Help! Cat won't eat after surgery.

How did the feeding tube insertion go this morning?

Just found this thread.  Please update us.  And, I didn't see this, but may have missed it, did you ask the vet what they were feeding him that he ate and liked?  Perhaps they could supply you?

Just got him home, trying to do our first feeding in 20 minutes.

Will update tomorrow, hopefully with good news.

Update: Just finished second feeding. Kitty was given an anti-nausea shot, or else I think he'd be vomiting it up. He's showing the signs - drooling, gagging after he was fed through the e-tube, etc. More concerning is the diarrhea. We are feeding 30ml of Purina CN every 4 hours. It is going right through him. 

My worry right now has transitioned to unadulterated anger towards the emergency vet. My "regular" vet is on maternity leave. Due to the holidays, I haven't been able to find another vet that feels they can offer adequate treatment. Now that we are back into the swing of things, my number one priority today is to find a new vet. 

Someone let me know if I'm being irrational. Here is an example of my frustration, which is fueling my belief that my cat is in such bad shape because of the inconsistent care I'm getting. The problem is this clinic has 6 different vets, none of them communicate with each other, and each one wants to do something different.

- On Monday, I was given a prescription for Metronidazole, and enough for about 3 days.

- On Tuesday, kitty spit up both his doses, was foaming it out at the mouth, and was becoming impossible to medicate. This doesn't seem like an unusual reaction to this medication from my research.

- On Wednesday, kitty knocked over the bottle during an ill fated, 3 person attempt, to administer Metronidazole orally (lesson learned, don't leave the bottle open). I call the vet and request a refill, and ask if a compoundist can give it a better flavor. Vet #1 told me to discontinue Metronidazole. All antibiotics are coming from Clavamox.

- On Thursday, kitty is readmitted to the hospital due to not eating.

- On Friday, kitty is discharged. They discontinued all medicine, except for the Clavamox.

- On Sunday am, I bring kitty back, demanding additional treatment, since he still hadn't eaten. Vet #2 asked why we weren't giving the Metronidazole. I was too exhausted to come back and show them the discharge papers.

- On Sunday pm, I pick kitty up. Vet #3 prescribed 1.2ml of Metronidazole every 12 hours. I told them I need the medicine. They told me to use the stuff I had. I told them it was gone, I'd need a refill. The vet changes his mind and says Metronidazole will only be needed if there is diarrhea.

- On Monday, I called to inform there was diarrhea, and would they make up a bottle of Metronidazole for me. Vet #1 tells me that Metronidazole is not needed. No guidance is offered for the diarrhea. 

This is batsh*t crazy. Does he need the medicine? Does he not? Does anyone know what is going on with my cat? I don't think so at this point. I'm on a mission to find a new vet today, and hopefully one that can board, because I have to travel for work on Wednesday, and my husband's schedule won't allow for regular feedings.

Finding a vet you like and trust is so important, if you have any doubts look around. I hope you can get your kitty back to good health.   could the gagging be because you are not going slow enough, I heard slow, little amounts and frequent feedings is the key. I hope someone with more experience can chime in. BTW what type of feeding tube was used ?

Hi Ring,

First, do you know how to check for DEHYDRATION? When you gently pinch the "ruff" on the back of his neck and let go - does it "snap" back to normal quickly?  Or does it hold the Pinch" and slowly go back?  (This how you check humans for dehydration, on the back of the hand.) IF a cat is dehydrated they will not eat. Or is the water is too close to the food?  Cats do not want their water near the food. (I had a tiny kitten and the vet gave her 60 cc's? of saline under the skin of the ruff.  She looked  like the "Hunch Back" for awhile but it all  asorbed,  within hours. started eating soon after that

As for the GOAT's MILK, It is usually canned.  Some  stores carry fresh, and it is with the fresh milk, buttermilk, etc. - It is usually in the canned milk section of the grocery store. (With the Carnation powdered milk, sweetened condensed , condensed ,Soy and Rice milks  etc..) Those are usually in the "baking" isle.

To get my cat to drink MORE water -I have a GOLD FISH BOWL, I started with a few fish to get his attention. Now, I just have the fish bowl on the coffee table.(And yes. guests think it is crazy, cute, insane, and more.)  But cats drink it like it is the best champagne in the world! It might be worth a try to get fluids in. There is also PEDIATRIC ELECTROLYTES "PEDIOLYE". My DOLLAR TREE STORE has it. much cheaper than the drug store.

Our "purified water" tastes awful to them.  The gold fish food, "poop", fish scales, etc.., adds "flavor and intrest " in their day.  The gold fish are here to stay! Who cares if I am crazy?  I did not ask for their opinion, so it does not count.,,

Have you tried COOL WHIP? Or KMR, kitten formula, from pet or feed store?  Will your kitty "nurse"  from a bottle? Or "Glop", emergency formula for tiny kitties?  Google it, it is on line. You can always try "SARDINE PASTE".  It is in the gourmet section, it comes in a tube Or mash some sardines in to a paste with the back of a spoon. Like Salmon - bones and all.  It is very soft. It is salty and will make kitty thirsty.. Use finger and scrape some off in the roof of the mouth, or on paws.

At least you know where the find GOAT's MILK - if nothing else!

I hope you find something useful here to answer some of your questions.  Good Luck!

Later,

Cindy

p.s.  MY  VET SAID TRY THE "BURITTO WRAP." My last cat was HUGE! 20 pounds and not fat.  He could stand on his hind legs and put his front paws ON THE STANDARD HEIGHTH KITCHEN COUNTER! I told the smart mouth vet - while you show me I will call 911 for you. I did not know my rescued and adopted kitten would grow into his name -"FELONY".

You have every right to be frustrated!

A note on the diarrhea...
How long has he been on Clavamox? This could certainly be contributing to the diarrhea.

Can you give us a general idea of your location in the event someone here can recommend a vet?

With kitty's inappetence, I'm concerned there is something more going on here. Has anyone done any diagnostics on kitty since the surgery? Ultrasound? Blood work? Being over a week out from surgery, he really should have shown some improvement.

One of our rescues underwent exploratory abdominal surgery on Dec. 16. He didn't eat at the clinic, but did eat some baby food once we got home. His appetite continued to improve and he went back on his normal diet about 8/9 days after surgery.

Gus the cat wouldn't eat after dental surgery (tooth extractions). After several days of not eating and drinking we were at wits end. The Vet prescribed1/4 of a 15mg tablet of  Mirtazapine. Within 2 hours Gus was eating again. Perhaps this drug would be appropriate in your situation. I thought we were going to lose Gus but fortunately he made a full recovery.

Update:

I got a message out to a couple of different vets. They are both (independently of each other) calling the emergency hospital to get our records and figure out what is going on. Whichever one I feel more comfortable with, I'm going with.

Now for some OK news. We had a non-diarrhea poo! It was very small, about the size of a human toe, and still soft, but still shaped like a poo. Who would have thought I'd be so happy to see cat poo?

To answer some of the questions:

- I'm feeding the food very slowly. I'm pushing in 1ml over about 20 seconds, then I wait 45-60 seconds. I gave a 5 minute break in the middle, and pick it up again. He was pretty testy and annoyed with me by the end of the feeding, so I'm going to need to find something different in our next feeding (about 2 hours from now).

- He's been on Clavamox for a week now. The ER vet wanted to extend it for 2 reasons. 1. He has an upper respiratory infection. No doubt from all the trips to the ER. 2. There was a mass removed during surgery near his gall bladder. Biopsy came back fine, but there was some bacteria present. Hence, the extended antibiotic. I've tried very hard to give this with food every time, since it upsets his stomach.

- We have him on Cyproheptadine to stimulate his appetite since yesterday. No interest in food yet.

- I am familiar with checking for dehydration. Even though he has shown no interest in water, he got so many fluids every time he was in the ER that he hasn't shown any signs of dehydration.

- There has been an ultrasound and xray since surgery, but not a blood panel. I don't want to tell our new vet how to do his/her job, but my husband and I are hoping one gets ordered. We are both of the opinion that something else is going on. But, it could simply be the combination of the surgery and the upper respiratory *fingers crossed*

Thanks everyone for all the morale support. If this had not happened during the holidays, I'm sure it would have played out much better. 

I forget that he is also dealing with a URI. What are his symptoms with this? Sneezing, stuffy nose, nasal or eye discharge? Have the URI symptoms improved any? How bad are his symptoms?

If he has a stuffy nose, this will definitely complicate things in the eating department. Drainage may also be adding to the nausea.

I really think you are doing everything you can and your kitty is very lucky to have you as his advocate!

Fingers crossed that the new vets can offer some advice/treatment that will be beneficial!

The URI has built slowly, and every day is a little worse. Sort of like a human cold. Started with a little sneeze and some clear nasal discharge. Today, his nose is completely stuffed; he has dried green snot all over, and some eye buggers. The sneezing is not as frequent today. What I though was drool looks to be snot.

The food he is getting will hopefully move the URI out.

Hope I'm not annoying everyone with frequent updates!

Found a new vet. We are going to:

Stop the clavamox.

Add Cerenia for the nausea

Add a viralys supplement for his immune system

After the stools firm up and the drooling stops, we'll work on treating the URI and add a Vitamin B Complex to get him off the feeding tube faster.

I would be very hesitant to not give an antibiotic to combat the URI. We almost always use Doxycycline; however, there is a new antibiotic called Veraflox that is used to treat bacterial infections associated with the heroes virus.

My concern comes from the fact that the he has developed a bacterial infection despite being on Clavamox. And his symptoms are getting worse.

I think the new vet's recommendations make sense. Just because there is coloured snot does not mean there is a bacterial infection. I would get a culture and sensitivity analysis done on the discharge to determine if there is a bacterial infection and to determine what antibiotic should be used. Let us know how kitty is doing  

Not much to update, no real change. We've stopped Clavamox - vet felt that the URI was viral and not bacterial. We started the Viralys. The Viralys seems to have cleared up some of the runny nose, but he's still very congested. No interest in food or water. Feeding through his tube. I've broken his meals up to be smaller and more frequent, as he gets a little squirmy after 15-20ml. Still liquidy #2. 

He snuggled between me and my husband in bed all night. This was his favorite thing to do before he got sick. We let him under the covers (not something we normally allowed, he got spooked once as a kitten and sent me to the ER with a slash on my stomach... a different story for a different day). He purred and purred and purred all night. Not sure if it was because he was happy, or distressed.

Not ready to give up hope yet.

You might talk with your vet about adding Famcyclovir as it is an antiviral medication. It works to treat Herpes virus and Calicivirus in cats, among others. I'm just not sure Lysine alone is enough for him.

If you have access to a nebulizer (you can rent one from most pharmacies, though mine was cheap to purchase) some treatments with hypertonic saline would likely do him some good.

You can also do a mixture of 1 part Afrin (the original formula) to 10 parts Little Noses saline. Do 1 drop of the mixture in each nostril every 12 hrs for 3 days ONLY. This can help to clear the congestion from his nose and hopefully improve his appetite.

If your vet thinks this is a herpes virus related URI, there is a medication called Polyprenyl Immunostimulant than can be used if he cannot break the illness. The PI is administered for 10 days. It is expensive; but, has done wonders for my cats that had horrible herpes flare ups. I've not used it for acute on sets like your boy has; but, would really consider this if I were in your position with a kitty that has been so sick.

Hi Ring,

Thank you very much for the Purraise. (I am not much for "Brownie Points"), I just want to help where and if I can. Like you, I have had sick cats.

Here is an Idea... What about VALIUM??? (With the vet's okay, with all the other drugs on board.)

Other posts say their cats go after the chow like a "starved dope smoker, with the munchies"!

Do you think if you gave your guy a tiny amount,  it might work like that for him and give him an appetite?

I tried Ashes on a "speck" of Valium for his recent terror of heavy rain, and he almost ate through the bottom of the Pyrex bowl! (He still ran, shivered like a dog, and in general freaked out when the rain hit.  And this is an El Nino Year...  Poor Ashes!)

Or has your vet (or vets), suggested PREDISONE?  There could be a lot of inflammation and irritation.. A friends cat was very ill and the vet gave the cat 5mg of Prednisone a day X3 days. ( After about $500.00 in vet bills, I ended up diagnosing the original problem - Corn Allergy,) 

A course of prednisone might be called for.  You might consider asking one of the vets about it. It can also increase appetite, I have a 40 pound weight gain to prove it.

I feel so sorry for you. All the tube feedings and worry for you! ( I would hate being a Vet. Your patients can't tell you where it hurts or how they feel)

Here you are trying to play "Guess The Vet", to get answers, since none of them seem to agree!  Would you be better off picking just ONE Vet? I think I would be confused by all of them, with different opinions.

Are you any where near a Vet. school, or USDA Ext., Rural Farm outreach sort of thing that might answer your questions?  ( I am  in Central CA. and there is U.C. Davis, Fresno State AG Ext., and other resources that might answer these questions - without the huge bills.)  I am surprised the first vet has not followed up with more support after surgery.

Best of Luck! (At least you know people "out here", are supporting you and your baby through this. We all know how scared "Poop-less" we get and know how it feels to be soooo helpless and useless at a time like you are having   Please take care of YOU.  Eat, sleep and de-stress if you can  We all know our "fur babies" pick up on our moods. If you are irritable and tense it will not make tubing any easier - for you or your patient.

Here is hoping SOME ONE - ANY ONE~ Can find an answer and the tube feedings can stop and let you BOTH rest peacefully.)

Love, Hugs and Prayers to you,

Cindy.

I am posting a GOOD  update, I think!

I have a single vet now. I'm going to live and die by what she recommends. I feel comfortable with her. And while it's apples to oranges, she passed my litmus test - I have a dog with a very unusual presentation of Addison's (I know, that's a story for a different site). Through trial and error, and unfortunately, $15k worth of procedures, we figured out how to properly treat it. Since I feel like I have to interview a vet, I asked a lot of questions about Addison's, how she would treat a hypothetical scenario like ours, and her answers were closest to the treatments we found out that worked. It made me comfortable that she's knowledgeable, has seen some stuff, and takes the balance of aggressive and conservative treatment options. So I'm going with her for kitty's treatment. 

So, here is where we are at. We had the feeding tube bandage changed yesterday and met with the vet. Here's the good news:

- Kitty had lost about 3.5 pounds when we had put the feeding tube in. In 3 days, he has gained about 1.6lbs back. Vet is very pleased with this progress.

- I got a gold star for keeping the tube cleaner than any other feeding tube patient she has ever seen. I'm excited about that because I've been meticulous about flushing it, even though kitty does not like it.

- The URI is running its course. The vet feels strongly that kitty has had too many antibiotics, which is causing his chronic diarreah. As I said, I'm living and dying by her at this point, so I'm going along with this. We are treating it with the Viralys, which does help a bit with the congestion. She flushed out his nasal passages with saline, and he is still clear this morning. I couldn't find my vaporizer, will pick one up this afternoon. In the meantime, kitty has been hanging out in the bathroom for some steamy showers.

- We removed most of the staples from his surgery - 55 of them! There are about 10 left. Kitty started to fuss, so we agreed to get the rest in a couple of days.

Now for the really good news:

- We had our first solid #2 last night. A really good sign that he is fighting this. As soon as he was done, he started to lick his business. The vet told us that this is a HUGE  sign that he is going to make it - if he starts cleaning himself again.

- I put wet food under his nose. I got 2 licks and a bite. This is the first food I've seen him eat since before Christmas! It's not enough to decrease his feeding tube meals, but a start.

- He ate 2 crunchy cat treats from my hand this morning. He wouldn't look at his breakfast, so again, feeding tube. But we're heading in the right direction.

- We are giving him free reign of the house while we are home. He is uncharacteristically aggressive with our 2 other cats. Nothing major, more like, "get off that chair, I will be sitting there now".  The other cats are giving him a wide birth, so there was no confrontation. This cat has always been the household whipping boy that the others pick on. The fact that he has energy to try to start something with them is interesting, and something I am choosing to take as progress.

Now for the not great news: He just vomitted up his morning meal. This may be my fault as I fed him a little quicker than normal. I'll monitor, hopefully nothing.

Next steps: He is going back on Saturday for the rest of his staples to be removed and his tube bandage to be changed. If the URI has cleared up, we'll be discussing treatment for the original stomach/pancreas issues that caused all of this. Possibly pred, possibly diet change. The vet really wants to have him off the tube by next weekend, so fingers crossed for more progress.

Thank you again to everyone on this board for all the suggestions. I had to play vet way more than I should have on this one, and it was great to have people who not only were able to help, but understood what I'm going through.

Ring,

GREAT JOB ON YOUR PART!!!

I am soooo glad to hear all of your progress, and kitty's improvement! 

The fact you have chosen ONE, (and ONLY ONE), Vet, you feel you can trust, is a huge step   For better or worse - you will have continuity of care that is so important. You will not have to choose between conflicting opinions, which should relieve your stress. Continue to think for yourself and make sure any "procedures" are actually needed and not just the vet "covering their own butt".

(I have had my human Doctors want to run MORE TESTS, invasive tests, that were NOT indicated when proceeding tests were" NORMAL", just to protect them because of Medical Malpractice Insurance. The procedure was for the Doctor's well being - not mine!) 

You sound very intelligent and knowledgeable. Trust what you know and believe is RIGHT for you and your health or you pet's health.  Keep asking those questions and alternative treatment options! YOU are your own best advocate - for you or your pet!

It sounds like all you have struggled through is now paying off. I think you deserve a whole box of "GOLD STARS"!   Many people would not take on all of the treatments that require nursing skills as you have and excel at them! 

( I know what dedication and the  "a round the clock care" it  takes to nurse a very sick cat - it can take a toll on your health and your mental stress as well. The fact you are still posting and making complete sentences, tells me you are still holding up.)

Thanks for posting the latest updates. I am sure everyone wants to know how things are going, especially good news of improvement.

Put your feet up and take a break, I think the worst is over and your guy is on the mend, even if he is grouchy.

Wishing you both continued health,

Cindy

Hi Ring!   I know this is an old post but I was reading though this forum to get information for my cat that isn't eating.  Whatever happened with your cat?

Carla