7 y.o. siblings vomiting - refusing food

[Alldara]

im so sorry for your loss. i have a cat that survived parvo after catching it when she was less than a year old. she showed no signs of it before. one morning we just found her laying flat on her side. for three days it felt like she was practically paralyzed, we had her secluded in a corner of a room with everything within a foot of her. we sanitized the house, gave her the parvo vax(when she was still sick) and thankfully none of the other cats caught it. shes five now.
garfields white blood cell count is high because of the infection, meanwhile parvo drops it very low.

to be honest there hasnt been much change. he still isnt eating, and now hes dehydrated. thankfully he isnt hiding and is okay with me carrying him to the living room so he can stay by my side. it looks like hes sleeping better in a blanket on the sofa rather than squatted on the floor.
when gar goes back to the vet on tuesday (or monday if the vet receives the shot for his liver) i will not be able to go with him. its finals week and im gonna be testing till wednesday. I've instructed my dad to ask for an IV so gar gets rehydrated, and maybe something to bump his appetite if he doesnt eat by tonight or sunday. im debating on force feeding, but i dont know what. i dont want to give him honey water because his glucose is high, and kmr makes him gag (really anything does, but the smell is nauseating to him). debating on paté.

Hey! Do you have a blender you can put his food through with some water?

When my roommate's cat got heatstroke the vet said to blend it up so that it's super super runny and then pick it up with a syringe and just ease it into him every 3 hours. It was the same small syringe that comes with metacam I think they only hold 1CC or 2. It wasn't force feeding, but just put the syringe under the lip or on the lip and be slow and let them lick it. I didn't have to force Minou to eat this way at all but he was only 6 months.

I did the same with Lily when she had an ear infection. The first syringe was a little forced but after I let that settle for an hour she finally didn't feel as nauseous and just ate everything else herself with me going slow. She also are like this for 3 different friends of mine as we had to rush away for my stepdads funeral while she was recovering and three separate people stepped up to cover her care. (I'm very blessed to have the community I have.)

If you can afford to get one or two cans of recovery food at the checkup, I'd recommend it as well.

 

[sebseb]

Can you ask the vet for an appetite stimulant like Mirataz which is rubbed on the ear pinna? It also comes in pill form if the vet thinks that would be okay. It would hopefully prevent any syringe feeding at home.

Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!
There are some tips to try to get a cat to eat in this thread. Garfield might be a little to ill to be willing to try some of them, but Gerber's baby food meats are often a help.

I'll definitely ask for Mirataz. its a battle getting him to swallow the denamarin, and unfortunately they dont offer it in liquid form. i dont want to syringe feed because of how much hes gagging.

 

[sebseb]

hi all, giving an update on Gar.
last night i was very worried for him because his temp was bordering 104 F/ 40 C. i put an ice pack along his spine and gave him around 30 ml of cold water thru a syringe. he still hasnt made any attempt to eat, so in a few minutes im gonna try and give him paté. hes moving around the house slowly and hes still responding to me.

 

[sebseb]

garfield's showing interest in eating. he wandered over while i was feeding the cats a decently sized can of tuna and skipjack (from Soulistic, probably just as smelly as surströmming) however he kept hidden behind the counter and didn't eat a piece when offered. i had the brine in a bowl for them to drink, and again he showed interest, licking his lips, but didnt drink any.
i have paté in a syringe. i rubbed some on his teeth and he licked it up, but when i put some on his tongue he gagged. theres some on a plate too and he wants to eat it, but i dont think he can stomach it.

 

[sebseb]

im tucking it into his gum and he seems to be taking it okay, just nauseous.

 

[Sarthur2]

Are you still getting him to the vet tomorrow? He likely needs sub-q fluids desperately, as well as anti-nausea meds. Perhaps even an appetite stimulant. I sure hope he makes it! Thank you for trying. Maybe some honey water or even just a bit on his tongue or gums. It works wonders!

 

[sebseb]

im short again so he's gonna have to hold out till tuesday . im gonna give him as much water and food as he'll take, right now he ate around a quarter of a can and dozed off.
he's doing better compared to yesterday. he's not heaving with his mouth agape, and he's more hydrated. i pinched his scruff and it fell much faster compared to last night. still, Tuesday i will ask for appetite stimulants, IV, and nausea meds depending on how he does monday.

 

[Sarthur2]

I understand about finances. If he can hold food down that is a step in the right direction. Where are you located? Are you in the United States or elsewhere?

 

[sebseb]

i live in the US, more specifically texas

 

[sebseb]

hi all, giving an update on garfield.
since yesterday, he' s been eating and drinking on his own. last night he slept with me for the first time in a few weeks, so it's safe to say he's getting back to himself. gar's moving around now, so i saw no need for the IV and appetite booster. however he' s still exhausted and fighting the illness, so he cant groom himself very well. he's musty and greasy, and sometimes i have to wipe his bum, but its okay, i have my baby back . there's always some illness a cat gets that makes them age what feels like decades.
unfortunately my other cats have caught hold of the URI. two of them were taken to the same vet to get the antibiotic, and thankfully it didnt put a dent in my wallet. you can bring multiple pets and they'll still charge you the price of one appointment (unlike my other vet..) i made an appointment for the 20th to bring the rest of the cats. in the meantime, the ones who havent received the antibiotic are staying on amoxicillin. I'll check back with you guys when Gar gets his next blood test, which will be in a month or so.

 

[fionasmom]

Thank you for letting us know that things are improving. URIs can definitely move through cats like wildfire, so it is good that you are getting some kind of a price break. Keep us posted.