Freya isn't eating

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Antonio65

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The vets said to recheck her in a few fays, especially for the possible pyometra.
As I said above, I would like to hear another opinion, same clinic but another vet that I trust more. He's on holiday now, but he'll be back in a couple of days.
Those who saw Freya didn't have a clear idea if what it is going on.
 

neely

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I would like to hear another opinion, same clinic but another vet that I trust more. He's on holiday now, but he'll be back in a couple of days.
This must be so frustrating for you as well as Freya. Sending special thoughts that you can get a 2nd opinion and/or Freya can hold on until your trusted vet returns soon. :crossfingers:
 

Margot Lane

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Oh I know this feeling…time moving in granules. If you can continue to get something down her til your trustworthy vet gets back that ought to see you through. I did try giving Zorro a pinch of pedialyte when he refused to eat, but that was a last resort effort, and, he did make it in time. I am not a vet, so, can’t tell you to try this. If she is still eating SOME food that is positive, b/c she is also getting liquids. Hang in there. Try to get any rest if you can, b/c it will help Freya when you do see the vet: you’ll be more focused, ask the right questions…be able to drive. :redheartpump:
 
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Antonio65

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Yesterday she managed to eat all her food, though over a longer time, many small meals between 7 am and midnight, rather than 4 main meals, but it's time consuming and stressful for me too.
This morning I tried a different wet food, but again she just nibbled, less than 20 grams.

It seems to me she's living in some sort of fear. She looks around a lot while she's eating, like she was fearing an attack. My other cat is pretty ravenous and it seems she's never full. They are fed in two different rooms for this reason, and in the last two weeks I'm closing the door between them, but it isn't working much.

The weird thing is that Freya isn't eating (for fear?) but she isn't showing she's hungry either, it seems she's just uninterested. When their dishes are ready, Giada follows me eagerly, Freya seems to have a response more out of habit than because she wants to eat, and as a matter of fact, after she nibbled something, she went in the window to look outside.
 
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Antonio65

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Yesterday, August 31, day 14 since the problem began.
She ate all her food over the whole day, small meals every now and then. It is good, but I can't cope with this. I cannot leave food out for her to eat when she feels like, or Giada (the other cat) would clean the dish in a minute.
So Freya can eat only when I'm home. And it even happens that she doesn't want to eat when I'm there.

I think there's something else behind this story.
In the last couple of days she looks like scared almost by everything. When I enter the room and she didn't hear me coming she gets scared, she stays flat on the floor, with her eyes wide open. Sometimes her tail is a slightly bristled. Also, a noise from inside or outside the house can startle her or make her jump, she tends to hide. If this happens while she's eating she stops eating.
This morning she was eating, just started, when a noise came from the street, and she instantly stopped eating and started looking for a hiding spot.
She never acted like this before.
 

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does she have a fever? With a fever, even a minor one, you can hallucinate. By that I mean a fever could make her see threats that aren't there. Fevers can be dangerous.
 
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Antonio65

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No fever at all. She's fine, fresh, active, loving, playful, interested in things, but not too hangry and she gets scared easily, but not
always.
This morning she got scared by a noise from outside, and later on by a noise I happened to make.
At my lunch break she was more relaxed, even in presence of some noise, though not completely confident.

Just talked with my trustowrthy vet about this situation and Freya's incomplete spaying. The vet said it is time to think about a second surgery to correct the mistake. I asked the vet who is gonna pay, the vet replied that there shouldn't be doubt that the clinic will pay for everything. They will have to discuss the matter and will let me know.
 

Kflowers

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absolutely the clinic should cover it. Hopefully, Italy is better than some other places. In the US you have to pay to correct any doctor's or vet's mistake, that's a given, but that doesn't make it right.
 

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No fever at all. She's fine, fresh, active, loving, playful, interested in things, but not too hangry and she gets scared easily, but not
always.
This morning she got scared by a noise from outside, and later on by a noise I happened to make.
At my lunch break she was more relaxed, even in presence of some noise, though not completely confident.

Just talked with my trustowrthy vet about this situation and Freya's incomplete spaying. The vet said it is time to think about a second surgery to correct the mistake. I asked the vet who is gonna pay, the vet replied that there shouldn't be doubt that the clinic will pay for everything. They will have to discuss the matter and will let me know.
I m glad that you found the cause but how did he find out that she s incomplete spaying ? Our baby girl is having almost the same “sympthoms “ like u and we still don t find out the cause.
 
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Antonio65

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I m glad that you found the cause but how did he find out that she s incomplete spaying ? Our baby girl is having almost the same “sympthoms “ like u and we still don t find out the cause.
Well, actually it wasn't the vet who found out that Freya had an incomplete spaying, I had suspicions of this since she came back home from the clinic in August 2021. The incision wasn't neat and perfect.
But two or three months later she started having a weird behavior. She was often disoriented, confused, didn't recognize her name, and was not too interested in food. This weird behavior would last 5 to 8 days and repeat every 15 to 20 days.
The vets wouldn't listen to my words and suspicion, they sent me to a neurologist who diagnosed Freya with a focal epilepsy and prescribed a barbiturate, Phenobarbital, that I never gave her.

After a few months I managed to have the vets to run a hormonal test, LH test, who measured the hormonal levels, and the test came back positive, this means Freya is still producing the sexual hormones.

When last week she had an ultrasound scan and the tech saw the inflamed uterus, this was the final evidence of the incomplete spaying.

Today the vet told me "You were right to have some suspicions"
And I replied "I didn't have any suspicions, I always had certainties".

Now they will tell what to do and when.

I am sad to read that your kitty is having the same issues, I hope my experience can guide you and your vets to the right diagnosis.
 
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Antonio65

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UPDATE

On Friday and Saturday, Freya ate around 60 grams of wet food, and a few grams of dry food.
I guess she took around 100 kcal total on both days, when her daily intake should 200-220 kcal a day.

Today it's been even worse, only 30 grams of wet food throughout the day, less than 30 kcal.

She isn't showing she's hungry. She plays, sleeps, looks out of the window, she's even had a walk in the backyard this morning. She looks happy and fulfilled. I can't believe she can still go on without food.
She lost 120 grams of body weight since August 23rd, it's over 3% of her weight.

To me it seems more like a psychological problem than a physical one. The problem is in her head.
She gets scared at nothing, she often looks at spot of the house with fear or concern, but nothing is over there. She tends to hide.
Before this, she was a brave kitty and wouldn't act like this.

It also seems that she's more interested in whatever is in Giada's dish, even if it's the same thing.

I'm really scared that she won't ever eat normally again.
 

Furballsmom

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Can you talk to the vet about B12, or an appetite stimulant (I apologize if I missed it and you already have.)
 
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Antonio65

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Furballsmom Furballsmom , the vet who visited her on August 23 and 26 mentioned the Mirtazapine, but he also said that he wouldn't like to use it, because it would be an artificial hunger without dealing with the real cause of the lack of appetite.
We didn't discuss about the vitamin B12.
 

Miathebsh

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My trustworthy vets are back. They kind of disagree with the diagnosis from the other two vets, and would like to see Freya again in a couple of days for another round of visit and scan.
I will talk with them about vitamin and stimulant.
We have the same problem with Mia but she s not losing any weight and she is eating but not as usual . After vet trips and calls to numerous doctors the problem seems to be psychological not physical . If nothing is wrong with her clinicaly you should check a vet that is 100% on cat behaviours (i belive in USA are more than in Romania) . After what i ve talked with a family friends that is the deacon in Veterinary School, there around 250 blood parameters that exist, i don t know how many other tests, so everything we will do it will never finish (i belive you are like me, trying everything and nothing seems to have an end). You should track her steps and think what can cause the loss of apetite, any sign that she is afraid or stressed about anything. The more tests you will do, will only get her stressed and maybe aggravate the situation .
For the moment we let Mia be, she will eat what she will eat and trying to move around her bowls with food , maybe a new place will make her more confident .
it is very hard to watch your baby girl not eating but sometimes, like in humans, brain is the problem .
we wish you the strenght to get over this and our love !
 

neely

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My trustworthy vets are back. They kind of disagree with the diagnosis from the other two vets, and would like to see Freya again in a couple of days for another round of visit and scan.
Fingers crossed when your trustworthy vets reexamine Freya they can help her and find something the other two vets overlooked. :crossfingers:
I know how concerned you are about Freya and hope for good news soon. :heartshape:
 
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Antonio65

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We have the same problem with Mia but she s not losing any weight and she is eating but not as usual . After vet trips and calls to numerous doctors the problem seems to be psychological not physical
I will ask my vets to run as many tests with as many parameters as possible.
My Freya has a rather long story of weird issues, and this is amazing when you think she's not even 2 yrs old.
I even thought, like you say, about moving her dishes position, but I don't know where else to place them.
I don't trust behavioralists much, so I don't think I'm going to walk that path.
Luckily, I am based in Italy, not Romania ☺

Good luck with your Mia 🤞
 
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Antonio65

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UPDATE:

Freya started eating with lots of appetite on Monday morning. She licked her dish clean on both wet meals, and ate all the kibbles on all her dry meals.
Same on Tuesday.

Then, yesterday we had an ultrasound scan to check on that inflamed uterus. The vets asked me to take her on an empty stomach. And so I did. The US scan vet didn't see anything abnormal in her uterus... as a matter of fact he couldn't even see it... He said that the uterus isn't clearly visible when a cat isn't in heat or when she's been spayed. This is a confirmation that Freya might have been in heat when she was scanned 12 days earlier.
Freya ate all her meals throughout the day.

This morning she was acting fine, was alert and playful, waiting for he breakfast. Then, all of a sudden, I saw a different light in her eyes, she started acting lost, confused, aloof. Started looking for weird places to hide, and, of course, she didn't want to eat. She doesn't respond to her name either, again...
We're back to square one.
I'll update my vet later, but I think she won't have much to tell me. I'm getting tired.
 
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