Bella got into a fight with a dog!! :( Graphic**

I would imagine she doesn't want to eat because it hurts her to do so.  When I have a toothache, I don't like to eat because it hurts and I don't like pain.  I don't have a choice, though, because if my blood sugar gets too low I get really messed up and end up dry heaving and all that which is even more uncomfortable.

I think I have either forgotten the details or mixed it up with details of another attack I read about.  It makes sense now why the poor kitty doesn't want to eat.  Did they talk about a feeding tube until her mouth heals?

SarahRamirez said:

I went yesterday morning to pick Bella up from the overnight emergency care. She still wasn't eating and they wanted her to remain hooked to the IV for the day so I transported her to our regular vet office. I picked her up before closing and they gave me some canned food and syringes to force feed throughout the next several days. I've never done force feeding so I was nervous and was hoping that being home would relax her enough that she would decide she would eat on her own. So this morning, after realizing she had her own plan, I knew I was going to have to step up to the plate. I watched a couple of YouTube videos and gained the confidence. It's MUCH EASIER than giving medication!!!

She is typically a very vocal cat and she is obsessive about food!! She is starting to meow again but she keeps her mouth closed. Hopefully, as each day goes by her pain will get less and less and we can move on from this craziness. The bags under my eyes are big enough to pack for a week's vacation.

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So sorry to hear about poor Bella and yours experience.  Cats are pretty susceptible to stress, so maybe letting her out of the bedroom you are keeping her in might help get her back into her routine and make her feel better?  It's been my experience that cats are pretty quick healers, so hopefully every day she is making good progress that maybe cannot even been seen.

I recently took in a 7th cat and one of my cats who is not liking the new cat has been avoiding coming in and eating very little, when he does.  He's already on the thin side, so I looked into new, different foods that might get him back to eating and although I don't particularly like the ingredients in most foods out there, I want him to eat and be happy.  I got him Fancy Feast Grilled Chicken with Cheddar Cheese Feast in Gravy.  I just got one 3 oz. can for around 50 cents to see if he'd even like it, and he did, so I'm going to get more for him until everyone calms down about the new cat. 

In the past, I've also had good luck giving them the water I drain off my tuna and sardines (always in water) after I've crushed them into mush.  You can get those at walmart for around a dollar, so it's a cheap try to try to get your girl eating again.

I once had a new dog that was found wandering that we brought in viciously and unexpectedly attack my oldest and sweetest dog that didn't have a mean bone in her body.  She had puncture wounds all over her and I was beyond upset.  This dog was always nice to every new dog I'd ever taken in, so I can kind of relate to the horror of seeing the attack of your sweet cat by a strange dog.  While I by no means condone what happened, please try not to hate on the dog too much.  Clearly, it has awful owners that may have even enjoyed "sicking" the dog on cats in the past or something.  I have taken in many, many dogs over the years of varying breeds and ages and whatnot and none have ever been vicious towards my cats like this one was to yours.

Thank you for being such a great owner to Bella and giving her the love and care she needs to get through this.  We're always here for moral support or to offer ideas or thoughts if you need it.     

Yes the stress is possibly exacerbating the problem. You're doing everything right, it's just going to take a bit of time. Have you tried feeding her some food off your finger. You can get liquid snacks too, they might help whet her appetite.

Hope she gets better soon and you can get some sleep.

Bella is starting to eat on her own. She ate about a third of what I had mixed for the force feed. I offered it to her prior to loading syringes and she finally ate!!!!!! She typically just sniffs it and moves away from it. Darn cat, she's aged me ten years. I force fed another 6ml and called it good. I'm hoping each day will continue to bring progress, fingers crossed for no setbacks.
Ginny, the vet is speculating a few things for her lack of appetite. The antibiotics she was on can cause nausea so we took her off of that and he gave an injection that lasts 10 days (kind of wondering why we didn't do that in the first place). And then the pain meds she was on can cause appetite suppression, so we switched that to a different one. Plus, her mouth is very tender since her wound is from the corner of her mouth all the way to the back of her jaw. Basically, it's the perfect storm. A feeding tube was going to be the next plan of attack if I couldn't get this to work.

Alicia88, no low blood sugars!! My daughter is a T1 diabetic, that's a whole other post! I feel like I'm running a mini hospital over here!

What'sOneMore, first, I love the name!! I've been leaving the bedroom door open and she's come out a few times. At this point I'm only locking her in there when it gets busy and I want to be able to keep track of her, i.e. Dinner time or shower times. We've turned my sons room into her room and she has everything she needs in there. My son is her preferred person so this is where she spends a lot of her time normally. He serenades her every night at bed, it's the sweetest thing ever. Also, I'm not mad at the dog. I don't think she was trying to kill Bella, just play with her. As soon as I yelled the dog stopped and came running to me just as perky as can be. THANKFULLY!! I don't want to think about what would have transpired if the dog wouldn't have wanted to let go. We have a dog of our own. He's a German Shepard/Border Collie mix that we adopted when he was 2 and he took months and months of work to get him to leave the cats alone. Now we have no issues what so ever and the cats definitely like to let him know that he's at the bottom of the totem pole.

Pegleg, sleep?? What is this magic you talk of??

Awww....bless her heart!  So glad to hear Bella ate some food on her own.  Hopefully that is the first of many more meals she feels well enough to eat.  Is she purring and acting a little more like herself?

Yes, she's back to purring and will even do some snuggling. She is the cat that drives everyone crazy. She typicall meows at us all day long, has NO concept of personal space, and just HAS to be right in the middle of whatever is going on. To see little bits of her personality come back is so rewarding. I've promised her that I'll never call her annoying again. She's a little love bug and we're just happy that we were able to do whatever necessary to make her feel as comfortable as possible and help her with her recovery.

Great news!!  Sounds like she's on her way to brighter days ahead as long as she keeps eating.  It is kind of sad how you take them for granted sometimes until one gets hurt or passes away or goes missing and then you realize just how much you miss all those little quirks they have.  I'm so glad to hear she is doing so well and maybe her worst days are behind both of you.  Please continue to keep us updated.

I"m glad she's feeling better!  And cats who don't understand personal space are the best, in my opinion!  My boys are always all over me and I wouldn't change it for the world.  I'm not diabetic, thank God.  I love junk food too much.  I'm hypoglycemic and I get really sick and messed up if I don't eat often enough.  Usually I have about 10-20 minutes from when I first feel hungry before I start feeling sick.

I'll pray for both of you, that sweet cat doesn't know how lucky she is having someone like you to be her champion! (or maybe she does,now) You deserve a medal for all you have gone through, and her too!

When the neighbors dog attacked and killed one of my cats, after attacking the other neighbors dog and sending it to the ER,  and going after joggers, AC wanted us to put the dog (a boxer/pit bull cross) into our car and bring it in! (we were out of town and they had no jurisdiction) . When we called the sheriff he said to shoot it when it came on our property. Despite leash laws, the owner had no desire to curb his murderous behavior. I was told also by animal control that once a dog attacks another domestic animal, such as a cat, it is just a matter of time until they escalate to a human child.  This dog in fact did lunge at a small child that was visiting next door, but thankfully an adult was nearby and was able to chase him off. I called the sheriff again when this dog ran at me growling when I went to get my paper. I hit him on the snout with the paper and yelled "NO" and kicked at him and he ran off.   It was all solved when we heard a gunshot in the middle of the night and never saw the dog again. I truly think you should find out who the owners are and at least threaten to sue them for your vet bills. Money being lost will most likely be the only incentive to keep their dog on their property. All the luck and give your sweet girl a kiss for me!

I agree with the sheriff about killing that dog.  I HATE the thought of killing any animal, even though I do not like big mean dogs, but sometimes it is necessary.  I'd warn that neighbor that if his dog comes in your yard again, it is dead!  Better to nip this in the bud before he does go after more small animals or even a child.  I'd check with the local and county people about this first.  Also, I'd keep Bella indoors from now on!!

I'm so glad to hear Bella is on the mend!  Her personality sounds so much like my Garfy!  He was such a curious little soul and like Bella he had to be in the middle of anything I was doing.  Watching, supervising, sniffing, reaching out a little paw to touch or play with something.  Just watching me with wide-eyed wonder!  I miss him so much.