Not eating and drinking enough

Our cat, Mussiona , is eating and drinking very little to nothing ! She is diabetic, which is under control and recently diagnosed for Hyperthyroidism, which has also been brought under control. She has already been to the Vets twice and treated with fluid shots. We got a medication to increase her appetite, which she threw up. She wants to eat but for some reason cannot. We have tried all kinds of food, including baby food, heating the food etc. I am at my wits end ! The only thing I can think of is that her taste buds aren't working, I've been trying to find something to boost her taste buds.Any suggestions are extremely welcome ! Pls email [email protected] if anyone thonks of something or have had the same problem with your cat . THANK YOU!!!

Gosh so sorry to hear about your kitty not eating or drinking.

Did you know how badly this can affect them? Hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) is basically this-cats livers are okay efficiently during normal use, but when a cat eats under 50% of their normal calories, the body says to use the stored fat for energy since there are not enough calories to burn for sustaining life, so when it starts using the stored fat, it sort of clots up in the liver, gets backed up and the liver will shut down, causing a VERY serious, life threatening illness.

It is NOT uncommon, and can be avoided with foods, even if you have to take canned food, water it down and syringe feed until there is a solution to why your kitty won't eat.

Some baked chicken thigh meat with some chicken broth? Tuna? At this point anything she will voluntarily eat is fine, just so she doesn't go into HL.

I wish you luck! 

It could be that she feels nauseated and that's why she acts like she wants to eat, but when she gets near enough to her food to smell it, she then won't eat it. Does she lick her lips when she is near her food?  If so, that's a clear sign that she is nauseated.  WHY is the question?  Could be all her different meds , assuming that's the issue..  But in the meantime, she could get a shot of Cerenia which should help.  I know it helped my old girl quite a bit and she started eating more than she had in months (which made me feel kind of bad as she must have been feeling bad for awhile )

As far as her vomiting up the appetite stimulant, did you ask the Vet if there is another way to give it?  Maybe there is a shot form of that too?  My girl just got a low dose steroid shot for some inflammation in her bladder, and boy, she's eating like crazy, which was a possible side effect.  She woke me up in the middle of the night last night for food .  The Vet said that could happen, but doesn't always. But I guess it's something that might work, if it isn't contraindicated with her other meds.

Thank you so much for your feedback ! I will contact the vet asking for a shot, if available with them. I started hand-feeding her a high calorie paste, chicken flavored, last night. I also read that IAMS A/D can also be used. Its not easy, but she is licking the paste off my finger as I hold it against

her mouth (I use a rubber finger covering). So there's some hope.

For everybody's info, I tried: heating the food

                                             sprinkling Catnip on her food

                                             sprinkling parmesan on her food

I've also tried human food, which prior to this she used to eat.

I even gave her Tuna out of a can (in spite of her hyperthyroidism). She just licked up the liquid.

Again

Thank You !

Are her teeth ok? Dental problems can be very painful and a cat may not want to eat.

Try pureeing canned food with water until very soupy and syringe that into the cat. High calorie prescription food like Iams MaxCal can be used. Your vet can give you an oral syringe or you can buy baby feeding syringes at the pet store. Squirt small amounts of the soupy food into the cat's mouth.

Is she on medications for the hyperthyroidism and diabetes?  I am wondering if the dosages may need adjusting and that could be causing the nausea and/or lack of appetite.

Have any tests been done to look for possible complications related (or unrelated) to the diabetes and hyperthyroidism? The pancreas is what regulates insulin, and since that seems to be already malfunctioning, I wonder if there are some additional problems going on in the GI tract, such as inflammation. 

Cerenia really helps my Sebastian with his nausea due to chronic pancreatitis.

She had bloodwork done last week and, other than her glucose being a little high thyroisim, her other numbers were in acceptable

ranges. We are taking her back to the vet this morning as she seems worse. We started syringe feeding last night, and it hasn't bee enough.

We will get her checked and ask the Vet to give us a feeding plan, if possible.

Thanks all fro your feedback.

The lack of eating and drinking is likely catching up to her.

She's probably dehydrated too, and will perk up shortly after getting sub-q's.

Let us know!      

We just got back from the Vet. Mussiona dropped from 8.3 to 7.6 lbs already. According to the Vet. she is in critical condition.

She got more fluids, shots of Famotidine and Ceranine. Brought her home with A/D prescription food, to be syringe fed. Also

vitamin doses in syringes every 8 hours for the next  48 hours. I will try to feed her about every 2 hours, 5-10 cc's each time,

and hope for the best. We take her back for followup tomorrow.

Thanks to all for your support.

Let's hope the fluids make her feel a little better, along with the shots, so that she will eat a little on her own, but also take to the syringe feedings.

...thank you....we will keep you posted...

No diagnosis at all, or even speculation as to why?

We know Mussiona has a combination of Diabetes and Hyperthyroidism and both have similar debilitating effects. The Vet did not associate either specifically for the eating disorder. From what I could find from my own research is that Cats have an elevated sense of smell--significantly greater than humans-- and they use that for their eating. Among other damages to their organs that can occur in cats is damage to their olfactory nerves.

irSo if they lose their sense of smell, they food is no longer attractive to them and therefore they must be syringe-fed if that happens. I do not know if this is for sure true in Mussionas case. The Vet is suggesting ultrasound

and, maybe even blood transfusion  if she becomes critical, which sounds to me to be rather drastic, if not affordable by us. We are average people on very restricted income. We will do the best we can and hope for the best. Tomorrow will tell.

Regular syringing of food will help with regulating her sugar levels. It must be hard to figure out how much insulin to give if your cat is not eating. Hoping the combination of food, fluids and shots help her feel like eating on her own.

ssobhan101 said:

 
We know Mussiona has a combination of Diabetes and Hyperthyroidism and both have similar debilitating effects. The Vet did not associate either specifically for the eating disorder. From what I could find from my own research is that Cats have an elevated sense of smell--significantly greater than humans-- and they use that for their eating. Among other damages to their organs that can occur in cats is damage to their olfactory nerves.

irSo if they lose their sense of smell, they food is no longer attractive to them and therefore they must be syringe-fed if that happens. I do not know if this is for sure true in Mussionas case. The Vet is suggesting ultrasound

and, maybe even blood transfusion  if she becomes critical, which sounds to me to be rather drastic, if not affordable by us. We are average people on very restricted income. We will do the best we can and hope for the best. Tomorrow will tell.

Click to expand...

Blood transfusion, is she highly anemic?

So sorry to hear about your kitty. I don't have any advice...I just know what it's like to not have any answers. Prayers for you and kitty

Tonight we put our beloved Mussiona to sleep. She had been a diabetic for many years and then earlier this year hyperthyroidism got her. She stopped eating and drinking and after all the medication we could get her, she started having difficulty breathing. She lost a lot of weight and her systems shut down. She could have gone for ultrasound and blood transfusion, but would only extend her suffering so after several hours at the emergency clinic, we decided to let her go. May she rest in peace. She was self-disciplined, gentle and very loving.

Oh, gosh @ssobhan101. I'm so sorry for your loss. 

How very sorry I feel for what you have been through, and having to make such a tough decision. This truly saddens me. I have this aching lump in my throat, knowing how you must be feeling.......

You were such a loving caregiver to her, through to the end, she is free now and no longer suffering.

RIP little angel girl. Feel young and strong again, chase bugs and butterflies, your body may have quit but your spirit soars.