Kitten won't eat

Hello,

I have posted on here once before about my kitten, Lola, because of her constant diarrhea. However my other kitten, Luna, is now extremely sick.

Luna has never been a fussy eater, and will eat anything given to her. She had her dinner Friday night and everything was fine. Saturday morning, she refused to eat which is very strange for her. I am feeding her hi-life, but feeding Lola boiled chicken for her bad stomach, so I offered Luna some chicken (in case she could smell the chicken and was on a protest) But all she did was rench, and walk away. 15 minutes later, she was sick.

The whole of Saturday she refused to eat and was sick 2 more times. Today, Sunday, she is still refusing to eat. I have tried to feed her favourite food, boiled chicken, boiled turkey, and even her favourite treats, but it's like she can't get away fast enough from the food.

I phoned the emergency vet today and was told to bring her down asap. They checked her over, and they said she looks healthy. Her temperature was 39 degrees (it's usually about 38) but the vet didn't seem bothered about that. And he said she has a bit of a tender stomach and no blockages. He gave her 2 injections, and advised to take her to my normal vet tomorrow if things don't improve.

Since then, I have cooked more chicken, and even went to the shop to get her old favourite food Felix (I took her off this when I realised it was only 4% meat, and she kept passing gas) but if it means she might eat, I was going to give it a try. After she sniffed it, she was sick almost immediately.

Her vomit looks like spit. And she also has diarrhea.

Has anyone else experienced the same thing and got any ideas what may be the problem?

Thank you

Sorry  no one has responded yet.  Since a full day has gone by, how is she now?  I'm hoping the injections she received have started working and she is feeling better.  Something was obviously making her very sick to her stomach, which is why she instinctively knew not to eat anything.  

Hoping she is feeling better now. 

Hello,

She had some water and sniffed & licked a cat biscuit. Which is an improvement because before she would gag at the smell of anything. I got an appointment at 5pm as I was still worried. The vet took a urine sample and as she hasn't eaten in days, something from her liver is going into her bloodstream/urine. They have kept her in overnight on a drip and will do blood tests.

Fingers crossed she eats something, otherwise she can't come home My other kitten is missing her like crazy!

SuzieB said:

Hello,

I have posted on here once before about my kitten, Lola, because of her constant diarrhea. However my other kitten, Luna, is now extremely sick.

Luna has never been a fussy eater, and will eat anything given to her. She had her dinner Friday night and everything was fine. Saturday morning, she refused to eat which is very strange for her. I am feeding her hi-life, but feeding Lola boiled chicken for her bad stomach, so I offered Luna some chicken (in case she could smell the chicken and was on a protest) But all she did was rench, and walk away. 15 minutes later, she was sick.

The whole of Saturday she refused to eat and was sick 2 more times. Today, Sunday, she is still refusing to eat. I have tried to feed her favourite food, boiled chicken, boiled turkey, and even her favourite treats, but it's like she can't get away fast enough from the food.

I phoned the emergency vet today and was told to bring her down asap. They checked her over, and they said she looks healthy. Her temperature was 39 degrees (it's usually about 38) but the vet didn't seem bothered about that. And he said she has a bit of a tender stomach and no blockages. He gave her 2 injections, and advised to take her to my normal vet tomorrow if things don't improve.

Since then, I have cooked more chicken, and even went to the shop to get her old favourite food Felix (I took her off this when I realised it was only 4% meat, and she kept passing gas) but if it means she might eat, I was going to give it a try. After she sniffed it, she was sick almost immediately.

Her vomit looks like spit. And she also has diarrhea.

Has anyone else experienced the same thing and got any ideas what may be the problem?

Thank you

Click to expand...

I give here the same overall advices as in your parallell thread.   Look in there for details.

Pedialyte, goats milk,  warm and cozy place...  Use a tooth brush, it feels like licking..  and is also a nice massage...

Re the 4% of meat.   I think its really more.   We have the same thing in Sweden.  And I strongly suspect its the law demanding at least 4% contain of that said meat - say, if they say its chicken meat in cat food, it shall contain 4%.  And the law demand they write upp all ingredients.

BUT the law doesnt demand to give the exact amount, so it is written 4 procent, althogh in reality its surely more.

Still, one good reason why not to buy this brand, and buy some which is better described.

If they dont want to sell, why shall we buy??

Gosh, I sure hope this isn't serious.  Maybe with the IV fluids, that's help quite a bit.  My old girl used to get some sort of weird liver thing every once in awhile which would throw her off her food, then she's ger an antibiotic and it would clear up and she'd be good to go for awhile, then it would happen again.  Biut she was 15, not a kitten.  Maybe she got into something she shouldn't have?   Hopefully they'll get to the bottom of it and fix her right up.

Hello,

Just an update on my kitten Luna.

She spent 2 nights and days at the vets on a drip and still didn't eat. They didn't know what was wrong. I went to visit her today and she went mad, jumping up and down for me to cuddle her. I returned to work (after lots of cuddles) and I got a phone call an hour later saying she had finally eaten something!!!! First time in 5 days!! I almost cried. I went back to pick her up after work and she is home now. She still has her syringe and bandages, which I will get removed tomorrow.

The cause for her starving herself is unknown. But the vets saved her life by keeping her on the drip.

I thought I would update everyone with the progress

That's really good news.   You may never find out what the problem was but thank heavens she seems to be getting over it now.  Paws crossed she's over the worst of it.  

Hello,

Luna is now home and is eating & drinking

She has always been a fan of wet food, and nibbles on dry food during the day or night. However she hasn't touched her wet food and is only eating dry since being at the vets. She is also drinking a lot of water, more than usual.

Could this be because she is eating dry food? And could it be because she didn't eat/drink for 5 days and was on a drip?

I'm hoping it doesn't mean another visit to the vets or kidney failure

The big danger with your kitty now is dehydration. The ER vet you saw sounds defective. You didn't mention if blood work / x-rays were done. At this point, she could have an electrolyte imbalance. The fact that you say her "vomit looks like spit", means that there's nothing in her digestive tract, so she hasn't even been eating small amounts. If she isn't taken care of soon, she could be at risk for fatty liver pending on her original weight before she was sick and that can be fatal; you certainly don't want to wait until that's an issue.

I had four cats hospitalized last year for vomiting and diarrhea, cause unknown. I think it was a new food that turned out to be tainted. They've had no problems since, but they did need to be hospitalized on IV fluids and fed a diet easy on their tummies (Hill's ID or similar at the time). Whether the cause is something if left untreated could potentially improve on its own, your kitty should still be hospitalized with IV fluids at this point, because not eating / throwing up / diarrhea can cause a whole host of problems in the meantime that your kitty won't improve from without "supportive care". Electrolyte imbalance on its own can be fatal.

Pls have your kitty checked out and do the bloodwork necessary. If the ER vet was correct and your kitty isn't blocked, it could be what's called Ileus. It's when the digestive tract has slowed down and with supportive care, they usually improve.

Hello,

Sorry if you read my other comments, t mentions that she was on a drip (fluids) at the vets for 2 days. They kept her in until she started eating.

She is now eating and drinking, but she is drinking a lot. I was wondering if it is an after affect of being on fluids? Or if it's because she has diarrhea?

Thanks

SuzieB said:

Hello,

Sorry if you read my other comments, t mentions that she was on a drip (fluids) at the vets for 2 days. They kept her in until she started eating.

She is now eating and drinking, but she is drinking a lot. I was wondering if it is an after affect of being on fluids? Or if it's because she has diarrhea?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Since she has diarrhea, all the water is actually a good thing. It's so easy for a cat who has diarrhea to get dehydrated. As for increased thirst after fluids being normal - I don't know the answer to that. I think it's definitely worth a call to the vet though. I'd ask about the diarrhea at the same time.

About your girl's new dislike of her canned food - you could try warming it up first to release the aromas. That might entice her to try it out again.

The excessive drinking is most likely because of the diarrhea. Diarrhea can dehydrate them. You should have been given medication by your vet to hopefully help you get the diarrhea under control.

How is she doing now?  I would suspect the reason she is drinking more is because kibble is so dry versus wet food, and she feels more thirsty because of that.  When I converted my cats to a totally wet diet, they pretty much stopped drinking water from their bowl .  I only see them at the water bowl after I've given them a treat, and even then, very rarely.