Any suggestions on getting Tailer to eat?

Tailer, my 13 year old boy, has been eating less and less over the last few weeks. I took him to the vet yesterday, and after x-rays and bloodwork, the diagnosis is probably inflammatory intestinal disease. (I say probably because the only way to definately diagnose it is apparently with a biopsy, which I'm hoping to avoid putting him through if we can.)

We started him last night on Flagyl and she gave us an appetite stimulant. However, last night he ate very little and today I haven't been able to get him to eat anything besides a little boiled ham and a few treats. I've tried numerous kinds of food, warming his food up, adding enticing things to the top of the food, and everything else I can think of. I'm boiling some chicken now to see if he'll eat that. He follows me to the kitchen and meows at me and acts like he's hungry, but when the food is in front of him he refuses it. I can't figure out what he wants.

He does not appear to be dehydrated at this point, and they gave him some subcutaneous fluids at the vet's office yesterday. The vet said if he's not eating by Saturday to bring him back in, but I'd rather not have him go without eating if possible.

Does anybody have any suggestions for getting a sick cat to eat? Can you spare some of those magic TCS vibes for Tailer?

Oh poor Baby!!!
Have you tried adding some freeze dry meat on the top of the food? My cat never refused food topped with that, in fact they go insane with it. This is what I am talking about - there are other brands too.
I have tried both the chicken and the Salmon - they LOVE it, I mean, roll on the floor begging for it.
When they refuse wet food I shred and top it off with it - it never failed.

Happy new year

Originally Posted by Tari

Tailer, my 13 year old boy, has been eating less and less over the last few weeks. I took him to the vet yesterday, and after x-rays and bloodwork, the diagnosis is probably inflammatory intestinal disease. (I say probably because the only way to definately diagnose it is apparently with a biopsy, which I'm hoping to avoid putting him through if we can.)

We started him last night on Flagyl and she gave us an appetite stimulant. However, last night he ate very little and today I haven't been able to get him to eat anything besides a little boiled ham and a few treats. I've tried numerous kinds of food, warming his food up, adding enticing things to the top of the food, and everything else I can think of. I'm boiling some chicken now to see if he'll eat that. He follows me to the kitchen and meows at me and acts like he's hungry, but when the food is in front of him he refuses it. I can't figure out what he wants.

He does not appear to be dehydrated at this point, and they gave him some subcutaneous fluids at the vet's office yesterday. The vet said if he's not eating by Saturday to bring him back in, but I'd rather not have him go without eating if possible.

Does anybody have any suggestions for getting a sick cat to eat? Can you spare some of those magic TCS vibes for Tailer?

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Did the Vet have a good check of his teeth to ensure that he's not eating due to dental issues/gingivitis?

The Flagyl, unfortunately, can cause a lack of appetite so that might not help things.

Which appetite stimulant? Have you tried it yet?

Things I've found helpful for a kitty who doesn't want to eat:

-I buy one of those small rotisserie chickens at Safeway (etc). Cut up in small pieces
-Fancy Feast (canned) is often eaten by cats with poor appetite; particularly the seafood varieties. If you're feeding canned food, warm it up slightly in the microwave for a few seconds (make sure to test it with your finger first to ensure it's not too warm). Warmed food is 'smellier' to a cat and therefore more palatable.

-Nutri-Cal supplement is good to give to a cat who's not eating much or not eating at all (of course ensuring that diabetes has been ruled out because it's pretty high in carbs). Here's a link for it. A lot of pet supply stores sell it. A lot of vet clinics carry it. It's a high calorie/vitamin supplement in a tube with directions on it as to how much to give depending on cat's weight/depending on whether cat is not eating at all or eating poorly. I've preferred to give it in a syringe; I just get a 10 or 12 cc feeding syringe from the Vet, remove the plunger from the syringe, squirt some of the Nutri-Cal into the barrel of the syringe...then put plunger back in. I then run the outside of the syringe under pretty warm tap water so that it's not quite so thick and can squirt into the kitty's mouth easier. Many have used this in ill cats to tide them over when they're refusing to eat. It makes a word of difference.

http://www.1800petmeds.com/Nutri+Cal-prod1340.html

-canned sardines, chopped up

So your Vet has ruled out kidney disease and diabetes?

I see you've tried most of the things I would have suggested, but here's one more.

Only offer very tiny amounts at a time, and never leave any food sitting out. Offer a small amount, of very smelly food, warmed up, even from your finger. After about 10 minutes if he won't eat or only eats a little remove it.

You can even just put some from your finger into his mouth. sometimes just getting something into a kitty will make him feel more like eating.

Cats operate on smell, and will become desensitized to food smells if the food is left out all the time.

The fact that he acts like he wants to eat, but then doesn;t tells me he is either nauseous or cannot smell the food. Given his diagnosis he may be nauseous.

Ask your vet about starting Tailer on 1/4 of a pepcid tablet every day. And a shot for nausea might help, too.

I too was wondering about his kidneys. If he is in kidney failure, do not give him any nutrical. It's too high in vitamin A for CRF kitties.

Thanks, everyone. I got really nervous last night, so we ended up making a midnight New Year's Eve run to the e-vet.

Our vet ran a complete blood workup and his kidney values and all other bloodwork look fine. His Amylase value was high, but the vet says that can be either intestinal disease or kidneys. Since his BUN, Creatinine, and Phosophorous values all are in normal range, we assume it's intestinal disease.

The e-vet agreed with the diagnosis and wasn't alarmed. (I didn't expect her to be, but felt like we should maybe get him looked at before it became a crisis.) He was maybe a bit dehydrated, so we gave him more subcutaneous fluids. His belly also seemed pretty painful, so she gave him an injection of Buprenex for pain and some Ranitidine to settle his stomach. She gave me a some of the buprenex to continue at home, plus orders to pick up some Pepcid as otto suggested.

The appetite stimulant is Cyproheptadine. The e-vet thinks it may take it a little time to start working, and suggested we continue it for a little longer. If it doesn't work, there's another one we can try.

He's still refusing food and acting lethargic this morning. I'm going to try the suggestions you've given me so far. Otto, he's on a canned food diet (usually Nutro pouches and ProPlan's new premium food), so all food in the house is regularly left out for just short periods of time. I am going to try feeding him smaller amounts more often.

Thanks for the information and suggestions so far. Any others would be appreciated, too. I'd feel so much better if I could just get him to eat a little bit.

Sometimes when Tolly is feeling not his best, he likes to be hand fed. I just hunker down next to him and pick up pieces of his wet food and he licks it off my finger. It can get a bit messy, but everything is washable.

Glad you brought him in last night. Please do keep us posted on Tailer. The buprenex may make him a little high, but it might help with appetite, too, when he comes down a little.

You might try boiling some chicken in plain water, no seasonings added, then let it cool slightly just so you can handle it. Shred a little bit of it, then add enough of the warm broth to make it about the consistency of chicken salad. Sit with him and feed him only a small portion.

Meat baby food, stage 2, no onions and no garlic. Warm it up just a few seconds in the microwave to enhance the aroma.

He may not be eating because his tummy is upset or he has gas on his tummy. (Been there, done that!)

Did they check his liver? It's so very important that he continue to eat so his liver doesn't start failing. You might get some plain Pedialyte (the stuff you give babies) and supplement any food with that to keep him hydrated and getting some nutrition.

Check out the kitten goop (glop?) over in the kitten forum. You might try making some of that and see if he'll eat it. Here's the link: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46295

No luck so far today. He won't take food off my finger or let me hand feed him. I tried putting a little food in his mouth, but that just stressed him out. He's now hiding under the bed. He seems groggy, probably from the pain killer, so I think I'm going to let it rest for a bit. We'll try again when he comes out.

Stephanie, they did check his liver and it was fine. I'm concerned about liver disease developing, though, if he won't start eating. I really hope we won't have to hospitalize him, but that will probably be the case if he won't eat.

You've already received a great deal of advice, so I don't have anything to add, other than to say I hope your boy gets better soon!

I hope something works for him.
That pain killer works pretty well.
My cats get that for pain.

that he regains his appetite.

In some cases, kitties have to be assisted in their eating. This are some good support groups: [email protected],
[email protected], and [email protected].

Also, is the problem that he has no appetite or has an appetite, but is nauseated? I have a nauseated kitty that I hand feed (after putting some in his mouth) who is on Pepcid AC and Ondansetron for nausea (he was formerly on Reglan for nausea, but it was too week). Also, you might want to ask your vet about Budesonide an anti-inflammatory steriod that affects the gut (unlike prednesone). When Whimsey has a flareup, I feed him warm baby food meats. They are really easy on his sensitive stomach.

If worse come to worse you can get calories down him by syringe feeding him a high calorie vet diet like Hill's A/D, but it is vital that he eat enough to avoid fatty liver disease. I weigh my kitty every other day or so to be sure that he isn't losing weight.

I also use probiotics: Culturelle non-dairy has proven better than Flortiflora.

And a great way of smoothing the entire alimentary canal is Slippery Elm Bark.

Another thought I want to share is that when I couldn't get my kitty stabilized using Western medicine, I took him to a holistic vet who supplemented his treatment with acupuncture. So with all of his meds and acupuncture we are making progress. He was on Flagyl, but he has no diarrhea (thank God), so we stopped it. So I'm using every avenue that I can to get a handle on his IBD.

Good luck with your baby! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Thanks, everyone. He still isn't eating on his own. I did force the issue a bit tonight and got him to swallow about a teaspoon of a mixture of boiled chicken, chicken broth, and the bland diet food the vet gave me. He won't eat on his own, though, even after getting some into his mouth. He does seem a bit perkier tonight, though.

I'm not sure if he's nauseated at this point or just has no appetite. Yesterday he seemed interested in food, he just wouldn't eat it. Today he just barely sniffs what we put in front of him and turns his head.

Hopefully he'll eat tomorrow morning. If not, it'll be back to the vet.

It's very important to keep a sick animal hydrated. I would do sub-q fluids to at least make him feel better.

If your kitty has IBD, steroids are an absolute must for treating a flare-up. I keep prednisolone on hand for my IBD kitty since intestinal inflammation can be easily triggered by just about anything in her case (most recently by dewormer meds). The lymph glands in the intestines swell and nothing-to-very little can get through. This can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and/or anorexia. My kitty will hunch over in pain and spend a lot of time isolating herself if her condition is particularly bad (which, fortunately, hasn't happened in the past couple of years thanks to the steroids stopping her attacks before they get out of hand). Not only do steroid meds reduce the inflammation, they stimulate appetite, making them the perfect treatment for IBD. Some cats have to take them consistently to keep things under control; fortunately--knock on wood---we're able to use them on an as-needed basis.

Food allergies are a common IBD trigger, so you may want to start your kitty on a hypoallergenic diet as soon as possible. Phoebe was faring well on Evo for a long time before she developed an allergy to something in it, so now we're doing the novel protein diet (Natural Balance Duck & Pea wet and dry, plus Hill's Prescription Z/D wet). Some IBD kitties are sensitive to thickeners like carrageenan, guar gum, and xanthan gum, so you may want to avoid them for a while (nigh impossible if you're feeding canned food, I know).

Get well wishes to Tailer and good to both of you. Get him on steroids ASAP and don't hesitate to have x-rays and a biopsy (if a blockage is found) performed if his condition doesn't improve shortly. I don't want to upset you, but it is important to rule out more serious conditions that require immediate and invasive treatment.

~Nance

My cat Nabu has IBD but in a form that our vet called a "malabsorption of nutrients". He doesn't get diarrhea, etc. But he wasn't absorbing nutrients properly. I actually had switched the cats to Purina Cat Chow for a few months. For a while Cat Chow was all Nabu would eat well, besides his wet food, and it really helped him pack some weight on. Sometimes he still demands special treats sprinkled on his wet food before he'll eat. He gets what he wants as long as he eats.

When he was really in rough shape, losing weight and his appetite was poor (before the definitive diagnosis), FF came out with those appetizers. And those did a lot to help "kick start" his appetite again. I highly recommend the Skipjack Tuna flavored one. Nabu went crazy for that--it's very stinky. He doesn't like baby food, he never has. So that was never really an option for us.

Now he is well managed on prednisolone and B-vitamin injections. He's back up to 9 lbs so we're mixing cat chow with something better, and when we run out he'll be back on better food completely. But it has taken about a year to get there.

for your kitty.

We're just back from the vet. We reran the blood tests today, including his liver tests. His liver is still comfortably in the middle of the normal range, thankfully. We started him on a course of prednisolone. He got a steroid injection there and he already is looking perkier. He ate a few treats and a couple pieces of boiled chicken. Hopefully his appetite will improve shortly.

He hates the baby food, too, but I have so many other kinds of food here...hopefully something will entice him. He's sleeping right now in his favorite sunny spot on top of the bed, instead of under it, so I think that's a good sign right there.

Originally Posted by Tari

We're just back from the vet. We reran the blood tests today, including his liver tests. His liver is still comfortably in the middle of the normal range, thankfully. We started him on a course of prednisolone. He got a steroid injection there and he already is looking perkier. He ate a few treats and a couple pieces of boiled chicken. Hopefully his appetite will improve shortly.

He hates the baby food, too, but I have so many other kinds of food here...hopefully something will entice him. He's sleeping right now in his favorite sunny spot on top of the bed, instead of under it, so I think that's a good sign right there.

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What great news that he is feeling better! I know what a great relief that is. When you next talk to the vet you might ask his/her opinion of replacing prednisolone with budesonide. Of course, your vet is the best judge, but budesonde has fewer side effects than prednisolone and is not as systemic. It pretty much targets the areas that an IBD kitty has problems with. The only drawback is that you have to go to a compounding pharmacy to get it. Because IBD is a chronic condition, kitties are usually on some sort of steriod for the rest of their lives. My kitty has done great on budesonde which has fewer side effects and is more targeted than prednisolone. Oh, and steroids tend to cause acid stomach which can lead to nausea. A 1/4 tablet of Pepcid AC per day is usually prescribed. The Pepcid box will say Famotidine Tablets 10 mg. You DON'T want the box that says 20 mg.

In any case, what marvelous news about your boy!!!

The steroids seem to have done the trick...at least for now. Yesterday he was HUNGRY! He couldn't get enough to eat all day long. We kept feeding him a little at at time. He's still meowing a lot...but he's always been a very vocal boy. We think the medications are making him feel a bit strange and he's letting us know about it. He doesn't seem to be in any pain. We are keeping him on the 2.5 mg of Pepcid twice a day, so hopefully that will help the possibly acid tummy issues.

I'll definitely talk to the vet about switching to the budesonide for the long run. It's nice to know that we may have a long term option that's safer than the pred.

I'm sure we're in for more issues in the long run, but I'm just SO relieved to have him eating again!!

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions, information, and moral support!

Best wishes and to Tailer and supportive thoughts to you yourself - anyone who has been through it knows how anxious, stressed and exhausted you must be feeling right now.

The advice here is better than anything I could have offered so will keep happy thoughts of your little fella chowing down