Can Cerenia Supress Appetite?

[chicy724]

Hello all,
My kitty was Dx with intestinal lymphoma and is on many medications presently.
She's been on Cerenia the longest though, because this journey began with her vomiting every day.
Her appetite dwindled slowly because she was vomiting and nauseous.

She started Chlorombucil 2.5 weeks ago, prednisolone 3 weeks ago, Ondansatron about 4.5 weeks ago and Cerenia about 2 months ago.

We're struggling with her appetite.
She has a feeding tube right now thankfully, so I can at least maintain her weight and hopefully help her gain some of what she's lost.

However, despite anti-nausea, anti-emetic and steroid she's still not eating on her own.

One person mentioned that she felt her prolonged use of cerenia for her kitty lent itself to appetite issues.

Not many have reported this so I was curious if this was more common an issue?

Maybe her Prednisolone dose could/should be increased.

I'm also trying to get her B12 tested but for some reason my vet is hesitant. Partly because her treatment plan goes tbeiigh an oncologist at Auburn and they've been waiting a week or two for responses on some questions.. unacceptable in my opinion.

Update: She krigorigin nwas on 4mg Cerenia and is now on 8mg once per day.
Her Ondansatron is 2mg every 8 hours.
Her prednisolone is 5 mg once per day.
1/4 tab famotadine (Prilosec)
Her Chlorambucil is 2.25 mg twice per week.
We're going to have to add mirtazapine at some point it seems.

 

[silkenpaw]

Here's some info on Cerenia. It's on the injectable but I don't see why it wouldn't be the same for tablets. Decreased appetite in cats doesn't seem to be a major problem. Is you cat still showing signs of nausea (like licking her lips or actually retching)? I don't know the dose she's on. It may need to be increased. Alternatively, she may just need to have her tummy calm down more before she gets her appetite back.

I hope you can get the B12 issue resolved, I see no reason not to check the level, she's certainly at risk for being deficient and B12 is a pretty benign medication. And I agree, about the Auburn people, there should not be a more that a day waiting time for a question if you are "collaborating" on patient care. That's what email and texting is for.

Good luck with your cat, I hope she gets her appetite back soon

 

[babiesmom5]

I am so sorry about your kitty but can empathize having traveled this path myself with a sweet kitty.

Cerenia, which I have used for several cats (and am still using for two) has not decreased their appetite. Quite the contrary. Cerenia quells the nausea enabling them to eat more.

For my Small Cell Lymphoma kitty on a feeding tube, I gave Metoclopramide via the tube 30-60 minutes prior to a feeding to ensure that the cat tolerates the feeding. It sort of "preps" the stomach, thus no nausea.

Could you ask your Oncologist about this?

I think it is still early in the treatment phase to see increase in appetite. The Lymphoma takes a while to beat back to sufficient level so that the cat resumes eating on its own...can be weeks or a month or so.

I think there are other issues here at play, not Cerenia, but I would discuss this with your Oncologist. A week or two to get a reply is inexplainable. When I asked a question of my Oncologist, the reply was the same day, or at most the next day.

And yes B-12 level is part of the GI panel bloodwork and was done at the outset with my cat.

 

[chicy724]

B babiesmom5 ImI not speaking with the oncologist directly as her care plan is being managed locally, and they consult with her. I was thinking to try and call her though, because it's still soon after the Dx. She said something about after 3 months needing to see her again in order to provide advice....

If other issues are at play here, that's where I'm lost. What could it even be?
She was this way a but before treatment started.. it was part of her symptoms that lead us on this journey.

 

[chicy724]

silkenpaw She does not show signs of nausea like she did for so long.
She used to lick her lips a lot and I never thought anything of it. Poor girl. She was sick for a long time and I never knew.

She was extremely nauseous the morning after one Chlorambucil dose. Otherwise she seems ok, except for not really eating.

Her not eating is a big deal because she cannot have the feeding tube forever, but I will keep tube feeding her as long as I need in order to keep her healthy and strong enough to fight.