Got a lot going on. . .

Hello! I always use this site to help me with stuff for my babies, but never fully joined! I think it's about time! 

 My lil guy, Remi, is almost 3 years old, got him at a shelter when he was 6 months. He's very outgoing, walks on a leash, loves to play with dogs, and very curious. Never had any problems with him except his weight which we were working on.

This past January I started graduate school for nurse anesthesia, which takes tons of time. I always planned on getting him a playmate since he seems so social, and decided this was the time. I figured he'd play with a new cat and leave me time to study. So i went to the shelter, picked out a loving little 3 month old.  I figured it'd be easier than having him introduced to an already adult cat... Well we did the introduction over about 3 days. Had the baby in a room for the first day. They started playing underneath the door, then let him out and Remi hissed a couple times before deciding the baby wasn't a threat. By 3 days in they started playing and chasing each other around. No problem.

Well, about a week later Remi started sneezing. No big deal, bc the kitten was sneezing when I got him, i just figured they'd passed around a cold. Then Remi becomes super lethargic ( i mean, he's fat so he was already lazy, but this was extreme) vomited a few times, then he stops eating! I KNOW something is super wrong bc this guy comes running just at the mention of a treat. So i made an appt, and to cut it short after 3 days of not eating, some mirtazepine (for appetite stimulant), some anti-nausea meds, and some pain meds, an x-ray, bloodwork, & subq fluids and vitamins , he FINALLY started eating... a little. He started eating this past Saturday, so almost a week now. Now he is doing much better considering. He is eating decently and plays a little more. But he still just isn't the same. He always loved his wet food and now he acts offended when i put it in front of him. Almost like it makes him gag. And the dry food kind've falls out of his mouth when he eats sometimes, like he doesn't want to take too much. I was in the process of switching him to a raw diet (about a month in), and now i don't know what to do. He pretty much went back to only eating his dry food or nothing. And i know that's not good for him. But then i'm scared to let him go without eating, especially since I still think something is wrong and I know all about hepatic lipidosis! He weighs 15 pounds... he's way overweight, but he is a bigger cat. The vet had said if he didn't eat then we could do an ECHO to look at his heart, i guess thinking maybe CHF. But since he seemed to perk up I didn't want to do that quite yet. 

Overall, just too many things have changed, too much stuff has happened, and i don't know where to start. Do i take him back to do the ECHO? Do I just let him eat the dry food all the time now? Is he still sick, or is something else wrong?  Do i quit trying with the raw diet, could that have upset him? and how do I get this guy to lose weight if he is still so lethargic? Im beginning to wonder if he is depressed. His meow has changed, it sounds quiet, and kind've congested? I miss my normal cat and I'm worried maybe the kitten is bothering him? But he doesn't act like it, they play and both sleep in the bed with me. So maybe he just needs time to get over whatever was going on ? 

I just finally had to get on here and ask for some opinions because this is driving me crazy! I just want my two happy cats! 

The vet  gave your cat an appetite stimulant, anti-nausea and pain meds, an x-ray, some blood tests, & gave subq fluids and vitamins. Can you tell us what the results were?

It sounds like Remi was very sick, it's not surprising that he has not bounced back immediately. He may still have some lingering nausea and you say he still sounds congested. 

Here are the symptoms of hepatic lipidosis:

Prolonged anorexia – often of several week duration
Rapid weight loss
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Constipation
Muscle wasting
Depression
Downward flexion of head and neck
Jaundice (e.g., yellowing of eyes)
Drooling of saliva
Cat may collapse in later stages
Other symptoms will be related to concurrent, underlying disease.

If you are worried you should get him checked out by a vet, the vet will do a blood test and urinalysis. They may perform an ultrasound or an X-Ray to check the size of his liver. 

My cat became extremely sick after I introduced my new kitten to her with similar symptoms and finally had to be hospitalised for a few days. It was only after about a week since she came back from the hospital that that she started to become more like her old self.    

I fed my cat what she would eat, we don't have Gerber's baby food here, I was unable to find baby food with plain chicken or turkey in it (no onions or garlic). I fed her boiled chicken breast while she was nauseated. Later, as she recovered I started to sprinkle a little of her favourite treat on her wet food to make it more appetising, I heated it up to allow her to smell the aroma. Some people give their kitties something like tuna or sardines because they are wonderfully smelly and can entice cats to eat. 

As for the dry, allow her to eat that if she wishes until she completely recovers and decide later whether it's time to start (if you wish) re-introducing her to raw food again.  

thank you! yes, I have another vet appointment tomorrow for my little guy. I'm going to tell her the symptoms that haven't gone away and we'll see what they want to do.