Kitty not eating and depressed - does this sound familiar to anyone?

Hi everyone,

My mom's kitty, a 5 year old orange tabby male named Lou, has been acting abnormally for about two weeks now. Lou was adopted at 7 months of age from our local humane society, and he has a gentle, shy temperament and can be finicky with food and easily unsettled by changes. Besides a bout of apparent pancreatitis back in August 2010, he has been very healthy (no vomiting, no sickness) for as long as my family has had him. Lou used to eat dry food only, but in August 2010, after Lou got over his pancreatitis, he has been on a diet of wet food and occasional dry cat treats, and normally he might eat 1/2 of a can of wet food per day (various brands). Lou weighs about 13 pounds and has a long, agile frame - the vet does not consider him overweight.

Here's what has happened with Lou lately: (sorry for the length!)

- Tuesday, March 8 - Lou vomited once

- Wednesday, March 9 - Saturday, March 12 - My mom noticed a decrease in Lou's appetite, but no more vomiting occurred

- Evening of March 12-morning of March 14 - Lou vomited everything he ate during this interval, even vomiting up stomach juice after he finished vomiting up all of the food in his stomach. My mom administered 2 or 3 doses of Reglan (anti-nausea) that she still had from the vet's prescription from August 2010, but they didn't seem to help.

- morning of March 14 - My mom took Lou to his vet's office. The vet conducted an exam, ordered an intestinal X-ray and found no blockage. The vet administered a vitamin B12 shot at "acupuncture points" (?) and advised my mom to try feeding him with a syringe if he still wouldn't eat. The vet also suggested trying baby food if cat food wasn't appealing.

- afternoon of March 14-Thursday, March 17 - Lou's appetite didn't return, though he didn't throw up anymore. Because he wasn't eating on his own, my mom started syringe-feeding him food and water, which he has struggled against. He urinated once during this interval and didn't produce stools (he normally urinates once or twice a day and produces stools once a day). My mom also noticed that Lou wasn't acting as vocal as normal, though he was still sitting and sleeping in his normal places and wasn't hiding.

- afternoon of Thursday, March 17 - my mom took Lou back to the vet. From Monday to Thursday, his weight dropped from 13.1 lbs to 12.8 lbs. The vet gave him another vitamin B12 shot. This time, the vet also ordered a blood test. The blood test showed no signs of jaundice (unconjugated bilirubin, I guess), but it did show that he was dehydrated, so Lou was administered fluids by IV for 10 minutes. The blood test also showed either an elevated white blood cell or immunoglobin count (my mom doesn't remember this precisely), so the vet suspected an infection, for which she prescribed metronidazole.

- today - Lou has voluntarily eaten a few treats, but still is not eating enough on his own. My mom is administering the antibiotic as directed and syringe-feeding food and water to Lou. Lou urinated once today but has not produced stools since Sunday. He is still not acting like himself - today he slept a lot more than usual. My mom called the vet's office today, but they brushed her off. She plans to call back and maybe go back tomorrow when the vet who saw Lou on Monday and Thursday of this week is back (she was off today).

So in summary, Lou has been behaving abnormally for almost two weeks - he had vomiting and probably nausea that have been resolved, but he still has lack of appetite and lack of his usual energy. Does this sound like anything you've heard of before? Is there anything you suspect that you would advise my mom to ask the vet about?

Thank you so much in advance.

Has his food changed recently? Have there been any changes in the routine of the household? Any new people, visitors, or upheaval in the home?

Originally Posted by stephanietx

Has his food changed recently? Have there been any changes in the routine of the household? Any new people, visitors, or upheaval in the home?

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I don't think there have been food changes recently.

There haven't been any major changes in the household for several years. My mom doesn't work, and my dad doesn't work much, so most of the day my mom, dad, and Lou are at home, and the household is very quiet.

(In June 2009, my family moved across the country, and it took Lou several months to fully acclimate to his new home - my parents' current home. During that time he hid in closets a lot and was scared to explore the new house, but his appetite and bowel movements were fairly normal.)

Oh dear, I am sorry for Lou. He is sick and needs some help. First of all, I am bothered that the vet's office brushed off the phone call. This is a serious problem that that vet has been assisting your mom with for the past days and they should be taking this quite serious and not just casually handling this. It sounds like the vet is treating Lou for pancreatitis again. The B12 injections, IV fluids and metronidazole are used in treating this. Dehydration is very serious with pancreatitis and this should not be taken lightly. Lou's eletrolyte balance is probably off and he needs this to be addressed and he needs more fluids as well.

Baby food was a good suggestion from your vet but I would ask the vet for some Hill's A/D to mix with a little water for syringe feeding. Lou might even eat this on his own. It is a very rich and packed with nutrients and is easy to syringe feed because of it's consistency. I also think a urinalysis should be done as well.

Of course, you could always get a second opinion. I would not wait another day, Lou could go downhill quickly with this condition. It really sounds like another bout of the pancreatitis he had back in August that you mentioned.

Originally Posted by Feralvr

Oh dear, I am sorry for Lou. He is sick and needs some help. First of all, I am bothered that the vet's office brushed off the phone call. This is a serious problem that that vet has been assisting your mom with for the past days and they should be taking this quite serious and not just casually handling this. It sounds like the vet is treating Lou for pancreatitis again. The B12 injections, IV fluids and metronidazole are used in treating this. Dehydration is very serious with pancreatitis and this should not be taken lightly. Lou's eletrolyte balance is probably off and he needs this to be addressed and he needs more fluids as well.

Baby food was a good suggestion from your vet but I would ask the vet for some Hill's A/D to mix with a little water for syringe feeding. Lou might even eat this on his own. It is a very rich and packed with nutrients and is easy to syringe feed because of it's consistency. I also think a urinalysis should be done as well.

Of course, you could always get a second opinion. I would not wait another day, Lou could go downhill quickly with this condition. It really sounds like another bout of the pancreatitis he had back in August that you mentioned.

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Thank you for the reply, Feralvr - I've passed it on to my mom. My mom has been feeding him Hill's I/D currently, which the vet's office prescribed back in August and again this week. I think she'll definitely want to ask the vet about A/D as well as the urinalysis or any further diagnostics tests.

A few more details about Lou - he is an indoor-only, neutered male who is the only cat in the household.

I think I would also request a urine test/urinalysis to check kidney function. I would frequently see these symptoms with my kitty that had renal (kidney) problems. I don't remember, was he checked for any type of blockage, kidney or intestinal? He may be constipated, too.

Update:

My mom spoke with Lou's vet over the phone on Saturday (the vet wasn't in the office on Friday - it was a technician who my mom talked to that day who brushed her off). The vet confirmed that she was treating Lou for pancreatitis, and when my mom asked about the A/D food, the vet thought continuing to feed Lou Hill's I/D would be better since it's blander. The vet told my mom to bring Lou back to the office on Monday if he still hasn't improved substantially, so that is what my mom is planning to do. The vet told my mom that the next steps would be to do an ultrasound, insert a feeding tube, and/or hospitalize Lou, depending on how things look on Monday.

Lou has been doing slightly better - he is voluntarily eating a few treats or a few licks of the I/D food on his own, but my mom still has to syringe-feed him most of his food and water. Lou produced stools today, for the first time since last Sunday, so it seems like he doesn't have intestinal blockage that would totally impede him from having a bowel movement. (The vet did an intenstinal X-ray last Monday, and didn't find any blockage then.)

In terms of behavior, Lou is still not back to normal. He is not hiding, but he is sleeping a lot (in plain sight - on beds, couches - his normal places to nap).

If anyone else has any advice, I'd really appreciate it. I've shown this thread to my mom, and she is also checking for updates and very interested in what you have to say.

I really hope Lou gets better. And I/D is more bland and probably be best for pancreatitis. Just a suggestion, you could post a thread asking specifically about Pancreatitis?? Other's might see the title and respond if they have knowledge of it.... Just a thought. Lots of vibes for Lou

Happy update to report:

Lou started acting like himself on Monday of this week, and voluntarily ate food and drank water. Over the past few days he has resumed his normal behavior patterns, though he is still eating a little less overall than he used to. My mom is finishing up the antibiotics prescribed by the vet. The vet also gave her a prescription card so she can buy I/D and A/D food from Petsmart now on. Lou is eating both wet food and dry food now.

Thank you all for your support during this time . My mom and I have really appreciated reading your comments.