Cat not eating/ doctors can't find anything. Please read/ help

[cellophanecola]

So my cat killua on Monday 3/12 had a stuffy nose and I brushed it off as a cat cold and said if it didn't get better in a couple days I'd take him to see his doctor. On Wednesday 3/15 he turned 1 year old, and I noticed him not eating very much and kind of sleepy. So I brought him to the vet luckily they squeezed him into their tight schedule and they did blood tests and an x ray and showed that his liver was running a little mild and said not to worry about it, and thought he might've eaten something and did the x ray and said his organs looked a little fuzzy/ not clear and wanted to do feed him barium for it to show a blockage on the x ray, and the results came back as nothing was blocking him up, He shows an interest in eating but is very picky and doesn't like the food the doctor prescribed so we've had to syringe feed him the food, he'll nibble and take a few bites of food but not much he still drinks food and food and will use the litter box. But recently he seems to not want to move very fast or jump onto my lap and looks at me and meows. I've also notice a difference in him running up and down the stairs ( he slowly descends the stair now and seems to not be as playful as a year old cat show be). Doctors said they don't what's wrong so they gave him a shot of antibiotics, steroids. Hopefully someone here has had a similar experience and can tells me what's going on.




His symptoms include: Runny/ stuffy nose ( which seems to have gone away), not eating very much ( although shows an interest) , laying down in closet for hours at a time ( which is usually where my two cats sleep), he still is sometimes social with me and cuddles with me, he sits/sleeps hunched over in a loaf most of the time, he seems to sometimes avoid sleeping on side( although he usually lays on his side), I haven't seen him poop very much but still uses the litter to go pee, he seems to meow a little less, and doesn't look when I call him sometimes, his eyes aren't dull and he stills looks alert and walks around sometimes with me.

Id really appreciate the help,
thanks for reading,
-Kenna

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I am not an expert in this area, but from my reading here I know it could be any number of things.  If it is pancreatitis, which my cat had, they have done what is necessary.  As you didn't mention vomiting, I really doubt that it is this.  Make sure he is drinking, that is ESSENTIAL.  Syringe if necessary, but get the water into him.  Cats are very dependent on their noses to trigger appetite.  A stuffy nose could be the reason for his disinclination to eat.  Again, the antibiotics for any infection and your syringe feedings are what is indicated.  

I'd get a notebook and make detailed notes of ALL of your observations and concerns.  Once you have a list, get back with your vet.  Be sure to include that he is slow going down the stairs, all of those sorts of things.  You never know what is going to trigger the "AH HA!" moment with your vet.  And if necessary, seek a second opinion!  NO reputable vet would be angry about that.

Please keep me posted on how Killua is doing.  I'm so glad you found TCS.  This is a wonderful, warm and caring community.  WELCOME!

 

[cindycrna]

The siting like a loaf can be a sign of nausea. Has he had a fever. It's possible it's FIP.  My FIP kitty was just like that. Sniffed food, would take a couple of bites. Did they run labs? Can you post them?

 

[cellophanecola]

He has had no fever that I'm aware of I kissed his forehead but does not seem warm his ears are pretty cold, and he is purring and kneading every once in a while. Like right now the only thing he seems to want to eat are cat treats, and he is a long hair and I don't know if it's cause of the heat but he's shedding a lot and has been for weeks, he is drinking on his own and doesn't seem want to stop we had a kitty last may die of possible fip and I'm really hoping it's not fip. Killua is my literal soulmate and the thought of him not living makes my blood run cold.
M
Thank you all for being sweet and supportive

 

[cellophanecola]

They did lab reports but did not show them to me. They said that's it's possible he had fip but they called me up and said he had no fluid in his body which they said that it's still possible but they said hat he was looking a lot better and alert under their care.

 

[nansiludie]

They did lab reports but did not show them to me. They said that's it's possible he had fip but they called me up and said he had no fluid in his body which they said that it's still possible but they said hat he was looking a lot better and alert under their care.

Did they say if he had anemia or anything like that? 

 

[cellophanecola]

Nothing. They said his blood looked fine but his liver was mild

 

[cellophanecola]

He's been strictly indoors, he's not neutered, and he was from a breeder, and he's a long hair Siamese cat

 

[cindycrna]

Liver can be effected in FIP. Are they working up his liver issues? Testing for anything else?

 

[cellophanecola]

They have not been working on his liver, just treating symptoms as they come and not looking for a reason why there's symptoms

 

[red top rescue]

FYI if he got an antibiotic INJECTION and it is supposed to last two weeks, it's Convenia, and it has its own side effects such as lethargy.  It is always advisable to put a cat on PROBIOTICS during and after antibiotics, ESPECIALLY Convenia, because it kills the good intestinal bacteria as well as any bad bacteria, and that can lead to constipation and tummy problems.  You can get a good recommendation about what kind of probiotics are best by asking that question in the Nutrition forum.

 

[foxxycat]

You can try stinky cat food heated up to get him to try to eat. Gerber/Beechnut baby meat food is another tempting thing to try. My cats LOVE the ham one. Turkey is their second fav.

Also you can try some shredded chicken warmed up =remove bones/skin.

You will need to get some kind of food into the cat. Treats are fine...you need to make sure they don't start having liver problems. I don't understand by the liver being mild..never heard of that phrase.

Convenia takes a good 24 to 48 hours to fully kick in and start killing any infection that it's used-there's only a few bacteria it works on but most of the time the side effects go away- the one is lethargic but most antibiotics can cause this in the initial phase.

you can also try plain yogurt to get him to lick it off your finger=that will help the probiotics. I would not use cheese-it tends to bind up and he doesn't need that problem right now.

kitten chow is another food you can try-it's calorie dense and you don't need as much.

Dark meat canned tuna is one that I find works. The white tuna doesn't stink enough-the light tuna is what I use=usually the name brands the cats like better than the store brand. I put it in a bowl and mash it with a fork then add HOT water and mash it together to make a slurry. Most kitties LOVE tuna slurry.

Keep us posted.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

He's been strictly indoors, he's not neutered, and he was from a breeder, and he's a long hair Siamese cat

When he's feeling better, you may want to consider neutering him.  Unless he is papered, and you plan on breeding, he'll be a MUCH happier kitty for it, and prey to less oddball health issues that affect non-neutered cats.

Keep updating us.  We know what it is to worry about your beloved cat, and most of us have had, or have, kitty soulmates.  We are with you.

 

[javi3]

I've been going through this with my female Siamese in the last month. Its detrimental that a cat doesn't go without food for 1-2 days. Even if they are nibbling here and there, they can easily go into liver failure from fatty liver disease (Hepatic lipodosis ) within days and then you're looking at either having a feeding tube put in from the vet and a costly stay, or force feeding at home. I chose to force feed at home because Java gets extremely stressed in a carrier and I don't have the money right now. Java's brother stopped eating because of stress and his owner spent probably at least $2000-3000 and he still had to be put to sleep. The two most important things I can tell you are:

Force feed a solid Pate'food by spoon, and get Sub Q fluids from the vet to give every 1-3 days until he is fully better.

Also a good appetite stimulant and anti nausea med from the vet might help. I've read Zophran is the best for nausea.

I haven't tried the meds yet, but the food is the most important thing you can give them and in my case, spoon feeding rather than shringe feeding was less stressful because it took half the time and it didn't make her feel like she might choke. It made her eat on her own that same night. Its messier and you have to pry their mouth open which seems harsher than shringe feeding, but it worked better for us. There are you tube videos showing how. Just stick a teaspoon or baby spoon with a mound of solid food, in the front of his mouth and raise the spoon upward so the food will scrape against the roof of his mouth, then close the mouth, encouraging him to swallow. Do 3 teaspoons at a time. Good luck

 

[javi3]

Ps. If you'd like more tips, me know

 

[livelovepurr]

Sometimes their can be a slight liver elevation with infection. The antibiotic infection he received might help clear up. Did they do a urinalysis? UTIs also have these symptoms. If he's still defecating and no vomiting, I'd less concerned about a foreign body and more concerned with some other organ disfunction. How old is your kitty? Older cats are more likely to go into chronic renal failure. If the BUN and creatinine on the blood tests are okay and a urinalysis comes back fine, then I would take him for a second opinion.

 

[cellophanecola]

I didn’t mean to never post an update but I just remembered this thread. A long story short, my cat killua ended up passing away on April 8th. He ended up not really being able to walk with his back legs towards the end. We ended up having to take him to the er vet for blood coming out of his urethra. Like puddles of it. And our we vet said he had lost a lot of blood and probably wouldn’t make it, so we made the judgement call to put him out of his misery after trying so hard to keep him here with us. We still have no clue what did this to my poor baby, as we couldn’t do the autopsy as we had already spent 3000$ trying to figure it out. I’m so very thankful for all the helpful posts on this page. You all sound more caring and helpful than my own veterinarian. Thank you all for the suggestions.

 

[cellophanecola]

 

[cellophanecola]