panic in his eyes

My cat isn't eating or drinking. My vet told me to force feed him if neccessary. When I inject the food into his mouth, he fights & he has a look of panic in his eyes. He is newly adopted from the humane society. He is about 5yrs. I've had him for 5 days now & he's been to the vet twice. Is the stress of a new home, & getting over a cold, & my forcing him to eat making him worse? What should I do? I have offerred him anything & everything I can think of to eat & drink & he won't. Sometimes I feel like he just doesn't care & wants to die.

Ok first of all calm down and breathe. I read a lot of stress in your post and rightly so, but if you are stressed, you will make him worse. He could just be in shock, but he needs to eat. At this point, try nuking his canned food, put a little bit on his paw so he has to lick it off. Get down to his level and just sit with him, put cat treats around you and see if he comes out, dim the lights in his room, play classical music really low for him. Buy a bottle of feliway spray and spray it liberally in the room he is at.

How long has he NOT been eating? Try things that strays find in dumpsters, boiled chicken, put it right on the floor, try raw pieces of meat, at this time, just something for him and see if he goes for it? Sardines, tuna? Mackeral? shredded cheese? Cottage cheese? Boiled hamburger and rice- is he NOT eating anything? Did you know he was ill when you adopted him? Has blood work been run? Is he drinking? These are all important questions, cats can go only a few days without eating before they get fatty liver disease. You need to get him to eat, whatever it takes. If you have catnip, put a little on his food plate, feed on a plate or saucer not a bowl-

Good luck!

I am sorry about your baby being sick and not eating .

I don't really have to @ much here to Hissy's posting . But what I did with Ginger when she did not eat I bought regular Baby food ( human )in a class , chicken or turkey with out onion and garlic please . Don't get anything else , but this worked for Ginger . I know at cat show's that what they give a lot of times as treats for their cat . Good luck getting him to eat .

Thank you to both of you for your suggestions. When you had a cat that didn't eat would it just lay there when you would put a bit of food right by his mouth? Would he turn awayif you tried to tempt him with all kinds of food? If I put it on his paw he doesn't try to lick it off. I eat all my meals with him & try to entice him with the smells & he turns away or just lays there. Does he want to die?

He needs to go to another vet and quickly. You need a vet who specializes in cats. This goes beyond being stressed.If he were stressed, he would be hiding, bolting when you come in the room. Is he running a fever? Or did you check? He needs fluids- are his gums pale and shocky looking? Does he have ulcers on his tongue? If you can look underneath if he will let you? Did the vet check his teeth? If he has gum or tooth disease he will not want to eat as it will hurt. If he lets you, open his mouth and check his gums, press lightly if they are pink and happy, they should go pale where you pressed then pink up in about 2 seconds. If not, he is in trouble- if his gums are splotchy white, he could be anemic- did you worm him with over the counter medication? Bathe him in some human shampoo product?

Poor guy I agree he needs another vet. Not eating is serious. Have them run some tests on him, take his temp. check his mouth etc.

Good luck.

Thank you everyone for your help. Even though it's Sunday, I found a vet that was open. I took Riley to see him. I just got home. He is going to hydrate him & keep him over night & xray him & do a UA in the morning. He said he'll also be back there tonight to hydrate him again. He's thinking hyperthyroidism or a tumor & an underlying infection because of his cell count. His liver & kidneys tested out OK. So my best Christmas present is Riley getting better. Thanks again.

I am so glad you went with Riley to the vet .

I sure will say a prayer for him to get well

I will send prayers for your sick Riley-

Hope things go ok with Riley!!

poor baby, I hope he gets better soon..

I just read this! I do hope the vet gets to the bottom of what's wrong with Riley, I'll keep him in my thoughts.

Please do keep us posted on progress.

Sending prayers and board magic that all is well with Riley!!!

Sending good vibes to Riley and {{{HUGS}}} to you.

Thank you for all your caring replies. It brought tears to my eyes. Today is Tuesday, Riley's still at the vets. They are still trying to get him healthy. I'll find out later if he comes home today.

I had similar problems when I adopted Mosley from the Humane Society. she was so sick and didn't eat on her own for days (I had to syringe feed her and give her an IV at home). Anyway, it was absolutely horrible and then my other cat got sick too, but they both pulled through and are so happy and healthy now. Just wanted to say good job for taking such good care of your kitty and to hang in there cause it will be worth it!!!

Thinking of you & Riley, & hoping he'll be better quickly. As hard as it is taking him to the vet is the right thing. I volenteer at a no-kill shelter & the number one thing to do is keep a cat hydrated, something that while it can be done at home, can be done much more consistantly at the vets office. I will tell you as someone posted earlier we use chicken baby food for sick kitties. We will water it down & warm it up and have even had to force feed some cats. I know it's hard, but it's more important that they eat. I do have to say since you just got this kitty it maybe better for the vet to do all of this to him anyway, so he doesn't associate you with discomfort. I hope he's home really soon!!!

I hope Riley gets well soon

Sound just like my post of a few weeks ago about my . I truly hope Riley and you pull through OK.

Riley came home on the 23rd. Besides his cold he also had just a little blood & crystals in his urine. He is doing very well. He eats about a can of Science Diet prescription c/d-s per day & is drinking water. Now I am beginning to introduce him to my other cat (slowly). So all is going quite well. Thanks to everyone.