Our cat lost his appetite after going on Amytryptaline for anxiety.

I've found a lot about weight gain but not weight loss. He lost a lot and the vet didn't think it was connected. Ran full blood which came back fine. We weaned him off and he's been off completely for one week. Still no appetite. He went from 14 lbs to 10 in 2 months. Giving it a few more days and then back to the vet. Has anyone had a similar experience?

The rapid weight loss is very concerning whether it's related to the amitryptaline or not although loss of appetite is one of the possible known side-effects. I am not sure why your vet discounts the possibility if that is the only thing that has changed in that timeframe?

It's good that the bloodwork came back normal and you're not dealing with liver issues from the inappetance, but I would still be concerned about the weight loss causing secondary issues. Hopefully you can get him eating again. Are you trying to tempt him with his favorite treats/food, putting tuna water or bonito flakes or other toppers? If nothing works, you might need to assist feed temporarily to get him started again.

There are many reasons why a cat can lose his appetite.  My cat lost his appetite due to pancreatitis.  I noticed May 10th that he wasn't eating anything and by May 17th, the vet installed a feeding tube attached to his stomach.  I've been feeding him 3 times a day through the feeding tube since he came home on May 21st.  It's now July 30 and he is just now starting to eat on his own.  There is no specific treatment for pancreatitis in cats so supportive care must be done while the pancreas heals.  The risk of Hepatic Lipidosis is very high in cats that don't eat or don't eat enough and it can be fatal.  Please talk to your vet about a feeding tube is your cat is still not eating.

The bloodwork was done only about 3 weeks ago. She thinks the appetite will pick up in the next few days. He was already losing weight at that time. So we cut the pills in half. And went for there down to nothing this past week. I just couldn't find anything online with a similar result. She says the med threw off his appetite. I'm watching him like a hawk the next couple of days . My husband happens to be off work this week so he will be with him 24/7.

The bloodwork was done only about 3 weeks ago. She thinks the appetite will pick up in the next few days. He was already losing weight at that time. So we cut the pills in half. And went for there down to nothing this past week. I just couldn't find anything online with a similar result. She says the med threw off his appetite. I'm watching him like a hawk the next couple of days . My husband happens to be off work this week so he will be with him 24/7.

The bloodwork was done only about 3 weeks ago. She thinks the appetite will pick up in the next few days. He was already losing weight at that time. So we cut the pills in half. And went for there down to nothing this past week. I just couldn't find anything online with a similar result. She says the med threw off his appetite. I'm watching him like a hawk the next couple of days . My husband happens to be off work this week so he will be with him 24/7.

I hope your cat continues to recover. I'll definitely ask my vet about this possibility.

jc11201 said:

The bloodwork was done only about 3 weeks ago. She thinks the appetite will pick up in the next few days...

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jc11201, you can not continue to wait and see. You have to get some food into your cat asap.

First off, you need to know that there is a great risk of your cat developing a very serious liver condition if she is not getting at least half (50%) of her required caloric intake - the calories her body requires - over even a short period of time. Here's a more medical description:

Hepatic lipidosis (HL) [commonly called 'Fatty Liver Disease'] is a life-threatening condition that can occur when a cat is either completely anorexic (not eating anything) for 48 hours or more or is consuming less than 50% of his daily caloric needs over several/many days.  It more commonly occurs when overweight cats are not consuming enough calories but cats that are carrying a proper amount of weight can also end up with HL.

These 'calorie starved' cats end up with fat deposition [fat deposits/dumping] in their liver which destroys the liver cells.

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity#Implementing_a_Safe_Weight-Loss_Program     [ ] = my additions

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You and I can 'live off' our body fat, we can "fast"....but cat's cannot. Their livers do not have the enzymes that are required to metabolize body fat. But, fat is still 'sent' to the liver, it accumulates there making the liver itself fatty, and this causes the liver to stop working. The most commonly seen symptoms are anorexia, weight loss, lethargy, vomiting, jaundice (yellow tinge to the skin, inside of the ears, and gums).

You can NOT take a wait-and-see approach to this..."give it a few more days"?...NO!

The treatment of hepatic lipidosis varies depending on its severity and the existence of other diseases. Prevention is extremely important. Any anorexic cat, especially if obese, should be seen by a veterinarian. Thus, the development of hepatic lipidosis can be caught in its early stages or prevented entirely with appropriate therapy. Hospitalization, fluid therapy, and supportive care may be required initially when the disease develops. Additional therapy such as antibiotics, vitamin K, and the treatment of other diseases may also be necessary.

The cornerstone of therapy, the only way to reverse the process of fat accumulation in the liver, is aggressive feeding to supply your cat with his or her full caloric requirements. Offering different diets and appetite-stimulating medications may induce a cat to eat in the initial phases of anorexia but will most likely not be of benefit once clinical signs of hepatic lipidosis develop. Appetite stimulating drugs, such as benzodiazepines (diazepam [valium], oxazepam) and cyproheptadine (Periactin), are primarily effective for stimulating appetite in those cats that are only partly anorectic, that continue to show some interest in food (even if not eating), and that are not severely ill.

http://maxshouse.com/Feline_Hepatic_Lipidosis.htm

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I was preparing to post this earlier today - without the info you've since posted.

If the only bloodwork was done 3 weeks ago, you can NOT rely on it to judge whether/not he is now developing HP.

Yes, the amitriptyline can cause anorexia (and, you should originally have been told that!). BUT, that drug is now out of his system.

HP ALSO causes anexoria........it may well be that you're facing it now.

Here's what I'd do: first, tonight, start assist-feeding - more on that below. Tomorrow, take the cat to the clinic and have blood checked - it's the liver values that will determine HP. It might well be that a feeding tube will be the best way to go. There's an excellent piece about that here: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=feedingtubes

There are many ways to assist-feed - the idea is to get the cat started back to eating herself. If you have a blender, take her favourite wet food and blend it into a slurry-type mixture. You'll need to add water. The slurry needs to be very fine, without any chunks/pieces - just puree style. If she won't lick it from a plate/dish, dip your finger in and gently tease it into her mouth. If she won't have anything to do with it, the next step will be to use a feeding syringe to insert tiny amounts into the side of her mouth (never straight in or down the throat!), withdrawing the syringe and allowing her to swallow, then repeating.

Here's an excellent video:



You really have to take some action now.

You should probably also read through the piece on HP....IF HP is underway, no appetite stimulants should be used, and the amount of food has to be carefully measured - too much can cause another condition: "Refeeding Syndrome".

Finally, all of this could have been prevented if your Vet had cautioned you about one of the common side effects of that drug - and, when the appetite fell off, she would have prescribed an appetite stimulant and cautioned you about the risk of HL.

Okay, after reading the latest post, I went ahead and got Ming to eat some kitten food (about 1/4+ can) and about 4 syringes of water as well. He hasn't thrown up so I think it went well. We have him isolated with us tonight and tomorrow we'll bring him in to be tested. Everyone, thank you for the input. I had no idea how serious this could potentially be.

Hi Everyone,
Today, we found out that Ming has an inflamed liver and a bile duct issue as well- appears to be an infection and we'll know for sure with the biopsy results and additional bloodwork. We are pretty happy for now--if all goes well we should be able to knock this out with antibiotics and continued assist feeding. Thanks so much for the input:! I'm so glad I found this website--your comments helped propel me into action and Ming is doing much better. More to follow next week. Have a great weekend!
Joana

Everyone,
Here is the latest on Ming: The vet specialist placed an esophageal feeding tube and also took some biopsies of his liver, pancreas and intestines. The biopsy results are not yet final - they still want to show them to one more specialist. However, they show no evidence of cancer. They show evidence of long-term inflammatory bowel disease. So it seems that the amytryptaline was a coincidence. We didn't catch the weight loss in time - the inflammation caused a loss of appetite and he developed a fatty liver. He also picked up an E. coli infection. They cultured the infection and found a really good antibiotic which he's on now--injection 3x a day. He's up to 11 pounds now and looks better. Energy is a little better. So once we reverse the fatty liver and the infection clears up we can try a special diet for inflammation and take it from there. It's a relief to see some improvement. We are very optimistic!

Sending many healing vibes!

Thanks!!!

I'm glad to hear things are looking a little more positive here! Poor Ming has had such a challenging turn of events lately. Many vibes for his continued recovery!