My CKD cat won’t eat

[mcled09]

We’ve been struggling with food. Mirataz stopped working as a stimulant. Elura never worked as a stimulant. I’m trying Mirataz again, just in case. Initially a little nutritional yeast worked, and now it doesn’t. Then some diluted tuna water worked, but now it doesn’t. I tried doing both the nutritional yeast, topped with a few drops of diluted tuna water, and nothing. He’ll eat the toppers, and a little of the food, but not much. He started throwing up white foam, and just threw up the very little he ate (maybe 2 tbsp of food). I know CKD cats struggle with food, but I’m terrified at this point.

He’s on hydrolyzed protein due to an allergy. I don’t know what to do ?! Obviously I’m calling the vet again tomorrow, but I don’t know if anyone had suggestions. He’s not really drinking water either. Can I warm up dry food ? Can I try soaking the dry food in water to make it a wet food without changing to wet food ? His diarrhea finally got better with the food switch, so I don’t want to change again !

 

[mcled09]

And he won’t eat when he’s hungry, if he hates his food. He’ll starve himself, so the waiting until he’s hungry isn’t an option. He comes to me when he’s hungry and then turns it down.

 

[mysterylover]

I know CKD cats are a struggle, and allergy would make that worse. We lost a cat to CKD, so I know it is hard and scary. My cat was also hyper-T, and even with the pills, she was hungry all the time (and then threw up yellow bile if she went more than 3 hours without food).

I panic when I have a cat that won't eat at even one meal (feed three times a day, all wet). I keep baby food around for those times (Beechnut has chicken, turkey, and beef, but you mentioned allergies, so not sure if those would be an option). Honestly, I never feed my cats fish, but one time a few years ago, I had a cat that ate the wrong thing and got very nauseous. Even baby food was getting him to only lick a bit off my finger. I do not feed fish-flavored food, but rather than him maybe developing fatty liver (and also just to see if his lack of appetite was to ALL food), that day, I had my hubby go out and buy a can of fancy feast with the smelliest fish (salmon and tuna or something), and it started him eating!

Also, if he kitty has not been eating, the yellow foam may be the yellow bile that my cats will throw up when they have been too long without food. They basically have a stomach full of acid. Sometimes, they are hungry and want to eat, but then when they do, they throw up all the food right away. If they do throw up, sometimes waiting 10 minutes and offering food again works (because the acid is no longer in their stomachs), but other times, they refuse to eat the same food 10 minutes later (because they see it as the offending food that made them sick), and I have to go find another food or baby food to get them to eat. My female cat actually stopped eating a certain flavor because this happened, and she refused it for days before she forgot that association.

If he is only eating the hydrolyzed kibble and you don't want to offer wet due to the allergy, then I'd soak it with chicken, or baby food, or tuna and water, warm it, mush it up, blend it, whatever it took (maybe he has dental pain or something, so soft, mushy kibble might work). If this is the food he threw up, he may now blame it and be refusing it, so you might have luck with adding stuff, or for right now, you might decide it is worth it to let him have something else (maybe not wet cat food, maybe tuna or something else - my cats love mashed potatoes, so if she turns a lick of that down, I will know it is not the food I was offering. It would depend on the allergy.

Oh, is there any chance the kibble is a new bag? I have read a couple of places where a formula of a food they have always bought suddenly seemed to change with a new batch, and their cats refused it. Two of my three cats recently refused the food that they had been eating for years, all flavors - I have suspected a change in ingredients or where the company sources them due to COVID. I am not sure if the food was giving them a stomachache or the flavor or feel in their mouths changed, but changing food fixed it. I never tried ordering the same food since - was worried about the same lot #. Anyway, it was just a thought, that maybe a new bag might not smell exactly the same.

I hope he eats something. If he does eat something, I would offer only a tiny bit at a time, wait a few minutes, offer more. I hope he eats something and keeps it down. If he comes to you and acts hungry and usually refuses food he hates, if he threw up what he ate, he might be blaming the food, so yeah, making it smell different by adding more tuna juice (or a tad of the tuna) and making it mushy might trick him into trying some.

Sorry to be so long. I was just hoping some of my tricks might help. Keep us posted!

 

[mcled09]

It’s not a new bag ! He did just eat about 1/2 teaspoon of food. I know it’s not much at all, but it’s something. I tried mushing it up in 3 separate containers: 1 just the food and water, 1 food/nutritional yeast/water, and the last food/diluted tuna water/regular water. He refused them all. I don’t know exactly which his allergy is, or if maybe it’s that he has trouble digesting not-hydrolyzed ? I honestly have no idea. We’ve been trying different things and he finally doesn’t have diarrhea/loose stool after almost a year of it. I’m looking at the ingredients and most of it looks similar, minus the hydrolyzed protein. I’m entirely lost, and I realized today is the vet’s day off, so I can’t even talk to her.

 

[mcled09]

Omg, please disregard. I had a brand new bag of the hydrolyzed food (there was probably 1/4 left in the other), and this punk $ss here gobbled up the fresh food. Apparently the other wasn’t up to his freshness standards. He’s eaten twice in the last hour. Thank the Lord, but man, he’s going to give me a heart attack one of these days.

 

[mysterylover]

Oh, I am so happy for you! Yes, kibble can actually go rancid as well over time, and sometimes, those Rx foods are so expensive that you hate to buy a small bag, even if they have one. Our dog has an airtight container that we keep her kibble in to try to keep it fresher. Also, I have read that kibble can go bad if you keep it too warm or moist (like in a garage). Apparently, it can get too moist and go bad. Anyway, I am happy for you! Just as a comment, one of my cats, has struggled with periods of diarrhea that have necessitated food changes. I now think that, over his lifetime, whatever gum or thickener was in the food I was feeding at the time became too much for him to process on a daily basis. Also, when a company changes formulas, they always add something that messes him up. This started with him when he was about 3 years old. He will be 12 this summer. For maybe 4 years, he was tolerating Lotus (Just Juicy Chicken and several pate flavors) who uses agar agar as a thickener rather than guar gum or xanthan gum. That is the food that he and his sister started walking away from after either no bites or a couple, so I am doing food trials now. When you find something that agrees with them, you definitely want to stick with it if possible, so I understand! So happy he is eating!!!! Whew!

 

[maggie101]

I highly suggest hills prescription a/d. It's like kitty crack. Good ingredients and high cal. Only need a teaspoon. Also churu or tiki sticks or mix in orijen freeze dried treats my cat also has ckd. No sense of smell

 

[FeebysOwner]

Didn't see these things mentioned above -
Mirataz can lose its effectiveness, although many times it can be because the ears aren't being cleaned enough to remove residue that can build up from previous applications. The residue will reduce the effectiveness of subsequent applications.
Secondly, a lot of CKD cats require anti-nausea meds either in lieu of or in conjunction with Mirataz. Making them hungry if they are nauseous is a horrible combination.
Lastly, there are also CKD cats that do better when given something for over-production of acids, like famotidine as one example.

But, these are just things for you to keep in mind, as it seems the new bag of food might have solved his most recent issue!

If you are interested in getting him to take in more moisture, there is no harm in trying to add water to his dry food - he'll either like or hate it!