Cat losing appetite and seem tired

[CallieKatherine]

Hi,
I want to start this by saying I am taking him to the vet tomorrow but since I’m very anxiously waiting for the appointment I thought I would come on here and see if anybody has any ideas. I have a 17 year old cat who normally has a very good appetite and is still relatively active. About two days ago early in the morning he was acting like his usual self, he was active and eating, then he jumped up on the bed with me and went to sleep and ended up sleeping for 10 hours straight. It was a little unusual for him to sleep that long without getting up but i tried not to think too hard about it but then he continued to seem tired that night as well. He did get up multiple times but he would only stay up for about 10 to 15 minutes before going back to sleep for a couple hours. His appetite isn’t completely gone but it’s not great. He’s pretty much only wanted to lick up the gravy in his wet food but not actually eat any of the actual food, he also has eaten his dry food a few times but not a ton of that either. Although he seems tired he is still alert and has been grooming himself, he’s actually grooming as I type this, so I don’t believe he’s lethargic just not really himself i guess. Anybody have any possible ideas?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. He is 17 yo, so a good place to start is with a full geriatric blood workup and urinalysis - which should happen at your vet visit. It isn't terribly uncommon for something to have been brewing for a while and then suddenly 'show up' as cats are pretty good at hiding ailments, and they endure a lot until they reach a point. You might also ask about x-rays to look for arthritis as well.

There are so many things that could be going on, so no way to conjecture on it at this point. Does he spend any time outside? No stool or pee issues? Is he drinking as usual? No recent changes in food? Change in weather/temperature/barometric pressure? Has his posture/position while active and while sleeping changed any? Those are just some of the other things that might give the vet some clues to work with.

 

[CallieKatherine]

Hi. He is 17 yo, so a good place to start is with a full geriatric blood workup and urinalysis - which should happen at your vet visit. It isn't terribly uncommon for something to have been brewing for a while and then suddenly 'show up' as cats are pretty good at hiding ailments, and they endure a lot until they reach a point. You might also ask about x-rays to look for arthritis as well.

There are so many things that could be going on, so no way to conjecture on it at this point. Does he spend any time outside? No stool or pee issues? Is he drinking as usual? No recent changes in food? Change in weather/temperature/barometric pressure? Has his posture/position while active and while sleeping changed any? Those are just some of the other things that might give the vet some clues to work with.

Thank you for the advice. I do believe that he has arthritis and i’ve been giving him something for a couple months but it could have gotten worse. His litterbox habits still seem pretty normal and i really haven’t noticed any notable changed besides his losing his appetite and wanting to sleep more. He’s never been a huge drinker and mainly gets his water from his wet food since i add extra water in there so without him eating that i am a little worried he might get dehydrated.

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know what they say

 

[CallieKatherine]

Hi,
I wanted to add something new that i noticed to see if anyone has any ideas. So with his favorite flavor of the wet food he will drink up all the gravy but leave the actual food/meat part. He’s rejecting pretty much everything else I give him.

 

[Lumiafan]

Any other changes to note with his water intake, litter box usage, etc.?

 

[CallieKatherine]

Any other changes to note with his water intake, litter box usage, etc.?

Litter box usage still seems normal he hasn’t really been drinking water but he’s been drinking a lot of gravy so i don’t think he’s very thirsty. It’s wasn’t uncommon before this happened that he wouldn’t drink much water from the bowl because he was getting a lot of wet food. I can tell that he is hungry because he eats the gravy no problem and he’s constantly walking around the house trying to find things to eat, like plastic, but for some reason he just won’t eat more than the gravy. Also i feel like i should mention that him walking around and eating things he can find on the floor when hungry is a normal thing that he has done for years.

 

[CallieKatherine]

I know i said in my initial post that he seems tired and I do believe he has slept a little more than normal but i’m not sure if saying he seems tired is super accurate. Since this morning he has been up multiple times and when he’s awake he’s very awake and alert. He has had times when he’s been extremely picky and refuses to eat his food because he’s tired of it and he’s acting similarly to when he gets like that but this time is more intense because he is also refusing things he would normal eat like ham and turkey. He ate a couple pieces of each but not nearly as much as usually would. I am going to ask the vet when we go but something he does a lot is bite off pieces of our christmas tree and this year we got a new one that has fake snow on it, i’m wondering if possibly the fake snow upset his stomach? I always try to stop him but sometimes i get there too late or he just refuses to stop until i physically move him away and he gets very angry.

 

[FeebysOwner]

he does a lot is bite off pieces of our christmas tree and this year we got a new one that has fake snow on it, i’m wondering if possibly the fake snow upset his stomach? I always try to stop him but sometimes i get there too late or he just refuses to stop until i physically move him away and he gets very angry.

It very well could be. The only way to know for sure if that has anything to do with it, is to stop him from eating any of it - period.

 

[CallieKatherine]

It very well could be. The only way to know for sure if that has anything to do with it, is to stop him from eating any of it - period.

i’m making my parents take it down either today or tomorrow so i don’t have to worry about it anymore. My mom looked it up and the fake snow is non-toxic so that’s obviously good but i’m wondering if maybe his stomach is just feeling off. He’s not throwing up or anything though

 

[treeclimber]

Another thing worth considering is his teeth. Suddenly being unwilling to eat the meat part of his food but still licking the gravy could be a sign that something in his mouth causes pain when he eats solid food.

You could try taking a pate food and mixing it with water to turn the whole thing into a gravy-like slurry. Not all cats like food that’s been diluted with water, but some do, especially if they’re hungry but rejecting solid food.

Another good thing about watery pate is that it will get more liquid into him. Kidney problems are also a possibility in a cat his age, and if that’s what’s going on then it’s important to keep him hydrated until he can see the vet.

One final question - does he have vomiting/hairballs frequently and/or have gooey stools or diarrhea? Cats with digestive issues often have nausea, and nausea could also definitely explain his behavior.

 

[CallieKatherine]

Another thing worth considering is his teeth. Suddenly being unwilling to eat the meat part of his food but still licking the gravy could be a sign that something in his mouth causes pain when he eats solid food.

You could try taking a pate food and mixing it with water to turn the whole thing into a gravy-like slurry. Not all cats like food that’s been diluted with water, but some do, especially if they’re hungry but rejecting solid food.

Another good thing about watery pate is that it will get more liquid into him. Kidney problems are also a possibility in a cat his age, and if that’s what’s going on then it’s important to keep him hydrated until he can see the vet.

One final question - does he have vomiting/hairballs frequently and/or have gooey stools or diarrhea? Cats with digestive issues often have nausea, and nausea could also definitely explain his behavior.

he actually already eats pate he’a really picky about his texture and that’s the only one he’ll rat. i considered teeth problems but he is still eating hard food too so i don’t know if he would do that if his teeth hurt. His stools so far have been normal and he doesn’t throw up too often. Honestly the only thing that really seems off is the eating so i’m very confused.

 

[CallieKatherine]

Hi everybody,
we are home from the vet now and the vet does suspect that the fake snow pieces from the christmas tree has caused constipation. He felt his colon and said he has poop in there and it’s pretty hard. He also has a lot of gas which he thinks is probably making him pretty uncomfortable and lose a lot of his appetite. We are giving him cisapride and lactulose for the next few days in hopes that he will be able to pass everything. The tree has been taken down, i genuinely tried my hardest to get him not to eat any of it but i feel like such a failure now. The only good news is that blood work was done and everything there looks good and i’m very relieved his kidneys are still good considering his age. Thank you everyone for your advice!

 

[Furballsmom]

Bless your heart, because you were observant and caught that he wasn't feeling good

 

[CallieKatherine]

Bless your heart, because you were observant and caught that he wasn't feeling good

Thank you! I really appreciate that

 

[Mighty Orange]

I hope your cat passes it soon.

 

[CallieKatherine]

I hope your cat passes it soon.

thank you! I’m very hopeful he will otherwise he might have to have it surgically removed which at his age would make me very nervous

 

[catloverfromwayback]

Not being able to stop a cat doing what it wants is absolutely NOT being a failure! They’re not like dogs, wanting to please a pack leader. They will do what they want. As Furballsmom said, you’re observant and saw something wrong - and the probable cause! I hope he passes the things soon.

 

[CallieKatherine]

Not being able to stop a cat doing what it wants is absolutely NOT being a failure! They’re not like dogs, wanting to please a pack leader. They will do what they want. As Furballsmom said, you’re observant and saw something wrong - and the probable cause! I hope he passes the things soon.

Thank you for saying that! it does make me feel better. He’s so determined to eat it and would hiss and get extremely angry whenever i would move the branches away from his mouth and try to move him from the tree. I’m really hoping since they’re tiny pieces the meds will help and he can start to feel like himself again.

 

[catloverfromwayback]

Thank you for saying that! it does make me feel better. He’s so determined to eat it and would hiss and get extremely angry whenever i would move the branches away from his mouth and try to move him from the tree. I’m really hoping since they’re tiny pieces the meds will help and he can start to feel like himself again.

He sounds like a tough character, like my late Magnus the Monster!
Would your parents forego the fake snow next Christmas? Toxic or not, it sounds dangerous.