- Joined
- Jun 12, 2013
- Messages
- 63
- Purraise
- 10
I have 2 nearly adult kittens in my household. Both have been ravenous eaters all their young lives. They typically eat 2.5 meals a day - two of canned food, a half meal of kibble.
The boy, Zadok, stopped eating his usual amounts two days ago. I have seen him eat some (around midnight last night, he ate half a can of wet food) but he refused his breakfast and dinner today.
Serendipity, his sister, has eaten more than he has, but she's also turning away from food.
Zadok has a notoriously tricky tummy. As a young kitten, he got explosive diarrhea once that had him crying before it came out in gouts. Sometimes, he has wet and runny poop, which gets all matted in his tail and hind feet. None of this has happened since last summer, so we thought he was over it. He was taken to the vet and checked out when he had diarrhea, and a change of food seemed to do the trick.
But no matter what we offer him, he won't eat. He is, however, drinking. He's much lower in energy than usual, and wouldn't really even play with his favorite wand toy. Sister has a little more energy, and jumped after the feather, but not with as much enthusiasm as usual.
The only change in our household is that we're fostering another feral cat. She's 5 months old, she's completely isolated on our screened in front porch, and she's been checked for all illnesses including Feline leukemia. She's been vaccinated and spayed. He has smelled her once, then backed off. His sister has not had any contact with the little girl.
I can take him to the vet if that's what needs to happen. However, I've been down this road before with non-eating kitties. Hundreds of dollars in tests later, it's inconclusive. They pass whatever is in their guts and we never know why they stopped eating.
Tonight, if Zadok doesn't eat anything, we will do some force feeding. But I hate the thought.
Ideas?
The boy, Zadok, stopped eating his usual amounts two days ago. I have seen him eat some (around midnight last night, he ate half a can of wet food) but he refused his breakfast and dinner today.
Serendipity, his sister, has eaten more than he has, but she's also turning away from food.
Zadok has a notoriously tricky tummy. As a young kitten, he got explosive diarrhea once that had him crying before it came out in gouts. Sometimes, he has wet and runny poop, which gets all matted in his tail and hind feet. None of this has happened since last summer, so we thought he was over it. He was taken to the vet and checked out when he had diarrhea, and a change of food seemed to do the trick.
But no matter what we offer him, he won't eat. He is, however, drinking. He's much lower in energy than usual, and wouldn't really even play with his favorite wand toy. Sister has a little more energy, and jumped after the feather, but not with as much enthusiasm as usual.
The only change in our household is that we're fostering another feral cat. She's 5 months old, she's completely isolated on our screened in front porch, and she's been checked for all illnesses including Feline leukemia. She's been vaccinated and spayed. He has smelled her once, then backed off. His sister has not had any contact with the little girl.
I can take him to the vet if that's what needs to happen. However, I've been down this road before with non-eating kitties. Hundreds of dollars in tests later, it's inconclusive. They pass whatever is in their guts and we never know why they stopped eating.
Tonight, if Zadok doesn't eat anything, we will do some force feeding. But I hate the thought.
Ideas?