Cat Throwing Up, Stopped Eating/peeing/pooping, Just Sitting Still All The Time

[heep80]

My youngest cat (8 years old) has always been picky with food and never eaten much, but she's always eaten enough to stay healthy.
But since a few days back she has been earing poorly and started throwing up bile.
For the past two days I haven't seen her eating anything at all, just occasionally drinking water. She's just sitting up with her eyes closed or sleeping. She pooped very little about 3 days ago. Since then I have been watching her very closely and I haven't seen her eating or pooping / peeing a single time since then. So last night I called the vet and they had an opening for today. This is what they did:

* Externally examined her (said her mucous membranes were slightly "pale", but that might not necessarily mean anything because some cats have that all the time)

* Took her temperature (no fever)

* Took blood samples (everything was normal, except her liver values were a little higher than average, but that might be a result from her throwing up so much the past days)

* Took x-rays to make sure nothing was stuck inside her body (didn't show anything abnormal. the x-rays showed small amounts of poop in her intestines but it was not backed up so she's not constipated. her bladder was very full so she will probably pee as soon as she gets home, they said).

* They injected sodium chloride in her neck skin, in three different positions, to prevent her from become dehydrated and hopefully she'd become more active and it might stimulate her appetite)

* They also gave her an injection of something else that was supposed to make her not feel sick and throw up.

If she wasn't better by tomorrow I was to come back and they'd try an ultra sound and examine more specific organs like the liver etc to see if they can find out what is wrong.
I'm really worried now because she is still just sitting around and not eating. She drank a little bit when she came home, but she has still not peed. I have watched her very closely. She hasn't been in the box. I have tried to make her go in it but she will just exit it. She refuse to eat, I have tried to offer her food she normally likes but she won't eat one bit.
The vet said it's very unusual for female cats to have problems peeing so she was sure the cat would pee when she got home.
Please do you have any suggestions? This is the only vet around me, I live in the country. And my cat is not insured and this is costing a fortune, money I don't really have but i have no option because I don't want her to suffer, I want her to get well!
I have two other cats which are fine and not affected by whatever is wrong with the sick cat.

 

[heep80]

I forgot to mention, she has not thrown up anything since we got back from the vet, yet anyway. but she might tonight.

 

[mikameek]

I can't say what is really happening but you need to get her to eat. Force feed if you have to. She needs to get calories in her. Cats that go more than 2 days without eating get something called fatty liver syndrome. Cats livers cannot properly break down fat like we do when we don't eat. I suspect thats why the liver values are high, not the throwing up bile.

You NEED to get this cat to eat. Kitten replacement milk is a good place to start with some calories. White tuna that has less mercury and salt is another way to get some calories. If she will not eat on her own, you need to force feed. If you have wet food, add water to that and use a syringe to get it in her mouth.

I would also suggest that you phone call another vet for a second opinion. Explain the distance thing and the results that your other vet found, tell them about the finances. The first thing is that your cat NEEDS to eat. Wet food is best in this situation as cats get moisture from wet food so she wont need to be getting water from the bowl necessarily.

 

[tarasgirl06]

My youngest cat (8 years old) has always been picky with food and never eaten much, but she's always eaten enough to stay healthy.
But since a few days back she has been earing poorly and started throwing up bile.
For the past two days I haven't seen her eating anything at all, just occasionally drinking water. She's just sitting up with her eyes closed or sleeping. She pooped very little about 3 days ago. Since then I have been watching her very closely and I haven't seen her eating or pooping / peeing a single time since then. So last night I called the vet and they had an opening for today. This is what they did:

* Externally examined her (said her mucous membranes were slightly "pale", but that might not necessarily mean anything because some cats have that all the time)

* Took her temperature (no fever)

* Took blood samples (everything was normal, except her liver values were a little higher than average, but that might be a result from her throwing up so much the past days)

* Took x-rays to make sure nothing was stuck inside her body (didn't show anything abnormal. the x-rays showed small amounts of poop in her intestines but it was not backed up so she's not constipated. her bladder was very full so she will probably pee as soon as she gets home, they said).

* They injected sodium chloride in her neck skin, in three different positions, to prevent her from become dehydrated and hopefully she'd become more active and it might stimulate her appetite)

* They also gave her an injection of something else that was supposed to make her not feel sick and throw up.

If she wasn't better by tomorrow I was to come back and they'd try an ultra sound and examine more specific organs like the liver etc to see if they can find out what is wrong.
I'm really worried now because she is still just sitting around and not eating. She drank a little bit when she came home, but she has still not peed. I have watched her very closely. She hasn't been in the box. I have tried to make her go in it but she will just exit it. She refuse to eat, I have tried to offer her food she normally likes but she won't eat one bit.
The vet said it's very unusual for female cats to have problems peeing so she was sure the cat would pee when she got home.
Please do you have any suggestions? This is the only vet around me, I live in the country. And my cat is not insured and this is costing a fortune, money I don't really have but i have no option because I don't want her to suffer, I want her to get well!
I have two other cats which are fine and not affected by whatever is wrong with the sick cat.

Since she has already been examined by her vet, I don't really know what to suggest beyond what mikameek has suggested, and these thoughts come to mind: I don't know your location, but if it is very hot where you are, this might have something to do with her not eating. My cats have often gone on "food strike" during very hot weather. And: does she go outside? I strongly suggest keeping cats indoors only, no matter where they live, for their own safety and their family's peace of mind. There are so many things outside that a cat can get ahold of that are not good for a cat.
I also wonder why the vet did not draw blood. Just like with us, a lot of things can be told from a blood panel.
*PRAYERS* for your cat! May she soon be back to normal again and enjoying good health!

 

[1 bruce 1]

The only cat we ever had that would sleep while sitting up was a kitten with a terrible URI (sneezing, snotty nose, crusty eyes, etc.)
I agree--get food into that belly, but little at a time. It's tempting to syringe an entire can of food into their system, but if she hasn't been eating, give her a few spoonfuls every few hours (little and often).
Sometimes syringe feeding will "wake up" their appetite, once the food hits their mouth and stomach they realize "hey, I'm hungry" and will eat on their own but monitor this.
Where is she staying at/hanging out? Is there any possible way she could be peeing elsewhere? (even the BEST box trained cats, in event of an illness, can urinate outside the box or elsewhere so it's best to keep her in a spot that you can monitor if at all possible!)
If at all possible a second opinion mikameek suggested would not be a bad idea. Even really, REALLY good vets can miss stuff. It doesn't make them bad or incompetent. It makes them human!
It's good you've already been to a vet and can get a run down on what's what.

Another thought is to examine her food closely. Did you switch foods (or even formulas of the same brand) quickly? If not, check online or call the manufacturer to see if there was a formula change, and if there was, report an averse reaction (non confrontational, just as a heads up to the company that maybe "new and improved" doesn't beat "old, tried and true")!
The fact that her entire 8 years has been spent as eating only enough to stay healthy but not being "happy" about food would make me wonder if something isn't going on, intestinal, many things which can be easily treated once the problem is nailed down.
I hope she improves. Poor kid =(

 

[Jludwick78]

My cat is fighting off a severe case of pancreatitis. The vet gave her sub q fluids twice and she peed a lot for the next 24 hours. Like 6 times. So that curious that she isn’t going at all. I agree with above to check for pee on carpet or rugs. I can’t imagine all that fluid hasn’t come out.

Also I had to syringe feed my cat for many days. She wouldn’t eat one single bite own her own. Thankfully after 2 weeks she’s on the mend.

Good luck.

 

[1 bruce 1]

My cat is fighting off a severe case of pancreatitis. The vet gave her sub q fluids twice and she peed a lot for the next 24 hours. Like 6 times. So that curious that she isn’t going at all. I agree with above to check for pee on carpet or rugs. I can’t imagine all that fluid hasn’t come out.

Also I had to syringe feed my cat for many days. She wouldn’t eat one single bite own her own. Thankfully after 2 weeks she’s on the mend.

Good luck.

I'm glad your girl is on the mend =)

 

[heep80]

Thank you so much for all your kind replies! This is going to be somewhat of a long reply, but here goes...

She has not eaten one bit of food since I wrote the OP. I have offered her wet food she likes, tuna, dry food. She won't even eat the cat treats she normally eats like crazy. It's just not possible to force feed this cat. Or I can't do it on my own anyway. At one point several years ago I had to force feed her regular water in a syringe and even this was a challenge as she'll get very annoyed and claw me. She's not a mean cat, but she does not want to be held down and forced to do something she doesn't want to do. When she was dewormed I had to get her to eat pills and this was almost impossible, she'd spit them up. I just cannot see her being force fed wet food, it's never going to work. She doesn't really like wet food to start with, she eats a few spoonfuls at most per day, 95% of what she eats has always been dry food which she prefers.

It's not overly hot where I live (about 75 degrees fahrenheit and low humidity). She is an indoor cat.
The vet did draw blood, and the results showed everything was normal except for the liver values which were slightly high (but not an alarming level, according to the vet).

The whole sleep while sitting / sitting up with eyes closed is normal for her, she has always done that, it's just she is doing it all the time now since she got sick. Since we got back from the vet yesterday she has also been sitting under the couch a lot, like she wants to be left alone.

Also I still haven't seen her pee since the vet visit. It's possible she has, as there was pee in the box this morning, but it could also have been one of my other two cats. I have looked around the house and there are no spots of pee on the floor.

Last night she smelled the tuna fish I tried to offer her, but then just walked away. This morning I caught her with her head in the dry food bowl (like she was smelling it, but not eating it), I was so happy because I thought she was finally going to eat, but then she saw me looking at her she left the food bowl. :-(

I have called the vet and I'm going back there in an hour from now to discuss what to do next. The vet did mention yesterday that they have special food sold in syringes used for force feeding cats. I think I'm going to have them do that one time for me (force her to eat it), and see how it goes.. then go from there.

 

[heep80]

Ooops I posted too soon. I had more to say.
I have not switched formula or brand of food. She is very picky with what she eats. I buy huge bags of feed so the food comes from the same bag she's been eating from the past couple of months (Hill's Prescription Diet "Digestive Care").
I hope the vet will be able to tell if she has peed or not by feeling her belly. If my cat had some kind of tumor or something serious, the x-rays would have shown this right? They took three photos, two when she was lying on her side and one on her back.
Unfortunately my favorite vet who saved the lives of several cats throughout my life, has retired due to old age. He was the best vet I ever met.
I was also thinking of a second opinion, but this vet I'm going to now apparently does have a very good reputation. There are even people coming out here from the cities just to visit this clinic instead of the larger animal hospitals in the city.
I'll update this later with what happens today.

 

[heep80]

We just got back from the vet.
First good news is that just before heading out the door, she decided to go in her box and pee.
The vet also said that after feeling her body today, her intestines are a lot less gassed up than yesterday, so much of the gas must have passed.
They gave her something (that she absolutely hated, I might add) through her mouth in a syringe, that was supposed to trigger her appetite. Then they tried to offer her some wet food (Hill's Prescription Diet "Restorative Care a/d") which she wouldn't eat, but she was really stressed out because she remembers the clinic since yesterday and all the shots etc.
They then proceeded to inject more sodium chloride in the neck area, mixed with Vitamin B (this was also in the injections from yesterday, I forgot to mention it in the original post) and that other medicine so she wouldn't feel like throwing up.
Then they force fed her that Restorative Care a/d wet food in a syringe, mixed with a little water. It went surprisingly well. She had to be wrapped up in a towel and the vet held her neck skin while forcing the syringe into the mouth, but she did swallow all of the food, a total of 20 cc. I actually fed half of that myself, and it went well, if someone else holds her in the towel so she can't fight back as much. So I think I will be able to do it through this weekend or however long is necessary.
The vet said if it doesn't get better after the weekend we can proceed with ultra sound of the liver etc.
I just hope she will start eating on her own soon.
Do you think she will come around and get her health back and start eating, if you go by what all I have explained here?
Any theories at all what could be causing all this?
Any more tips? Thanks for reading and any suggestions.

 

[Antonio65]

Have they checked her throat? She could have a sore throat that's why she's not eating.
It happened a few times to some cats of mine.

About peeing, glad she did. Had you checked her carrier when she came back home?
My cat was hospitalized on Friday night and she hadn't peed at home, nor did she at the clinic in the following 24 hours, and I did not see her going to the litter in the next hours when she was back home, so I called the clinic back to tell them. And they told me to take her back to the clinic if she wouldn't pee in the next 12 hours.

Only a few hours later I found out that she had peed in her carrier on the way home

 

[Erinlinkcappy]

I think it is probably worth asking the vet what range of things it could be and the treatments for them. I personally think it is strange that they keep sending your cat home with no real treatment and just hoping for the best.

Cats stop eating for a reason and they need to either diagnose that reason or at least attempt to treat it.

Is his breathing laboured at all?

 

[silkenpaw]

Ummm..... no, you cannot always detect cancer (or any other disease) on X-rays. I’m not saying your kitty has cancer, my money is on the digestive tract (I think you would know by now if it were an infection). I’m just saying we don’t have a single test that works for every disease. Would be lovely if we did but living beings are more complicated than that. It’s part of what makes medicine an art.

If you have to force feed her for a long time (months), your vet could put in a feeding tube surgically. It goes in the side of the neck, into the esophagus and then the stomach. Just an option to consider. I hope you don’t have to even think about it because your kitty starts eating soon. Please keep us updated.

 

[heep80]

Hi again!
I checked the carrier but it's dry. Her breathing is normal.
Today she is more active, walks around and talks to me etc and not just sitting around like yesterday.
I went out for a couple hours and when I got home she had her head in the food bowl again but I couldn't tell if she was eating or not. THis is the second time she notices me and then walks away from the food bowl, very strange. I am hoping she will eat on her own sometime this evening or I'll use the syringe.

 

[Antonio65]

Do you think she walks away when she sees you coming?

Is she drinking?

Eating is absolutely necessary, she HAS to be fed.

 

[heep80]

Do you think she walks away when she sees you coming?

Is she drinking?

Eating is absolutely necessary, she HAS to be fed.

Yes, I think she walks away when she sees me. The last time it might have been because I just came home and she wanted to greet me (which she normally does when she is not sick). I just wish I knew if she actually ate or just had her head in the bowl smelling.
This cat always has been a bit picky with eating and many times things will easily distract her and make her quit eating. Maybe it's extra bad now that she is sick. She typically (when not sick) eats many times throughout the day / evening, very little at a time. While my other cats eat 3 times a day but larger amounts per meal.

I haven't actually seen her drink today, but I'm quite confident she has been, as I have seen her drinking several times since she got sick. The vet also said she is not dehydrated, just her stomach was empty of food.
I will make sure to feed her the food in the syringe if she doesn't eat sometime throughout the evening, I've got a close eye monitoring her now.

 

[Antonio65]

Yes, I think she walks away when she sees me.

Has something happened to her while she was eating?
Did you give her any med or something unpleasant during a meal?

Have you tried with an appetite stimulant (Mirtazapine or Cyproheptadine)? This should trigger her to eat without forcing her, which could be a further source of stress and mistrust.
I would ask the vet, if I were you, and see if they agree.

I'm giving it to my cat, who lately has been refusing to eat. Now she eats fine, and I'm happy that I have this med at home!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Hi again!
I checked the carrier but it's dry. Her breathing is normal.
Today she is more active, walks around and talks to me etc and not just sitting around like yesterday.
I went out for a couple hours and when I got home she had her head in the food bowl again but I couldn't tell if she was eating or not. THis is the second time she notices me and then walks away from the food bowl, very strange. I am hoping she will eat on her own sometime this evening or I'll use the syringe.

I wish I had a good answer for you, but unfortunately it is a mystery to me as well. To relate something that happened in our family, one of my cats seemed to stop eating for about 3 days when she was 17, just out of the blue. I tried tempting her with favorites but she did not seem to eat, unless she did so when I was out of the room. I was very worried. On the fourth day, again out of the blue, she started eating normally again, and she passed at age 19, two years later. I have no explanation for why she stopped, or started, eating.

And you can make a slurry from wet food mixed with water to feed her. "Burrito" her in a towel, like they did at the hospital, and you should be able to syringe feed her this way.

There are many opinions, "expert" and otherwise, on feline diets. I believe, along with many of the "experts", that an all dry food diet is not the best for cats. I also do not like Hills foods because I do not believe they contain healthy ingredients. I will not feed pork to anyone. That said, what is important now is to encourage your cat to eat regularly, of course.
It's very encouraging that she has peed!
*PRAYERS* continue for her, and please keep us updated. All the best thoughts of wellness for her!

 

[heep80]

Has something happened to her while she was eating?
Did you give her any med or something unpleasant during a meal?

Have you tried with an appetite stimulant (Mirtazapine or Cyproheptadine)? This should trigger her to eat without forcing her, which could be a further source of stress and mistrust.

She has not experienced anything unpleasant while eating, to my best knowledge.
I believe it was Cyproheptadine that the vet gave her yesterday, before we tried to offer the special food for her. But it didn't help at the moment, I thought maybe because she was really stressed being at the vet clinic and constantly trying to find a way to go back in her carrier.
I don't know how long the effect from that medicine stays because later in the evening she did show a little interest in the food I put out for her. I first tried the Restoration food which she ignored completely. Then I tried a really expensive wet food I know she normally loves, at first she ignored that too, but then she came back and smelled it and put her head in the bowl, but didn't eat anything.
I will ask the vet about Mirtazapine.

And you can make a slurry from wet food mixed with water to feed her. "Burrito" her in a towel, like they did at the hospital, and you should be able to syringe feed her this way.

Yes, that is exactly how last night ended, I wrapped her up and force fed her through the syringe. Today when I woke up there was a small pile of food thrown up (looked like mostly dry food), but I don't know if that was her as I have an older male cat who has a problem with eating too much and too fast, which *sometimes* results in throwing up.

She is now hiding under the sofa and acting lazy again, sitting with her eyes closed, like she was before the last vet visit. :-( Maybe that shot they fed her to make her not feel sick to her stomach is wearing off, or maybe she is just scared after she was force fed. I don't know.
It's time to force feed her now, because she is completely refusing to eat anything whatsoever. :-(

*PRAYERS* continue for her, and please keep us updated. All the best thoughts of wellness for her!

Thank you!

 

[MRG2018]

Ooops I posted too soon. I had more to say.
I have not switched formula or brand of food. She is very picky with what she eats. I buy huge bags of feed so the food comes from the same bag she's been eating from the past couple of months (Hill's Prescription Diet "Digestive Care").
I hope the vet will be able to tell if she has peed or not by feeling her belly. If my cat had some kind of tumor or something serious, the x-rays would have shown this right? They took three photos, two when she was lying on her side and one on her back.
Unfortunately my favorite vet who saved the lives of several cats throughout my life, has retired due to old age. He was the best vet I ever met.
I was also thinking of a second opinion, but this vet I'm going to now apparently does have a very good reputation. There are even people coming out here from the cities just to visit this clinic instead of the larger animal hospitals in the city.
I'll update this later with what happens today.

Tumors will not show up on x-ray, unless its lung cancer.

Have you tried Felovite or fortiflora? Felovite will help with the nutrients and you can put it on her paw or nose and she can lick it off or offer it on her hands or something.