Cat refused to eat/drink

Male 7 year old, neutered. Recent trouble with either a UTI, idiopathic cystitis or even kidney related issues. Waiting till I can get his blood and urine tested before a conclusion is reached. The vet also recommend I switch him over to Royal Canine's Urinary SO for cats, which I've located but wont get a hold of till later this evening. My current predicament is that despite being in relatively good spirits (not lethargic, actually even running around as usual) he does not have much interest in eating, even wet food which he usually devours. Yesterday he would still pick at it but today he's pretty much no interested.

I removed the needle from a syringe and have been giving him little amounts of water periodically to make sure he's hydrated, but I'm at a loss as to what to do for solid food.

Any ideas?

Hi, sorry your kitty is feeling bad, my cat got blocked once several years ago and was in the hospital for a few days with a catheter (you don't know exactly what your kitty has yet, but this info should help). Around this time I did lots of research and would like to share some of it as I think it helps to be informed. He had struvite crystals and was put on RC Urinary SO, which I believe is okay to be on while the crystals are still dissolving, but then I wanted to take him off it because the ingredients are not good for cats. My vet didn't want to talk with me about it, so I found several other vets through my research, switched him to canned, monitored him closely during the switch, and he has been well years now.

My cat LOVED the RC food, but if your cat still doesn't want to eat it when you offer it, you can syringe feed him some canned food mixed with water. I have done this, so let me know if you have any questions, but hopefully he will eat on his own. Also, you could start with a urinalysis test and if that doesn't indicate whats wrong, then do the blood test (I know how expensive blood tests can be). The vet should be able to give urinalysis results very quickly.

Methionine is what many urinary diets put in the food to acidify the urine. Struvite crysals form when the ph is too high, above ~6~6.5. The methionine in RC Urinary SO helps to acidify the urine and bring it back down in the healthy range, which many vets say is 6~6.5. There are also many products with just methionine in it which may be a cheaper alternative when combined with a good quality canned food. There are methionine tablets and gels/pastes which you can speak with your vet about if your cat has struvite crystals. You have to be careful when your cat is consuming anything that acidifies urine as if it goes too low, below 6~6.5, oxalate crystals can form. Because of this, some people use ph strips to help monitor their cats (there is a link down below with some for less than $3).

I'm going to link you to some really great information so you can really understand what's going on. This is a really common problem caused by what we feed our cats and I had to learn all this too when it happened to my cat. One of the most important things you will see is that cats should not be eating dry food, only canned (or carefully prepared homemade/raw if you wish) as it is much closer to their natural diets. I learned from Dr. Becker that cats are designed to get most of their water from food, not by drinking it.

Dr. Pierson's article- http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

Dr. Becker's video- http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...-Indicate-Your-Pet-has-a-Bladder-Problem.aspx

Dr. Jason Nicholas also wrote this very informative article http://www.preventivevet.com/cats/help-my-cat-cant-pee-feline-urethral-obstruction-be-aware

Ph Strips-http://www.ebay.com/itm/Laboratory-160-pH-Indicator-Test-Strips-1-14-Paper-Litmus-Tester-Urine-Saliva-/181564998788?hash=item2a461e0484:gDoAAOSwirZTxOdv&rmvSB=true

I mostly feed Canidae (green All Life Stages) or Triumph. I usually buy online from Chewy or recently Pet360 had some really great deals. They are higher quality foods for a good price. I mostly am able to buy a pack of 12 thirteen ounce cans for about $15-$16. Also, fish is bad for cats with crystals, so stay away from anything with fish as the main source of protein.

 

@FairyCatMom has given you some great information.  I would only add that it is important to get some food into him right away.   You can try warming up his canned food, or some delicacies like tuna fish, or chicken or turkey baby food (no spices).  The increased aroma often entices cats to eat.  Try putting the food near his nose while he is sleeping.  Many cats will eat automatically upon waking up.  If you can't get him to eat anything, then try finger feeding him.  If this doesn't work, it's time for the syringe.   And continue giving him a lot of water - this will help with the UTI.

It is a good idea for you to check in with the vet tomorrow.  You might need to take him in right away.  Is he showing any other symptoms of a UTI, such as straining, frequent urination, crying while urinating or bloody urine? 

I never would have imagined a can based diet, the material you were kind enough to provide is very comprehensive and it is definitely making me think twice about the diet I've been keeping my cat on for years now.

I guess my only concern with it would be if the mucus lining surrounding the kitten's bowel could be compromised? A former friend who unfortunately wasn't particularly careful about her pets general health experienced that problem. The mucus would find it's way out of the kitty's anal passage involuntarily and as you can imagine made a mess around her house, not to mention being quite uncomfortable for the little one. This stopped however, soon after introducing some dry food to compliment her cats diet, of course the quality of the original canned food itself may have been, I'm sure, a contributing factor. @FairyCatMom have you ever experienced anything like that with your cat since keeping them on this diet? Thanks for the links, btw! I found the video by Dr. Becker particularly informative as well as succinct, I'll be sure to share that with my brother who also owns a pet cat.

Thanks @Margd, as well for replying. I gave kitty some more water and little bit of tuna before he turned in for the night. I'll try some of your suggestions tomorrow. Thankfully he has not visited his litter box any more frequently than normal, the urine clumps seem to be a good size too, his bladder isn't swollen, no crying and no blood found in urine (thank god). Still, I definitely want to get some blood and urine cultures as soon as possible. I hate not knowing 100% what's wrong. I wouldn't  want let this go just to see the same symptoms pop up in a few days time. Thanks again to both of you for replying, very much appreciated! (:

You're very welcome, I am happy you found it helpful and will share it with your brother! I've never had a problem like what you describe and all six of my cats have been on canned only for years now, that poor kitty.

Hope you get it figured out soon and your cat feeling better