My cat's maybe about 12 years. He used to always have a good appetite, but over the past weeks he started eating less, first he lost interest in the dry food (which he always had available), then he would only eat the gravy on the soft food. He also started moaning loudly, usually while standing and hunching up a little (just once a day like 2 days in a row).
We took him to the vet, they did blood work and all was good. No kitty diabetes or kitty cancer or kitty aids they think. He was a little skinny and dehydrated it seemed, and they injected him with some sort of water/fluid. We noticed that the problem wasn't that he didn't have an appetite, but he seemed to be having trouble eating. He would lick his mouth or what seemed to be the roof of his mouth, and tilt his head while trying to lick every once in a while when eating. We took him back to the vet and asked them to focus on the mouth more, they xrayed him and said the gums were a little swollen but not that bad, and they did think a tooth might have been a little problematic. So they gave him antibiotics that was supposed to last 10 days.
It's been a few days since then. He had a great appetite when he was still doped up when we brought him back. He still had trouble eating the food, but he was really licking up all the gravy and we fed him like 3 times that afternoon and evening (since he still was just getting his nutrients from gravy alone). He even had interest in a piece of crunchy food I held in my palm, but he couldn't seem to pick it up either out of the dish or out of my hand, he just sort of fumbled with it. I noticed when he was eating there was also a crunchy/grinding noise sometimes, like he was chewing on crunchy food, although he was just licking gravy.
The next day he didn't eat almost all day, but I coaxed him into an evening meal. Today, though, he hasn't eaten all day. He doesn't seem to want to open his mouth, even to lick a little milk off my finger. I can't tell if he's completely unable to lick, or if he just has some tooth or jaw pain, or if he just has no appetite now.
He goes to the litterbox quite a few times, but often just moans a little there. I don't think he's passing anything, although there is a clear odorless fluid sometimes from his butt. He's also done a little long groan a few times today, just a quiet, long, low-pitched groan.
Any thoughts? Is there something obvious I might do to help him? I'm not familiar with this vet and they haven't been that helpful so far (I've never talked to the doctor, only his assistants) so all my questions and comments have gone through them to him. Is there something obvious they haven't considered? Should I give another vet a shot?
Thanks!
We took him to the vet, they did blood work and all was good. No kitty diabetes or kitty cancer or kitty aids they think. He was a little skinny and dehydrated it seemed, and they injected him with some sort of water/fluid. We noticed that the problem wasn't that he didn't have an appetite, but he seemed to be having trouble eating. He would lick his mouth or what seemed to be the roof of his mouth, and tilt his head while trying to lick every once in a while when eating. We took him back to the vet and asked them to focus on the mouth more, they xrayed him and said the gums were a little swollen but not that bad, and they did think a tooth might have been a little problematic. So they gave him antibiotics that was supposed to last 10 days.
It's been a few days since then. He had a great appetite when he was still doped up when we brought him back. He still had trouble eating the food, but he was really licking up all the gravy and we fed him like 3 times that afternoon and evening (since he still was just getting his nutrients from gravy alone). He even had interest in a piece of crunchy food I held in my palm, but he couldn't seem to pick it up either out of the dish or out of my hand, he just sort of fumbled with it. I noticed when he was eating there was also a crunchy/grinding noise sometimes, like he was chewing on crunchy food, although he was just licking gravy.
The next day he didn't eat almost all day, but I coaxed him into an evening meal. Today, though, he hasn't eaten all day. He doesn't seem to want to open his mouth, even to lick a little milk off my finger. I can't tell if he's completely unable to lick, or if he just has some tooth or jaw pain, or if he just has no appetite now.
He goes to the litterbox quite a few times, but often just moans a little there. I don't think he's passing anything, although there is a clear odorless fluid sometimes from his butt. He's also done a little long groan a few times today, just a quiet, long, low-pitched groan.
Any thoughts? Is there something obvious I might do to help him? I'm not familiar with this vet and they haven't been that helpful so far (I've never talked to the doctor, only his assistants) so all my questions and comments have gone through them to him. Is there something obvious they haven't considered? Should I give another vet a shot?
Thanks!
