Poor appetite, weight loss

Thanks again, all, for your kind comments and great suggestions!  Well, Gwen got down a fairly good amount of food today, including at least about 3 mg of the Pepcid.  Tomorrow, will call the local vet and ask about getting the Buprenex (pain killer) and the Hill's RX Diet A/D.  (Does it come in different forms/flavors?).  If he refuses either, will have to go back to a former vet who is a little further away but I think would be more amenable.  THis current vet told me not to give her any Pepcid, so I don't have any faith in him at this point, but if he gives me what's needed, will stay with him to spare Gwen the trauma of a long ride (she goes crazy in the car).  Thanks also for the holistic vet sites.  I looked them up and the closest is about 45-50 minutes away, too far to go.  My on-line vet (found him through Just Answer), though, is holistic and he's helping to guide me and is agreeing with what all you recommend here, so I feel good about that.  My vet said you need an ultrasound to really diagnose pancreatitis.  That's what my last kitty, Elsa,  died of in 2004.  The vet doesn't think Gwen has that, though, and I'm encouraged by that and everything you've all told me here.

Elsa

finnlacey said:

Fancy Feast and Friskies are certainly not the best foods out there but they are something that cats seem to like and in a pinch you do what you have to. There are too many to list here but the pates mostly. Just look on the back of the cans and if they don't say wheat gluten, they're grain free. simple.

Click to expand...

I found some 9 lives "Prime Grill" with no wheat/gluten..  Gwen seems to like it.  It's a pate.

There you go! Excellent!!! When they are like this and not wanting to eat, you just give them anything. At least this doesn't have gluten in it so that's great! 

Hills A/D does not come in a variety of flavors.  Just one, which is supposed to be very palatable to kitties.  I've heard most cats like it...my guy sometimes ate it, sometimes didn't.

Glad she's eating something .  BTW, she's very cute.  Didn't expect to see a calico! 

Well, Gwen had a very good poop earlier, brown and well formed (almost wanted to take a picture  - hadn't seen that in a long time), but then just now she had a total runny, very watery stool, so have to reevaluate her food again.    She had been on mostly Paul Newman's Beef & Liver the past few days and a little By Nature (both brands grain free), but then she was mostly refusing them, so I tried some 9 Lives Prime Grill, some on Sunday and a full 5.5 ounce can Monday, and maybe it was just too much for her, because I've never seen diarrhea that bad when she was on the former stuff (Newman and By Nature brands).  She really enjoyed that 9 Lives, so I just gave her as much as she wanted on Monday, the full can, (it's grain free), but there must be something in it that doesn't agree with her, so I'm stuck again. 

Do you think that Hill's Rx Diet A/D would be more agreeable to her?  I can try to pick it up tomorrow at the vet's if he has it and doesn't give me a hard time about it.  He didn't agree about the Pepcid, but I'm sure that's helping her appetite... She almost right away got hungry when I started the Pepcid. 

Thanks again, all.. really appreciate it. 

BTW, the calico/tortoise shell is Elsa, passed on in 2004. Gwen's in my avatar.

Gwen

I'm remembering now that I also did give her some Whiskas Choice Cuts in Gravy (has gluten in it) in the past two days, so I bet that's what really bothered her even more than the 9 Lives Prime Grill. Will continue with some of the Grill, as well as new 9 Lives and Friskies grain-free food from the supermarket I found to try. She did eat a whole can of Paul Newman's Beef & Liver today, so the Pepcid continues to help her appetite, thankfully. 

Maybe I should also really get the Hills A/D from the vet, though.  Would love to know everyone's experience with this?  Has it ever caused diarrhea in your kitties?

Thanks again!

well I'd just go with the A/D and get things under control. I'm betting the 9 Lives was the culprit since it's the super yucky food. Plus I wouldn't give too many things at the moment, things are too sensitive. Get the A/D and stick with it for a bit then you can transfer to a QUALITY grain free food when things have calmed down.

Agree with finnlacey, stick with a food that doesn't upset her, don't keep chopping and changing.  Hopefully things will settle down on the A.D and you can then gradually change her onto something else.

Okay, will pick up the Hills today.  She's really just accepting the Newman's Own Beef & Liver and 9 Lives lately, so I wanted her to have something else.  Will discontinue the 9 lives.  She started refusing the By Nature grain-free food, unfortunately.  My on-line vet said that the Hill's is very tasty to cats, though, so hopefully that'll be a hit with her and not cause the diarrhea .. keeping paws crossed. 

Thanks again. 

Well, just talked to my local vet, and he said the Hill's was a "terrible idea".  He said Gwen is in early-mid stage of renal failure, and the only thing he would give for that is "NF or KD", but he said most cats won't eat it, so I guess it must taste terrible.

Gwen ate a can and a half today of the 3 ounce Newman's, so her appetite has definitely improved on the Pepcid (local vet was totally wrong to nix that Pepcid), but I need to find at least one more food she likes and can eat besides Newman's Beef and Liver.  Any suggestions much appreciated.   

Well Newman's isn't completely grain free but if she's doing well on that right now, stick with it for a bit. Then maybe try Wellness or Soulistic chicken. 

Elssa, I really hope this information will be helpful to you

http://www.allthebestpetcare.com/kidney-failure-in-cats/

http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/kidney-disease-in-older-cats/

Thanks for the articles..  I'm slowly learning about this "protein controversy" with CRF, very slowly because my local vet does not explain anything..  He just says he only offers "NF or  KD" for cats with renal failure, and he admits the cats won't eat it!   Big help!  If you ask more than one question, he says he's busy and has to go. As your article says, what good is food that just sits in the bowl?! 

Well, Gwen did eat a can and a half (3 ounce cans) of the Newman's Beef and Liver (grain free) and a little of the 9 lives Prime Grill, and she had a nice little poop just now.   Thanks, I'll look into that "Soulistic Chicken", too.  Is it pate?  Gwen has a tooth abscess and can't chew too well..  Wellness brand gave her diarrhea, maybe because of the fruits and veggies in it - not sure.

I guess I'll try some more grain-free foods from the supermarket, Friskies and 9 lives, one at a time, and see how that goes.  Or do you think I should try some of the Newman brand that has rice in it (everything has it except what she's eating now, the Beef & Liver)?  If no help, will switch back to the former vet who is farther away but I think is more informed and agreeable, from past experience.

Thanks so much for your help. 
 

If you ask more than one question, he says he's busy and has to go.

Click to expand...

You definitely need another vet.

If she likes the Newman brand and has no problems from it, then it should be all right for her.

I am (have been) wondering about something. Would you be willing to see whether there is a veterinary dentist in your state you could turn to for help? That abscess requires attention and a veterinary dentist would be the best, most highly qualified person/specialist to take care of it safely.

I have this list you could check

http://www.avdc-dms.org/dms/list/diplomates.cfm?CFID=12037777&CFTOKEN=91341008

Forgot to mention, but when I got sick (small intestine tumor/surgery), I could not (and still can't) eat any grains, not just wheat, so there must be gluten-like substances in all grains, or maybe that and the high-carb count..  Rice and corn cause pretty much the same symptoms as wheat with me. So, from my experience, no grains are good. Too bad Newman only has the one total grain-free food. 

Yes, too bad, but thank God there are several grain-free choices for kitties that can't tolerate any grains. 

Yes, I found a list of grain-free store brand cat foods on line, and my supermarket has a few of them.  One of them, the 9 Lives Chicken Dinner, though, has something in it called "wheat middlings".  Wonder what that is..
 

Wheat middlings

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_middlings

Elssa, I'm wondering, have you seen one of my earlier posts to you? Post #54.

Thanks, Violet.. those wheat middlings don't sound too good - will have to skip that one.

I looked at your list, and all dental vets are over an hour away from me, but thanks a lot for posting it.  My on-line vet said it's okay to hold off on treatment for the abscess for the moment as long as she's eating a fair amount, so that's what I'm focusing on now - finding food she likes and won't cause diarrhea.  She has had over a week of antibiotics since my local vet found the abscess, so I'm hoping that helped heal it. 
 

BTW, I bought a large food processor and have been chopping up boiled chicken tenderloins, baked ground beef, etc, which she ate in the beginning but now won't touch for some reason.  Hoping she'll like some of the new grain-free food I'm getting tomorrow.  Can't just keep giving her the Newman's Beef & Liver (the only grain-free type of his brand).  She's already starting to reject that and the 9 Lives grill.