Tommy not back to normal yet and still not eating.

If you remember from my thread about Tommy who has a bad heart and just
got out of the hospital...

Well he isn't the same cat. I mean when I look into his eyes, it's like
there is only a shadow of his former self looking back. Hopefully it's
temporary but my wife thinks he suffered brain damage, she even asked the
vet at the hospital who chuckled at the question and basically said, no.
But he is different. This is the first time one of my cats has gone
through such a tramatic experience, is it normal to be so different? Tommy
was full neurosis before now it's like he's checked out. Maybe it is the
medicine. He follows us around and mews like a baby kitten almost but
mostly he likes to stay in the bathroom, right now he is lying in the
bathtub which he has only done once before when he started getting sick.

Also, he is not eating. The vet gave us Mirtazapine, one tablet every
three days to increase appetite. It has been one day and he still won't
eat. He is drinking and using the litter box but he just sits and looks at
his food bowl but doesn't try to eat. He hasn't eaten anything in a week
except a little softfood that I pack his pills in. Should I start force
feeding him soft food if he doesn't snap out of it by tomorrow?

"Mac Cool" wrote

If you remember from my thread about Tommy who has a bad heart and just
got out of the hospital...

Yes.

Well he isn't the same cat. I mean when I look into his eyes, it's like
there is only a shadow of his former self looking back. Hopefully it's

Give him time to recover. It may be transitory.

Also, he is not eating. The vet gave us Mirtazapine, one tablet every
three days to increase appetite. It has been one day and he still won't
eat. He is drinking and using the litter box but he just sits and looks at
his food bowl but doesn't try to eat. He hasn't eaten anything in a week

See the 'cat throws up, long post'. Look specifically at the brtoh ideas.
Can you make up a thickish meaty broth and try setting that out? Make real
sure it's salt free or very reduced sodium.

I had a neighbor just 3 weeks ago with something a bit like this with his
elderly cat. My neighbor knows I make stock as we bring him some every
month or so with a reduced sodium base. I was making more and he came over
to see if he could get some so I made up a special batch just for cats.

Basically a chicken soup for cats g. Furball (yes, thats his name) lapped
it up and about 5 days later started eating again.

Salt-free Recipe follows:

5 cups water
3 cups broken up fresh chicken meat with bones
1 beef marrow bone circle (with marrow about 2TB rough guess)

Set in crockpot on high for 2 hours (I was in a rush to get some ready) then
low for 4 more hours. Put crock in fridge long enough to cool so you can
handle the meat. Pour off the stock into a pan and reduce it further til
you have about 4 cups broth. Separate the meat off the bones and if marrow
still stuck in the beef bone, add this to the meat.

Discard bones. Finely mince up about 1/2 cup of the meat into the broth.
Serve the rest of the meat at the side in 2 TS amounts minced finely. Cool
the broth and remove any solid fats and keep to the side to add over the
minced meat. Do not completely defat the broth.

To serve, warm it to slightly over room temperature (can set a cup with some
in the sink in a pan of hot tap water).

Made about enough for 8 days at 1/2 cup broth a day (given in 1/4 cup
amounts) but neighbor was running a little low on the minced meat with fats
and marrow by 5th day.

Furball now is sitting in the window as normal and chittering at the birds.
I made an extra effort to sprinkle some of the dried out bread crumbs
infront of his window, just for him g.

Oh, add on note to last:

I usually make stock with leftover 'carcasses' after roasting a chicken but
this one was made with fresh (frozen) thighs which my neighbor cut so the
bone's marrow would leach out into the broth.

Also, he had some 'cat milk' which 'Furball' refused til the 3rd day then
gently started taking a little lazy lap at. Furball ate almost none of the
solids at the bottom of the broth or at the side for the first 3 days but he
did eat a little bit or at least seemed to lick the fat off the meat side
dish. (The solid fats which I skimmed off the top a bit were added to the
meat).

Right now, other than getting some nutrition into the cat, your only concern
would be to keep it low-salt. Run that by your vet to be sure but mine have
always harped on it since they found out I make my own petfoods often
enough.

The neighbor's Furball is 18 and looks like he'll see many more years.

cshenk:

Basically a chicken soup for cats g. Furball (yes, thats his name)
lapped it up and about 5 days later started eating again.

Sounds great. Thanks a bunch.

Matthew:

He could have very well had a stroke and yes a trauma can change a
cats personality. Was the idiot that laughed a vet tech, your vet
or the specialist.

It was the intern that took care of him in the hospital. Basically she
said that he wouldn't suffer brain damage unless he was deprived of oxygen
for several minutes.

I'm never going back to the original vet.

IMO new vet or a trip to a specialist which I believe you were going
to call the other day what did they say

baby food make sure it has no onions in it

Gatorade if you can get it in him

maybe some thing that smells strong sardines, tuna juice for
example

rice pudding

Tuna juice might fly, I never thought of gatorade. He's always been so
damn stubborn about only eating dry food but I'll see what I can do.

"Mac Cool" wrote in message
...
Matthew:

He could have very well had a stroke and yes a trauma can change a
cats personality. Was the idiot that laughed a vet tech, your vet
or the specialist.

It was the intern that took care of him in the hospital. Basically she
said that he wouldn't suffer brain damage unless he was deprived of oxygen
for several minutes.

I'm never going back to the original vet.

Good for you. My heart hurts for you and Tommy now. He's so young for this.
It may be congenital, as it is in humans. I hope he will come back to be the
cat
you know and love, and that he can have some good time left with you.

"Mac Cool" wrote in message
...
If you remember from my thread about Tommy who has a bad heart and just
got out of the hospital...

Well he isn't the same cat. I mean when I look into his eyes, it's like
there is only a shadow of his former self looking back. Hopefully it's
temporary but my wife thinks he suffered brain damage, she even asked the
vet at the hospital who chuckled at the question and basically said, no.
But he is different. This is the first time one of my cats has gone
through such a tramatic experience, is it normal to be so different? Tommy
was full neurosis before now it's like he's checked out. Maybe it is the
medicine. He follows us around and mews like a baby kitten almost but
mostly he likes to stay in the bathroom, right now he is lying in the
bathtub which he has only done once before when he started getting sick.

Also, he is not eating. The vet gave us Mirtazapine, one tablet every
three days to increase appetite. It has been one day and he still won't
eat. He is drinking and using the litter box but he just sits and looks at
his food bowl but doesn't try to eat. He hasn't eaten anything in a week
except a little softfood that I pack his pills in. Should I start force
feeding him soft food if he doesn't snap out of it by tomorrow?

My guess is that he's in pain, is just not feeling well, and he knows
something is terribly wrong.
If he is not eating, and you have to force him (what would be the point of
that?) , perhaps the kindest thing would be to let him go.

dejablues:

My guess is that he's in pain, is just not feeling well, and he knows
something is terribly wrong.
If he is not eating, and you have to force him (what would be the
point of
that?) , perhaps the kindest thing would be to let him go.

The point would be to help him get his strength back. Not to put things in
the wrong context but if I were going to give up easily I would have saved
myself a bunch of money.

"Mac Cool" wrote in message
...
dejablues:

My guess is that he's in pain, is just not feeling well, and he knows
something is terribly wrong.
If he is not eating, and you have to force him (what would be the
point of
that?) , perhaps the kindest thing would be to let him go.

The point would be to help him get his strength back. Not to put things in
the wrong context but if I were going to give up easily I would have saved
myself a bunch of money.

Ah, there's the hard part. We have to make choices for our pets, and hope
that they're the correct ones. It's your decision not to give up easily, not
his. Keeping treatment going to justify the money already spent may just
prolong the inevitable, and I hope you know your cat well enough to know
when he's done.

Good luck to both of you.

"Mac Cool" wrote
cshenk:

Basically a chicken soup for cats g. Furball (yes, thats his name)
lapped it up and about 5 days later started eating again.

Sounds great. Thanks a bunch.

Glad to help! It's not often I get asked how to make 'chicken soup for
cats' so it was fun to type it up. Oh, and though I used a crockpot, you
can do it on the stove too. Low simmer for about 3 hours seems right? May
have to add a little water as it goes along to keep it 'brothy' that way.
In the case of 'Furball', I had some duck broth (salt free, no onions or
other veggies added, no spice) in the freezer so I handed that over right
away and had time to make the rest up.

You wont see it in this newsgroup, but I make about 1 gallon of stock a
week. We use it alot and have to watch the sodium for Don. Mine's not as
'pretty-clear' but it tastes better than store stuff and without any salt
added.

Keep us posted ok?