Did Anyone’s Cat Stop Eating And Go On To Recover?

My moggy stopped eating entirely early last week following a steady decline in appetite 2 weeks after we moved house. He was diagnosed with the cat flu. He seemed to regain his appetite and ate nearly an entire can of a Low calorie (28 calories) Japanese cat food on Sunday. He ate very little on Monday, then ate 12 rectangular lumps of Royal Canin renal tuna on Tuesday, then at 3 am on Wednesday I stupidly accidentally fed him a tuna broth containing onions ( I thought it was just tuna water, which was what it said on the can), which he lapped up. He’s been vomiting on Wednesday and today (I’ve been syringe feeding him this entire time and he never once vomited, so it’s definitely the onions. The vet told me he might vomit for a few days) He got an anti vomiting injection today. I gave him Remeron today, but it hasn’t taken effect. Has anyone’s cat quit eating and subsequently recovered?

Hi! There have been quite a few cats I've read about here on the site that have recovered - hang in there, hopefully one of the owners will see your post soon

Hi. As Furballsmom said, there are numerous members who have dealt with eating issues, and their cats have recovered. Many have done syringe feedings, as you have been doing. Sadly, some of them have actually used feeding tubes, which apparently are much easier to deal with than they sound! Hopefully, the Remeron helps and you won't have to go near that prospect. But, if you would have to, based on your previous posts, I know you could do it too!

Get him over the 'onion hump' and see how he is doing afterward before you get too concerned.

We've had three cats who have required syringe feedings for long periods of time, one of whom eventually required a feeding tube for a while, and one who needed antidepressants for the rest of her life to help stimulate her appetite.

Those two kitties had some serious medical issues BEFORE they stopped eating, so they didn't make a complete recovery since they already had some chronic health problems. But once they were able to start eating on their own again, they did bounce back as best they could under the circumstances.

Then about six years ago, we rescued a cat with FIV, FHV, food allergies, sinus problems and frequent upper respiratory infections, and a few other odds & ends. So he frequently goes through phases where we have to syringe feed him until he's on the mend, and give him something for nausea. Thankfully, he's back to his usual playful self once we no longer have to syringe feed him. But the journey getting there can seem like it takes forever.

One of the things that really helps me is to keep a journal. The vet told me how many calories Buddy needs each day, so I estimate his calorie intake for each meal and/or syringe feeding and write that down. That way I don't stress out quite so much if I know for sure that I'm getting enough calories down him. Then when Buddy's appetite starts to pick up, it helps me see if he's eating enough on his own, or if he needs a little extra help to get him over the hump.

Good luck and best wishes to you and your kitty, and hope he's on the mend soon!

A house move is hard on many cats. Have you changed her food as well?

My cat stopped eating after a dental procedure. She had a full mouth extraction and was fine for the first week (on drugs!), then the second week she really went into decline. Very lethargic and wouldnt eat unless I hand fed her.
I think it was a combination problem: She had a change in her food after her extractions (cats have a problem making a quick switch), was confused/sad because her mouth didn't work like it did before, combined with eating less she developed gastritis. She was crouching and licking her lips when she was awake (she slept mostly), an indication of nausea. 5 days of liquid famotimide and she was back to her old self. Any chance your cat is nauseous?

pipperoo said:

My cat stopped eating after a dental procedure.

Click to expand...

The same thing happened with our two different cats, both had FORL. I tempted them with meat baby food/no seasonings and it helped immensely. Both recovered within several days and went back to eating.

Here is an Article that may be helpful and give you some ideas:
How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again

Best of luck, please keep us posted on his progress.

Hi all, you may have been following my moggy's journey with anorexia for the last week and a half Did Anyone’s Cat Stop Eating And Go On To Recover?
He's seen three vets in total as our regular vet was on leave when this started. I took him back to our regular vet. They all think it's stress as his food intake only declined when we moved house, as well as the cat flu he caught. An X-ray of his chest and abdomen was normal, exam of his mouth was normal, blood test was normal (although his neutrophil count was up yesterday but normal last week). I read that neutrophil counts can go up in response to stress Has anyone ever dealt with stress-induced anorexia in their cats before?

I've never heard of this, but I'm so sorry. I know what it's like when our fur babies are going through something so difficult and we just don't understand because they can't tell us. I sure hope everything is going to work out okay

I had an anorexic cat. He went on a hunger strike for about a month. It was pitiful. He went from being 14 lbs, to 6 lbs during that time. Thankfully, he must have had an amazing liver as no damage or fatty liver set in. He became anorexic after we changed his food, as per vet advice, due to a bout of stress induced cystitis. LONG story short, when we decided that the vet was a dink, after spending almost $5000 in total, with more (useless) tests on the horizon, I just gave him his old food back, and he ate with gusto.
We have another kitty who stopped eating due to a combination of URI and constipation. He was pretty stuffed up, so he could not smell his food. Most cats won't eat if they can't smell. Then he got backed up, I think from a combination of not eating as mush (cats need to eat to keep pushing things thru) and hairballs (he had been throwing up hairballs often leading up to this.)
Our vet gave him a shot of cerenia for nausea and sent me home with laxatone (we had already started treating the URI prior). The cerenia help a little, but it was after just two doses of laxatone, that he pooped a good poop and started eating just fine.

In both of these cases, stress was a factor for their initial problems. Chewy had cystitis because of bears coming around the house. And Bynx had a flair up of Herpes virus, we had only recently adopted him from the shelter. So BIG changes in his life.
If you can help ease your kitties URI symptoms, it would probably help. Do you think there is a chance he could be a bit constipated also? Giving some laxatone or any hairball remedy would not hurt him, even if he's not constipated.
When trying to help with stress...
Calming classical music is shown to be very helpful.
You can get calming treats and food additives. I used to give one on my cats calming treats and they did help him.
A lot of people will criticize this next suggestion, but when we brought our Lily home, she also was in a herpes flair up, had an infection, she was over-grooming and was a scared timid little ball of fur who would curl up into herself in an attempt to protect herself from the world. It was SO SAD. Rather than fighting back or even running away, she rolled up and seemed like she was just resigning herself to her fate. So my vet recommended the prescription food that they sell. (Boo, Hiss...prescription food! Oh no!) Well, within a few days on being on the food, we started to see a difference in her. It really does help her stress levels. And you may not have to keep your kitty on it long term, but it would be worth looking into. The one we use is Royal Canin Calm w/SO index.

I could keep writing random things, but instead, just ask me a question if you have one. I've had 4 cats with stress issues, some long term, some short, all from different reasons and all with different symptoms. So just ask.