I apologize in advance for the length, going to try to cover all the details.
About 5 weeks ago I moved from a small apartment to a larger house. We brought our 5 year old cat, whom we adopted in December. Since moving, she hasn't eaten, and drinks very little.
About 4-5 days after we noticed she wasn't eating we took her to the local vet. He looked her over, took her temp, etc. and said she was fine, it's probably just her nerves. He offered to take a blood test, which we declined, as he said she was showing no signs of being underweight or dehydrated. At this point she weighed around 11lbs, her last vet visit a few months back she was around 12lbs.
Forward another week and she still hasn't eaten or drank, so we took her to another vet. He said she was showing signs of dehydration and the lack of eating was a sincere concern, so we checked her in with them and they force fed her for 2 days while they kept her on an IV drip for fluids. She still wouldn't eat on her own or use the litterbox, so they recommended we take her home and see a specialist. During this time they did a full panel blood test and X-rays, which were unsubstantial other than a slight bunching over the lower intestine indicated on one of the x-rays.
We took her to the specialist for an ultrasound and consultation. The ultrasound came back unsubstantial, at which point he recommended an upper GI. The upper GI took a week for them to get scheduled, so now we're at 3+ weeks w/o eating and barely any drinking. The upper GI, once again, was unsubstantial other than some signs of potential IBD.
3-4 days ago she was showing signs of disorientation and lethargy, so we took her to the vet ER, where they did another panel and gave her subcutaneous fluids.
We now have another appointment for Tues. The vet is recommending exploratory surgery, however we have our doubts. We have seen what seems to be every vet in the area, and are running out of options. Not a single vet has recommended force feeding, and when we called to inquire on a feeding tube, they recommended against it, that exploratory surgery be performed.
So here we are today - she hasn't eaten for easily 4 weeks and hasn't drank anything for 2-3 weeks. Every blood panel shows no signs of hepatic lipidosis.
Any recommendations? We're at a loss! We are going to start force feeding her immediately, however not a single vet in the area has recommended it so we're somewhat confused. She is taking pregnozol 2x a day (10 days now), and cyproheptadine once a day (4-5 days now), all with no positive results. She cries for food when we open a can of cat food, and follows us to the kitchen every time we go there - yet she still won't eat it.
Thanks!!!
About 5 weeks ago I moved from a small apartment to a larger house. We brought our 5 year old cat, whom we adopted in December. Since moving, she hasn't eaten, and drinks very little.
About 4-5 days after we noticed she wasn't eating we took her to the local vet. He looked her over, took her temp, etc. and said she was fine, it's probably just her nerves. He offered to take a blood test, which we declined, as he said she was showing no signs of being underweight or dehydrated. At this point she weighed around 11lbs, her last vet visit a few months back she was around 12lbs.
Forward another week and she still hasn't eaten or drank, so we took her to another vet. He said she was showing signs of dehydration and the lack of eating was a sincere concern, so we checked her in with them and they force fed her for 2 days while they kept her on an IV drip for fluids. She still wouldn't eat on her own or use the litterbox, so they recommended we take her home and see a specialist. During this time they did a full panel blood test and X-rays, which were unsubstantial other than a slight bunching over the lower intestine indicated on one of the x-rays.
We took her to the specialist for an ultrasound and consultation. The ultrasound came back unsubstantial, at which point he recommended an upper GI. The upper GI took a week for them to get scheduled, so now we're at 3+ weeks w/o eating and barely any drinking. The upper GI, once again, was unsubstantial other than some signs of potential IBD.
3-4 days ago she was showing signs of disorientation and lethargy, so we took her to the vet ER, where they did another panel and gave her subcutaneous fluids.
We now have another appointment for Tues. The vet is recommending exploratory surgery, however we have our doubts. We have seen what seems to be every vet in the area, and are running out of options. Not a single vet has recommended force feeding, and when we called to inquire on a feeding tube, they recommended against it, that exploratory surgery be performed.
So here we are today - she hasn't eaten for easily 4 weeks and hasn't drank anything for 2-3 weeks. Every blood panel shows no signs of hepatic lipidosis.
Any recommendations? We're at a loss! We are going to start force feeding her immediately, however not a single vet in the area has recommended it so we're somewhat confused. She is taking pregnozol 2x a day (10 days now), and cyproheptadine once a day (4-5 days now), all with no positive results. She cries for food when we open a can of cat food, and follows us to the kitchen every time we go there - yet she still won't eat it.
Thanks!!!
