Won't Eat - End Of My Rope

[Stinky15]

Good for you!!! Thank you so much for the update - I'm sending you all sorts of healing, happy thoughts!!

Thanks!

 

[Stinky15]

Well yesterday was Stinky's last dose of Antibiotic and today he goes back for retesting. We should know results early next week. It has been a real struggle getting him to eat enough. Yesterday afternoon he had not eaten much so I gave him 1/2 of his reg. dose of App. Stim. and he ate some. Early this morning he woke me up so I fed him and he barely ate any kibble and wouldn't touch any kitty meat I offered (4 different kinds) or Baby food. He ate a couple of treats and a couple of bites of ham lunch meat. He was due his dose of app. stim. today so I went ahead and gave him the other 1/2 from yesterday. Hopefully the Antibiotic did the trick and his inappetence will go away now that he is off antibiotics.

 

[Stinky15]

Well yesterday was Stinky's last dose of Antibiotic and today he goes back for retesting. We should know results early next week. It has been a real struggle getting him to eat enough. Yesterday afternoon he had not eaten much so I gave him 1/2 of his reg. dose of App. Stim. and he ate some. Early this morning he woke me up so I fed him and he barely ate any kibble and wouldn't touch any kitty meat I offered (4 different kinds) or Baby food. He ate a couple of treats and a couple of bites of ham lunch meat. He was due his dose of app. stim. today so I went ahead and gave him the other 1/2 from yesterday. Hopefully the Antibiotic did the trick and his inappetence will go away now that he is off antibiotics.

I took Stinky back to Vet yesterday morning for restesting of his Cobalamine. He told me he wanted to keep him overnight as they have an Internist that comes in sometimes in the evenings and shows/teaches them things and he wanted her to see him. She did another ultrasound and found nothing. They took samples of kidney and spleen for testing and are going to have some kind of special urine test done in California. Hopefully something turns up that is treatable. I picked Stinky up this morning and when he got home he ate more than I've seen him eat in a long time and drank lots of water. I don't think he ate anything while at the Vet's. He even ate a little of my Ham I was having for lunch. I do think he is feeling better since he has been off antibiotics a day. I think I'm fortunate to have found this Vet. willing to go out on a limb like this. My last Vet. would have had to send me out for a simple ultrasound! I still have all my paws crossed!

 

[Stinky15]

I took Stinky back to Vet yesterday morning for restesting of his Cobalamine. He told me he wanted to keep him overnight as they have an Internist that comes in sometimes in the evenings and shows/teaches them things and he wanted her to see him. She did another ultrasound and found nothing. They took samples of kidney and spleen for testing and are going to have some kind of special urine test done in California. Hopefully something turns up that is treatable. I picked Stinky up this morning and when he got home he ate more than I've seen him eat in a long time and drank lots of water. I don't think he ate anything while at the Vet's. He even ate a little of my Ham I was having for lunch. I do think he is feeling better since he has been off antibiotics a day. I think I'm fortunate to have found this Vet. willing to go out on a limb like this. My last Vet. would have had to send me out for a simple ultrasound! I still have all my paws crossed!

It's been a week since last Vet visit and all of tests. He called with results today excerpt for the specialty test the visiting Internist and he ordered from Ca. Good/bad news. Good news, no kidney or spleen cancer, bad news is Cobalamine levels remain too high. Hopefully the specialty test points us in some direction more clear. His appetite has been fairly good and maintaining weight (as long as he get the Mirtazapine). Since he isn't getting the antibiotic twice a day he has decided its okay to stay in the house more. I'm pretty sure he got traumatized by all the pilling, sub Q fluids etc. and decided staying in the house wasn't safe. He continues to stay in the hot garage during the day sometimes. I felt down where he lays and surprisingly its not that hot. I try to get him to come in in the afternoons. The last few days he has actually walked around the block with me in the evening and has played with me a bit. He will eat fried chicken (meat only) and Ham lunch meat almost any time but usually will only eat a little kitty meat or kibble. I found some "all natural" Ham lunch meat that didn't have anything too objectionable in it. The saga continues....

 

[Stinky15]

It's been a week since last Vet visit and all of tests. He called with results today excerpt for the specialty test the visiting Internist and he ordered from Ca. Good/bad news. Good news, no kidney or spleen cancer, bad news is Cobalamine levels remain too high. Hopefully the specialty test points us in some direction more clear. His appetite has been fairly good and maintaining weight (as long as he get the Mirtazapine). Since he isn't getting the antibiotic twice a day he has decided its okay to stay in the house more. I'm pretty sure he got traumatized by all the pilling, sub Q fluids etc. and decided staying in the house wasn't safe. He continues to stay in the hot garage during the day sometimes. I felt down where he lays and surprisingly its not that hot. I try to get him to come in in the afternoons. The last few days he has actually walked around the block with me in the evening and has played with me a bit. He will eat fried chicken (meat only) and Ham lunch meat almost any time but usually will only eat a little kitty meat or kibble. I found some "all natural" Ham lunch meat that didn't have anything too objectionable in it. The saga continues....

Stinky was due an appetite Stim. this afternoon but he wouldn't eat this morning so I gave him his dose early. He still wouldn;t eat after an hour so when I got home about 10 I gave him another app. stim. (i am doing a 1/2 dose every other day of Mirtazapine). He still wouldn;t eat anything so I took him to Vet at 2:30. ( Coincidentally, The Vat. had the final result from the California test and it was negative.) . I thought Stinky might haver a hairball or constipation but the Vet. said no. I got a different App. Stim. to give him on days he doesn't get Mirtazapine (every 3 days) and an antacid. The Vet. tried to set me up an appointment with the Internist 2 hrs. away but she is only in 2 days a week and it would be at 8 a.m. and I couldn't drop him off a day early. I asked the Vet. what he thought she would do that we haven't done and he said she probably would do a biopsy of the intestine and if I wanted he could do that. I agreed to let him do it. He said while he was asleep he would go ahead and inspect his esophagus also. I told him everything I have read about Hypercobaliminemia pretty much points to cancer and we have pretty well ruled all that out. So once again we still have no cause. Ironically when we got home from the Vet. Stinky ate a couple of bites of kibble!

 

[Stinky15]

Stinky was due an appetite Stim. this afternoon but he wouldn't eat this morning so I gave him his dose early. He still wouldn;t eat after an hour so when I got home about 10 I gave him another app. stim. (i am doing a 1/2 dose every other day of Mirtazapine). He still wouldn;t eat anything so I took him to Vet at 2:30. ( Coincidentally, The Vat. had the final result from the California test and it was negative.) . I thought Stinky might haver a hairball or constipation but the Vet. said no. I got a different App. Stim. to give him on days he doesn't get Mirtazapine (every 3 days) and an antacid. The Vet. tried to set me up an appointment with the Internist 2 hrs. away but she is only in 2 days a week and it would be at 8 a.m. and I couldn't drop him off a day early. I asked the Vet. what he thought she would do that we haven't done and he said she probably would do a biopsy of the intestine and if I wanted he could do that. I agreed to let him do it. He said while he was asleep he would go ahead and inspect his esophagus also. I told him everything I have read about Hypercobaliminemia pretty much points to cancer and we have pretty well ruled all that out. So once again we still have no cause. Ironically when we got home from the Vet. Stinky ate a couple of bites of kibble!

Don't know what the not eating on app. stimulants on Wed. was all about because Thursday he ate more cat meat than he has in a long while and very early this morning he ate really well too. Today I have taken hi m to Vet. to get his intestine inspected and biopsied and his throat/esophagus inspected as well. If all this comes back negative I don't know what we will do. I think the Vet. has reached his diagnostic limit.

 

[sandyshores]

Don't know what the not eating on app. stimulants on Wed. was all about because Thursday he ate more cat meat than he has in a long while and very early this morning he ate really well too. Today I have taken hi m to Vet. to get his intestine inspected and biopsied and his throat/esophagus inspected as well. If all this comes back negative I don't know what we will do. I think the Vet. has reached his diagnostic limit.

 

[sandyshores]

Good he is eating better! Antibiotics are known to decrease appetite. So you were giving him something to decrease his appetite and then an antidepressant with anti nausea/appetite stimulation properties to increase his appetite (Mirtazapine). Maybe he doesn't like how he feels after he takes it Mirtazapine. Could you take him off the anti depressant and see if he will eat a raw diet (since he seems to like the ham/meat you feed him sometimes). Rad Cat is the best, my cats don't like any other brand raw food. May be worth a try if you have a pet store that carries it in your area.

 

[Stinky15]

He hasn't been on antibiotics for over a week. He loss of appetite is likely caused by excess Cobalamin (B-12). We have been searching for the cause for a couple of months. The intestinal Biopsy hopefully gives us an answer as everything else is normal. The Mirtazapine works fine stimulating his appetite but didn't one time so I took him in to Vet to see if maybe he was constipated or had a hairball stuck. There was nothing. Mysteriously when I returned home he started eating again. I go to pick him up from the operation/scoping in a few hours. Sorry if my posts(s) confused you. Thanks for posting.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[sandyshores]

He hasn't been on antibiotics for over a week. He loss of appetite is likely caused by excess Cobalamin (B-12). We have been searching for the cause for a couple of months. The intestinal Biopsy hopefully gives us an answer as everything else is normal. The Mirtazapine works fine stimulating his appetite but didn't one time so I took him in to Vet to see if maybe he was constipated or had a hairball stuck. There was nothing. Mysteriously when I returned home he started eating again. I go to pick him up from the operation/scoping in a few hours. Sorry if my posts(s) confused you. Thanks for posting.

Praying for good news!!!! See if your vet carries A/D, it tastes good to cats and is only sold by a vet and suggested for after operations, but it does have extra Vit B in it so may not be an option if his B12 is high already.
Hill's® Prescription Diet® a/d® Canine/Feline - canned

 

[Stinky15]

Don't know what the not eating on app. stimulants on Wed. was all about because Thursday he ate more cat meat than he has in a long while and very early this morning he ate really well too. Today I have taken hi m to Vet. to get his intestine inspected and biopsied and his throat/esophagus inspected as well. If all this comes back negative I don't know what we will do. I think the Vet. has reached his diagnostic limit.

Well I picked him up from Vet. Looks like they took 3 biopsy samples and an aspiration sample of something. He has a pretty nasty incision and has to wear an E-Collar and stay indoors for 10 days till stitches come out. It's gonna be fun since he is an outside cat 75% of the time. He seems to be resting now. I gave him an app. Stim. but he isn't interested in eating yet. He did drink a lot of water. I may venture up to PetSense to see if they maybe have one of those inflatable collars.

 

[Raevyn]

My cats are fussy and turn down a lot of food, especially wet food, but i keep putting it out, twice a day, someday they eat it someday they wont. Right now the only thing mine eat well is Tiki cat, and Almo nature the salmon and apple complete food, and the chicken and green beans. And like you i feel i have tried every food out there.

With Dry my guys all like Dr. Elseys chicken. Its high protein and high calorie, so a little goes a long way. If your guy is a kibble guy you may want to give it a try?

He will eat kibble? just not good with the wet? Is he underweight now? im not sure i understood if he was or not? Or that he just wont eat without the medication?

Some cats, i have one, are nibblers, they will never eat much at one meal. I leave wet out for about 4 hours, and they will normally finish most of it in that time frame. I also leave Dr. Elseys dry out all the time. My 4, along with the wet eat about 2/3 cup of Elseys per day. But its over about a 24 hour period. they never eat much at once.

I do hope you can figure out what is up with him. And i will say i dont think tough love will work for a cat. It sometimes might for a dog, but not a cat.

Keep us updated with your guy!

Same here mine will just decide they don't want ant to eat what I bought them anymore and I have to hunt down a new brand they'll eat. Usually they're just picky about the meat tho

 

[duckpond]

Well I picked him up from Vet. Looks like they took 3 biopsy samples and an aspiration sample of something. He has a pretty nasty incision and has to wear an E-Collar and stay indoors for 10 days till stitches come out. It's gonna be fun since he is an outside cat 75% of the time. He seems to be resting now. I gave him an app. Stim. but he isn't interested in eating yet. He did drink a lot of water. I may venture up to PetSense to see if they maybe have one of those inflatable collars.View attachment 245125 View attachment 245126

Bless his heart, that is a big ole incision! Hoping and praying that you guys get good results, and that he is better soon! Keeping you in my thoughts, next 10 days may be rough, but i hope not! hang in there!

 

[Tabbytastic]

The incision looks scary, fingers crossed that they will get to the bottom of this now. I will be thinking of you both and hope keeping him indoors doesn’t prove too difficult. By the way, he is a very handsome boy.

 

[Stinky15]

Well I picked him up from Vet. Looks like they took 3 biopsy samples and an aspiration sample of something. He has a pretty nasty incision and has to wear an E-Collar and stay indoors for 10 days till stitches come out. It's gonna be fun since he is an outside cat 75% of the time. He seems to be resting now. I gave him an app. Stim. but he isn't interested in eating yet. He did drink a lot of water. I may venture up to PetSense to see if they maybe have one of those inflatable collars.View attachment 245125 View attachment 245126

Well the inflatable collar won't work. It's too big and bulky. They had a different kind of E-collar than the Vet gave me, I may see about that. He tolerates the collar pretty well. He has peed twice and eaten a very little 2 or 3 times. He may actually have gained a little weight from yesterday. He felt hot yesterday but doesn't this morning. All in all I think its going better than I thought at first. I remove the collar from time to time to let him eat, clean and just feel a little normal. The incision still looks good.

 

[Stinky15]

Yesterday was a fairly good day. I am leaving the E collar off when I can watch him. Incision looks good and he mostly leaves it alone. He is eating a little but needs more. I happened to pick up a "Delectables" stew pouch and he gobbled it up so I'll be buying more today. I ordered one of those "Suiticals" which should be here this afternoon. He can drink with the E collar on, but not eat. I have taken him outside on a leash a couple of times and yesterday p.m. He wanted out really bad but finally figured out there was no way out. He has a kitty door in a window which I have locked, blocked off and removed easy access to. This morning I will leave him alone for several hours so hopefully he will be fine. He usually sleeps most of the day anyway. The Vet. said to wait 10 days to remove sutures and I am hoping that is from the day he got them, not 2 days later when I picked him up. The incision still looks good. I have some Cyproheptadine the Vet. gave me and an antacid he said I could use on days he doesn't get Mirtazapine. I may try one or both of them after I get back home.

 

[Stinky15]

Yesterday was a fairly good day. I am leaving the E collar off when I can watch him. Incision looks good and he mostly leaves it alone. He is eating a little but needs more. I happened to pick up a "Delectables" stew pouch and he gobbled it up so I'll be buying more today. I ordered one of those "Suiticals" which should be here this afternoon. He can drink with the E collar on, but not eat. I have taken him outside on a leash a couple of times and yesterday p.m. He wanted out really bad but finally figured out there was no way out. He has a kitty door in a window which I have locked, blocked off and removed easy access to. This morning I will leave him alone for several hours so hopefully he will be fine. He usually sleeps most of the day anyway. The Vet. said to wait 10 days to remove sutures and I am hoping that is from the day he got them, not 2 days later when I picked him up. The incision still looks good. I have some Cyproheptadine the Vet. gave me and an antacid he said I could use on days he doesn't get Mirtazapine. I may try one or both of them after I get back home.

Well I was gone nearly 4 hrs. and he was asleep in my computer chair and apparently no major mishaps. I took his E collar off and I decided to give him the Cyproheptadine (app. stim.) to see if that helps with appetite. Surprisingly he got up and ate a l
little kibble. An hour later he got up and started eating more kibble and I gave him a "Delectables" pouch which he gobbled up. He went to the littler box and started howling but didn't do anything in litter box. He seemed fairly wobbly! He is still and sleeping now. Next time I'll give 1/2 a dose. I actually intended to give him the Antacid but I goofed. Vet said I coud use either one or both on off days of the Mirtazapine. He's howling again and moving slow. I think this is a temporary reaction. If he isn't better in a while I may call Vet.

 

[Stinky15]

Well that dose of cyproheptadine scared me. It did make him eat some, but he was very lethargic and when he got up and moved it was very slow and jerky. Fortunately about 10-15 mins. ago he got up and ate a 1/2 can of kitty meat and some ham. Seems to be moving/acting better but still not very active. If I do use it again it will be a 1/2 dose.

 

[Stinky15]

Well that dose of cyproheptadine scared me. It did make him eat some, but he was very lethargic and when he got up and moved it was very slow and jerky. Fortunately about 10-15 mins. ago he got up and ate a 1/2 can of kitty meat and some ham. Seems to be moving/acting better but still not very active. If I do use it again it will be a 1/2 dose.

After yesterdays scare I see no ill effects today. He ate pretty good this a.m. but not real good this evening. He was due his regular dose of Mizertapine this afternoon but I'm gonna wait and see how he does in the morning. He has managed to put on a little wight since I picked him up. I took him outside this morning on his leash since he has been meowing to get out. I'm not sure that's a good idea. He seems to be tolerating staying inside okay for now. Vet said results could take 1-2 weeks. His incision looks really good.