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#1
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Cat won't eat
Neutered male, 8 years old:
Eli ate very little according to pet sitter, while we were on vacation, now losing weight (12#, down to 9#), and has eaten virtually nothing for a couple of weeks. Vet found nothing wrong; blood work normal, X-rays showed no tumors, no blockages. The did tooth cleaning and extracted a couple of bad teeth. He's still not eating, other than an occasional teaspoon hand fed by a caring lady.... Don't know what else to do. He wants to eat a bit of grass, which may be a clue, but nothing in the cat pan, due to almost nothing coming in. Background: Major changes, in the form of a my S.O. moving in 3 months ago with her mini sheltie, who has lived with cats before and wants to be pals. Which the cat is having none of. No hostility, just "go away kid; you bother me...." I'm fresh out of ideas. Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
#2
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Cat won't eat
On Aug 9, 9:06 am, Gary Woods wrote:
Neutered male, 8 years old: Eli ate very little according to pet sitter, while we were on vacation, now losing weight (12#, down to 9#), and has eaten virtually nothing for a couple of weeks. Vet found nothing wrong; blood work normal, X-rays showed no tumors, no blockages. The did tooth cleaning and extracted a couple of bad teeth. He's still not eating, other than an occasional teaspoon hand fed by a caring lady.... Don't know what else to do. He wants to eat a bit of grass, which may be a clue, but nothing in the cat pan, due to almost nothing coming in. Background: Major changes, in the form of a my S.O. moving in 3 months ago with her mini sheltie, who has lived with cats before and wants to be pals. Which the cat is having none of. No hostility, just "go away kid; you bother me...." Unfortunately, you have a number of issues going on here. First, how is Eli's overall demeanor? Does he want to play, purr, be with people? Is he lethargic, hiding, or otherwise acting unusual (signs that he's very ill)? First and foremost, you need to get him to eat! He's lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time, which is very dangerous for cats. Have you tried tempting him with his favorite treats? As a short-term measure to jump-start his appetite, try a fish variety of Fancy Feast, warmed slightly in the microwave. Another short-term food is Hills A/ D, which is very palatable. You can also use meat baby food (without onions), turkey or chicken. Anything to get him interested in eating again, then slowly switch him over to a better diet. Have you asked your vet about giving Sub-Q fluids at home? I'm sure he's horribly dehydrated and isn't feeling well because of that. If he won't eat anything on his own, also ask your vet about force feeding. It's not a pleasant thing to do, but he needs nutrition badly. Another idea is to ask for cyproheptide (sp?). It's an antihistimine that also stimulates appetite, very safe and inexpensive to get from your vet. Also, please keep the cat and dog separated right now until things settle down. It's obvious that he's under a large amount of stress right now and this might be worsening his condition. Rene |
#3
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Cat won't eat
"Gary Woods" wrote in message ... Neutered male, 8 years old: Eli ate very little according to pet sitter, while we were on vacation, now losing weight (12#, down to 9#), and has eaten virtually nothing for a couple of weeks. Vet found nothing wrong; blood work normal, X-rays showed no tumors, no blockages. The did tooth cleaning and extracted a couple of bad teeth. He's still not eating, other than an occasional teaspoon hand fed by a caring lady.... Don't know what else to do. He wants to eat a bit of grass, which may be a clue, but nothing in the cat pan, due to almost nothing coming in. Background: Major changes, in the form of a my S.O. moving in 3 months ago with her mini sheltie, who has lived with cats before and wants to be pals. Which the cat is having none of. No hostility, just "go away kid; you bother me...." I'm fresh out of ideas. Will he drink? - I have had cats who neither eat nor drink.....They didn't last very long. If he drinks, but doesn't eat, then it's likely a mouth/tooth problem, or a blockage somewhere.....If he takes liquids, then feed him soups and broths to get some calories into him while you try to sort it all out..... |
#4
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Cat won't eat
Treat him for hairballs. Get some Temptations for hairballs - they
are in a foil pouch in the grocery or pet store. On Aug 9, 10:06?am, Gary Woods wrote: Neutered male, 8 years old: Eli ate very little according to pet sitter, while we were on vacation, now losing weight (12#, down to 9#), and has eaten virtually nothing for a couple of weeks. Vet found nothing wrong; blood work normal, X-rays showed no tumors, no blockages. The did tooth cleaning and extracted a couple of bad teeth. He's still not eating, other than an occasional teaspoon hand fed by a caring lady.... Don't know what else to do. He wants to eat a bit of grass, which may be a clue, but nothing in the cat pan, due to almost nothing coming in. Background: Major changes, in the form of a my S.O. moving in 3 months ago with her mini sheltie, who has lived with cats before and wants to be pals. Which the cat is having none of. No hostility, just "go away kid; you bother me...." I'm fresh out of ideas. Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
#5
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Cat won't eat
Gary,
Cats not eating can develop fatty liver disease very quickly. If he is not eating much at all -- you may need to syringe feed some more until you can get this under control. Has the vet given you any A/D food? It's made for cats who are not eating. Many will eat that when they won't eat anything else. It is very rich. We've also used Pro Plan canned food, the one with sardines in it for non-hungry cats going through an illness. Something is very wrong and it's going to take some more investigation to find out the problem. Since this is so serious, I would try for a second vet opinion. There could be something that's being overlooked and you don't have a lot of time. Maybe even ask to be referred to an internist vet. They usually only take appts with referrals. The one we saw was based in a 24-hour animal hospital. Keep him as stress-free as you can for now too. I hope you don't have another vacation planned for a little while. Are there any other symptoms? Did they do urine tests for bladder infection, etc? Is he on antibiotics because of his bad teeth? One of ours was very sick due to infected teeth. I'm glad you're still trying hard to help him. Let us know what happens. Rhonda Gary Woods wrote: Neutered male, 8 years old: Eli ate very little according to pet sitter, while we were on vacation, now losing weight (12#, down to 9#), and has eaten virtually nothing for a couple of weeks. Vet found nothing wrong; blood work normal, X-rays showed no tumors, no blockages. The did tooth cleaning and extracted a couple of bad teeth. He's still not eating, other than an occasional teaspoon hand fed by a caring lady.... Don't know what else to do. He wants to eat a bit of grass, which may be a clue, but nothing in the cat pan, due to almost nothing coming in. Background: Major changes, in the form of a my S.O. moving in 3 months ago with her mini sheltie, who has lived with cats before and wants to be pals. Which the cat is having none of. No hostility, just "go away kid; you bother me...." I'm fresh out of ideas. Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
#6
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Cat won't eat
On Thu 09 Aug 2007 11:16:46a, Rene S. wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav oups.com: Another idea is to ask for cyproheptide (sp?). It's an antihistimine that also stimulates appetite, very safe and inexpensive to get from your vet. Another appetite booster that used to work for Shadow was a shot of vitamin B12. They have to do it intramuscular, and kitty has a bit of a sting, but it used to work wonders. I'd also try people food at this point to stimulate the appetite - lightly poached chicken, canned tuna with the water - anything tempting. Work out the finickiness that will come after, later. -- Cheryl |
#7
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Cat won't eat
On 11 Aug, 01:32, Cheryl wrote:
On Thu 09 Aug 2007 11:16:46a, Rene S. wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav oups.com: Another idea is to ask for cyproheptide (sp?). It's an antihistimine that also stimulates appetite, very safe and inexpensive to get from your vet. Another appetite booster that used to work for Shadow was a shot of vitamin B12. They have to do it intramuscular, and kitty has a bit of a sting, but it used to work wonders. I'd also try people food at this point to stimulate the appetite - lightly poached chicken, canned tuna with the water - anything tempting. Work out the finickiness that will come after, later. -- Cheryl If it happened whilst you were away it might be because he was upset at having someone else looking after him. You can buy rich food and heat it in microwave for a few seconds and that could encourage him to eat too. |
#8
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Cat won't eat
"Rene S." wrote:
Another idea is to ask for cyproheptide (sp?). Well, the vet gave us some of that, whatever the spelling (I'm too lazy to go upstairs to look). Eli was already nibbling at the high-priced rich food, and that jump-started the appetite. He's going through a can of Fancy Feast daily, plus some dry kibble left for midnight snacking. And just sucking up all the hand-feeding and lavish attention my Dear Lady is giving out. Maybe if _I_ go on a hunger strike? Just kidding.... sort of. Anyway, things are looking up. I put out a tray of wheat grass, since Eli has been nibbling house plants. Hasn't eaten any yet. Thanks, all, for your help. I'll update in a few days, hopefully when I can't feel his backbone so sharply... Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
#9
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Cat won't eat
"Gary Woods" wrote in message ... "Rene S." wrote: Another idea is to ask for cyproheptide (sp?). Well, the vet gave us some of that, whatever the spelling (I'm too lazy to go upstairs to look). Eli was already nibbling at the high-priced rich food, and that jump-started the appetite. He's going through a can of Fancy Feast daily, plus some dry kibble left for midnight snacking. And just sucking up all the hand-feeding and lavish attention my Dear Lady is giving out. Maybe if _I_ go on a hunger strike? Just kidding.... sort of. Anyway, things are looking up. I put out a tray of wheat grass, since Eli has been nibbling house plants. Hasn't eaten any yet. Thanks, all, for your help. I'll update in a few days, hopefully when I can't feel his backbone so sharply... ----------- I just love happy news! :-) Best regards, ---Cindy S. |
#10
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Cat won't eat
Gary, how is he doing now?
Rhonda Gary Woods wrote: I'll update in a few days, hopefully when I can't feel his backbone so sharply... Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
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