My cat wont eat -- and i may not be able to get him in until early next week!!! PLEASE HELP

Recently I have noticed that my cats food bowl hasent been needed to be changed as often, so i thought it was mabe because i had a cat just die. But Ive had a few evenings off of work these past day or so and ive been watching him carefully. He isnt eating at all, I recently have lost a cat to the same symptoms that hes having but the only difference is that She would eat when I put water on her food and microwaved it for a little bit as the doctor had said to do for her, But Dexter will not and hes starting to lose alot of weight. Im obviously gonna need to take him into his vet is closed tomorrow and Im not sure when there next opening is gonna be and i work all weekend. Does anyone know any tricks to get your cat to eat, Im desperate here, He wont eat meat or anything and I need him to start eating! PLEASE HELP!

You'll need to force-feed him. Also called assisted feeding, if you want to Google for instructions. You'll need a large plastic eyedropper or needle-less syringe, you can usually find them in the baby medication section of any drug store/big box store. And some soft food, like chicken baby food (make sure there's no onion or garlic in it!) or a smooth canned food mixed with water. And VERY carefully put a very small amount in his mouth. He'll need at least 100 calories a day, usually one jar of baby food has that much.

But definitely call the vet first thing tomorrow. Emphasize that he's not eating and it really can't wait until Monday. If not your vet, try a different vet. A cat who's not eating is an emergency, because after a certain amount of time with no food, a cat's liver will stop working, and this can be fatal.

Hi strongd2121!

It's a good thing that you've paid some extra attention to this kitty after Buddah's passing - and noticed his reduced eating.

This can be extremely dangerous for cats....you and I (and other animals) can fast, go without food for lengthy periods living off our body fat BUT CATS CANNOT. They are unique this way - they MUST eat, otherwise they develop a dangerous liver disease.

Whether or not you can get him into the Vet, you need to start HELPING him to eat. Think of it as ASSISTING.

You need very mushy slurry-style food, like thick soup without any bits/chunks...many people take a can of "pate" style food, use a blender and water to make up a watery gloop that will flow through a needleless syringe. There's also a ready-made product available from the Vet's - this one: http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-feline-ad-caninefeline-critical-care-canned.html which doesn't need any prep work.

Here's a video that shows you how to ASSIST feed:
You have to act on this now.....if you can't get him into the Vet today, start the feeding immediately.

Ask if you can drop him off in the morning without an appointment - most Vets will allow this and examine him during the day.

One thing about this assist feeding: remember, you will be teaching him something new - so, just put small drops of food into the side of his mouth and let him swallow, then another drop or two.....never, ever, squirt it (or anything) straight down a cat's throat - they can get it into their lungs.

Keep us posted!

Agree with above. More importantly, get you cat to the vet today. Do not wait till next week. I am sure your vet will work with you on payment and if not find another vet. Keep us posted on how your cat is doing.

I took him to the vet this morning and found out he had FIP, so I had to put him down

Oh my..........this is always so, so hard. And, when it comes suddenly, well, it just leaves us spinning. I hope you can take some comfort knowing that he's with his sister.
 

Yeah im trying but its so hard to even wrap my head around, Its weird not coming home to his little face waiting for me at the door. But I guess its better for him to be in heaven instead of being here with me suffering, i guess the hard part was him going so young and so sudden, when i took him into the vet this morning i was not exspecting to have to put him down, he only acted sick for a day or so 
 

Oh I'm so sorry for your loss. May he rest in peace.

When you feel up to it please consider making a tribute thread to him in the Crossing the Bridge section. I'll now close this thread.