affection eating tips

Furballsmom

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I guess what I'm saying is that I don't understand, and have concerns about, her reaction --especially the thirst, when all three cats I've had over nearly 20 years of annual shots, have never had any issues.
 
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louisstools

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I guess what I'm saying is that I don't understand, and have concerns about, her reaction --especially the thirst, when all three cats I've had over nearly 20 years of annual shots, have never had any issues.
Did she get non-adjuvanted purevax?
I don't know what she got other than rabies and leukemia shots. I only asked about possible reactions bc I assumed she would have some. It's also been a bit warm the past few days so perhaps that's the cause?
 

savannahjansson

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Hey there! It's clear you care a lot about your kitty's well-being. It's understandable that you want to break her habit of needing you by her side while eating.

Your experiment of getting her started and then gradually moving away sounds like a good approach. Consistency and patience will be key here. Over time, she may become more independent during mealtime.

Keep up the positive reinforcement, and she might adjust to eating on her own. 🐱🍽
 
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louisstools

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I dunno. I guess my thought is if she behaves that way when it is warmer without having had recent shots?
Maybe? I seem to think when we get a warm spell she does. It's just one of a dozen things with her that I'm tracking to try and crack her code lol.
 
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louisstools

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It's been awhile so just a quick update... On the last episode, my cat had her yearly check-up and everything came back healthy. She's been doing fine since then and we're working on cutting out some meals during the work day in the hopes she'll eat more at the other meals and/or on her own and so I can have less interruptions. It's been going so-so. I don't always remember to cut out the meal and I don't always feel comfortable doing it.

She had been very consistent in her eating until a few days ago. The last two days she has been a bit weird where she is showing all signs she is hungry and wants to eat but won't eat the food. I'm seeing behavior I haven't seen since the "wet food days" where she'll sniff at the food but then say "no." We were in week 4 of a bag of food (we get 4-5 weeks) and so maybe it wasn't fresh enough even out of the sealed bag. I noticed the smell was considerably less and I'm firmly convinced part of our issues with food is she just can't smell it.

I opened a new bag and hopefully that fixes things for her. If not then I don't know what we will do because there are no more tricks. This is the only food she will eat. It is a new just-opened bag. She's on an appetite stimulant. If she starts giving me problems like from the "wet food days" I don't know what options I have left if she fights me on eating. We shall see :(

Slight edit for clarity.
 
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louisstools

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She ended up eating a bit Sunday afternoon and did good Monday breakfast but after that she started turning her nose up at the food, if she even looked at it. She ate 25% less than normal for the day and it required more effort from me. Made the vet appointment for Tuesday. Tuesday she ate well for breakfast but then didn't want anything until after we came back from our 1:30 PM vet appointment, and even then it was a tiny amount (5 kibble pieces). That is something I've NEVER seen from her in this saga...that she doesn't want to eat mid-morning or around lunch time. Something is really wrong!

Vet visit showed everything is ok but the vet heard congestion in the lungs and her breathing. We talked about options and she got a shot of depo medrol which should do four things 1) reduce inflammation and hopefully reduce her congestion 2) increase hunger 3) increase thirst 4) give her arthritus a bit of help. All good things. She also has a lump on her shoulder but aspiration showed it is likely just a fat deposit and nothing to be concerned about today.

She was pretty wild when we got home and wouldn't settle down for 5 hours. Just wanted to run from me and hide. Never seen this. She calmed down and did eat but again less than the normal amount for the day.

So far today she's eating worse than I've seen her in a year. Every day things are getting worse. Breakfast was a real fight to get her to even sniff the bowl but once she did she would eat. Since breakfast she's got zero interest in food. She's drinking well though. I'm hoping this is just side effects from the shot and it will resolve itself very soon. Sadly she is a bit lethargic and that really sucks b/c play is used to coax her to eating.

I'm concerned the appetite stimulant has suddenly stopped working but will have to give things a few days to let the vet visit and shot settle down. Until thing, things have basically reverted to how terrible they were when I made the first post in this mega thread lol.
 
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louisstools

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I'm sorry to hear this. Poor girl, and how frustrating and concerning for you!
It's certainly a bit stressful. Heck, I was trying to buy a new (used) truck this week too. Trying to do the negotiation and all that while worrying about my kitty hasn't been easy. Talk about timing. ... not to mention burning money on vet trips when it was needed for the truck lol.

She's not doing well today. She hasn't eaten or drank anything since breakfast -- this is unheard of. She isn't sleeping, she is just sitting in a nap spot. I've tried pulling her out of the spot and she'll let me pet her but she won't eat. I've tried picking her up and she meows at me like she is in pain. I can only guess the injection site is painful. I called the vet and they're concerned as they haven't seen a reaction like this before (of course my cat is the special case). Her vet gets into the office in a bit and they'll see what she recommends. But if she goes w/o eating or drinking she will likely have to go into the vet's office for fluids and stuff and overnight observation and all that. Ugh.
 

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Hang in there. Hopefully they can get something sorted. What injection did she have?
 
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louisstools

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She's recovered a bit from the vet visit but her eating still hasn't resumed. Some days she eats well but most days it's just impossible. None of the tricks work. She lost half a pound last week. And when she doesn't eat, she doesn't drink and that causes issues with her pee and poop. Both of those schedules are all out of whack. I've tried doubling her appetite stimulant dosage and we'll see how that goes. If that doesn't work we may try a new bag of her rx food and just consider this bag a "bad" one and get a refund from Purina.
 
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