What Do Vets Give Cats To Stimulate Appetite?

FrankieNMurphy

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My cat has IBS and was on medication for it. Doing much better, but not eating as much.
Has anyone had this problem? Did your vet put them on an appetite stimulant? What was it?
 

LTS3

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Mirtazapine is common. There's also Entyce which is for dogs but can be used for cats.

Non-medication things to try are toppers such as crushed up treats sprinkled over food and FortiFlora.
 
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FrankieNMurphy

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Mirtazapine is common. There's also Entyce which is for dogs but can be used for cats.

Non-medication things to try are toppers such as crushed up treats sprinkled over food and FortiFlora.
I just read about that drug! I am hoping my vet will give me a script for it. Thank you! And I just started using FortiFlora, too.
 

daftcat75

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In case you weren't aware, Cerenia, a common drug to stop vomiting in IBS/IBD, can cause anorexia (not eating) in many cats. If yours is taking Cerenia, this is something to talk to the vet about. There may be another drug for nausea/vomiting that doesn't suppress appetite.

Krista's had both Entyce and Mirtazapine at different times. I found Mirtazapine to be more effective, even if the dosing and side effects can be tricky. My 8 lbs Krista would take 1/8 of a pill, every other day. Some cats take 1/4 every three days.

I found the lower dose more often reduces but doesn't eliminate the "meowzapine" effect. Within 45 minutes to an hour, she'll get talkatative and affectionate. She wants to be held and she's purring, trilling, and meowing the whole time. It's adorable to be on the receiving end but I can see it causes her a little distress like someone spiked her drink. She settles down soon enough (15 minutes?.) Then she's hungry and can go through an entire plate like it was a snack.

Entyce I found to be hit and miss. Sometimes it worked great. Sometimes it didn't do anything. And sometimes it gave Krista a wicked tummy ache.
 
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FrankieNMurphy

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Thank you so much for your help. I'm going to the vet for a check up and with ask about this?
 

sidneykitty

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Sorry to hear your cat has IBS and is not eating normally... :(

Vets use a variety of appetite stimulants for cats. Typically those prescribed for home use are Mirtazapine and Cyproheptadine. I think mirtazapine is the most common. Within the clinic, they will sometimes give a Valium injection which has the desirable side effect of increasing appetite usually within 15-30 minutes but doesn't last long so I think its more of an acute treatment.

Prednisolone/prednisone can also increase appetite as a side effect as well if given for other conditions. Usually its used to reduce inflammation and is sometimes prescribed for IBD among other things.

With that said, if you have any of these meds available for whatever reason, I would not give them to your cat without an Rx from the vet since dosages and things are different. :)

My old vet said that she often prescribed mirtazapine for senior cats to take on a regular basis. What med was your cat given?

Hope that is at all helpful!
 

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In addition to the pill, there's also a transdermal ointment version of mirtazapine. It may be a little easier to use (applied to the inner ear)
 

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Our cats have lymphoma and when first diagnosed our one cat got quite thin before the chemo kicked in and Mirtazapine was very helpful as noted in the above posts. Daftcat mentioned the "meowzapine" (heh) effect which can be very startling. We found that we had to adjust the dosage down with our vet's help, and also not give more than once in a week because our Louie gets very manic and restless on it even at a small dose. Luckily we have not had to give it recently, whew. I wish you all the best.

It is very good to hear there is a transdermal version as mentioned by ciraxi above, (though our vet hates that the transdermal application means the dose is not "exact") but maybe I'll consider that if needed in the future, thanks ciraxi for the idea. :)
 

daftcat75

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(though our vet hates that the transdermal application means the dose is not "exact")
I don't know what Louie's dose was but I can tell your vet that when you're breaking a pill the size of a grain of rice into 1/8ths, you lose exactness of dose. ;) It basically came out as a crumb that I would hide inside a glob of nutritional gel and hope that I can get her to swallow it on the first go. I would love a transdermal option. I gave Krista transdermal bupe for dental extractions. So much easier than the oral liquid!
 

fionasmom

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I was always given mirtazapine or cyproheptadine and both were effective.
 

sidneykitty

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Oh thanks ciraxi ciraxi ! I'd forgotten it was available transdermal now, too. I'm excited about that for the day Amber needs mirtazapine if it ever comes.

The couple of times she has taken it, she did not have the same hyperactive reaction your kitties did! Basically she scarfed down some food shortly after it was given and then there was really no change. It did not seem to effect her appetite at all the next morning, though and I was under the impression it should. Maybe it was the dosage, but most of the time, I think it is effective, but its interesting how all cats are a bit different!
 

Kiwimom

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I was always given mirtazapine or cyproheptadine and both were effective.
My cat was losing weight so she just started taking Mirtazapine. Her blood work and urine we're fine. She wants me to try 6 doses and then see if she will eat on her own. Have your cats quit taking it and have started eating again?
 

Kitty Mommy

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I am going to ask our vet about the transdermal mirtazapine. Max has been taking the liquid and more often than not he throws it up.

we have an appointment with a new vet, a feline internal med specialist, tomorrow to figure out what is going on with his IDB as his current treatment is not working.
 

fionasmom

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Both of my cats had cancer and did not eat without the meds; however, I have had dogs who began to eat regularly once they felt better and I was able to discontinue the meds.
 
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