Please help dying 1 year old cat

Hello can anyone please help? I have a domestic short hair named Lily. My wife lost her mother and sister so we adopted this barn cat when she was around a month old. One year later I couldn't imagine how much joy and happiness she would bring to our family. She has always been small around 6.5 pounds. She is strictly indoors and had all shots and is spayed. The only problem she ever had was flea's from when we got her which we eradicated with advantage. She has also vomited infrequently off and on. Last Thursday she vomited twice. We then noticed she wasn't eating. We kept making her food and she would roll around rub up on us as usual but would not eat. She started getting listless and felt very thin. We took her to the ER Sunday. They took xrays gave her fluid and nausea medicine. They told us they saw inflamed stomach lining and small intestine consistent with her swallowing a linear foreign object, but it was unusual considering she only vomited on Thursday and wasn't in pain on palpation. We brought her home hoping she would get better. Tuesday she still hasn't had more than a bite was even more listless and looking very thin. We took her to our vet and had abdominal exploratory surgery. Also had full blood work, all came back normal. He didn't find anything but hair. Here I am Sat she still has barely ate and now is having tremors. She looks bone thin and refuses food. I've tried tuna all kinds of brands names, force feeding baby food,treats, nothing works. We have her a prescribed appetite stimulate and pain medication buprenex. Still nothing she basically just stays on her blanket and sleeps. The vet said Monday we can give her a feeding tube. I don't think she has that long and even if she does is she could survive that stress. We are so heart broken our family is breaking apart. I've spent over 3000 and still have no idea what is wrong with her. Can she be saved? Please help I'll try anything. I don't want her to suffer but can't stand the thought of losing her! She had her whole life ahead of her.

Hi I went through something very similar with my cat who also had a hair blockage which it appears your cat also has since the vet just found hair. What worked for my was cyproheptadine to get him to eat and cerenia for the nausea and syringe feeding for a few days. You can read more about what happened to my cat here (http://www.thecatsite.com/t/259470/vomiting-bile-possible-blockage-in-ragodoll-what-to-ask-vet)

The pain medication the vet gave her may actually decrease her appetite, so that may not be helping.  

You said syringe feeding isn't working, why is that? Here is a great thread on how to syringe feed your cat (http://www.thecatsite.com/t/227858/syringe-feeding-lucky-video-if-your-cat-is-not-eating). 

Feeding tubes are a great option that save a lot of cats lives. Here is a great article on the benefits of feeding tubes written by a vet (http://catinfo.org/?link=feedingtubes) . 

I am so sorry that Lily is so sick. If the surgery did not find a foreign object, did the vet discuss the possibility of IBD? IBD is pretty much inflamed stomach and intestine lining from an unknown cause although the majority of cases seem to be from either species-inappropriate food or a food allergy. What is her normal diet?

Having said that, the immediate concern is water and food. When you say force-feeding, what do you mean? If you are not syringe-feeding, you need to be because I agree that she may not last until Monday to have a feeding tube put in. You can get oral syringes at any pharmacy and most pet stores. Any really smooth pate style food blended with water will work, but you want the highest quality and highest calorie food you can find. If you have not syringe fed before, there are youtube videos on it. You do need to be careful to not squirt the food down her throat, but it's not hard to do.

I would also ask your vet for an anti-nausea medication like ondansetron. Even though she's not vomiting, she still seems nauseous to me if she's not eating. It's not good to use an appetite stimulant without an anti-nausea med if she's nauseous because it may cause food aversion.

I'm so sorry you are going through this.

I went through something similar with one of my cats. 

He was not eating, throwing up what he did manage to eat, and losing weight so fast. 

We took him to the vet several times over the course of 3 months; first he was badly constipated, then he had a nasty bacterial infection, then we thought it was pancreatitis, and finally, we discovered that he had severe liver scaring. 

At that point, he had lost nearly 30% of his initial body weight, his liver values were off the charts, and he still wasn't keeping food down.  So we resorted to the feeding tube.  It saved his life.

A feeding tube is an intensive thing to deal with.  It takes patience and attentiveness.  We had to feed him several small meals a day for a couple weeks, then we were able to work our way to a more normal feeding program.

I'm not sure if the feeding tube will work in your situation.  From what it sounds like, Lily has gone an entire week without proper nourishment.  Her body may not be strong enough, but you never know, she could surprise you.

My thought is this - If you do not go with the feeding tube, she is certain to die (I'm sorry).  If you go with a feeding tube, she may not make it, but at least you know you did everything possible... and like I said, she may just surprise you.

Thank you for the replies. What food do you recommend? I've tried Gerber baby food chicken in a syringe. I also forced her mouth open with my finger and stuck wet food in there. It's weird because it will fall out of her mouth and then she'll like it and eat a little...but then move away.

A feeding tube isn't stressful for the cat.  My cat had one and I think it was a much less stressful way of feeding him.  My cat has IBD that turned into two types of hepatitis one being fatty liver disease.  He was also very thin and very sick and he came through it.  There is always a risk with anesthetic and the sicker the cat is when it is done the higher the risk.  The vet said that Patches came right out of the anesthetic which is a very good sign.  Sometimes cats with a compromised liver are slow coming out of the anesthetic.  I think the feeding tube was the main thing that saved my cat and the feedings are very easy to do.  They are time consuming because they have to be done slowly but they are easy to do.

What kind of medications is she on?  pain meds? antibiotics?

lilythecat said:

Thank you for the replies. What food do you recommend? I've tried Gerber baby food chicken in a syringe. I also forced her mouth open with my finger and stuck wet food in there. It's weird because it will fall out of her mouth and then she'll like it and eat a little...but then move away.

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Read the thread on syringe feeding- Carolina has a helpful video. 

Hills A/D is the perfect consistency for syringe feeding but any pate style wet food will work if you water it down. Get a large syringe (at least 16 cc) and you can wrap the cat in a towel to keep her still. 29 cc is equal to one ounce and you want her eating about the same as she was before. For my 9 pound cat I aimed for a whole can and I split the feedings up over the day. 

You have to start doing this right away to stave off fatty liver and you can maybe think about doing the feeding tube on Monday BUT this is an emergency that she has not eaten so long and you have to get food into her TODAY.

Denice said:

 I think the feeding tube was the main thing that saved my cat and the feedings are very easy to do.  They are time consuming because they have to be done slowly but they are easy to do.

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Agreed, once ya get the hang of it, the feeding is not difficult.  But it does take patience and attentiveness to do them slowly.  Also, it may wreak havoc on a person's regular schedule if they need to feed more frequently than 2-3 times a day.  Just offering information to be better prepared.

Also, Gerber baby food alone does not have proper nutritional balance.  You need wet food for cats.  As much as I'm not a big fan of Hills, they do have wet foods specifically for tube/syringe feeding.  Personally, I'd go for a better high end, no grain wet food and run it through the cuisinart with some extra water.  End result is what's important... you need a balanced food.

They gave her covenia during the surgery and she has had brupenex for pain and an antihistamine for a appetite stimulant. She is drinking and urinated several times but basically no food and no defication since Thursday.

Furmonster Mom said:

What kind of medications is she on?  pain meds? antibiotics?

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The OP said an [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]appetite stimulate and the pain medication buprenex. I think pain meds usually decrease appetite so I am not sure if it is a good idea to have the cat on it since the OP also said she wasn't in pain. [/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]This story sounds so much like what happened to my cat who also ended up having a hair blockage and I can not recommend enough cernia and cyproheptadine- they saved his life. The incompetent vets tried a bunch of other useless medication and also tried to get me to do surgery but it was these two meds and syringe feeding for a few days which completely cured him and he is now better than ever- so there is hope! [/font]

Since she hasn't eaten in so long should I start with less food? In afraid to make her vomit..just gave her a little from the syringe and her stomach started convulsing Like she was going to throw up.

lilythecat said:

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• lilythecat
• Jun 15, 2013

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Covenia is known to cause a lot of problems in cats, mainly anemia. Here is a good article on it written by a vet on it (http://catinfo.org/?link=convenia). It lasts in the system for a very long time so this may be causing some problems too. 

I cannot stress enough the need to start syringe feeding right away! 

lilythecat said:

Since she hasn't eaten in so long should I start with less food? In afraid to make her vomit..just gave her a little from the syringe and her stomach started convulsing Like she was going to throw up.

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Is there anyway you can bring her to a vet to get a cerenia shot? Or even pick up the pills? I am so irritated for you that the vets did not give you that nor tell you how important it is to syringe feed if your cat is not eating! 

lilythecat said:

Since she hasn't eaten in so long should I start with less food? In afraid to make her vomit..just gave her a little from the syringe and her stomach started convulsing Like she was going to throw up.

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Well, her stomach is still probably trying to heal up. When you put food into it, the biles are going to go to town, which is probably very painful.

Smaller meals is probably not a bad idea, but make the most of them, she needs nutrient rich food.  Gerber baby food is not enough.  Get some good grain-free cat food that is properly balanced. 

idea:  maybe add an egg yolk to the food... it is rich in nutrients, and can help soothe the stomach.

Syringe feed tiny amounts frequently to start. She probably has nothing but stomach acid, so it's going to be uncomfortable at first. Do not give her a lot at any one time. Just tiny amounts well watered since I'm not sure how much she's drinking on her own. Battling dehydration is important too.

I can't thank you so enough for the support. This is traumatic and evoking horrible memories in my wife. I called the vet and left a VM asking for the nausea medication. I'm willing to put all the time needed to save her. I do feel helpless though, but won't give up.

     Totally hear ya. 

Another thing, I know it seems like a lot, so overwhelming... but don't let Lily see ya sweating.

Cats are very sensitive to moods.  Try to keep the downs on the down low.  Make a concerted effort to keep good vibes around her.  When you're feeling down, go outside, take deep breaths, say a prayer... whatever works.  But come back to Lily with a refreshed and hopeful spirit. 

I am sending you my prayers right now and all the good vibes. Agree small meals every two hours are the way to go. 

I hope your kitty gets better. Mine has been sick too, I thought I was going to lose him so I know how you feel. I'm having to syringe feed him too.

For Lily. Get better!