Losing The Will To Live :(

[skylerlark]

Thought I had everything squared away and now cat refuses to eat anything. He'd had a bout of chronic diarreah after one of my assisted feedings, vet gave antibiotics and advised I give him one quarter part to Hale's Syrup syringed into him with warm water to keep his energy up as he then refused to eat anything, being afraid of upsetting his digestion and to put him on kibble only diet as clearly the wet one was the problem and 'he's getting subQ anyway to offset moisture loss from wet food'.

He has CKD so bought the only renal kibble he will/would eat 'Smartheart Renal'. Loved it at first but now he won't touch that and vet at a loss and refuses to give more antibiotics. Well he can't go on that way anyhow. A former vet recommended a brand of probiotics (not including prebiotics) for what at that time I don't know - he was supplement crazy. So I ordered the same one (not much choice here) and then cancelled it, remembering it made him ill.

It does seem to me GI issues could be the cause of this ongoing problem. Is this common with CKD cats? Anyone can advise please? Thank you.

 

[silent meowlook]

He may have a completely different issue of IBD or something. Snore is can be caused by renal disease. I would talk to your vet about anti nausea medication and appetite stimulant. Unless he is doing poorly, then he needs to be seen again.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Is he getting any appetite stimulant (e.g. Remeron, Merasal, Zamir)? I believe these are OTC products, but probably only available at the larger pharmacy chains - maybe the British chain Boots, the Asian chain Watsons, and the local chain Goodwill, if any of these are still operational. He probably also needs an anti-nausea med (e.g. maropitant citrate). Most CKD cats need both of these med to keep up their interest in eating. I can't remember if you have talked to the vet about either of these, but nonetheless, you should pose to them both as things you would like to try with your cat. The latter is available in the US in an injectable form that can be given with each daily dose of sub-Q fluids, so ask about that too.

I know it has been recommended to you before - but adding a phosphorus binder to 'regular' food will mostly do the same thing as the renal foods are doing and should be considered since he doesn't want the dry renal food he was eating. That is harder to do if you are only feeding dry food, but certainly there has to be a few wet foods he will eat if you don't restrict yourself to searching for renal ones. There are other phosphorus binders besides the one I think you already tried with your cat that didn't agree with him. As far as wet foods giving him diarrhea - if he has been on antibiotics, they can actually be the culprit for the diarrhea.

I think all of this has already been discussed with you in previous threads, I just don't remember if there were reasons you can't/don't give him these meds.

I also remember he was put on Semintra for protein in his urine - I think. Semintra is also a med for hypertension, so make sure the dosage is not too high, as that can cause lethargy and inappetence too if it is bringing his blood pressure down too much.

What are his creatinine, BUN, and phosphorus numbers from the last blood work he had? I think it was due to be done 7/28?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It is VERY common for kidney cat not to want to eat. That is why appetite stimulants are often used. And anti nausea drugs, and antacids too. And with my kidney cats, I needed to switch up their foods often to keep them interested. They didn't like the renal foods, so they ate whatever they would eat. I'm guessing from the above response that you have been given access to the following website that is all about kidney disease, but I'm providing it for you just in case: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Appetite Loss, Nausea and Vomiting

 

[skylerlark]

Is he getting any appetite stimulant (e.g. Remeron, Merasal, Zamir)? I believe these are OTC products, but probably only available at the larger pharmacy chains - maybe the British chain Boots, the Asian chain Watsons, and the local chain Goodwill, if any of these are still operational. He probably also needs an anti-nausea med (e.g. maropitant citrate). Most CKD cats need both of these med to keep up their interest in eating. I can't remember if you have talked to the vet about either of these, but nonetheless, you should pose to them both as things you would like to try with your cat. The latter is available in the US in an injectable form that can be given with each daily dose of sub-Q fluids, so ask about that too.

I know it has been recommended to you before - but adding a phosphorus binder to 'regular' food will mostly do the same thing as the renal foods are doing and should be considered since he doesn't want the dry renal food he was eating. That is harder to do if you are only feeding dry food, but certainly there has to be a few wet foods he will eat if you don't restrict yourself to searching for renal ones. There are other phosphorus binders besides the one I think you already tried with your cat that didn't agree with him. As far as wet foods giving him diarrhea - if he has been on antibiotics, they can actually be the culprit for the diarrhea.

I think all of this has already been discussed with you in previous threads, I just don't remember if there were reasons you can't/don't give him these meds.

I also remember he was put on Semintra for protein in his urine - I think. Semintra is also a med for hypertension, so make sure the dosage is not too high, as that can cause lethargy and inappetence too if it is bringing his blood pressure down too much.

What are his creatinine, BUN, and phosphorus numbers from the last blood work he had? I think it was due to be done 7/28?

His problem doesn't appear to be nausea, the only time he vomited was when the vet promised me Acetar was the same as Lactate and the acid made him throw up straight after admittance. I'd had my doubts but, hey! She's a vet. he's afraid he won't be able to keep whatever he eats from turning into diarreah so eats hungrily then takes a break and goes in for some more. He's just eaten a half or so of his bowl of his new SmartHeart Renal kibble which he loves, and which appears to stay inside him long enough for him to digest. Any wet food come straight out again.

Former vet recommended probiotics but the brand has poor reviews and I remember his trying it once for no apparent reason, as he hadn't any issues at that time so I've ordered a course of a different US brand and see if it's his gut health needs addressing. This would make sense to me anyway, as he's already successfully, albeit short lived, course of antibiotics did work for a week or so but now the problem's returned - being able to keep whatever he eats inside long enough to digest. Not sure but run out of options.

I shall have another word with current easily accessible vet about this today and wait for blank look. Thanks everyone.

 

[Furballsmom]

There are some terrific, very useful tips in this thread;

Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!

 

[skylerlark]

There are some terrific, very useful tips in this thread;

Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!

Yes I've seen those already. Vet agreed with me yesterday it's possible he has GI trouble so am awaiting order of probiotics. Former vet confirmed no liver nor gall bladder issues so hopefully those will work. He'll eat one day and the next, nada. Good tip current vet gave is to mix Hale's Syrup (red one) 1 to 4 water and syringe in to keep energy levels up. Trial and error.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[skylerlark]

Vet advised to up his subQ from 60 to 80 twice per day. He looked better yesterday evening post infusion, even came into the house and made himself comfy on his favourite chair. Probiotics arrived and started him on them yesterday. Came down this morning and he was nibbling a little of his kibble until he saw me and slunk off. Tricky fellow playing the old soldier methinks. Refilled with fresh and won't touch them and back outside to his 'sick seat'. Guessing takes a few days for probiotics to kick in?