Loss of Appetite after Vet Visit

Hi! My cat Rajah was diagnosed to have FLUTD. He was confined for 3 days in an animal hospital for rehydration and a catheter was also placed to remove the blockage in his urethra. Vet says that his conditioned improved and he was discharged from the hospital. His diet was modified and he is currently on antibiotics and some medications.. I now feed him S/D prescription diet (dry) and C/D prescription diet (canned).

After I brought him home, he seems ok. He even looked excited when I got him out of his cage. But after 2 days I noticed that he doesn't seem to have the appetite. He doesn't eat nor drink. He used to love fresh milk before I brought him to the vet but now he doesn't even look at it. I hope someone could help me because I'm really worried and I don't know what to do anymore.

If he really isn't eating or drinking anything, he needs to go back to the vet. Cats can dehydrate very quickly, and going too long without food will put them into liver failure. Have you tried tempting him with his favorite foods? Chicken, tuna, etc.? To see if it's an appetite thing or whether he just doesn't like the new food.

Also, I wouldn't give a FLUTD cat any dry food. Canned food has way more moisture and the extra fluids help to keep his bladder flushed out. And no milk, no matter how much he likes it . It can make bladder problems worse.

Thank you Willowy.. It's even worse this time... I called his Vet earlier and I was asked to start another medication for his liver. He still doesn't want to eat and drink.. I'm just giving him glucose water (as ordered by his vet) on a cotton ball and places it on his mouth to prevent dehydration.. I tried to search for some answers here on the net.. I says that may Rajah is still in shock and depression because of his health problems and also because he is on maintenance medications. Vet says that if his condition doesn't improve in 2-3 days he may have to be confined again.. 

Hi Nikka

So sorry to hear about Rajah!

Exactly what medications is he on now?

Some meds can upset their stomach and ruin their appetite.

Normally, I'd agree (no dry food) but if he will eat it, anything is better than nothing in his stomach at this point.

Have you tried giving him tuna?

I'd hit the canned seafood area at the grocery store & try Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines, Chicken Breast...

Sometimes, adding a little juice from one of the above to fresh water will encourage them to drink.

If he just will not eat anything, I would try "Assisted Feeding."

I have had to do that before... make a Pate' with chicken breast and water

and put a little on your fingertip and quickly wipe it on the roof of his mouth.

(Actually, I'd try this first with canned cat food, for the added vitamins, etc...)

If he tries to spit it out, you can try again and tilt his head up a little and rub gently along his neck up & down to his chin,

and talking sweetly to him at the same time is a big help! (He will sense if you are stressed out.)

We'll be thinking about you and Rajah and hoping for his quick recovery!  

Hi SevenWonders! He is currently on Antibiotics (Co-Amoxyclav); Rowatinex; and Ketosteril (Those are human medications for kidney problems since most animal medications are not available here in the Philippines and if it is, the prices are too steep.) His Vet says that those are OK to give to pets as long as it is under medical supervision. In my experience as an RN, I think that the antiobiotics is the main culprit for causing his stomach upset since it poses the same side effects even to humans. Plus the fact that he is also quite upset because of his condition. 

I will to do that Chicken Breast Pate and Water and even the canned catfood/seafoods. I hope that trick will improve his appetite! 

I will keep you posted.. 

Thank you for the tips SevenWonders! 

Hi sorry to here about your kitty. I think the juice from the canned meat in water to tempt him to drink is a great idea! Maybe if he still won't drink, can you use a small dropper to get some liquids into him if you have to.  I hope he starts drinking & eating soon, so he can get to feeling better.   I said a little prayer for him  

Angels mommy said:

Hi sorry to here about your kitty. I think the juice from the canned meat in water to tempt him to drink is a great idea! Maybe if he still won't drink, can you use a small dropper to get some liquids into him if you have to.  I hope he starts drinking & eating soon, so he can get to feeling better.   I said a little prayer for him  

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Thank you Angels Mommy! It is well appreciated.. 

Your welcome hun.

Hi hun.....
I think it is the Clavamox (Co-Amoxyclav), the antibiotic he is on acting up..... Did he have an actual infection? Was a culture done? Or it is only Crystals? Because if he doesn't have a bacterial infection, there is no need for Clavamox, and you might want to discuss with the vet stopping it. It can have nasty side effects, and tummy problems is pretty typical.

Also, you really need to get proactive at this point on the feeding - IMHO it is no longer up to him for eating..... it gets to a point that it is up to us to feed them - meaning assist feeding, or force feeding..... otherwise you can get into real big liver trouble....
There is a lot of good information in this link:
http://www.assistfeed.com/FeedingTechniques.htm

I also have a thread, you can see it here:
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/227858/syringe-feeding-lucky-video-if-your-cat-is-not-eating

Good luck with your little man, I hope he gets better soon

It was A-okay for us this morning but now he doesn't want to eat again. I tried to offer different kinds of food at different times but Rajah just shook his head as if making a statement. 

I tried to give him his maintenance medications but after that he vomited mostly gastric juices. I will try to syringe feed him after typing this.. I hope Rajah eats well again.. I try to be calm as much as possible and to hide the disappointment but I'm really worried.. Especially that I know that his liver may give up if he still won't eat.. 

Nikka said:

It was A-okay for us this morning but now he doesn't want to eat again. I tried to offer different kinds of food at different times but Rajah just shook his head as if making a statement. 
I tried to give him his maintenance medications but after that he vomited mostly gastric juices. I will try to syringe feed him after typing this.. I hope Rajah eats well again.. I try to be calm as much as possible and to hide the disappointment but I'm really worried.. Especially that I know that his liver may give up if he still won't eat.. 

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Nikka, I would really recommend you to call the vet about Clavamox - ask them if he has an infection of if this was given as a prevention (very often this is the case, believe it or not!!). It is a VERY aggressive antibiotic on the digestive system - it breaks havoc on them.....

Thank you Carolina, you have the same advice as my Mom.. I decided not to give any of his due meds for today.. I offered him cooked small fishes which my Mom boiled in water (no salt added).. Good thing, he ate about 2 tablespoons (Still quite few but it's better than nothing at all).. By the way that Rajah attacked the food, he seems very hungry.. I think there are several reason why he acts that way.. 

1. he is not feeling well.. 
2. he is new to his diet (c/d canned and s/d dry which he doesn't eat) 
3. the stress of medications.. it is very hard to make him take his meds.. 

The problem is I can't miss his meds everyday.. I think the vet is giving it to him as a prevention because he was catheterized about a week ago.. My baby also has FLUTD that's the reason behind the maintenance meds. But I will still check if the vet will approve of scratching Co-Amox off the list. 

Nikka said:

Thank you Carolina, you have the same advice as my Mom.. I decided not to give any of his due meds for today.. I offered him cooked small fishes which my Mom boiled in water (no salt added).. Good thing, he ate about 2 tablespoons (Still quite few but it's better than nothing at all).. By the way that Rajah attacked the food, he seems very hungry.. I think there are several reason why he acts that way.. 

1. he is not feeling well.. 
2. he is new to his diet (c/d canned and s/d dry which he doesn't eat) 
3. the stress of medications.. it is very hard to make him take his meds.. 

The problem is I can't miss his meds everyday.. I think the vet is giving it to him as a prevention because he was catheterized about a week ago.. My baby also has FLUTD that's the reason behind the maintenance meds. But I will still check if the vet will approve of scratching Co-Amox off the list. 

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Yeah.... Clavamox is given very very often for Crystals, FLUTD, UTIs, thing is, if there isn't an infection, it will not do anything for the kitty.... DIET and water consumption will (in the case of Crystals)....
Clavamox can have nasty, nasty side effects in some kitties (most are fine on it), and sometimes will make kitties quite sick - what you are experiencing is not at all unusual.... It is on my "DO NOT give" List of medications, as I have dealt with severe side effects with one of my cats.... My vet do not prescribe it for any of his patients anymore because of it..... He uses other antibiotics instead.
In any event, if there is no infection, your vet should be able to let him go without it - a phone call would be able to solve that situation.
IMHO this would be the case as oppose of the stress, really.....

What are the possible side effects of Clavamox: Contact your veterinarian immediately if your pet experiences diarrhea that is severe and lasts longer than 3 days. Stop giving Clavamox and seek emergency veterinary medical care in the event of an allergic reaction (shortness of breath; hives; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; rash; or fainting) Other less serious side effects such as mild diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, or yeast or fungal infection may be more likely to occur. Continue to give Clavamox and notify your veterinarian if these symptoms occur. Talk to your veterinarian about any side effect that seems unusual or bothersome to your pet.http://www.1800petmeds.com/Clavamox-prod3319.html

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Side Effects of Clavamox

If you notice any health changes in your cat after administering Clavamox, contact your vet's office immediately. Side effects may include:



Vomiting
Allergic reactions
Diarrhea or loose stool

Feeding your cat before administering the medication may help prevent vomiting, one of the most common side effects.

Read more: Side Effects of Clavamox for Cats - VetInfo
http://www.vetinfo.com/side-effects-clavamox-cats.html

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C/D and S/D are both very low quality foods, they are very high in plant based ingredients and aren't well accepted by cats in general.  Going through the replies, I didn't see where you tried the old food your kitty was on to see if that would be eaten.  If so, then it is a food issue..

I have had two cats block with urinary struvite crystals - hence referred to as "crystals" in this post since there are other types.  I also had one cat become diabetic.  both issues can be helped quite dramatically with the proper diet.  While it isn't known exactly why crystals form they do know that once they do what will help keep them at bay.  A diet that causes the urine to be acidic and not alkaline - hence the S/D and C/D was prescribed - does amazing things.  Meat is acidifying and plants are alkalizing.  There is a movement out in human health that suggests keeping the human body alkaline is more healthful and they recommend eating plants.  Feeding a cat a meat based diet with as few plant based ingredients will go a long way to keeping the urine in the 6.0 - 6.5 PH range that is recommended (neutral is 7.  One of my cat gets crystals easily and his urine is around 8.0 when he does)  If you look at the ingredient list on the C/D* and the S/D you will see that they have many plant based ingredients.. they make up for this by adding DL-Methionine which you can buy at any health food store yourself.. it is an amino acid.  But I don't recommend you trying to use this on your cat unless you are willing to test the PH of the urine quite frequently because you could make it become too acidic and then you are looking at another host of problems.

By feeding a diet that is more like what it would eat in its natural environment, you will go a very long way in keeping this problem at bay.  Most people when switching their cat to a regular diet of canned or raw food, (no dry, it is dehydrating and keeps the urine ultra concentrated helping to add to the problem of crystal formation) that is high in animal based ingredients and with as few plant based ingredients as possible, find their cat no longer has an issue.  This is true for my first cat who blocked with crystals.

I was feeding a "premium" dry food when he blocked.  I put him on a canned diet and he has not had another problem. I had a diabetic that needed her on "prescription diet" and several other cats.  When a second cat blocked, getting all of the cats separated out to be fed was a nightmare.  Reading up on feline nutrition, I realized that feeding less 'junk' would fix all of my issues so I started feeding raw from http://www.catinfo.org.  My diabetic cat had less need of insulin and my urinary kitties would not form crystals.  It worked very well. Sadly I lost my diabetic to cancer several years ago, but my two crystal boys are doing well.  My second "Jack" LOVES most plant based foods.. he eats bread and poptarts and will chew through bags to get at dry food I bring home for the foster kittens if I forget and leave it out where he can get it.  He has also chewed through several bags of plant based litters as well.  In the years since he first blocked, he has started peeing in the tub (his sign of issues) twice both times when he got more then the metered dose of treats I allow.

if your kitty won't eat the old food, then he is probably not feeling well and you should call and report this to the vet.  Sometimes the antibiotics they give can upset the kitty's stomach.  Make sure your kitty had an actual infection - a great deal of cases of crystals are sterile - meaning there is no bacteria causing problems and the antibiotics are given just to be safe - and probably to make you (the human) feel better that you are 'doing' something.  If there wasn't an infection, there really is no need to give them - but check with the vet to be sure... you don't want to stop antibiotics if there is an infection to fight off or you run the risk of the germs getting antibiotic resistant.

Connie

http://www.kittyblog.net

*C/D ingredients: Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Chicken, Chicken Liver Flavor, Fish Oil, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Iodized Salt, Potassium Citrate, DL-Methionine, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with BHT and BHA, Beta-Carotene.