Cat Is Lethargic And Not Eating

[Soro]

Before I begin, we have taken Iona (3 years) to the vet. They've taken blood work, and done x-rays. The blood work has all come back with positive results, and she apparently looks very healthy test wise.

Iona is normally very energetic, extremely talkative, and very bright eyed. For three days now she has not been keen on food (except for a bite or two if we're lucky) and hasn't wanted to do anything except for lay down. She is thankfully still drinking water, so she is not dehydrated, but otherwise she does not want to get up.

As I was actually typing this, we put out some wet food for her, which she did get up for. She ate a couple bites, but was unfortunately all she could stomach.

I honestly don't know what to do, or even what to ask the vet at this point. Has anyone had this problem, with no apparent "bad signs" from blood tests? Anything would be appreciated.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Welcome!!

Try feeding in different locations - really, completely different, and utilize different heights. For example put a couple of books underneath the dish, next time use two thick phone books, or a small-ish box so the heights are varied....

Maybe there is something that might help here;

Sit with your cat and scoop some food on your finger or a spoon and hopefully your kitty will lick it. Or gently tuck some food inside the cheek.

Try some raw egg yolk. Egg white must always be cooked, and some people cook the white and make a slurry of sorts by adding in the raw yolk.

Also you could try some Nutri-cal or similar product.

Try making these recipes - they're just as viable for an adult cat as for kittens;
Kitten-Rescue.com

These below can be used on their own or combined with food. Also, if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave.

Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A small glass works to stir it all up.

• Chicken, beef or ham flavored (pureed) baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch

• Salmon, mackerel

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food any brand

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food

• kitten glop (recipes in website link above)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora
• fish oil
• green beans, asparagus mushed up, lettuce, applesauce, mashed chickpeas, black olives
• whipped topping such as reddiwhip
• dry pasta

• goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  
• Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables, Only Natural Pet, Primal

• There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
• shredded cheddar cheese, string cheese

 

[daftcat75]

Yes. I have seen those cluster of symptoms without a diagnosis. Pancreatitis. It took three (!!) vets to get one to suggest that for my Krista. One of those was the ER hospital. Lot of good they were! It's not part of the standard blood tests and its cluster of symptoms overlap with so many other things that it doesn't seem to be on the diagnostic decision tree for a lot of vets (or guardians.)

I know you said you already did blood work but it's not a standard test. If you have the results in front of you, it would show up as "Spec fPLI" or "fPL" or maybe "Snap fPL". Though I think the Spec test is of higher value than the Snap. Otherwise, call the vet and ask them about it.

Dental pain, if bad enough (broken tooth), can also cause a cat to become despondent, anorexic, and lethargic. I also found this one out the hard way.

 

[Soro]

Thank you both so much.

Thank you Furballsmom for all these methods of help, and for the recipe website. I'm going to try and get some of her energy back in the case that she is lethargic due to not being able to eat.

Yes. I have seen those cluster of symptoms without a diagnosis. Pancreatitis. It took three (!!) vets to get one to suggest that for my Krista. One of those was the ER hospital. Lot of good they were! It's not part of the standard blood tests and its cluster of symptoms overlap with so many other things that it doesn't seem to be on the diagnostic decision tree for a lot of vets (or guardians.)

I know you said you already did blood work but it's not a standard test. If you have the results in front of you, it would show up as "Spec fPLI" or "fPL" or maybe "Snap fPL". Though I think the Spec test is of higher value than the Snap. Otherwise, call the vet and ask them about it.

Dental pain, if bad enough (broken tooth), can also cause a cat to become despondent, anorexic, and lethargic. I also found this one out the hard way.

I know they did talk about Pancreatitus while I was at the vet, and I could swear they did do a test for it (with it coming back negative), but I will double check today. Thank you!

In the sake that anyone has this problem, I will update her status and if anything works.

 

[denice]

Cats with IBD will usually have completely normal lab test results. IBD will usually flare, the cat will be sick as you describe then be normal only to have it come back again. There is no non-invasive completely definitive test for IBD. An ultrasound if read by someone who is good will show telltale signs of the inflammation. This may just be a one off thing but if it continues or goes away then comes back I would ask about IBD.

Your cat does need to eat though because of a condition unique to cats called Hepatic Lipidosis or fatty liver. If all the tricks mentioned above don't work then you may have to resort to syringe feeding.

 

[GingerBear]

The suggestions above are great. More simply, have you tried feeding a new brand of food? My cat did eventually have a hyperthyroid diagnosis which wouldn't apply to you, but this is very similar to what we went through this summer when she suddenly started refusing her Fancy Feast that she had loved for years. Almost overnight- lethargy and just not herself. I did have some small success feeding in different locations, or adding water, or warming up the food. After much trial and error we finally found a food we both agreed on (Wellness). She still refuses the Feast. I hope Iona feels better soon!

 

[Soro]

Sorry for disappearing on this thread, it's been a very stressful time.

I do bring really good news! Iona is feeling incredibly better after hospitalization, fluids, and some syringe feeding. The doctors and nurses were worried that she might get fatty liver disease from her lack if eating, but thankfully there were no signs of that yet.

After an ultrasound, the radiologist determined she had a mild case of Pancreatitis (thank you daftcat75 for suggesting I look into it!), so they've given her lots of fluids and syringe fed her until she started eating on her own (which she did! We were so happy when she went straight to her food bowl when she got home!)

So I wanted to close this so others can find it, if they have these exact symptoms they know what they should look for or ask their vet about. Just go for the ultrasound first.

 

[daftcat75]

Sorry for disappearing on this thread, it's been a very stressful time.

I do bring really good news! Iona is feeling incredibly better after hospitalization, fluids, and some syringe feeding. The doctors and nurses were worried that she might get fatty liver disease from her lack if eating, but thankfully there were no signs of that yet.

After an ultrasound, the radiologist determined she had a mild case of Pancreatitis (thank you daftcat75 for suggesting I look into it!), so they've given her lots of fluids and syringe fed her until she started eating on her own (which she did! We were so happy when she went straight to her food bowl when she got home!)

So I wanted to close this so others can find it, if they have these exact symptoms they know what they should look for or ask their vet about. Just go for the ultrasound first.

The X-ray is still of diagnostic value to rule out constipation or an obstruction. As much as I wish it was always just one and done, it frequently takes multiple tests to zero in on the exact reason why kitty doesn’t feel well.

Spec fPLI is a nonstandard blood test. You have to ask for it. But if you’re already doing blood work, this could get you a pancreatitis diagnosis faster. You lucked out that you had a skilled sonographer. I have heard that not all pancreatitis shows up on ultrasound. That’s why I think the blood test is better.

Start her on B12 shots if she’s not already on them. Those will make a big difference with panc recovery.

Sorry she has it but glad you got a diagnosis and a path forward. And great to hear that she’s already doing better.