Cat Refusal to eat

[chloechance]

Hello, everyone. I'm back again for some advice. A few days ago, my cat, she is 7 years old, began to vomit. She was still eating but was thrown up every time she would eat or drink. I finally took her to the vet, and they did a full blood work up on her, and everything appeared to be normal. They even ran a pancreatic test and that was also normal. They pressed on her stomach and said that she made a little flinch, but they did not think that they felt anything in there (i.e blockage). She has used the litter and I use pretty Kitty cat Litter so I can tell if there's something wrong with her urine and That is also normal.
The vet prescribed some nausea meds and fluids and said that she might perk up in a few days.
She tries to eat some treats, but otherwise has no desire to eat. But she will pace around the kitchen and sniff. Everything that is offered.My main concern is she is not really drinking and I am having to syringe some water in her mouth.
Davet did ask if there's anything that has changed in her environment. Six months ago we got a kitten, but we did a slow transition and everything has been pretty good.
I did switch up her litter. A few weeks ago and I did change her wet food only because my pet store stopped selling it but I have switched up her Wet food before and it has never been a problem.
When I started the new wet food, that is when she started to vomit.
I do wonder if that is what set her off. But the problem is is, how do I get her back to eating?
She is a big girl at fifteen pounds, but she has lost almost two pounds in the last few days and she loves food, so seeing her not beg for food is just weird.
The vet does not suspect anything serious but did say that we could move forward with an ultrasound or x ray if thanks did not improve.
Four years ago, almost to the day she did the exact same thing to me, and I spent a lot of money at the vet, only for her to perk up a few days later and start eating again.
I was wondering if anybody had a similar situation with their cats or if there's something more that I should be looking at. I plan a call on the vet again tomorrow and talking to them. But my vet is not close. So I am trying to see what I can do without having to drag her there and stressing her out again.

 

[stephanietx]

Did they test her for pancreatitis?

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. I am sorry your cat is sick.
The huge red flaa sad g here is that your cat has lost two lbs. And she was overweight. Anytime you have a cat stop eating, especially an overweight cat, there is a huge risk for them developing hepatic lipidosis aka fatty liver disease. This is a life threatening condition that usually requires hospitalization.

Make sure your cats skin on the insides of the ears aren’t yellow. That would be a late stage of the disease.

Vomiting cats are not okay. It has to be figured out why they are vomiting. I would go forward with an abdominal ultrasound. But if you are going to do an ultrasound, please make sure it is with a board certified internal medicine specialist.
Ultrasounds are very subjective and you want someone with extra training and better equipment doing it.

 

[chloechance]

Did they test her for pancreatitis?

Yes negative

 

[di and bob]

Try some Delectable Lickables in the stew flavors. it is in pouches in the treat section. i give it to my cats with their meds and when they are sick and refuse to eat. Even a few licks is good. I think the red flag is where you changed the wet food a few weeks ago. There might be something in there that makes her sick. Try a grain free food and see if that helps. or somehow find her old food online somewhere. i really hope you find out what it is!

 

[chloechance]

Try some Delectable Lickables in the stew flavors. it is in pouches in the treat section. i give it to my cats with their meds and when they are sick and refuse to eat. Even a few licks is good. I think the red flag is where you changed the wet food a few weeks ago. There might be something in there that makes her sick. Try a grain free food and see if that helps. or somehow find her old food online somewhere. i really hope you find out what it is!

I agree l think the new food made her ill and now its like she cant get it out of her head. Bc the other cat vomited once too when l gave it to him. She was on fancy feast then l switched her months ago to earthborne hollistic wet pouches bc l wanted to put them on grain free and a healthier option. I switched abruptly and didnt have a problems at all. They loved the food. My petstore stopped carrying so l ordered on chewy but it was alot more money. So to save money l went back to fancy feast but now neither cat wanted it. So l gave them another grain free similar to what l was giving them and that is when it went wrong.
I admit l prob should not have switched. l just ordered a case on chewy of the food they liked.
She usually eats anything but she hates the lickables, my other cat loves them.
I literally laid out all her favorite treats, and she'll only eat a few where as bwfore she would sit there and eat a whole bag if l let her lol
This morning, she went to her food bowl and she ate a very small amount of dry food, which I was happy about, and then I syringed some gravy cat food into her mouth. Which pisswd her off so l am trying not to stress her more.
I put an email into vet to call me to discuss what l should do next.

 

[chloechance]

Hi. I am sorry your cat is sick.
The huge red flaa sad g here is that your cat has lost two lbs. And she was overweight. Anytime you have a cat stop eating, especially an overweight cat, there is a huge risk for them developing hepatic lipidosis aka fatty liver disease. This is a life threatening condition that usually requires hospitalization.

Make sure your cats skin on the insides of the ears aren’t yellow. That would be a late stage of the disease.

Vomiting cats are not okay. It has to be figured out why they are vomiting. I would go forward with an abdominal ultrasound. But if you are going to do an ultrasound, please make sure it is with a board certified internal medicine specialist.
Ultrasounds are very subjective and you want someone with extra training and better equipment doing it.

Ok this scares me now.
I did look up symptoms. She does not have yellowing in her eyes or ears and no vomiting anymore. But l am def gonna bring this up to vet.
She acts like she wants to eat. Paces the bowls and sniffs then walks away. She also is acting semi normal. Just a little sluggish but she was 15lbs on thurs now 13.5.

 

[di and bob]

These Delectables are just shreds of meat in a broth, not thick lickables. My cats won't eat teh thick ones unless I squeeze them out on a plate! and even then they only take a few bites. My Yammy lost over 1/2 his body weight, about 5 lbs, in about 6 weeks when he got Leukemia, he never developed fatty liver. I have had several ferals lose that much too and they were fine, so try not to worry unless you see some yellowing of the whites of her eyes or inside her ears.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Generally speaking, when vets give anti-nausea injections, they are Cerenia and do not last any longer than about 24 hours. So, they need to be given daily. It is given sub-cutaneously, so if your vet would agree and you were comfortable giving a sub-Q injection, you could do it at home. It sounds scary, but is really fairly easy to do. I only suggest this route because if she is not eating much of anything, it can be hard to administer an oral med. She might also need an appetite stimulant, such as Mirataz which comes in transdermal form to apply to the inner ear.

Have you tried baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut) to see if she would eat them? A lot of times even cats who are nauseous will eat them, so it is worth a try. I am not saying that you shouldn't pursue an ultrasound, but trying to get her to eat in the meantime is better than doing nothing.

 

[silent meowlook]

The problem with Cerenia injectable being given at home is that it really hurts allot. Also, if there is something like a blockage it isn’t helping to just give anti- nausea meds without knowing the cause of the nausea.

I am very glad your cat isn’t vomiting anymore. Has she been able to keep anything down?

 

[FeebysOwner]

While it is true that Cerenia can cause a very brief stinging sensation when being injected, so cats aren't bothered by it at all. Cerenia can be kept in the fridge to help offset the stinging, but the coolness of the liquid could bother some cats too. It can be given via IV, which doesn't sting, but would require a vet visit for each dose. Again, there is an oral form, as long as you can find a way to get your cat to ingest it.

If they haven't ruled out a blockage (partial or otherwise), most can be seen on an x-ray in lieu of an ultrasound. However, if nothing is identified, the next likely move would be an ultrasound.

 

[FeralHearts]

Hi C chloechance

I'm so sorry your cat is feeling poorly. It's pretty scary when they stop eating. I was glad to read that she ate a little dry food on her own. That's something. Small victories!

What's her name?

Hopefully it's nothing serious. You can always ask the vet for an appetite stimulate as well like Mirtazapine. It comes in two version, a pill, and a cream that you rub on the ears.

Do you know if they did a snap pancreatic test, or through the bloodwork?

 

[chloechance]

Hi C chloechance

I'm so sorry your cat is feeling poorly. It's pretty scary when they stop eating. I was glad to read that she ate a little dry food on her own. That's something. Small victories!

What's her name?

Hopefully it's nothing serious. You can always ask the vet for an appetite stimulate as well like Mirtazapine. It comes in two version, a pill, and a cream that you rub on the ears.

Do you know if they did a snap pancreatic test, or through the bloodwork?

Her name is Mylee.
Yes, Pancreatic snap test was negative.
My main concern is lack of hydration. I put a call into vet to send records to my local vet and l asked them if l could get the meds for appetite. Waiting on call back.

 

[chloechance]

These Delectables are just shreds of meat in a broth, not thick lickables. My cats won't eat teh thick ones unless I squeeze them out on a plate! and even then they only take a few bites. My Yammy lost over 1/2 his body weight, about 5 lbs, in about 6 weeks when he got Leukemia, he never developed fatty liver. I have had several ferals lose that much too and they were fine, so try not to worry unless you see some yellowing of the whites of her eyes or inside her ears.

Thanks that makes me feel better. Were your cats drinking or dehydrated? That seems to be a bigger issue than losing weight.
I have tried everything! She nibbles on some dry or hard treats but not much. She is my cat who would eat all day if u let her. Just not sure whats going on.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hydration is very important for cats. Your vet may be able to set you up at home to do SQ fluids.

 

[lisahe]

Hydration is very important for cats. Your vet may be able to set you up at home to do SQ fluids.

Yes to this.

I wonder if Mylee's very fast weight loss is at least partially due to dehydration. Is it hot where you live, C chloechance ? A lot of cats' appetites seem to drop off tremendously during heatwaves. Even our cat who always eats was lethargic at meal times last week. Our other cat was eating much less than usual, though she was consuming enough calorie-dense dry food for me not to panic. What got her going again:
-Fancy Feast and Sheba (which she loves but doesn't usually get),
-sprinkling a little freeze-dried liver powder on her food,
-sprinkling catnip on her food,
-sitting with her while she ate because she loved the attention, and
-taking out an old water fountain.

Her problem was bit more complicated than just the heat (I'm 99% sure constipation was involved, too, but not eating much meant not getting her supplements, etc., etc.) but the heat can be incredibly stressful for cats, particularly when their humans are unhappy about the weather, too. She's not a food-driven cat and spiraled a bit when it got very hot.

Looking back over your thread, I realize I forgot to address the vomiting, which is the crux of this! Was your cat bringing up her food immediately after eating? If so, that's regurgitation, which can be caused by things like eating too much too fast, particularly when food hits acid in an otherwise empty stomach. Stress can be a big factor in bringing that on. (Our other cat does this sometimes and has been doing it more than usual in, yes, the heat.) If Mylee's regurgitating, feeding very small meals to her might help her get back on track. The baby food that FeebysOwner mentioned might be a good option since it's nice and plain. (I've had good success with Beechnut.)

Since Cerenia already came up, I'll mention that it works very well for our cat who loves to eat: we're pretty sure she has IBD and Cerenia keeps her on a fairly even keel. She'll eat food with bits of pills in it (she only needs tiny doses) but there are also transdermal formulations. You might also ask your vet about using slippery elm bark, which can ease nausea. It works very nicely for both our cats.

All that said, given everything you've mentioned, I'd also strongly suggest getting the ultrasound, which can help to rule things in or out. We've found them incredibly useful for both our cats but we've also been ridiculously fortunate to have very good vets do them at pretty reasonable prices.

Most of all, fingers crossed that Mylee is feeling better soon.

 

[chloechance]

Hydration is very important for cats. Your vet may be able to set you up at home to do SQ fluids.

They did this for my last cat many years ago. It was very hard on both of us. I missed several times and even stabbed myself w the needle. I would be willing if it meant saving her life of course.
I syringe 10 ml of water every 2 hrs (besides middle night). It stresses her out though. So she needs to drink on her oen.
Otherewse as l type this she is basking in the window grooming herself like nothings wrong

 

[chloechance]

Yes to this.

I wonder if Mylee's very fast weight loss is at least partially due to dehydration. Is it hot where you live, C chloechance ? A lot of cats' appetites seem to drop off tremendously during heatwaves. Even our cat who always eats was lethargic at meal times last week. Our other cat was eating much less than usual, though she was consuming enough calorie-dense dry food for me not to panic. What got her going again:
-Fancy Feast and Sheba (which she loves but doesn't usually get),
-sprinkling a little freeze-dried liver powder on her food,
-sprinkling catnip on her food,
-sitting with her while she ate because she loved the attention, and
-taking out an old water fountain.

Her problem was bit more complicated than just the heat (I'm 99% sure constipation was involved, too, but not eating much meant not getting her supplements, etc., etc.) but the heat can be incredibly stressful for cats, particularly when their humans are unhappy about the weather, too. She's not a food-driven cat and spiraled a bit when it got very hot.

Looking back over your thread, I realize I forgot to address the vomiting, which is the crux of this! Was your cat bringing up her food immediately after eating? If so, that's regurgitation, which can be caused by things like eating too much too fast, particularly when food hits acid in an otherwise empty stomach. Stress can be a big factor in bringing that on. (Our other cat does this sometimes and has been doing it more than usual in, yes, the heat.) If Mylee's regurgitating, feeding very small meals to her might help her get back on track. The baby food that FeebysOwner mentioned might be a good option since it's nice and plain. (I've had good success with Beechnut.)

Since Cerenia already came up, I'll mention that it works very well for our cat who loves to eat: we're pretty sure she has IBD and Cerenia keeps her on a fairly even keel. She'll eat food with bits of pills in it (she only needs tiny doses) but there are also transdermal formulations. You might also ask your vet about using slippery elm bark, which can ease nausea. It works very nicely for both our cats.

All that said, given everything you've mentioned, I'd also strongly suggest getting the ultrasound, which can help to rule things in or out. We've found them incredibly useful for both our cats but we've also been ridiculously fortunate to have very good vets do them at pretty reasonable prices.

Most of all, fingers crossed that Mylee is feeling better soon.

Yes its hot but not unbearable.
So she did regurgiatate right after l eating when l saw her. Problem is l was finding throw up all over house for 2 days but did not know what cat was doing it. At first it was a ton of food. Then just bile. Finally caught her drinking water then proceeded to vomit right after.
Ultrasound would be next step if the appetite stimulant doesnt work but l have to get a vet to get it to me l have no time this week to do the 30 min drive they did apologize foe not administering it.
But my local vet clinic is 2 min from me. I called to see if they can just give it without appt they said send her records over and they'd have a vet look at it.
I am hoping so and then we can see what happens.
Mylee is acting very normal. No aggitation, no extra sleeping, no hiding, grooms, chirps at birds. All while starving herself. Its so confusing.
I also think its stress. She did this same thing 3 years ago.

 

[lisahe]

I hope the local clinic will help you! They should, particularly if they have a good relationship with the other clinic.

The fact that you say that her behavior seems normal, despite the vomiting and regurgitation, makes me wonder if she might have a hair(ball) problem along with the other things that are bothering her. Her symptoms remind me a lot of our IBD cat's: she's been known to barf for just about every reason there is, eats constantly, and also gets stressed. (Our cats are rescues and she came to us tiny for her age; she's always been nervous about her food supply.) Edwina's fluffy and also accumulates hair in her stomach, though we brush her daily; I give her a small amount of daily Vaseline for that when she's shedding a lot.

From our experience with her -- which also included all kinds of regurgitation and vomiting, with and without food -- I'd strongly suggest asking your vets about inflammation in Mylee's digestive system. Edwina had patches of inflammation in her stomach that were surgically removed. (The inflammation showed on her ultrasound, which is why I'm so in favor of ultrasounds, even though they have their limits!) She now stays pretty much under control with microdoses of Cerenia, slippery elm bark syrup, and a probiotic/herbal supplement designed to reduce inflammation.

Anyway, please let us know how Mylee does. Stomach issues can be difficult to diagnose and manage, taking a lot of time and patience.

 

[silent meowlook]

Don’t syringe her water if it stresses her out. You run the risk of aspiration pneumonia by doing that and that would be very bad.