Espy not eating

"dgk" wrote
He's gotten somewhat better with the Temptations. The funny thing is
that he would always ignore any Tempations that he started eating and
then dropped. It was like they weren't there once they got wet. This
morning he ate quite a few and didn't leave many crumbs.

It seems that he's getting better. He eats a little more each feeding
time, although I have to be tricky about it. First I feed him as much
as he will eat of his standard ProPlan Salmon and Rice. Then, after a
few minutes, I break out the Trader Joe Tuna for Cats, and he eats
some of that. Then I bring out the dry stuff (Royal Canin number 26)
and he eats some of that. Finally, a few Temptations.

Excellent news!


The real problem is that he just NEVER ate very much. Finding anything
he's willing to eat wasn't easy and we finally settled on the PPS&R,
and sometimes he just walks away from that. He really is a grazer
though and likes to come back and eat a bit later. That's tough with
the feline vacuum cleaner known as Marlo sharing the house.

Exactly like my little Gracie, when Boo the Food Hoover was here.

On Thu, 2 Jul 2009 09:45:25 -0400, "cybercat"
wrote:


"dgk" wrote
He's gotten somewhat better with the Temptations. The funny thing is
that he would always ignore any Tempations that he started eating and
then dropped. It was like they weren't there once they got wet. This
morning he ate quite a few and didn't leave many crumbs.

It seems that he's getting better. He eats a little more each feeding
time, although I have to be tricky about it. First I feed him as much
as he will eat of his standard ProPlan Salmon and Rice. Then, after a
few minutes, I break out the Trader Joe Tuna for Cats, and he eats
some of that. Then I bring out the dry stuff (Royal Canin number 26)
and he eats some of that. Finally, a few Temptations.

Excellent news!


The real problem is that he just NEVER ate very much. Finding anything
he's willing to eat wasn't easy and we finally settled on the PPS&R,
and sometimes he just walks away from that. He really is a grazer
though and likes to come back and eat a bit later. That's tough with
the feline vacuum cleaner known as Marlo sharing the house.

Exactly like my little Gracie, when Boo the Food Hoover was here.


It really is a problem though. I used to just leave out a bowl of dry
food all the time and Espy was perfectly happy eating some wet and
grazing on the dry during the day. But I stopped doing that because
Marlo would inhale the whole bowl. She was starting to look like a
tick that's been sucking blood.

I have had her losing a bit of weight but I'm really not willing to
kill Espy to prevent her from overeating. Today I left out a bowl of
dry stuff and I'll see if maybe she has tempered her eating a bit.
I really do need to get a motion sensitive camera.

On Thu, 2 Jul 2009 05:43:46 +0000 (UTC), Billy
wrote:

I think you said the xrays were ok, I assume you specifically questioned
it. Food falling out could be teeth, ESP if eating from one side/head
tilt, etc. However, my cat was doing the food drop crumbling thing and
there were no tooth issues, it was that she was refusing it.

You can setup a pan and tilt webcam that is viwable even by cell phone
PDA's. I have one eyeball style wireless cam mounted in my bow window
ceiling. I can spin it around and all when I'm on vacation to check on
the pets.i would catch them in the window sunbathing when i was away.
Trendnet TV-ip400W can be gotten for about $150 now and mounted anywhere
there is a plug, foe ex....by the litterbox and you can set the motion
detect to record still images when movement occurs. I would reccomend
that model.

You need some tech knowledge but I can help if you need it.


Ok, I couldn't get the W but got the IP410. It means running another
50' cable through the house but I already have one for the TiVo so one
more will hardly be noticed. I'll play with it later and see if I can
get it to do motion recording. That way I can review the litterbox
activity plus give me reassurance when going away later this month.

Yea, that's the newer model of the same webcam I think, and wired is
better anyway at a steady 100 Mbps, ESP when streaming video packets.

Please keep a close eye on Espy's weight - that is something you can
definitively monitor w/o the webcam.

dgk wrote:
On Thu, 2 Jul 2009 05:43:46 +0000 (UTC), Billy
wrote:

I think you said the xrays were ok, I assume you specifically
questioned
it. Food falling out could be teeth, ESP if eating from one side/head
tilt, etc. However, my cat was doing the food drop crumbling thing
and
there were no tooth issues, it was that she was refusing it.

You can setup a pan and tilt webcam that is viwable even by cell
phone
PDA's. I have one eyeball style wireless cam mounted in my bow window
ceiling. I can spin it around and all when I'm on vacation to check
on
the pets.i would catch them in the window sunbathing when i was away.
Trendnet TV-ip400W can be gotten for about $150 now and mounted
anywhere
there is a plug, foe ex....by the litterbox and you can set the
motion
detect to record still images when movement occurs. I would reccomend
that model.

You need some tech knowledge but I can help if you need it.


Ok, I couldn't get the W but got the IP410. It means running another
50' cable through the house but I already have one for the TiVo so one
more will hardly be noticed. I'll play with it later and see if I can
get it to do motion recording. That way I can review the litterbox
activity plus give me reassurance when going away later this month.

And the WAITING is the hardest part. At least if news isn't what you want,
you can at least start doing SOMETHING. I am not a patient person in this
area. I figure I can fight the devil I know but not the one I don't.
"dgk" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:29:46 +0000 (UTC), Billy
wrote:

And if you need to know to better define the issue there is ultrasound
that more clarly defines the kidneys, it's mass, shape, dimensions, etc.
A better diangnostic tool than the xray I think - somewhere between an
xray or more extensive CAT Scan/MRI without invasiveness other than a
shave and muscle relaxant. It can tell the doc more. It's expensive but
an option to ask your vet about if a clear dianosis is not provided yet
needed....keep us posted on the bloodwork, that might be all that is
required along w/ the xray.



He wouldn't eat his normal food this morning. I had to break out the
one can I have of Trader Joe's Tuna for Cats. He did eat some of that.

It's very odd - he sort of looks at the food but it's like he doesn't
see it, or maybe smell it. Even when I give him the yellow
Temptations, he watches where I put it and then sniffs around like
he's trying to find where it went. He did eat one or two more of those
this morning.

Well, nothing to do but wait for the report.

On Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:50:56 +0000 (UTC), Billy
wrote:

Yea, that's the newer model of the same webcam I think, and wired is
better anyway at a steady 100 Mbps, ESP when streaming video packets.

Please keep a close eye on Espy's weight - that is something you can
definitively monitor w/o the webcam.


I'm returning the wired one I bought at J&R and ordered the wireless
one (which does both). I can't easily run a cable from the switch into
the bathroom without getting lots of flac from the SO. In fact, a
camera in the bathroom is getting hostile comments. I do intend to use
it to monitor the litterbox but, after all, it does pan.

I will likely use it on wireless for the litterbox and wired when
needed somewhere closer to the switch.

Espy is pretty close to being as normal as he ever was, refusing most
food but eating enough to stay alive. I opened a new case of ProPlan
Salmon&Rice and he seemed to like this one more than the last one. He
ate some, walked away, and came back for his encore. He often does
that. Eats, walks away, and comes back in a minute or two and eats a
bit more. He is SO weird.

I spent Saturday cleaning out all the mold under the deck. What a job;
I filled three big platic bags with crap from under there and all the
mold I could find. Then, we spread that weed block stuff (sort of a
plastic sheet that water and air can penetrate) under the whole deck
covering all the area where the mold had been. Cybercat won't be happy
but all three cats went out after that. I have the usual mixed
feelings. I know they'd be safer if I never let them out, but they
love being outside so much.

We kept a good watch on what they were doing. Espy, of course, was
most curious about the new weed blocker "cloth". Then he resumed his
normal position on the side of the steps, almost completely hidden
from view by some weeds. They all ate some grass but nothing else as
far as I could tell.

I checked some messages in this forum, and at the end of 2005 I had a
post about Epsy having apparently eaten something bad and also having
abnormal liver enzyme levels. I'll need to ask the vet about that.
Maybe the enzyme levels have been abnormal for him for a while. We are
supposed to check them again in a week or so.

Please keep me posted on Epsy. I have a 11yr old cat with the exact
same symptoms and she is an indoor only cat. I have spent over $1000
trying to find out what is wrong with her. She is not getting any
better, and every vet and emergency clinic is baffled. I don't want to
lose her and need to know if you find out what is wrong with Epsy or
if you find a medication that works for her.
Thank you & God Bless

On Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:21:55 -0700 (PDT), Kellyj42
wrote:

Please keep me posted on Epsy. I have a 11yr old cat with the exact
same symptoms and she is an indoor only cat. I have spent over $1000
trying to find out what is wrong with her. She is not getting any
better, and every vet and emergency clinic is baffled. I don't want to
lose her and need to know if you find out what is wrong with Epsy or
if you find a medication that works for her.
Thank you & God Bless


I really can't figure out what went on with Espy. It looks like his
whole problem had nothing to do with anything particularly bad that he
ate, aside from dry food in general. Apparently he was just feeling
lousy because of a urinary blockage (I can sympathize there) and since
your cat is female that doesn't seem anywhere near as likely a
problem.

Anyway, I was delayed coming home by a day because of awful weather in
New York (spent four hours on the plane before getting cancelled) so
Espy spent an extra day at the vet. I had to leave him at the vet
because he had developed a Proteus UTI as a result of the blockage and
treatments. So, he had to be pilled and the cat sitter couldn't
guarantee that - I can hardly get him to eat that pill either down the
throat or in his food.

The report from the Vet was that he peed and pooped like a champ, but
just doesn't eat very much. He never ate very much but I'd like to get
him up another pound or so. He's around 8 right now. Tougher since I'm
not allowed to give him any dry food. I left some out for Nipsy and
Marlo while I was away because the cat sitter only came once a day.
Now they're complaining because I took it away.

Espy was VERY happy to be home and immediately wanted to go into the
backyard, so the brood spent a few hours outside until dinner time.
He's really completely back to normal except just a bit more
affectionate than before. Either he appreciates his fine medical care
or is afraid that I'm going to subject him to some more.

I'm supposed to do a follow up urine culture and maybe liver profile
so I think he is going to get some more attention. I can't figure out
how I'm going to get him to pee in a cup.

"dgk" wrote


Espy was VERY happy to be home and immediately wanted to go into the
backyard, so the brood spent a few hours outside until dinner time.
He's really completely back to normal except just a bit more
affectionate than before. Either he appreciates his fine medical care
or is afraid that I'm going to subject him to some more.

No, he missed you! My little Gracie is sooo sweet when I come home from a
few days away, would be doubly so if she were at the vet!



I'm supposed to do a follow up urine culture and maybe liver profile
so I think he is going to get some more attention. I can't figure out
how I'm going to get him to pee in a cup.


haha! You don't have to, the vet will extract the urine.

On Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:36:18 -0400, "cybercat"
wrote:


"dgk" wrote


Espy was VERY happy to be home and immediately wanted to go into the
backyard, so the brood spent a few hours outside until dinner time.
He's really completely back to normal except just a bit more
affectionate than before. Either he appreciates his fine medical care
or is afraid that I'm going to subject him to some more.

No, he missed you! My little Gracie is sooo sweet when I come home from a
few days away, would be doubly so if she were at the vet!



I'm supposed to do a follow up urine culture and maybe liver profile
so I think he is going to get some more attention. I can't figure out
how I'm going to get him to pee in a cup.


haha! You don't have to, the vet will extract the urine.



I maybe got lucky. I was by the litterbox and Espy went in and
squatted I grabbed an (hopefully) empty Fancy Feast container and put
it under his butt just as he started peeing. I put it in the refrig
and dropped it off at the vet next morning. Now all I have to do is
hope that it wasn't too contaminated by the remains of Fancy Feast.
Same goes for the urinalysis. If I get really strange results then I
can ignore them and I'm just out the cash.

Results should be in today.