Cat not eating or drinking

[livismom1]

My daughter's 9 year old cat stopped eating on Sunday. He threw up at least twice and had diarrhea. Took him to the vet yesterday. They gave him fluids and an anti-nausea shot. They didn't think there was any blockage and didn't think blood tests were needed yet. Just said if the vomiting or diarrhea continue to call back. Well since he refuses all food and water, he hasn't gotten sick. He still will not eat.

Any ideas on how to get him to eat? I even tried to get him to eat Temptations treats. But he wouldn't.

He is fed a rotation diet of Farmina canned food (the pumpkin line the venison, quail, duck, and pork flavors), Primal freeze dried raw pork, Feline Natural freeze dried beef and hoki, and Stella & Chewy freeze dried duck duck goose. And since he normally refuses to drink water, I always add extra water to his food. Even the canned food. Oh and for treats or snacks he gets Raw Paws freeze dried rabbit dry.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[LTS3]

Try warming up canned food so it has more of a smell. A sprinkle of FortiFlora over any food may help, too.

I'd also get the cat back in to the vet this week if possible for more diagnostics. Don't settle for band aid treatments or a . You can ask the vet about an appetite stimulant. Did the vet check the teeth the first time? If not, make sure that is done. Dental problems can result in a cat not eating.

 

[di and bob]

Since he has quit eating, it is time to try to tempt him into ANYTHING. Don't worry about nutrition, just get him to eat. Even a few licks a day can carry him through. My cats have leukemia, they have times of extreme sickness and refuse to eat/drink. The only thing I have that keeps them going through this is Delectable Lickables in the stew flavors. (they didn't like the bisque). I also divide up a pack every morning for their meds. It is a lickable treat in the treat section. Try low sodium tuna juice, deli chicken, Gerber human infant food in the meat flavors, anything. I had a cat that was dying and would only eat Arby's roast beef, so you never know. I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers.....

 

[livismom1]

I'll be taking him back to the vet today I think. He normally demands to be fed every 4-6 hours and the fact that he wont even lick his food when I pick him up and put his face above his plate is sad. I never even thought about his teeth. I hate the vets here because they are very lazy and unconcerned. They make me feel like a crazy person for asking questions and voicing concerns. They also get very dismissive when I refuse to feed him Rotal Canin, Science Diet, or Purina. Oh and they couldn't believe that my daughter and i were wearing masks last spring for his check-up. Gotta love small towns in the mid west.

 

[livismom1]

Since he has quit eating, it is time to try to tempt him into ANYTHING. Don't worry about nutrition, just get him to eat. Even a few licks a day can carry him through. My cats have leukemia, they have times of extreme sickness and refuse to eat/drink. The only thing I have that keeps them going through this is Delectable Lickables in the stew flavors. (they didn't like the bisque). I also divide up a pack every morning for their meds. It is a lickable treat in the treat section. Try low sodium tuna juice, deli chicken, Gerber human infant food in the meat flavors, anything. I had a cat that was dying and would only eat Arby's roast beef, so you never know. I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers.....

He normally tries to steal a lick of ranch dressing or sour cream. I don't know why, but he does. He didn't even try to sniff my daughters cheese and sour cream mix she got for her potatoes yesterday. I will be running to the store when they open to try baby food. Thank you.

 

[maggie101]

I assume the vet will do blood work at your next visit. If not consider going to someone else. He has too eat

 

[livismom1]

Update...they kept him all day to run tests and observe him.

Bloodwork showed his creatine level was 1.8. He said he would be concerned if it is higher than 1.8. His BUN was low. But he said that was probably due to the fact that he hasn't eaten since Sunday.

The x ray didn't show any blockage but a very small fat calcification in his upper abdomen but he said that wouldn't be the cause either.

So he gave him electrolytes and they tried to get him to eat there but he wouldn't eat for them either. They also gave him an appetite stimulant and a steroid shot depo medrol.

Since being home he took a few bites of food. Hopefully he will slowly start eating again.

 

[maggie101]

Try addding some tiki tubes for extra flavoring and moisture. I also mix in freeze dried treats from a small pet store. Orijen I think. You can ask the vet about fortiflora.

 

[stephanietx]

This is almost my life for the past 3 weeks. Our kitty started with diarrhea, then vomiting, then not eating. Took him to the vet and got metronidazole for the diarrhea, cernia for nausea, and a shot of cernia with B12 to jump start. He's been eating more, but 3 days later, the diarrhea started again. We think it's his prescription food, so we got a new food for him to try and so far, so good.

One of the things that finally got my guy to eat was plain meat baby food with no veggies, onions, or garlic. BeechNut is my preferred brand because it doesn't have corn starch. You could also try boiling a chicken thigh in plain water, no seasoning, debone it and shred it with a bit of the broth mixed in. I would actually try to get a couple of cans of Science Diet a/d from the vet because that stuff is like kitty crack. You could see if he'll eat it, and if he does, then mix with his regular food and wean him off until he's only eating his regular food.

 

[maggie101]

This is almost my life for the past 3 weeks. Our kitty started with diarrhea, then vomiting, then not eating. Took him to the vet and got metronidazole for the diarrhea, cernia for nausea, and a shot of cernia with B12 to jump start. He's been eating more, but 3 days later, the diarrhea started again. We think it's his prescription food, so we got a new food for him to try and so far, so good.

One of the things that finally got my guy to eat was plain meat baby food with no veggies, onions, or garlic. BeechNut is my preferred brand because it doesn't have corn starch. You could also try boiling a chicken thigh in plain water, no seasoning, debone it and shred it with a bit of the broth mixed in. I would actually try to get a couple of cans of Science Diet a/d from the vet because that stuff is like kitty crack. You could see if he'll eat it, and if he does, then mix with his regular food and wean him off until he's only eating his regular food.

I forgot about baby food! My vet also gave me a/d. Agree, it is like kitty crack! It's only to be given temporarily. Ingredients are good compared to other kinds of hills prescription

 

[FeebysOwner]

Jumping in late to this thread, but I am curious what your vet suggested the fat calcification might be. I personally think that should be explored a bit more, even if you get him eating again (I hope you do). If not through your own vet, if you have someone who could recommend another vet, I would ask about getting what they call a second opinion consult. The x-rays are yours, so you can ask for copies to be sent to you at no charge, and you in turn can provide them to another vet for consult. It might mean an ultrasound, which could be much more definitive than an x-ray (another thing to discuss with your vet about looking into). It is possible that it is the result of an old injury of some sort, but there other conditions it might be related to as well.

What else did the blood work show? If you don't have copies of them, ask for those too. They would also be beneficial if you choose to get a second opinion consult. What did the vet say the depo-metrol was to help with? It is an anti-inflammatory steroid, so it might help at least in the short term with getting him to eat.

If he doesn't start eating his own food soon, please try the foods recommended above. Beechnut baby food meat is good, but if you only have the Gerber Stage 2 baby food meat available, that is OK, even if it does contain corn starch. Right now, the point is to get him eating again.

 

[livismom1]

He is currently eating a can of his regular food. But my daughter is picking up some Beech Nut baby food tomorrow morning. Just in case he stops eating after the stimulant wears off. Dang cat had us so freaking scared and worried.

 

[livismom1]

Jumping in late to this thread, but I am curious what your vet suggested the fat calcification might be. I personally think that should be explored a bit more, even if you get him eating again (I hope you do). If not through your own vet, if you have someone who could recommend another vet, I would ask about getting what they call a second opinion consult. The x-rays are yours, so you can ask for copies to be sent to you at no charge, and you in turn can provide them to another vet for consult. It might mean an ultrasound, which could be much more definitive than an x-ray (another thing to discuss with your vet about looking into). It is possible that it is the result of an old injury of some sort, but there other conditions it might be related to as well.

What else did the blood work show? If you don't have copies of them, ask for those too. They would also be beneficial if you choose to get a second opinion consult. What did the vet say the depo-metrol was to help with? It is an anti-inflammatory steroid, so it might help at least in the short term with getting him to eat.

If he doesn't start eating his own food soon, please try the foods recommended above. Beechnut baby food meat is good, but if you only have the Gerber Stage 2 baby food meat available, that is OK, even if it does contain corn starch. Right now, the point is to get him eating again.

He said that they could do surgery to try to remove the fat thing but that a lot of the time they can't even find it during surgery. I have to call them in the morning to let them know how he did overnight, I will ask if they can mail or email the bloodwork results. Nothing really sunk in because we were so relieved that there was nothing major wrong.

 

[maggie101]

If you try the hills a/d, buy one can. It only takes a teaspoon of the pate in one meal