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Jasmine has a bad upper respiratory infection now and won't eat - how long can she go

post #1 of 8
1/8/11 at 6:31am
Thread Starter 
....without eating? I'm really concerned. She's a picky eater to begin with. I'm afraid that she might not eat before she gets cleared up -poor thing probably can't smell.
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post #2 of 8
1/8/11 at 8:06am
Go take yourself a nice long hot shower. Make sure you get the bathroom nice and steamy. After that take Jasmine in and sit with her for a while. The warm steam will help open her up a bit.

While she's opened up, and even still in the bathroom, bring her some warmed up canned food. Even add a little water to it to make it go down easier.
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post #3 of 8
1/8/11 at 8:09am
!!!!!!

Not eating in a cat can cause hepatic lipidosis, which can become fatal. That said, overweight cats are more at risk, and it's normal after surgery and when sick to not want to eat for a little while. In the wild, cats go 24 - 48 hours without eating and it's not a problem, but these aren't wild cats.

The problem is that she can't smell the food. The steam will help her stuffed sinuses, then it helps to heat up the food, and use your finger to touch some to her lips, or get a little in her mouth, and then she may eat a bit on her own. But if it's been longer than 24 hours, I'd get active about getting some food into her. You may want to purchase some Fancy Feast - it's cat junk food, but it's smelly (especially when hot), and it may help get her eating with a little prompting from you - better than having to force feed her.

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post #4 of 8
1/8/11 at 8:28am
has she been to the vet for antibiotics? If you have other cats, URI can spread quickly.

You can also buy a vaporizer and get that going. Put her in a small room, make her a comfortable bed and turn the vaporizer on. While you are buying the vaporizer (cheapest at Walmart or Target) pick up a bottle of saline drops. Stop by the vets and get a small feeding syringe- drop the drops into her nose carefully (only one drop at a time, hence the syringe) She will sneeze the first time, wipe the discharge away and give her one more drop after.

Also heating up the canned food in the microwave will help as well. They can go 2 days without food but after that- it's a crap shoot.
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post #5 of 8
1/8/11 at 8:51am
Thread Starter 
I'm going to try everything that was suggested. Hopefully something will help. I'm not sure that she can fight this off. Thanks so much.
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post #6 of 8
1/8/11 at 8:51am
Everything said above, plus knowing your vet's after hours number just in case!

Nice smelly food may help - like Friskies - or plain baby food can entice a cat (no onions or garlic - just chicken, lamb or beef). I've often read that folks trapping ferals have great luck with Kentucky Fried Chicken (take the skin off, and I'd get rid of the bones) - I know my girl will eat plain chicken breast if I warm it up a bit.

good luck - it's aways nerve wrackign when their appetites are off, and a cat really can't go that long without food. If mine weren't eating at all at the end of 48 hours, I'd be at the E-vet if necessary.
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post #7 of 8
1/8/11 at 10:37am
Remember that if they don't want to eat, you can always force feed them with a syringe - the key is to get food into them, no matter what. You can get a syringe from your vet, pharmacy, and they also sell 1oz feeding syringes at petsmart. Don't leave it up to your kitty to eat, force feed her if need be.
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post #8 of 8
1/9/11 at 1:50am
Force feeding isn't nice but it is necessary at times. It can also be messy so be prepared that you might end up with some minor clean up(in other words- wear clothes that you won't mind getting a little food on.)

I had to force feed Attitude and it got on her and me. When I had to send her over the bridge she died with dirty fur from the force feedings. That was one of my big things, that she not die dirty, so much for that.

Get her to the vet even if she does start to eat(regular vet if she starts eating or you can force feed her sufficiently) since she might(and most likely does) need antibiotics to clear the URI. Not all are contagious, Nuts never ended up with any of the eye infections, bloody noses or URIs that Attitude had and he is immunocompromised(as was she) so if it was possible for him to catch it he probably would have.

I hope she starts feeling better and I'm sorry she's sick.

Taryn
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