My 12 year old chubby cat has suddenly lost her appetite and is sleeping constantly

This came on a couple days ago, Krissy, who is my avatar picture is 12 now, and her appetite has gone way down, and she is sleeping constantly.

I can see she def. doesn't feel well, but wondering if older cats can get minor viruses as kittens do.

This morning as she normally makes her backyard rounds, then comes in, eats and takes a nap, I watched her when she went outside. She is walking slower, just different. Not feeling right.

Came in, took a few bites of food and went to sleep. 

Sounds like the norm, not at all.

I can tell she doesn't feel well, but why? 

It's looking like I should take her to the vet, but for what, blood workup? 

Having a cat rescue, I have seen it all, have meds, etc. however she doesn't have any other signs of what could be wrong.

I suppose I just answered my own question, vet time.

Just hate to go through all that stress on her just to find out that yes, older cats can get small 3 day viruses just as kittens do.

I just don't want to wait it out if she has something going on I need to help with.

Funny, I know all the issues with kittens and adults, but Krissy is the first senior cat for me. I got her the very day she was born, so she IS my very special girl. I know very little about senior cat care.

Can it be a passing virus?

I DO know about HL however.

Because she is a senior cat, I personally wouldn't wait to see it her not feeling well passes. If she is definitely concerning you, and not eating very much, then I'd say it's time for the vet. Cats are great at hiding their illnesses so you never know what could be going on inside them

Does she have a runny nose? Is she using the litter box as normal?

Best of luck and keep us posted! Fingers crossed it's nothing major   

Thank you.

I wonder sometimes whether I am exposing them to  viruses since I do have cats and kittens coming from who-knows-where.

They ARE vaccinated, but that's just the biggies, herpevirus, calici and panleuk.

Krissy has never been sick with uri, no eye crud, nothing. 

No sign of that at all. Just sleeping all the time and reduced appetite. But I can see in her eyes she is not feeling well.

my snick is a senior (14 years old), and has several medical issues. i've found that it's very important to consult the vet (either by phone or by an appointment) when i suspect anything is "off"/not quite normal with my girl.

i think you're doing the best thing by having your krissy checked by the vet. that's what i'd do, if it were me with my snick.

sending that's it's something that either doesn't need treating or is easily treated.

I'm so sorry. How is she doing?  The FVRCP vax does not provide 100% protection......

Hi @catwoman707 ..

I understand your concern .. I too have had my concerns about Max from time to time as Max seems to sleep a fair amount more than he used to, and he is 10+ years now.

Max used to be a lot more active and at one point I too thought something might be wrong. I started thinking about hypothyroidism at one point that, while rare, can happen in cats and result in lethargy and problems with weight. But then I thought some more and remembered that when we first adopted Max at 2.5 years, he was sleeping when we found him in the cat run at the shelter. When we brought him home and in the subsequent years that followed, he proved to be very active, climbing trees, doing a lot of hunting, etc. In his later years, not so much, that said, he killed a vole the other day and so will still hunt now and then. All of this to say that, Max has definitely become more sedentary but then is still capable of bursts of energy.

I would also suggest as others have to put your mind at ease, to take Krissi in and get a wellness blood test done to see what her levels are like, especially as you are someone who is involved with other kitties on a regular basis. The vet can also check her temp, listen to her heart. I am taking Max in this Saturday to get his wellness testing done, because he is due but most importantly because I want to know how his organs are doing these days, and if there is anything that might be brewing.

Best of luck! ...

Well I started Krissy on Clavamox last night, but I also decided to take her in to see the vet tmrw.

She is no worse, but something is wrong, she is no better today, so I'm not thinking it's maybe a passing virus.

Now I feel worried. I just now took this pic. She looks like crap.....

I dread putting her through the stress of it, she despises, I mean just hates going. She acts mad as hell and gives them a very hard time. Hard to imagine she is a gentle cream puff otherwise.

Of course she's going regardless!

Big vet bill coming too, not that I would ever dream of putting a price on her health, I'd sell everything I own, refinance my house even! Just sayin........

I just know, her symptoms are too vague, so she will need the works. Gosh she just had her blood workup done in this past year, but who knows, maybe they will see something in her urinalysis.

Please send positive vibes, she's only 12. It's GOT to be something simple, easy fix..........I can't imagine life without her, she should have a good 6, 8 years of life and good health. Not eeeven ready to go there.

Plus, maybe I'm convincing myself here but this came on very suddenly, like a virus would. I would think something bigger going on would have come on more gradual. This is overnight like.

I'm sorry to hear Krissy isn't feeling well, @catwoman707.    I hope it's something simple that can be rectified with a few simple treatments and some TLC. Sending lots of vibes...

Hope all goes well. Sending vibes.

How's she doing??

Krissy went to the vet and she said pancreatitis is very likely.

So clavamox, turkey food only for the next few days, pepcid ac, and that's about it.

Went and bought turkey cutlets (sliced breast meat) and ground turkey, a bunch of turkey baby food.

She is not eating anything except small amts of baby food. 

I forgot the pepcid at the store (for a very good reason, not because I'm a lame-o) and am wondering if she needs it.

She is not vomiting, but is she nauseaous and that is why the lack of appetite? Or is it discomfort?

I have no idea if just giving her no meds besides clavamox, and feeding her turkey baby food, is this really enough for her to get better??

As I said before, I am not experienced in older/senior cats, which is why I didn't recognize possible pancreatitis until this am when I jumped out of bed thinking it's got to be pancreatitis or kidney disease/failure going on.

Sure enough......

So what am I doing here? Just those 2 things is enough? Of course my vet is not around during the wknds either.....ugh.

Krissy is my diva girl, my one true friend and companion. She is counting on me here.....

Input/advice anyone?

Thanks!

How are they diagnosing Krissy with pancreatitis? Two things that help lead to a diagnosis are the special Spec fPL blood test (sent out to Texas A&M) and an ultrasound.

You said you already started giving Clavamox to Krissy before she went to the vet. Did the vet okay this? Did they not offer any advice or treatments during your visit? 

She did not know I did the clavamox until we went today, but as it turns out it was a good thing.

I didn't think it would be hurting her to get it started anyway.

She only said turkey food only, clavamox and pepcid ac.

But did she think she needs the pepcid for nausea/appetite? I don't know the answer there and need to know, because if it will help her eat more then I will go to Walgreens right now and get it. I just have only read that it is for help with vomiting cats, and she is not vomiting.

I am looking to see improvements right now, but not going to happen that fast.

I just need to know that she is getting enough help with the baby food (she is not interested in the turkey breast meat at all) and the clavamox.

I hate not knowing more! Frustrating, I know just about everything there is to know about newborns/kittens, and common cat illnesses but nothing about senior cat issues.............

Oh, and for how she was diagnosed, not too accurate but examining her, her tummy seemed tender-ish, and the fact that this all started hours after the day Krissy ate Babycat dry food that my dh left down in the spare bedroom that Paris had been given.

Vet said right away, Babycat is very high fat content, much too high for an older cat.

We agreed that by monday if she was not improving at all we would move on with the tests to confirm this.

I see. Also, a standard routine in-house blood test may show increased amylase (AMY or AMYL on the results), but the two diagnostic tools I mentioned above are the most accurate.

Pepcid is only helpful if there is nausea and discomfort associated with excess stomach acid and/or acid reflux. It is designed to reduce the amount of acid produced in the stomach, and that is all. Pepcid alone may be not be helpful if nausea originates from another cause.

My Sebastian has chronic pancreatitis, and I have been managing it for over a year. In the beginning, I found this document helpful: https://www.idexx.com/pdf/en_us/sma...pec-fpl-treatment-for-feline-pancreatitis.pdf. Sebastian is on many of the things recommended in this document. He's on a steroid (prednisolone), an anti-emetic (Cerenia), an antacid (Pepcid AC), B12 shots, sub-q fluids, and other supportive therapies, such as probiotics and fish oil. He only gets pain medication, an appetite stimulant, and an antibiotic during a moderate to severe flare. I will say that fluids are really important for him to help keep the inflammation under control; he gets them every other day. Keeping his environment stress-free is also important. He's also on a special limited ingredient protein rotation of premium canned and supplemented home-cooked.

GoHolistic said:

 
I see. Also, a standard routine in-house blood test may show increased amylase (AMY or AMYL on the results), but the two diagnostic tools I mentioned above are the most accurate.

Pepcid is only helpful if there is nausea and discomfort associated with excess stomach acid and/or acid reflux. It is designed to reduce the amount of acid produced in the stomach, and that is all. Pepcid alone may be not be helpful if nausea originates from another cause.

My Sebastian has chronic pancreatitis, and I have been managing it for over a year. In the beginning, I found this document helpful: https://www.idexx.com/pdf/en_us/sma...pec-fpl-treatment-for-feline-pancreatitis.pdf. Sebastian is on many of the things recommended in this document. He's on a steroid (prednisolone), an anti-emetic (Cerenia), an antacid (Pepcid AC), B12 shots, sub-q fluids, and other supportive therapies, such as probiotics and fish oil. He only gets pain medication, an appetite stimulant, and an antibiotic during a moderate to severe flare. I will say that fluids are really important for him to help keep the inflammation under control; he gets them every other day. Keeping his environment stress-free is also important. He's also on a special limited ingredient protein rotation of premium canned and supplemented home-cooked.

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Gosh it all sounds so complicated, and so many drugs. I can only hope this is a one time episode, but if not then I'm sure I will be doing the same and it will become second nature for me. Krissy too.

Thank you for the answer about the pepcid, I have stayed dressed in case I needed to go out and get some.

The lack of vomiting makes me believe it is not a needed addition.

To tell you the truth here, I'm wondering if this isn't what I noticed with Krissy several months ago too.

I have a post about her back then too, and took her for bloodwork and posted that all was looking great except that she had very high eosinophils, due to food allergies. I have yet to figure out what exactly I need to be feeding her to get this issue gone, keep her weight down, and now....baby her pancreas so it's happy.

Vet said once she gets through this she wants her to be on metabolize by Hill's. Krissy has always been overweight, she is just that way, and vet knew this and said the metabolize is made for cats like her who don't produce enough of something or another that keeps the metabolism up to par.

I do remember your previous post about Krissy. That was about six months ago, correct? It's generally recommended that senior cats have a check-up every six months.

Sometimes they can feel if the abdomen is hard and distended, but a physical examination alone may not be enough to diagnose what's going on. Krissy is a senior cat and her symptoms - loss of appetite, sleeping more, reduced energy, moving slowly, change in routine - could correlate to many different things. Consider getting another full blood panel done, as well as the special spec fPL test to help confirm or rule out pancreatitis if your vet still feels this is a possibility. The more information you have the better.



P.S. Sebastian's case is complicated, but I don't know that they're all like this! 

GoHolistic said:

 
I do remember your previous post about Krissy. That was about six months ago, correct? It's generally recommended that senior cats have a check-up every six months.

Sometimes they can feel if the abdomen is hard and distended, but a physical examination alone may not be enough to diagnose what's going on. Krissy is a senior cat and her symptoms - loss of appetite, sleeping more, reduced energy, moving slowly, change in routine - could correlate to many different things. Consider getting another full blood panel done, as well as the special spec fPL test to help confirm or rule out pancreatitis if your vet still feels this is a possibility. The more information you have the better.

P.S. Sebastian's case is complicated, but I don't know that they're all like this! 

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I remember you were a great deal of help back then too.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/270487/can-i-get-some-opinions-on-krissys-blood-test-results

I know it's not really enough to say it's an actual diagnosis, but because it started hours after Krissy ate a dish of Babycat dry food, and her symptoms can very well be pancreatitis, we are going with that unless by Monday she is not getting better, then we would proceed to another blood panel.

How long does this take for her to be feeling better? Gosh, this morning she seemed at least semi interested in eating, and I did give them a can of Fancy Feast chicken classics, because I am over the top worried about how much food she is consuming, it's not much. However she only ate maybe 1/3 of her small half can wedge.

I just want to know when she will be well again. I also want to know she does not have anything else brewing inside, but her last bloodwork done was not super detailed as some are.

I don't honestly know the diff. I know she had a senior wellness blood test done, but gosh, my foster cat recently had her blood done at a diff vet and it is very long and detailed.

The same problems happened with my senior, Snickers. She turned out to have renal kidney failure. We waited too long (it's crazy how short "too long" can really be with seniors,) and we ended up losing her to it. BUT it looks like your cat has been seen soon, which is good.

However, since she isn't reacting to treatment much it seems, I'd call the vet and ask about it. When Snickers was first treated, she had an almost-immediate change of attitude for the good.

Depending on how bad she feels currently, it depends how long until she's better again. A week or three? It may even be a month before she's completely shaken the icky feeling.

I hope she feels better!!! Give her hugs for me

@catwoman707  

Sorry for the delay but i am MIA as you know, if your cat is nauseous there is a miracle drug that my pancreatitis cat is taking called Cerenia, its a neural block for it, developed for dogs but cats can take it too, technically 4 days on and 1 day off, by pill.  If you can give fluids and your cat has an attack, you can give it Sub Q after some fluids (so it doesn't sting) to stop an attack in its tracks.

Thank you for the replies

So Krissy has her appetite back at least, my biggest worry was definitely her liver if she didn't consume enough cals of course.

She is not her norm quite yet, and it makes me wonder if this is not what was going on with her many months back when I decided she should go and have a wellness checkup.

Maybe not as obvious, but her pancreatitis (if that's what it was) seems mild compared to others who have dealt with it in their cats.

She is quite a bit more her normal self, but gosh, I have to say she is still drinking more water than her norm......

But is it something that can be set off in the future easily? 

I am now wondering about what food to be feeding her, if there is something I need to know about what they should be getting and what should be avoided.

She eats Fancy Feast pates morning and dinner, my 2 girls share a can but Simone eats more than Krissy despite her chunkiness, and I put 1/4 cup of Canyon Creek dry, Krissy eats more of that than Simone does.

So I need to figure out a canned and a dry food to be feeding.

If anyone has recommendations I would be grateful. Please keep in mind that I need to feed her some diff food due to her allergy to what she has been eating.

Can you believe I STILL have not worked this out??!  Here I am saving all these other cats and kittens and not taking enough time out to figure out the correct food for my own Krissy, who is like a daughter to me.

Bad kitty mom, bad mom.............