I need help!!!! My cat is not eating since 2/2/22

[margaret tan]

Hi, my cat Tango was diagnosed with pancreatitis in animal hospital on 2/2/22 and was given Cerenia (Injection), Buprenorphine (Injection), Appelin, Gabapentin, Metronidazole, Appetite stimulant. He was also on drip for 3 days to keep him hydrated. Since 2/2 till today 10/2/22, he is avoiding food and we had to resort to force feeding by using syringe. He has since lost some weightly likely around 600g dince 2/2 and we had spoken to our vet and they had told us to continue to force feed since he is not motivated to eat even we had tried various type of food. At times, Tango will pick up 2 or 3 pieces of kibbles and licking some wet food from his plate but it is too little for the day and we are very worried and have not been able to rest well since 2/2. And he meows each time when stroke his fur or pick him!!!

Can i ask for some advice for those who had the same situation as me now? What other methods can i motivate him to eat? And we really worried v v worried he might die....

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Sorry to hear Tango is struggling with eating. There are quite a few members/posts on this site about eating difficulties and some that tie to pancreatitis.

At this juncture, I would highly recommend you talk to the vet about a feeding tube. You want to do it before he gets any weaker. According to those who have dealt with a feeding tube on this site, it is pretty easy to get used to administering foods to your cat and is not nearly as daunting as it sounds. One of the major issues with trying to get past pancreatitis is getting the cat to eat again. If he is not able to do that, then the feeding tube is the answer. The good part about a feeding tube is that you can continue to try to get him to eat by mouth while you are providing him the necessary nutrients through the tube.

You can also try baby food meats (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut), most cats love the taste and while they are not nutritionally complete, they might help to jumpstart him to eat. The vet likely carries Hill's Restorative A/D food which is loaded with nutrients and is used specifically to help ill cats recover. It is also easy to administer either through an oral syringe or feeding tube when made into a slurry.

I hope members who have handled feeding tubes will see your post and confirm what I am saying. I also hope that he is still being treated with most of the meds you noted above - they need to be a constant for a while as opposed to one-time doses.
How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again – TheCatSite Articles

 

[margaret tan]

Hi. Sorry to hear Tango is struggling with eating. There are quite a few members/posts on this site about eating difficulties and some that tie to pancreatitis.

At this juncture, I would highly recommend you talk to the vet about a feeding tube. You want to do it before he gets any weaker. According to those who have dealt with a feeding tube on this site, it is pretty easy to get used to administering foods to your cat and is not nearly as daunting as it sounds. One of the major issues with trying to get past pancreatitis is getting the cat to eat again. If he is not able to do that, then the feeding tube is the answer. The good part about a feeding tube is that you can continue to try to get him to eat by mouth while you are providing him the necessary nutrients through the tube.

You can also try baby food meats (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut), most cats love the taste and while they are not nutritionally complete, they might help to jumpstart him to eat. The vet likely carries Hill's Restorative A/D food which is loaded with nutrients and is used specifically to help ill cats recover. It is also easy to administer either through an oral syringe or feeding tube when made into a slurry.

I hope members who have handled feeding tubes will see your post and confirm what I am saying. I also hope that he is still being treated with most of the meds you noted above - they need to be a constant for a while as opposed to one-time doses.
How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again – TheCatSite Articles

Hi,

Thank you for your reply!
Greatly appreciated.
Yes we are feeding with him Royal Canin Gastrointestinal wet food but he doesnt seem to like it very much.
I will try to source for Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut in Singapore and speak with vet tomorrow on the feeding tube.

Will update soon.
Thank you, thank you.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I take it your vet does not carry the Hill's Restorative A/D food? If you don't know, call them and see, as he may like it better than the Royal Canin. Also, perhaps Goya baby food meat is available to you? Any baby food meat you can find in any brand should suffice as long as it is primarily meat and broth and doesn't contain garlic, onion, etc.

Please do keep us posted!

 

[fionasmom]

Can you get Hartz Delectables where you are? They come in stews and bisques and are very palatable.

 

[Maurey]

See if you’re able to get carnivore critical care where you are. A lot of animals find it appealing enough to eat by themselves when very unwell. Even if they don’t, it’s very caloric, and more species appropriate than RC or Hills.

Critical Care Food for Carnivores | Oxbow Animal Health

Packed with protein, Oxbow Carnivore Care is a premium recovery food for carnivores with poor nutritional status resulting from illness or surgery.

www.oxbowanimalhealth.com

 

[margaret tan]

Hi Guys,

Thank you for your post and sorry for not updating Tango's condition sooner.

He is still under treatment and we did another test 2 days ago and he has cleared his pancreatitis but he is still not eating or digesting his food very well. However, he is very hungry and tend to eat very fast and thus ended up he would threw out very soon after. Therefore, we split his food into 4 portions and it helps. However, vet is very concerned as he lost a total of 700g within 2 weeks and highly suspected there might be a foreign object near his upper tummy as he appeared to be very uncomfortable when she touches there. We did xray twice in the beginning and 2 days ago and both images did not show any objects. Therefore, vet have scheduled him to have an ultrasound done this 2 March. I will update after that.

Thank You guys for your post, concern and love. Deeply appreciated.

Margaret
Singapore

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks for the update. If I understood correctly, he had lost 600g as of 2/10, so that means there has only been another 100g loss since then? If that is true, it is good that the weight loss seems to be slowing down. I sure hope he starts eating more now - and, keeping it down.

It would seem to me the tenderness might be from an irritated pancreas, and/or perhaps even his stomach. I hope the ultrasound sheds some light on what is going on. And I hope he is still on most of the meds he was on earlier! Recovering from pancreatitis can be a long haul.

 

[margaret tan]

Hi Guys,

This is Tango ultrasound report.
Now, he is eating well and putting on his lost weight and stop all his vomiting. And vet has put him on laxapet Laxative gel to eliminate hairball that is found inside his intestines. Vet also suggested we should do a biopsy for further investigation.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks for the update! Good news for the most part. IMO, they should consider doing another ultrasound with a FNA (fine needle aspiration) cytology before jumping to a biopsy. Much less invasive. You might want to discuss that with the vet. You might also ask why they didn't consider a FNA with the ultrasound that they did.

 

[margaret tan]

Hi Friends,

Sorry for the late update!

March has not been kind to me! Few unhappy events has occurred and thus not able to update sooner.
- Tango went for 2 surgeries
- i lost my aunt to covid 19
- my father in law need kidney dialysis


Latest update on tango, we went ahead with a surgery as vet highly suspected there are foreign objects in his stomach or intestines.
Yes, she is right. They found large amount of fur inside his stomach and thus causes the intestine wall to swell. ( we have been brushing him everyday and we have to increase to 2 to 3 times per day now) He had his 1st surgery on 9th march and was doing well until 16th March. I realise there a lump appearing on his lower abdomen and took him to the vet. They found out the stitches on the muscle area come off and this morning we send him in again for another ops to have him restitched. Hope this will be final and hope he recover well and be happy again....

 

[fionasmom]

I am sorry that you have faced the loss of your aunt and your father's illness. I hope that Tango, who is a gorgeous boy, makes a good recovery.

 

[margaret tan]

I am sorry that you have faced the loss of your aunt and your father's illness. I hope that Tango, who is a gorgeous boy, makes a good recovery.

Thank You