Cat Hasn't Eaten In 2 Weeks - Vet Says Tests Are Normal. Help

samsandoval

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My 11 year old female cat has completely stopped eating the last 2 weeks. We have taken her to the vet multiple times and all her tests come back normal. We've tried everything to get her to eat. We've given her anti nausea medication, appetite stimulants - nothing works. We've started to force feed her by syringe because she's loosing weight rapidly. Our vet says it might be a thyroid problem so prescribed us thyroid medication. She says if that doesn't work, we might have to put her down.

I am absolutely in love with this cat and not ready to let her go. She's been completely healthy up until this point. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
 

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LTS3

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I'd take the cat to anther vet for a second opinion. Bring copies of your cat's medical records with you so the vet can review them.

Are the cat's teeth ok? Dental problems can be very painful and a cat would be reluctant to eat.
 

merlotandasti

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One of my cats has experienced that before. He didn't eat for 2 weeks & vomited several times a day. Every test came back normal. I never found out what it was but he did start eating again & regained weight. Whenever he even smelt food or treats, he would gag. The vet gave me high calorie food that I mixed with water & put in a huge syringe. I force fed him several times a day even if he threw it up. Is he drinking water? If not he needs water in him as well. Also you might want to change his food that you aren't syringe feeding him. He might relate that food to the bad experience he's having.

I just kind of want to give you some hope. One day my buddy just walked to his food bowl & started eating again. I cried when it happened lol. He lived another two years after that before he passed from something else.

I also think a second opinion is a good idea.
 

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I think a second opinion is a good idea, too. I'm not a vet, but just looking at her labs, I see some indication of thyroid problem as your vet mentioned and/or diabetes. Tell the second vet you are concerned about these issues.
 
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samsandoval

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I'd take the cat to anther vet for a second opinion. Bring copies of your cat's medical records with you so the vet can review them.

Are the cat's teeth ok? Dental problems can be very painful and a cat would be reluctant to eat.
Thank you! I am going to book an appointment with another vet this week. Our vet did check her teeth and says there is nothing wrong :(
 
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samsandoval

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One of my cats has experienced that before. He didn't eat for 2 weeks & vomited several times a day. Every test came back normal. I never found out what it was but he did start eating again & regained weight. Whenever he even smelt food or treats, he would gag. The vet gave me high calorie food that I mixed with water & put in a huge syringe. I force fed him several times a day even if he threw it up. Is he drinking water? If not he needs water in him as well. Also you might want to change his food that you aren't syringe feeding him. He might relate that food to the bad experience he's having.

I just kind of want to give you some hope. One day my buddy just walked to his food bowl & started eating again. I cried when it happened lol. He lived another two years after that before he passed from something else.

I also think a second opinion is a good idea.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. That makes me feel a lot better - it's been very tough having no answers. Luckily she's taking down the food from the syringe no problems and is still drinking water/ using her litter normally. I will continue to force feed her and hopefully a second opinion will give us some more answers. Thank you!
 
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samsandoval

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I think a second opinion is a good idea, too. I'm not a vet, but just looking at her labs, I see some indication of thyroid problem as your vet mentioned and/or diabetes. Tell the second vet you are concerned about these issues.
Thank you! We gave her thyroid medication today so I'm hoping if that's the problem this will help. I will be sure to express that to the new vet as well.
Thanks for your concern & insight
 
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samsandoval

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So we took her back to the vet to perform further tests and they found a mass on one of her lungs. The vet said all we can do at this point is just keep her comfortable.

I don't understand why this would cause her to stop eating. I'm wondering if this mass might be unrelated. We're waiting for a call from the radiologist who's analyzing her scans. At this point we're preparing for the worst, but hoping she can pull through. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :(
 

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I'm so, so sorry to hear. Might be that the mass is making her feel ill enough to stop eating. (I recently went through something similar but strangely, mine didn't stop eating and drinking until after he was diagnosed with a mass attached to his intestines and cancer that had spread.) If the mass is contained to her lungs, I don't know if maybe it can just be removed (my kitty's vet mentioned to me that if it were just the mass, he could've performed surgery to remove it.) Hope vet and radiologist have answers for you soon. Sending my best wishes. Keep us updated.
 

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So we took her back to the vet to perform further tests and they found a mass on one of her lungs. The vet said all we can do at this point is just keep her comfortable.

I don't understand why this would cause her to st, I'm so sorry.op eating. I'm wondering if this mass might be unrelated. We're waiting for a call from the radiologist who's analyzing her scans. At this point we're preparing for the worst, but hoping she can pull through. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :(

Cancer can do many things to the body that makes a cat feel uncomfortable and as a result stops eating. Supportive therapy, palliative care may help. I'm so sorry. There are a number of signs to look for when trying to evaluate quality of life when contemplating euthanasia, appetite is just one, others include, demeanor, mobility, energy, ability to use the litter box, groom oneself, and inclination to hide. A far away look to the eyes is also a more subtle sign.
 
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samsandoval

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Hi everyone,

So she started eating out of nowhere yesterday, and ate again this morning! Her energy is way up and she's acting more like herself... im not sure if this is just a fluke from the medication. The vet called them "super man pills" that makes her feel good. Or if the medication is actually working... waiting for the call from the radiologist but it's a good sign that she's responsive to the meds. Might not mean that she'll make a full recovery but Im grateful to see her doing better.

I will keep you posted... thank you all for the well wishes & insight!
 
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samsandoval

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I'm so, so sorry to hear. Might be that the mass is making her feel ill enough to stop eating. (I recently went through something similar but strangely, mine didn't stop eating and drinking until after he was diagnosed with a mass attached to his intestines and cancer that had spread.) If the mass is contained to her lungs, I don't know if maybe it can just be removed (my kitty's vet mentioned to me that if it were just the mass, he could've performed surgery to remove it.) Hope vet and radiologist have answers for you soon. Sending my best wishes. Keep us updated.
Thanks for sharing! It doesn't sound like surgery is an option right now but maybe if she gets some more strength and they think it would be effective we can explore that as an option... waiting to hear what the radiologist thinks. I will definitely keep you posted. Thanks for your well wishes
 
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samsandoval

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Cancer can do many things to the body that makes a cat feel uncomfortable and as a result stops eating. Supportive therapy, palliative care may help. I'm so sorry. There are a number of signs to look for when trying to evaluate quality of life when contemplating euthanasia, appetite is just one, others include, demeanor, mobility, energy, ability to use the litter box, groom oneself, and inclination to hide. A far away look to the eyes is also a more subtle sign.
Thanks so much for sharing some of those signs. We asked the vet how we would know when it's time and she just said we'll know.. so it's helpful to have some indicators. Luckily she's drinking lots of water, using her litter box no problem, she still jumped on my belly to lie on me last night, followed us outside and laid in the grass and groomed herself while we ate dinner... her energy and demeanour seem to be more back to normal... hoping she might be on the mend ❤ I will let you know when we hear from the radiologist. Thanks for your support
 
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