Cat won't eat after emergency vet visit

vivite

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My 3 years old cat, Anakin, has been to an emergency vet twice now for urinary blockage. Once in November or December and another time about a week ago. The first time he went, he stayed for 3 days, came home and was fine. This time, he came home and seemed to be fine for the first 1-2 days, but he suddenly is refusing to eat. We have tried everything, milk specifically for cats, chicken (which he did eat a very tiny amount of), wet cat food, etc etc. The only way he will drink water is if he licks it from our hands which is pretty strange. And yes, his food and water are in completely separated bowls that are not next to each other, and always have been. He has lost a lot of weight in just a few days and is visibly much, much skinnier. 

He DOES have a vet appointment set up for tomorrow morning, but I am just looking for some potential answers in the meantime. The only thing we can think of is that the medicine he was sent home with after the emergency vet is causing him to lose his appetite for some reason. I'm just concerned about it being something serious because if we cannot afford it, we will have to either put him down or surrender him or something :/ We had no choice but to take him to the emergency vet because BOTH times he got sick on a weekend. And of course, emergency vets are NOT cheap. He's racked up over $3000 for us now..
 

mrsgreenjeens

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It could very well be his medication.  Is he on an antibiotic?  Every cat I've every had that was on Clavamox has lost their appetite and it is a fight to get them to eat anything at all.  Have you tried baby food (only meat, make sure no vegies, onions garlic, etc.), warming up stinky cat food, tuna fish, even using parmesan cheese (yes, from the green can). 

It is imperative that he eat AND drink water, probably  more than he is getting from licking water from your hands.  Tomorrow at your Vet visit than can probably give him an appetite stimulant, and maybe switch his antibiotic.  You may have to begin "force feeding" him too, otherwise you may have more problems on your hands. 

If he is blocking this often, talk to your Vet about this.  There is special prescription food made for just this issue.  It's pricey, but it works.  And stress is a big reason for this happening, plus the cats' need to drink a LOT of water all the time to help flush their systems.  So you need to encourage him to drink not just now, but all the time.  We can help you with that, but right now you need to get him over this current crisis.   If you have an eye dropper or better yet, a syringe (no needle!) to get water into his mouth, that would be good, just don't ever shoot it directly down his throat or it could go down the wrong "pipe", just like with us humans.  you can just gently drop water into his cheek area or the side of his mouth.  To force feed him, if necessary, watered down canned food run through a blender works well, then use a syringe.  Here's a video http://www.thecatsite.com/t/227858/syringe-feeding-lucky-video-if-your-cat-is-not-eating

Keep us posted after your Vet visit tomorrow
 
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