Not eating .. problems giving medication! Help!

Hi,

So I took my 6-7 month old female kitty Nina to the vet Monday night because she had had a runny nose and was not eating normally. The vet found that she had lost a little bit of weight (she's only a little over 3 pounds!), that was dehydrated, throat little swollen, temperature (103. degrees), and congested. The vet gave her some fluids via IV, and some stuff through IV to bring her temperature down and make her less congested. Anyways, so I brought her hope and she's so quiet (even more then usual) and I feel like she was tramatized. The vet gave me two medicines I have to give her twice a day (one liquid antiboitic and one small decongestion tablet) in addition to some saline nose drops.

So… yesterday and this morning I have been giving her the medicine.. But omg!! It is a struggle!! I have never had any pets and she's sooo small that I feel I might hurt her so I tend to hesistate which drags out the process.. The first time I tried to give her the tablet she spit it over 7 times and I attemped to put it down her throat over 20 mintues… we struggled for over 30 minutes!! She was so scared, and I feel like I was hurting her when I saw her big eyes.. I know it's partly my fault because I hesistate when giving it to her because I feel like I may hurt her. I saw the video of the Cornell Vet School site on how to give medicine (use towel, finger method etc…) but I guess practice makes perfect?? Did anybody have problems like these when they first started out??? I feel so bad and evil… I live bymyself so I have to do it by myself which is harder! Nina is a good cat in that she doesn't bite/scratch, but I'm still kinda scared (more of hurting her). But the time I get done w/ the liquid medicine, tablet, and nose drops she is scared to death and her eyes are wide open!! She doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t run away instead crouches down scared.. However she's a sweet lap kitten and after awhile she comes and sits on my lap, however before this vet/medicine giving experience she purred and closed her eyes, relaxed etc.. Now, she still willingly comes to my lap, but no purring, her eyes are wide wake and large.. Is she going to go back to normal after this is over??

The big problem is that she is still NOT eating.. She ate two tiny pieces of kibble yesterday which I held out to her and usually she LOVES wet food but she only licked it!! How can I get her to eat??? Also, I noticed that this morning and last night when she went to the bathroom (which she is doing fairly normally), she didn't even bother covering it with the litter and usually she is really big about covering it nicely…

What is wrong with her?? Is she going to get better!! The vet didn't seem too worried but I am!!

Is she drinking? I'd call the vet and ask to have her checked again since she isn't eating and it has been since Monday.If she isn't drinking, she may need more fluids. She has to eat soon. You might try baby food (chicken, turkey, etc.- just make sure it doesn't have onion or garlic in the ingredients) and see if she will eat that. You may need to put a dab on her nose to get her going . If her nose is stuffy, she may not be able to smell and taste very well, and if she is feeling bad, she may not be feeling like eating on top of that. You can also try tuna fish to get her started- heavens, that has a strong enough smell. I used to do that for mine, but now they can't have fish.

I have one cat who has to have medicine twice a day, and is on a liquid medicine. If she's not eating, I don't know if this will help or not, but I hide my cat's (1/2) pill in a Friskie's hairball treat, split in half- one half has the med, the other is plain, so she eats them both, lol- and mix it with wet food with gravy. In the evenings, I do the same thing, and mix the liquid medicine in plenty of the wet food and gravy.

No fights for those meds at least- for the other cats and other meds- the towel and the "pill popper" I got from the vet have to come out- the pill popper saves your fingers from being shredded, and gets the pill all the way in .

If you are in the States, I would go ahead and make an appointment today, so you don't end up at the emergency vet during the holidays .

I hope your kitty is feeling better soon!

thank you so much for the reply... she is drinking a little bit of water, and she did poop/pee this morning so she must have drank something... I'll try the other foods you mentioned..I just want her to eat something!! I'm gonna call the vet and see what she thinks...I'll keep you guys posted... but any other suggestions for food or ways to get her to eat would be appreciated. Thanks!

And yes I hope she gets better too because otherwise I'm going to be worried all thanksgiving!

Hey guys! Happy Thanksgiving for those who are in the states!! I talked to the vet and will go back on Monday if things don't significantly improve between now and then. I am so worried!! I am currently in my parents house for the holidays and had to leave her alone for two days (although I have a friend of mine coming twice a day to give her her medicine and food)....

I went and got baby food, syringes, kitten milk supplement, and a high protein mixture in tube (called Nutri-??).. earlier today before I left I gave her her medicine (I'm slowly getting better at it)... and force fed her some baby food, kitten milk, and the protein mixture that was recommended.. I have to scruff her to do that I poor little kitty... she's going through so much!! I'm so worried that my friend is going to give me some bad news or that I will go home and things will get worse! Please send good vibes to Nina!!

I will pray that she improves over the holidays! Let us know!

she's probably not eating much because of the congestion. If a cat can't smell, they most likely won't eat. Try microwaving her wet food to get the smell a little stronger. As far as the pill, Pill Pockets work well for me when I have to give pills, but if she's not into eating that probably won't work for you. Good luck, I hope she feels better soon. Just make sure she is drinking and eating a little. She'll probably start eating again regularly once her nose isn't so stuffy.

I hope that is enough! Good luck!