on his own if I keep going.