Cat Refusing to Eat

[Cheeky_Moose]

Hi All,

Bear with me on the background- my sweet tuxie Beckett (7 yrs, neutered) has completely gone off his food since late Wednesday (3.5 days now…). He has always been an anxious soul and has FLUTD so he’s on a wet diet. He gets the vast majority of his water via his food as he rarely drinks from my fountain or bowl. So when he goes off his food, I get really worried about his hydration. He went totally lethargic and is not his playful, curious self.

He went into the vet Friday where they did a full blood work up and radiograph - and it all came back healthy. The vet gave him fluids, dewormer, a shot of antibiotics and Cerenia in case it was nausea. Unfortunately, he had a super traumatizing end to the day by escaping from the techs under their kennels and my poor stressed boy lost it (hissing/spitting/growling) so all he did was hide when he got home.

A day later he’ll come out and sleep on me but he still won’t eat and he’s not behaviourally himself. I’ve offered him three different smelly foods and he’ll taste them and then refuse again. I’ve warmed it up, added gravy, offered Churu and Temptations- nothing.
On the upside, his chonky sister Tips is in absolute food bliss doing all the clean up.

I am a regular cat foster so I have Feliway up and running and I can’t think of any routine changes or events that may have happened last week to trigger him (my current foster joined us over 3 weeks ago and they don’t interact).

I’m at a loss as to how I can help him. If I can’t get him eating, I have to bring him back Monday morning and it kills me to see him so unhappy. Any ideas?
Thank you for taking the time to read.

 

[di and bob]

It may be teh meds now taht are affecting him, and as you know he has been traumatized. Getting him to eat is the main priority right now, so I suggest my old go-to, pouched Delectable Lickabels in the stew flavors. This is what I use when my cats refuse to eat, and they usually take a few licks. Try anything! Deli sliced turkey, (which your chonky girl could have too) but the lickable treats are usually irresistible. Did they hydrate him under the skin? Or did they say he was hydrated enough? i've had many cats not eat for a week or so and then improve, so let's hope this happens here too.

 

[neely]

I’m at a loss as to how I can help him. If I can’t get him eating, I have to bring him back Monday morning and it kills me to see him so unhappy. Any ideas?

I'm sorry your kitty had an unfortunate vet visit but it's very important that he eat. Typically a cat should not go without food for more than 48 hrs. Our cat has stopped eating several times in the past due to different health issues and our vet gave us Urgent Care A/D wet food which worked like magic for him. You may want to ask your vet for it: Hill's PRESCRIPTION DIET a/d with Chicken Wet Dog/Cat Food
Have you tried pure meat Stage 1 baby food in broth, NO seasonings or gravy? Beech-Nut Chicken & Chicken Broth Stage 1 Baby Food You can also open a can of tuna fish and use the liquid from that as a topper or give him some shredded pieces or try FortiFlora which is also a topper to entice him to eat.

Here is a TCS Article with some helpful information and advice: How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again - TheCatSite
If your cat is still not eating I would recommend contacting your vet ASAP or you may want to consider getting a second opinion.
Best of luck, please keep us updated on his progress.

 

[Cheeky_Moose]

I actually had A/D around as it’s part of my fosters diet and it was the first thing I tried with him- no go. I’ll run to the store and pick up some sliced turkey to try…
I had very minor success this morning offering him his favourite stew C/D- he licked it but stopped when he got a chunk he had to chew. So I mushed it up, added warm water and topped it with Stella & Chewys Freeze dried raw powder. He lapped some up! Not all of it but most of the water and he would have got a bit of the powder and mushed stuff up at the same time. So that relieves me that he won’t slip into fatty liver; it’s not sustainable but it gives me some breathing room to figure out what’s wrong.

 

[silent meowlook]

The next time he goes to the vet, call them first and ask for a prescription of Gabapentin to give him to help him mellow out. It is a game changer for most cats. At the appointment, don’t leave him there and ask that any blood draws or treatments be done in the exam room with you.

 

[stephanietx]

Did they do the blood test for pancreatitis? If not, ask for that test to be run.