Cat not eating after being sick?

[Elbee]

My cat Bee barely ate on Wednesday and vomited twice on Thursday morning (grass he had eaten the day before) so we took him to the vet. He is a 3 year old male kitty and has been very healthy. After a full blood panel, xray and ultra sound the only finding was inflamed, but not thick, small intestines- we were worried that a blockage was possible as he does like to chew on random things. The working theory is that he has a virus due to the sudden onset- possibly a cat enteric coronavirus... rather timely....

He will only eat the occasional treat. He has been rehydrated twice and is now at home on painkillers in case his tummy hurts and on an appetite stimulant. Still just touches treats with his mouth and walks away. While he is a picky eater (some food he just refuses or refuses after he has liked it for a while), he really does love to eat and it over 6 kilos. I fed him some Hills recovery food with my finger and got a good heaping tablespoon in.

Any thoughts on what this could be or next steps? My vet seems to think he will just start eating again. But I am very worried as he is a shining light in our home during our isolation! He seem interested to check the food out but them just walks away.

TLDR-
3 year old male cat barely eaten since Tuesday night
rehydrated twice at vets as precaution
test results all normal except some inflamation in small intestimes
Working theory- cat virus

Thank you for any thoughts here or reassurance!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Maybe there's something here that might help;

How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again

Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!

 

[Elbee]

Thank you! Those are good tips. Right now I am going to keep finger feeding him the recovery food and tomorrow I will go and get some of the things suggested. I think he is nauseated from a virus and then from not eating. It is so hard not to worry so much so it is great to see that other people have had this issue too!

 

[white shadow]

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Hi Elbee and welcome to the forum !

I'd caution you against getting 'sidetracked' or being taken down a rabbit hole with a list of 1001 things to try........your Vet has prescribed the recovery food - that's a nutrient-dense and is usually well-accepted by most cats as it's 'tasty'/'irresistible' - plus the appetite stimulant and the pain med. That's a solid, logical regimen to abide by. Adding 'junk' can complicate an already off-balance digestive system, and offering too many choices can also cause aversion.

You need to keep track of how much food he's taking in.....mixing in other foods will make that more difficult. A written record, simple notes, of how much he's eaten and when.....that can be invaluable, especially if this should drag on - otherwise things can get very blurry. It will keep your focus where it's needed, too.

"Treats", especially if they're the dry, out-of-a-bag-type, can also throw off your understanding of how much he's actually eating, in addition to aggravating dehydration. It might not hurt to crush the occasional treat and sprinkle the powder/crumbs over the wet recovery food.

You mentioned his eating "grass".......if he normally goes outside, you'd be best advised to keep him indoors until he has recovered.

It's also important to keep track/monitor and keep a record of his bowel movements. When you described how dehydrated he had become, my first reaction was to wonder about his previous litterbox 'deposit records' . If he has a history of hard/dry stool, that could be a clue for you. A small amount of stool in the cat wouldn't be remarkable during an exam or US....but, if that stool were too dry to move along easily, it could account for sudden inappetence and vomiting. (The need to know about his 'output' is another reason to keep him indoors.)

Keep up with the frequent finger feeding. Warming the food just a 'tad' will enhance the smell and flavour. As an alternative, you can whip it a little to smoothie texture, dip the backside tip of a teaspoon into it and present that.

Because he's a large cat and requires a good number of calories daily, there will be an increased risk of him developing a liver condition. Cats do not metabolize their body fat well; their systems try, but because their livers cannot process it efficiently the livers absorb the fat (thus, "Fatty Liver Disease"). I'd be very tempted to begin using a syringe to ensure greater caloric intake.

Here's a video I offered someone else on this. Take note of how the food is given: across the front of the tongue/mouth, not straight/directly into the mouth. That technique reduces the chance of aspirating (breathing in) the liquid food (which can cause a potentially fatal pneumonia):

​

Now, "Mr. Misty" was already upset before that feeding - hopefully Bee will be more receptive to the novelty!

Keep us updated and post back with any questions. (oh, btw we never refuse pics!)
.

 

[MissClouseau]

There are great suggestions in the link provided. Personally I would check with the vet and if they approve, get Fortiflora. It has some vitamins in it too as well as probiotics and it stimulates appetite with the animal digest in the ingredients. So kind of like all in one and you can sprinkle it on the food your kitty loves.

I hope he feels better soon.

 

[neely]

Great advice from white shadow
I'm sure your vet has Bee's condition under control but being a bit of a Sleuth I wonder if your cat may have had an acute bout of pancreatitis since digestive enzymes can sometimes seep into the pancreas and surrounding tissue causing inflammation. Regardless, please contact your vet if his health does not improve. I sincerely hope Bee's appetite increases and he feels better soon.

 

[Elbee]

Thank you for all that wonderful advice! He really hated the finger feeding so may try syringe later if he doesn't eat much today. He did eat some temptation (I know not the best but I think he was so happy to have something he wanted) and then he ate some senior pate off a spoon. Will keep offering and see. I will keep a record, good idea. He is a very regular boy usually, a few pees and one poop a day! He normally only eats wet food and it only allowed out in the backyard while supervised as he thinks he can go live on the streets, when in fact he has zero life skills and is a plush grey velvet boy!

Just happy this morning that he showed interest in cuddling and food.

Did not give the opioid this morning as it made him yowl and walk into walls last night and I think stopped him from eating. He does seem much happier without it.

Thank you again!

 

[Furballsmom]

he has zero life skills and is a plush grey velvet boy

 

[Elbee]

Oh, and no evidence of pancreatitis in either blood work or ultrasound. So that is good!

 

[Elbee]

Feeling a litter better, tummy seems to be hurting after the all the tidbits he ate but I think we are on the mend. Gave him pain meds so he is very dozy now.
Thanks for all your help! Below is his soft focus photo shoot- I didn't realize there was sanitizer all over the lens!

 

[Furballsmom]

He's such a handsome boy!!

 

[Elbee]

Thank you! I will pass it on to him... He is basically a male model
He is a gorgeous hunk of love. So sweet. Fingers crossed that he is slowly getting better!

 

[Furballsmom]

He is a gorgeous hunk of love. So sweet. Fingers crossed that he is slowly getting better!

 

[neely]

Fingers crossed that he is slowly getting better!

Fingers and paws crossed here!

 

[movinintime]

Good boy!

And he is a pretty rascal I can say that!

 

[white shadow]

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OMG.........what a teddy bear ! Scrumptious ! [and, oh, sooooooooooo very stoned happy and relaxed!]

This was from his Playboy shoot. I suppose. Oh, wait, sorry! The 'soft focus' set, yes, now I see. Very pleasant effect from that sanitizing filter....dreamy, even. So very sweet!

Was there anything in particular that caused you to think his stomach was uncomfortable/hurting? If he takes/likes tummy rubs, you can gently explore around there. If there's discomfort, remember the location.

While you're monitoring the litterbox, it would be helpful to you to get a feel (literally) for the firmness of his stool. A kleenex or some TP can be used. First, set out a 'mind's eye' scale for yourself, say 1 to 10.The low numbers will designate the softest, from water to 'soft-serve' consistency, the higher numbers will indicate firmer, with 10 being rock-hard. Ideally, you'd be hoping for a 5-6, firm but not 'hard-ish'. If your scale is 1-5, 3 or 3.5 would be the target.

In a 'cart-before-the-horse moment, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to confirm what you should be seeing. Two points from a reliable source:

As a carnivore, a cat naturally produces a firmish cylindrical segmented stool that may be tapered on one or both ends. The segments may separate on their drop into the litter box or from burial attempts. The drier the stool, the more likely the segments will separate or be separated and the smaller each segment may be.​

- and -​

Different cats will have a stool size normal for that cat but cats are cats and do not produce cow patties or rabbit pellets.​

felineconstipation.org - Poop and felineconstipation.org - What Goes Wrong​

We'll be here.
.

 

[Elbee]

We think he might use that for his Cat Tinder Profile Pic! He is eating pretty well today and has done a poop! Not quite at dark as his regular poops (he normally doesn't eat kibble) but well formed and firmish.

We thought he might be in pain as he was sitting like a loaf with his head down. Just thought we would error on the side of caution. He came and slept with us last night which he usually does but didn't a couple of nights he was feeling sick. Still subdued but getting back to himself.

Due to the sudden onset we are going with the diagnosis of a virus as no bloodwork or scans show any evidence of a chronic disease. Very glad I got all the tests done so I knew it was all clear and nothing sinister. We were lucky as our vet was open and that we still have jobs to pay. I really know how lucky we are.

Thank you all for all your help and support. We have fostered lots of feral kittens before we had Bee and I have done so much care in terms of parasites, syringe feeding and all sorts of other things (rubbing coconut oil on tiny chapped butts...). But this really threw me as we lost our last two cats well before their time and it brought up some feelings which I can see you all understand.

Hope you are all well and taking good care of yourselves!

 

[Furballsmom]