Cat wants to eat but doesn't, tests all healthy

[Babypinkweeb]

I swear my boy has been nothing but trouble lately.

He had a recent bad vomiting episode where I manage to rush him to the vet where they did bloodwork, exam, xray etc and all healthy. Vet said she doesn't see any foreign objects, she also doesn't think it's diabetes, liver issue nor cancer. They gave him some anti nausea meds and he got his appetite back for about 1 meal.

After that... Slowly he's appetite has died again. He's vomited twice since the anti nausea shot last week, but one was a bigger hairball (I'm surprised vet didn't see this on x-ray?) And another was just yellow liquid. I'm at my wits end trying to get him to eat.

When he's got healthy appetite he barely eats 2.5 oz of wet a day, now he will just look at it. His favorite kibble he will literally lick twice and sit up. But he will rub his face on the kibble container like his life depends on it. The only thing I can get him to eat is Churu wet treats but they aren't a complete meal so I at most give him 1 tube a day. Have you met a cat who winces from fancy feast? Yea that's him. I really don't have anything that I think he will want (usually kibble is his soulmate, he will always wanna eat it).

I don't have a car right now so running out to a bunch of stores to look for food temptations is hard. I think it's not the smell or taste cus he will act like he wants to stick his head inside the kibble jar, but when he eats he will stop after 2 licks. Please help!!!!

 

[LTS3]

Did the vet check the teeth? Dental issues can be painful and a cat will be reluctant to eat. You may need to seek out a veterinary dentist.

An appetite stimulant such as mirtazapine may help some. Sprinkling FortiFlora on canned food also helps but if the issue is dental related, a cat may still not want to eat because it associates food with mouth pain.

 

[Stephanie36]

I had a problem with Tex wanting to eat but not actually eating a couple of weeks ago. It turned out to be a mouth ulcer. He kept trying to eat but struggling. Eventually he was pawing at his mouth (just a couple of times). I hope you figure it out and it's nothing too bad!

 

[Babypinkweeb]

Did the vet check the teeth? Dental issues can be painful and a cat will be reluctant to eat. You may need to seek out a veterinary dentist.

An appetite stimulant such as mirtazapine may help some. Sprinkling FortiFlora on canned food also helps but if the issue is dental related, a cat may still not want to eat because it associates food with mouth pain.

I had a problem with Tex wanting to eat but not actually eating a couple of weeks ago. It turned out to be a mouth ulcer. He kept trying to eat but struggling. Eventually he was pawing at his mouth (just a couple of times). I hope you figure it out and it's nothing too bad!

I asked the vet about his mouth and teeth health every time I brought him in, like probably reaching 8 times this year. She says she doesn't notice anything. It was weird cus he was eating well and it was like a switch turned right before his vomiting episode where he stopped eating much of even his favorite kibble almost overnight. So it wasn't a gradual reduction. I will ask again when the vet calls me back with ultrasound results for his belly. Just this month alone I have spend $1200+ on him in vet vists and $100+ on ubers since my car was totaled.

 

[Stephanie36]

Is it possible he's constipated? Or I looked into a dental issue FORL which is apparently common in cats but very hard to diagnose visually. Unfortunately you need dental x-rays to diagnose it.

 

[mewlittle]

I suggest going in for a second opinion, Also maybe mix what he likes in some wet food that is similar to the treat he likes, I understand you don't drive have you called around your local taxis and see if they will allow a cat to ride in their vehicle? If not I also suggest that so you know if you can take him in or not for a second opinion via taxi

My local taxi allows pets in the vehicle cats must be in a carrier and they charged an extra dollar
I hope for the best

 

[Babypinkweeb]

Thanks for everyone's help. Since my last post, I think I figured out the mixture of reason he had food aversion. Just to clear up, he's back to his normal appetite again, maybe even better than before. Today he ate his normal amount of kibble as well as 80% of an 3oz can of wet which is a huge feat for a wet food hater like him. His behavior and habits are also back to normal, lying in the open with us belly up, and following us from room to room rather than hide.

I think the first cause was the really intense vomiting episode and nausea. It might have initially turned him off of his food, as he could have associated eating it with vomiting a lot. Secondly, during the course of a week, I had to bring him in twice to the vet, both times consisted of doing tests that require me to leave him there for a few hours in a strange place which is very new for him as he's always been pretty healthy. (Good news, bloodwork, xrays, ultrasound all came back very healthy, the specialist made a point to tell me he really liked how everything looked! There goes my $1300 ) The specialist doctor was late by 3 hours to the clinic so he was here for about 5 hours. I could tell he was anxious and stressed out when he came home as he was walking low to the ground with his tail down and slept in the closet which he never does.

Last part that I think caused his bad appetite was the throat medicine I was given to help coat and protect his throat after the vomiting. The vet made a point to say cats hate the taste, and we have to dissolve it in warm water and syringe it for him. On the days when I gave him the medicine, he really hated the taste (went to drink water or beg for food right after). When he ate, he would lick and try to eat the food only to spit it back out like he ate something that tasted bad, sticking his tongue out. 2 days after the ultrasound I decided to try and give him a day without the medicine, and he ate his food with great appetite. He is interested in the fancy feast now, trying to shove his face into the bowl before I finish setting it down. He is having some soft/slightly watery stools due to changing his food so suddenly from his usual, however I thought it was a neccessary evil as he was just not eating ANYTHING.

 

[aleeming]

Thanks for everyone's help. Since my last post, I think I figured out the mixture of reason he had food aversion. Just to clear up, he's back to his normal appetite again, maybe even better than before. Today he ate his normal amount of kibble as well as 80% of an 3oz can of wet which is a huge feat for a wet food hater like him. His behavior and habits are also back to normal, lying in the open with us belly up, and following us from room to room rather than hide.

I think the first cause was the really intense vomiting episode and nausea. It might have initially turned him off of his food, as he could have associated eating it with vomiting a lot. Secondly, during the course of a week, I had to bring him in twice to the vet, both times consisted of doing tests that require me to leave him there for a few hours in a strange place which is very new for him as he's always been pretty healthy. (Good news, bloodwork, xrays, ultrasound all came back very healthy, the specialist made a point to tell me he really liked how everything looked! There goes my $1300 ) The specialist doctor was late by 3 hours to the clinic so he was here for about 5 hours. I could tell he was anxious and stressed out when he came home as he was walking low to the ground with his tail down and slept in the closet which he never does.

Last part that I think caused his bad appetite was the throat medicine I was given to help coat and protect his throat after the vomiting. The vet made a point to say cats hate the taste, and we have to dissolve it in warm water and syringe it for him. On the days when I gave him the medicine, he really hated the taste (went to drink water or beg for food right after). When he ate, he would lick and try to eat the food only to spit it back out like he ate something that tasted bad, sticking his tongue out. 2 days after the ultrasound I decided to try and give him a day without the medicine, and he ate his food with great appetite. He is interested in the fancy feast now, trying to shove his face into the bowl before I finish setting it down. He is having some soft/slightly watery stools due to changing his food so suddenly from his usual, however I thought it was a neccessary evil as he was just not eating ANYTHING.

FYI when I read your first post I was VERY worried. Cats not eating is an emergency as they can develop fatty liver very quickly (Google it and cats). When your liver is sick you don't want to eat. Then your liver gets sicker, you don't want to eat even more, and it's a vicious downhill trend. Cats can get a small infection or cold and not eat for a couple of days and develop fatty liver. It is more common in cats that WERE fat and they then starve to death after a relatively mild problem because they don't eat. The cure is food, but it often means a feeding tube because cats are almost impossible to force feed enough.

This happened to our cat cat when we moved and she got stressed and didn't eat. We have other cats a d didn't even realize until she lost a lot of weight. Because she was fat we were actually happy she had list some until we realized it was too fast and she was not eating.

Anyway if this happens again I would syringe feed Gerber chicken or turkey baby food (the one with nothing else in it but I think corn starch). Do it away from medicine giving so there's no association between the two. We use Gerber chicken baby food to tempt feral kittens and tame them and call it "kitten crack". I say all this because you have a sensitive cat who has stopped eating once and may again. Many vets do not take cats not eating seriously until it's too late and don't even consider fatty liver. We ended up at a specialist internist before we learned about it. ALL they did was put in a feeding tube and after a few weeks our cat started eating a little at a time. So it's a good thing to know about.

 

[Meowmee]

I am glad he is feeling better maybe next time get him a shot of cerenia, I hope there is no next time of course, that would prolly help his nausea without affecting his appetite.

 

[aleeming]

I would definitely give him something for nausea if you give an appetite stimulant in the future. Imagine being even more hungry but nauseated.
Glad he is doing better now though

 

[Babypinkweeb]

FYI when I read your first post I was VERY worried. Cats not eating is an emergency as they can develop fatty liver very quickly (Google it and cats). When your liver is sick you don't want to eat. Then your liver gets sicker, you don't want to eat even more, and it's a vicious downhill trend. Cats can get a small infection or cold and not eat for a couple of days and develop fatty liver. It is more common in cats that WERE fat and they then starve to death after a relatively mild problem because they don't eat. The cure is food, but it often means a feeding tube because cats are almost impossible to force feed enough.

This happened to our cat cat when we moved and she got stressed and didn't eat. We have other cats a d didn't even realize until she lost a lot of weight. Because she was fat we were actually happy she had list some until we realized it was too fast and she was not eating.

Anyway if this happens again I would syringe feed Gerber chicken or turkey baby food (the one with nothing else in it but I think corn starch). Do it away from medicine giving so there's no association between the two. We use Gerber chicken baby food to tempt feral kittens and tame them and call it "kitten crack". I say all this because you have a sensitive cat who has stopped eating once and may again. Many vets do not take cats not eating seriously until it's too late and don't even consider fatty liver. We ended up at a specialist internist before we learned about it. ALL they did was put in a feeding tube and after a few weeks our cat started eating a little at a time. So it's a good thing to know about.

Yes I was very concerned about that as well and made a point to tell my vet who also pointed the liver thing with not eating. He manage to eat very tiny amounts each time but obviously not nearly enough that he should eat daily. I watch my cats prob a little too closely. Thankfully he has not lost any weight miraculously since last month from the vet's weight records, just a smidge under 11lbs. I will try the baby food strategy next time. This time I basically just used churu which is like meat, water and tapioca starch I think, but I was more concerned with him not getting the nutrition he needed.

I am glad he is feeling better maybe next time get him a shot of cerenia, I hope there is no next time of course, that would prolly help his nausea without affecting his appetite.

He might have gotten it! The vet said he got a shot for his nausea and ate well for his first meal home (we didn't get a chance to give him the throat meds yet). I think his nausea is probably gone now and was just the throat medicine injection that made him dislike eating probably having the taste still in his mouth.

 

[SeanS]

Just curious you said at one point your cat could barely eat 3oz can of wet food? How much does your cat weigh?