At my wits end....

Mrs_Z

Just wondered if your vet suggested an x-ray? If your cat does seem interested in the food, it might be that the actual eating is causing him/her pain. Also if he/she is otherwise healthy, it might be worth going down this route despite the risk of anesthesia.

We had a cat that pretty much stopped eating. It was absolutely heart breaking. She was around 15yrs and had an over active thyroid for which she was on medication for 4 years. Then her appetite started to diminish gradually, and got to the point where we could not tempt her with anything at all. It was awful, she always used to be the alarm clock for the cats' breakfast! Took her to the vets, she seemed to perk up after a steroid injection and actually asked for food the next morning but then she was back to not eating after 2 days. We repeated this again with the same results. In the end I took the decision to have her PTS as I could not bear her starving in front of my eyes - she'd got down to 2.4kg (this had been going on for about 1 month at that point, ie. she not eating at all - or 4 months in total when she started losing her appetite). She was still drinking though. I didnt want to force feed her and the vet also had run out of options apart from the x-ray and I didnt want to put her through that given her fragile state of health at the time. I just felt that it would have been too much to ask. We did all the blood tests and they did not reveal anything abnormal.

I do hope you'll find out the reason for your cat's non eating.

WeAreGhosts

This isn't a good idea long-term ... but have you tried a saucer of gravy? Like Bisto or similar, cooled down ?

My old cat used to like mashed potato

shoppingnoodles

Hi Mrs Z .


No they haven't suggested an xray, so it might be worth discussing. Thanks for the advice and I am so sorry about your cat.


WeAreGhosts, I have tried almost everything, but not Bisto or mash. I will definitely give the mash a go. I did make him soup/gravy but just with chicken and carrots because I was worried there was too much salt in Bisto. He does seem to like non meat carbs better than other things at the moment - he actually ate bread and non dairy spread the other day, which I offered him after he was trying to eat the bread that I had put out for the birds! Weird!

WeAreGhosts

shoppingnoodles wrote: »

WeAreGhosts, I have tried almost everything, but not Bisto or mash. I will definitely give the mash a go. I did make him soup/gravy but just with chicken and carrots because I was worried there was too much salt in Bisto. He does seem to like non meat carbs better than other things at the moment - he actually ate bread and non dairy spread the other day, which I offered him after he was trying to eat the bread that I had put out for the birds! Weird!

They can be so strange, sometimes! my cat has nibbled on bread too!
I just googled Bisto and they do a reduced salt version. might be worth a go. it's liquid but will give him some calories, too. wouldn't stick with it very long though.
My old cat also liked yoghurt and would lick the lid of yogurt pots clean.

fannyadams

shoppingnoodles wrote: »

The fridge has been full of food for him to no avail.

just a thought - some cats hate cold food. but thought you have tired warm food anyway?

Sorry can't help other than suggest x-ray/MRI scan to see if anything's going on inside.

is the cat able to go outside? do you know if it is getting food from somewhere else?

shoppingnoodles

Hi fannyadams.


Tried the heating up food thing - he still isn't interested.


However, we had a slightly better day today. I have been hand feeding him little and often for 3 days with the Hills high calorie stuff. I left him out some cat milk last night and some cat biscuits soaked in the juice from a cooked chicken - thinking that I would have to throw them both out this morning. However, he woke us at 5.45am crying for food. He had drunk the cat milk and had a try with the biscuits but not eaten too many.


I gave him a plate of finely chopped chicken with juice on and he managed all the juice and about a tablespoon of chicken without my help. For a few days I have noticed that he is making a weird jaw movement when I hand feed him. I showed my husband a few days ago, but he thought it might be normal. Having watched him more, I don't think it is normal. I'm wondering if his jaw got damaged during the dental surgery?


Anyway, here is the plan. I have decided to give the vet one more chance and I will take some food to show her the jaw movement. I am also going to tell her that I thought her receptionist was rude and I didn't appreciate the way she dealt with me. Lets see what she does with that. I am making the appointment hopefully for tomorrow afternoon, so I'll keep you posted.


Thanks for all your support everyone.

Froglet

My dog had arthritis and was on strong medication for quite a while.You could see it in her walking but then her appetite was affected and she got really fussy about eating.Tried everything.You could see the weight dropping off her.The vet kept suggested things but one day in desperation I saw a different,young vet who gave her a good examination and finally told us she had arthritis in her jaws and she was finding it painful to eat.We took her home for the weekend to spoil her rotten and then back on Monday for the one way trip.If only it had been explained earlier we would have done it sooner, and we felt so guilty.


I wonder if this might be the case,as well as the dental issues.She is clearly hungry if crying for food,so i hope you get a result today.It is so hard isn't it to watch them struggle.

Mrs_Z

Just popping in to read any updates. By the sounds of it, the eating is causing her pain if she is willing and can only/mostly manage liquids.

Good luck with the vet. I think you are definitely doing the right thing taking her back to the vet. Suggestion; can you film her eating to show the vet, in case she doesnt play ball at the vets?

shoppingnoodles

Hi Mrs Z.


I had a try with filming him this morning, but it was tricky as I was on my own. I am going to have a go when OH gets home shortly. The appointment is at 3.30, so we have a little bit of time. Keep your fingers crossed for us folks.

Zingara

I've a similar problem with a stray that I have looked after for a few years. He had all but stopped eating - managed to get about 25g of food down him a day. He looked like he wanted to eat but never managed to.

He is now at 2.4kg.

He is on thyroid medication and the vet seems to suspect that he feels sick when he eats so doesn't want to (even though he does act like he wants food). He is also showing early signs of kidney problems so he has been given some tablets for his kidneys which help with nausea.

Since he has been on the tablets his eating has really improved. I know it won't be forever but he's eating at the moment so it's a small victory.