Not eating?

Hi there

Charlie is an 11 year old brown tabby. not pedigree or anything, just my adorable furkid.

Anyway, we moved 5 months ago after the break up of my relationship. after Charlie and I moved he seemed to be coping ok. It was summer so his eating routine made it's usual shift from one can of wet food a day (2 portions of half a tin) down to 2/3rds of a can.

Anyway about 3 weeks ago I noticed he was losing weight and I realised I had been throwing away more food than usual. I tried changing his brand and that didn't help, he was down to maybe a third of a tin a day. I packed him off to the vets.

It seems that he has lost 1.5 kilos (he was 14lbs before) and I can feel his hips, ribs and spine which used to be well covered. The vets did a once over and found nothing wrong other than the need for some dental work. We put his lack of eating down to this as he would ask for food but then not eat it.

He had a tooth removed and the next day he was back to his normal self. A few days later he wasn't eating again. Off to the vets again and it turns out he had got a mouth infection from where they took the tooth out. The vet gave him an antibiotic shot and an anti inflamitory shot and gave me some tablets for him.

Once again he was scoffing his food like normal. That was last tuesday, it is now sunday and he's not eating much again. We are half way through the tablets.

I have been giving his pills in tuna mayo as generally he eats them that way, and giving him some without a pill in so that he doesn't get suspisious of tuna mayo. It's only a little bit though.

So, my questions are?

Is he being fussy b/c he's getting tuna may twice a day?
How can I get him to eat?
Am I premature in worrying b/c we haven't finished the antbiotics yet?
Would it be an idea to get him some kitten food so that what he does eat has more to it?
What else can i do?
Could this be depression from the move and change in lifestyle? I'm out a lot more now so he is on his own for more time.
If it is depression what can I do about it? I try to spend quality time with him and he sleeps on the bed with me every night.

He's due to go back to the vets on tuesday.

I love this little guy so much. I couldn't have got through the breakup without him.. I am terrified of losing him and I really don't like seeing him so thin and just not himself.

Thanks

Blessings

Tilia

You may want to do some additional blood work to check thyroid, blood sugar and kidney values. I would also strongly suggest asking your vet about appetite stimulants. It's possible for stress to cause changes in appetite, but it's critical that he begins to eat again.

Also, how much tuna is he getting each time? Too much tuna can lead to vitamin E deficiency, so I wouldn't feed it too often.

Hi there

Thanks for the reply, he was only getting a tiny bit of tuna, just enough to wrap the pill and to prove that not all tuna comes wrapped round a pill. But that stopped working so it's now a case of wrapping in a towel and force feeding him them. I hate it and we have wasted 2 pills already with him being stubbourn. (I plan to get 2 more from the vets so he has a full course)

The vets did a ful pre-anasthetic blood work, don't know if it tested thyroid but it did cover liver and stuff.

We went back to the vets last weds and he's on more antibiotics as the where the tooth was still hadn't healed properly.

I asked the vet about kitten food and she said it was an option but that he might get used to it.. so I'm going to try kitten biscuits as they will be easier to ween him off them. Getting them today.

Fingers crossed.

Thanks

Tilia

Was his liver okay? That's the problem my cat who wasn't eating is having...and it's very, very serious. If he doesn't start eating again SOON, get him back to the vet.

When cats don't eat, their bodies try to metabloize body fat. This is inefficient and puts a strain on the liver. It can be fatal.

This is not to scare you, but to justify your concern. I'm currently in Russia fighting desperately for my cat who is suffering from just such a problem.