Help! My cat seems so lethargic after her first sub-Q appt....not eating or drinking

Hi,

I'm really worried. Jasmine doesn't seem to be eating or drinking after her sub-Q last evening. She seemed anxious to go to the food bowl as soon as we got home, and ate a little, but then after that nothing. And I don't believe she drank water last night or all day today. Is this common? Are they not thirsty after getting fluids? The fluids seem to have made things worse. She just seems unusually lethargic.

She probably won't be as likely to drink after a sub Q, since her body will be adequately hydrated....she won't have the sensation of thirst. Cleo rarely drinks from the water dishes, but she get regular sub Q's. Not so sure about the inappetence, sub Qs shouldn't have any affect on the appetite.

Does she show any symptoms of nausea? Any lip smacking, retching or vomiting? Any drooling or excessive swallowing? Those symptoms can be easily remedied by discussing the use of anti-nausea or acid controlling medications with your vet.

Have you tried giving her some meat baby food? This is often a quite tasty way to encourage eating in a cat who has lost interest in food. Warming wet foods can help them smell more appealing. Putting tuna juice on dry food can be enticing. Some cats like the taste of brewers yeast, or dried bonito flakes sprinkled on their food. (Can you tell I've dealt with CRF related inappetence issues before, lol?)

If all else fails, don't hesitate to talk to your vet about appetite stimulants, such as Periactin (cyproheptadine.) It worked like a miracle for Samson. Please be aware that some vets prescribe too large a dose, 1/2 or 1 whole, 4mg tablet. 1/4 tablet worked best for Sam, given about 1/2 hour before feeding. I think it's better to start low, and increase until the desired effect is reached.

Hope some of these suggestion are helpful. Good luck, you and Jasmine are in my prayers.

Hi,

I really appreciate that quick reply. It did put me more at ease. I figured the reason might well be that after the sub-Q the cat obviously feels less thirsty. I started introducing the new prescription diet (all dry food) but I also have some moist samples of the same prescription food. I don't want to introduce too many new foods at once, and so probably if she doesn't eat at all tonight I might open one of the cans and give Jasmine some. If all else fails, I will mention to the vet about an appetite stimulant. We discussed this a bit at her sub-Q appointment last evening.

Thanks again for the well wishes. I'm hoping for the best and....yes...I can tell that your well-versed in all things CRF! I'm certainly learning more each time I come here!

Regards,
Keith

Hey mews,

Sorry but I really don't know the amount of fluid. After the appointment the animal hospital's computer system went down and so I couldn't even get a printout of what they did! The will mail one. Usually it's very itemized by services performed and so then I'll hopefully know. Anyway, here's a pic of Jasmine from a year or so ago.

Thanks,
Keith

Jasmine is a beauty!

Thanks for sharing her picture with us....I love knowing who I'm praying for!

Good luck to you both - she is a beauty.

I am praying for Jasmine.

Hi,

I can't thank everyone enough for all the well-wishes. It must be helping already, since Jasmine was munching from her dish a bit more tonight. It does appear that the new food is being left behind though...how sneaky. Probably time to get out the canned food.

And, thanks for the compliments on Jasmine's pics. I always thought her to be a pretty calico. I got her when she was three years old back in 1998.


Keith

She is very beautiful Let us know how much sub-q fluids she got. What kind of renal food is she on?

I think it's more likely that she doesn't like the renal diet food, than inappatence or nausea. Nausea is common in CRF kitties of course, but this all seems pretty sudden. The lethargy may simply be becuase she was wiped out from the stress of the vet visit.

Glad to hear she was eating better last night. Don't give up on the renal diet, but don't let her starve herself. ANY food is better than no food for a CRF kitty.

Many CRF cats are put on a daily dose of pepcid ac (famotidine), it can help a lot with nausea and appetite.

there are some excellent resources available for CRF

http://www.felinecrf.com/

http://www.felinecrf.org/

sorry I'm late to the party...busy day! I agree with everyone. It's probably the food, nothing else. All these changes at once for your poor Jasmine are just too much . Didn't you say your Vet gave you several different dry renal foods to try. If so, hopefully you'll find one she likes, at least for awhile . But as Otto says, better to have her eat anything, than nothing, especially since her BUN isn't too bad right now.

BTW, she's a beautiful girl.

Hi,

I introduced some canned food tonight, and she seemed what I would describe as cautiously inquisitive, but not exactly ready to chow down. A bit later she must have eaten a little of it - I had mixed wet and dry together. It really bears watching. I might talk again about an appetite stimulant next time I take her for fluids. I actually only have the one type of prescription food - it's just that I have both the wet and dry form of it. I may yet pick up a few other things at the store just to find out what she might go for, although if it's not a renal diet than I guess I'm really not doing her much good.

Which is more important - getting them to indeed eat a renal diet or the sub-Q fluids?? I'm not convinced at least at this stage that I will be successful in 'selling' the renal food to her!

Thanks,
Keith

PS I really appreciate those who have said such nice things about Jasmine's pics.....

Food and sub-q's are both important, but depending on whether or not she is really dehydrated, food is possibly more important*. But don't dispair, there are foods out there that are low in proteins and phos that are not RX foods that are probably more tasty for Jasmine. Have you looked at the charts on Tanya's CRF site? Here is a link, although it's pretty outdated. From this link, you can look at both dry and canned foods and get an idea of the different foods available, then contact the manufacturers to see of the values are still about the same, unless you have a more current list.

http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/dry.htm

* I say this because some of us treat our CRF cats without giving sub-qs, and they are doing ok, so far. OUR Vet hasn't advised sub-qs yet for Sven (but Middle (RIP) got them), so each cat is different in their needs.

My boy has always been a wet food eater by choice, so when my vet suggested k/d, I've focused on the wet. I tried mixing it with food he likes, but that didn't work at all.

What seems to be working is to mix it with low sodium tuna or sardine water (which he's always loved). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this works for him. I eat a lot of tuna and sardines and will have to eat more:-) The advantage is that it will give him even more moisture.

I'm worried about the low protein because I've heard that's an outmoded idea, but someone here suggested bonito flakes, and I'm going out to get some today because he LOVES them!

Our Doc suggested that we mix the what he calls McDonalds cat food, (cheap stuff) with the renal food and it is making it easier, We gave GG his first subQ today and he stopped pacing from water dish to water dish and was resting nicely, eating well and is feeling good, he is on Enalapril for high blood pressure which is why I think his subQ is on 50mm as many Cats get 125 aqnd more but it was a blessinng at least for now. Good LucK with all this, it is trial and error for everyone including kitty.