CHF kitty barely eating

Hi , 

  I was here a year and a half ago when my kitty, Tabby, was diagnosed with CHF after spending two nights in the ER.  It was touch and go for a while, but he really made an incredible improvement and has been on regular meds since then.  All of a sudden the other morning I let him in and his breathing was rapid.  He looked scared.  I thought he tangled with another cat, or coon, but when he didn't calm down after a few hrs. I took him to the vet.  He also has asthma/bronchitis, so the vet gave him an anti-inflammatory shot in case it was an acute asthma attack.  The breathing got better, but his appetite has declined to almost nothing the past 5-6 days.  I took him back in for blood work and an antibiotic shot in case he had an infection.  Nothing has helped.  I haven't had him x-rayed yet because it freaks him out so bad.  He was a feral cat and suffers bad anxiety at the vet.  Even if the x-rays show his heart has enlarged, there's nothing else they can do so I don't want to put him through the terror at this stage of the game.  I also don't want him to suffer.  I'm at a loss for what to do.  I've tried every cat food, fresh meat, chicken broth, etc. on the market.  I'm just throwing everything away.  Yesterday he actually showed good signs of improvement, but today nothing, even worse.  I'm having a hard time giving him his meds because he eats them in his food.  He's just going down hill before my eyes and the vet isn't sure what is going on either because it seemed to come on instantly.  He seemed fine before.  I think it could be cancer or something, or it may be end stage CHF.  I just don't know.  I don't want to give up on him, but I feel absolutely helpless on what to do for him.  It's killing me.  He's been my best friend for 11 yrs., and got me through my divorce last year.  I can't imagine life without him, but I don't know what to do for him.  I know he's been living on borrowed time.  I just don't want to put him through any more poking and prodding at the vet.  Has anyone else had a cat with CHF that just finally quit eating?  I feel we're running out of options.

Does he have fluid in the lungs and have they given him a diuretic for that? My cat died of CHF but it was complications from that and kidney failure at the same time, not an appetite issue, but if he has fluid in the lungs he won't feel well and that could affect appetite.

If he got diuretics that can affect kidneys and that could affect appetite as well.

Thanks for your reply.  He takes lasix for the lungs.  The vet said his lungs were "raspy" but wasn't sure if it's fluid or the asthma/bronchitis.  Both vets aren't sure what is going on.  He's been on lasix for fluid and benazapril for heart for a year and a half and doing very well.  They told me that they've done everything they can from a treatment standpoint, other than x-rays which I opted not to have done.  I may have to take him back for that, but it stresses him so much I'm afraid he will have a heart attack.  I was trying to avoid taking him in one more time.  He licks the liquid off of the food, it seems to be solid food that is the most bothersome for him.  Very perplexing.

Ok well LASIK can put a cat into kidney trouble so that could have an effect on appetite.

Pomagranet is good for the heart and other stuff it was proven to heal the heart and help veins after awhile of every of eating it only cat food i know that has pomagranet in it is Farmina sold on dogfooddirect you can try that i don't really have any other advice sorry

I know a dog that got lasix he lost his appetite and passed away shortly after

Thanks, kidneys are fine.  He had bloodwork done.  He's on a small dose of lasix and it hasn't affected the kidneys yet.  That was my first suspicion, which is why I had the bloodwork done.

Thanks, he's been on the lasix for 18 mos. and has been doing great on it!  The bloodwork came back normal, so just not sure what else is going on.

Has the vet tried an anti-nausea drug like cerenia?  Are you at the point where you need to consider syringe feeding?  Has the vet discussed hepatic lipidosis which is a liver syndrome that comes from lack of eating and its main symptom is (ironically) lack of appetite? Even a couple days of not eating can put a cat into this and its very serious.

Do you hide the pills in the food? My mother's cat stopped eating because she was sick of the pills.

Does your vet sell Hills a/d? It's a prescription canned food for cats that are having difficulty eating. It's a bit mushier and from my experience, smellier, so it is more appetizing for them. It helped a few times with my mother's CHF cat.

That sounds like our Jamie, who went into CHF several times over a period of about a year and a half and frequently stopped eating. He was also taking a diuretic, and the vet found that it caused a potassium deficiency which led to inappetence. You might have your vet check his level and give him a supplement if it's off.

Thanks, his bloodwork including liver was fine.  He's getting his appetite back, has eaten pretty good yesterday and even better today.  However, now his breathing is still a slight bit more rapid than usual.  The vet did not feel it is at an emergency state yet.  He said to watch for any sign of blue gums, pale nose color, etc., that these would be signs of an emergency situation.  He's resting comfortably and stayed out all night last night.  I don't know where he went but he came running in and wanted breakfast this morning.  He's still definitely not back to his old self, but better than a few days ago.  He seems to be going up and down, it's very stressful.

No anti-nausea drugs were mentioned.  His appetite is improving a lot over the last two days.  Not back to normal, but a huge improvement over the past week.  Now it's his breathing that has me most concerned.  His normal breaths are 8-9 per every 15 sec., he is up to 10-11 regularly now.  The vet said this was not an emergency situation, and I'm still giving him the lasix, but I am definitely concerned his heart condition has worsened and maybe more fluid developing on the lungs.  I just don't want to put him through any more trauma of emergency visits, x-rays, etc. unless absolutely necessary to save his life.  He's already surpassed the time the vet told me he would probably live with this heart condition.  If he is in end stages of CHF I don't want his last memories to be of me running him to the vet several times a week getting poked and prodded by strangers.

Thanks, I have tried the AD.  He likes it sometimes, turns his nose up at it other times.  I've actually found something that he has been eating the past couple of days now, he's eating much more and seems more into it.  I have been medicating him for a year and a half by crushing up the pills in baby food.  Now he won't eat the baby food anymore, so I've been successful finding other foods to hide it in.  It only works when he will eat.  He's impossible to pill any other way.  The feral in him comes out when I try to do that.

Thanks, I'll check to see if that was checked when they did the full blood panel on him.

The breath rate is concerning, perhaps your vet would want to adjust the Lasix dosage?

I was having recent similar troubles with a kidney kitty and her eating.

Baby food, even warmed slightly in the microwave, spoon fed worked for a while. No onions or garlic though. Beef and ham seem to go over best.

After a few days, mine would only eat a couple of spoonfuls, so I used Nutri-Cal (petsmart has a smiliar product under the GNC name). It's a high calorie supplement that some cats will lick off your finger or their paws. My cat licked it off my finger at first then lost interest, so I syringe fed her that for a couple of days to get her through a realy bad patch. I thought I was going to lose her, but wanted to get some nutrients into her not to let her starve.

Keep in mind it's a bit oily, so diarrea or loose stools could be an issue.

Also, it's kitty junk food, but at one point the only cat type food my cat would eat was Fancy Feast Appetizers, not fortified with any kitty nutrients so not good for primary feeding - but if getting food into the cat is your top priority - hey, whatever works.

Microwaving helps any cat food though, makes it stinky. Especially the A/D if you can get it into him.

Oh I see you already tried the baby food.

Regarding pills, my girl cat has to be pilled every evening, with a few things, one being a liquid. I bought empty gelcaps and cut up all the pills and put the liquid in and then she only has to have one pill and the gelcap goes down easier. I give it to her before she eats, so I know she swallows it, but if you are having an issue with eating, maybe syringing a little water in his mouth afterwards to make sure he swallows it.

I'm sorry if some of this was covered, I didn't have time to closely read the whole thread - I'm headed out the door. Good luck!