Cat With Decreased Appetite Suddenly Won't Eat Out Of Usual Bowl

[orange&white]

I looked up Depo (Depo-Medrol). It's an anti-inflamatory steroid.

Depo-Medrol for Animal Use - Drugs.com

Under the indications on that drug page, I couldn't find anything that your vet would use it for except to treat Scraggles' inflamed gums, or if he is worried about a toxic reaction to the anesthesia Scraggles' was given when this all started.

It does say that Depo can improve the pet's overall mood...so I hope that it does the trick to get him eating again.

 

[scraggles]

Thanks again orange&white - I didn't realise that site existed. I unfortunately don't have a very scientific brain so it doesn't usually retain anything the vet does tell me - and he doesn't give print outs of any of the medication given etc.. I might ask if it's possible to get one though as just for myself at this stage I'd like to know.

Scraggles again is really beginning to now lose the energy he used to have. He's still acting "healthy" - but for what normally is quite a vocal cat I'm noticing a difference - and although he was never hugely energetic his energy levels seem to be going down. It's as if he's just beginning to lose interest.

He didn't really eat again this morning - some treats but I'm beginning to worry about giving him too many of them now at this stage - in that he just might begin to think that if he doesn't eat he'll get treats. But then again he still isn't scoffing the treats down like he normally would.

And I did notice him licking his lips this morning so when I ring the vet later I'll be letting him know that.

It's so frustrating and worrying and I'm really feeling so helpless now! - I'm just waiting for him to shake whatever it is off and just start eating again!

 

[orange&white]

That is frustrating. I was hoping for a good report.

Yes, I would ask for a copy of his medical records/reports. For yourself, and at some point you might want a second opinion and the records would be helpful.

Prayers to you and Mr. Scraggles.

 

[cat princesses]

Be careful with depo medrol - I have used it 1x for my cat with severe allergies and itching issues but it's pretty potent - longer acting - lasts about 3-4 weeks in the body but it has the potential, as do all steroids, to cause diabetes quickly. Use with extreme caution.
It does work really well but just keep in mind the possible risks.

 

[cheeser]

My sincere apologies if this has already been addressed and I missed it, but has your vet discussed the possibility of an old-school type antidepressant, like Elavil (amitriptyline) to stimulate Scraggles's appetite?

One of our cats lost all interest in food after the vet started her on a flea control remedy many years ago, and despite our best efforts to offer her foods and treats, she dropped about half of her body weight in about a month. So the vet prescribed amitriptyline to try to jump start her appetite, and some Hill's Prescription a/d that I put in the blender and fed her via a syringe to help her out until the effects of the antidepressant kicked in. It worked beautifully, but it just took some time (about 2-3 weeks), and we had to help her out with syringe feedings until she could eat enough on her own.

Hope you guys get this all sorted out soon, and Scraggles is back to his usual self. Keeping y'all in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[scraggles]

Thanks all again - Scraggles has been dropped back to the vet this morning - this time for an ultrasound.

I mentioned an antidepressant Cheeser as that hadn't been suggested before and he is - it seems - just losing interest in a lot of things at this stage - including his mealtimes. When before he wasn't eating he'd still run down the stairs and meow for food at mealtimes - but even that has stopped now.

Hopefully the scan will pick up something and we mightn't have to resort to Depo - thanks for the warning Cat Princess.

On a brighter note I moved his food bowl into the bedroom last night. Normally I feed him at scheduled times but the past while I've been just leaving some food out on and off in the hopes he'd eat something. I couldn't usually do this as I wouldn't put it past him to have it all eaten in its entirety in one sitting. However, even with leaving food out he hasn't really been eating it. But last night when I brought the bowl to the bedroom I woke up twice during the night to the sound of him crunching on his food - so although there was still food left in his bowl this morning I do know he ate something.

This is from a new bowl I bought by the way - it's a much wider ceramic dish - probably more a dog's bowl than a cat one - but he's using it anyway. It's still got high enough edges but its diameter is much wider. When I tried the shallower dish I got he seemed to be chasing his food around a bit more and getting frustrated with it.

And now he's in the vets. I pick him up again tomorrow morning but they'll be in touch with me during the day to let me know how he's going.

 

[cheeser]

But last night when I brought the bowl to the bedroom I woke up twice during the night to the sound of him crunching on his food - so although there was still food left in his bowl this morning I do know he ate something.

I'm so glad to hear Scraggles ate something.

When our cat lost interest in eating (and pretty much life, the universe, and everything), we started measuring everything we gave her so we could at least get a general idea re: how much she ate when she nibbled from her plate.

For example, maybe we'd give her 'X' number of morsels of 2 or 3 kinds of dry food, and leave it out for a while. We also measured the water in her bowl as well. I don't remember exactly, but let's just say 4 hours. Then at the end of that time, we'd pick up her plate and count the morsels that were left, and measure the water, too. If she didn't eat at all, we'd feed her a full syringe of food. If she did eat, we might cut back a little on that particular syringe feeding.

The funny thing is that she absolutely hated being fed with a syringe or a bottle, which I guess was a good thing in a way, because she didn't seem to care about anything else one way or another. After about a week, either she got wise to us, the antidepressant started to kick in a little, or something. About 10 minutes before it was time to pick up her plate and her bowl to figure out how much, if any, she had eaten, she'd glare at us and go over to her plate and start eating.

Please keep us updated about your baby, and my thoughts prayers continue to be with you both. *hugs*

 

[scraggles]

That's a really good idea Cheeser - thanks for that! I did actually try count how many "crunches" there were last night so as to know how many morsels he ate and measure it out this morning - but because it was the middle of the night and I was half asleep I've forgotten the number - I think it was twelve - - but it makes far more sense to know how much is in there beforehand! I also like that it is somewhat scheduled - I'll definitely be trying your method.

I had been leaving out a few different flavours during the week for him - but then I became worried that with all the smells it might exasperate his nausea if he had any so brought it back to one flavour. The worry I had with that was that if it was that he had just gone off some of the flavours rather than food in general he wouldn't have a choice to choose his preferred flavour - if that even makes sense. Anyway, what he ate last night was one of the first flavours I gave him when he first came - he'll be at the vet now tonight but we'll see how he takes to it again tomorrow.

Haven't actually heard anything from the vet yet - I'm hoping no news is good news...

 

[orange&white]

Heehee. I thought I was the only kibble counter. Before I brought home my feral kitten, I bought her a bag of grain free dry since I wasn’t sure how fast she would adjust to a wet diet. I counted how many kibbles were in a ¼ cup so I could calculate calories per kibble. I’m weird like that, but sometimes those little details can be useful.

Anyway…I’m also hoping to hear a good report from Scraggles’ vet today.

 

[scraggles]

Scraggles is home - no conclusive answer yet though. The xray and ultrasound didn't pick up anything yesterday - so the vet gave him a shot of diazepam/valium and Scraggles did eat directly after it. However, he didn't eat anything for the vet again this morning. Once home, he ate a couple of treats for me - but, again, not any food. I've to keep an eye on him over the weekend and then talk about possibly referring him up to a veterinary hospital once the vets open again.

They're also going to give me a print out of his medical records when I go back in so I'll know exactly myself what he's been given.

 

[orange&white]

Well, that's not very much news is it? The good thing is that there was no bad news, but now they've left you at square one without a lot of info to go on.

How is his weight holding up? If he is losing weight, then I would syringe some watered down canned food, or one or two egg yolks into him today and tomorrow while waiting for the vet to reopen.

 

[scraggles]

I know - I'm stumped, frustrated and beginning to question my own sanity at this stage.

If it seems that there is nothing physically wrong then I'm going to go with mental anxiety or some such. I'm going to continue to feed him in the bedroom, measuring his food and syringe supplementing as needed.

Once the vets reopens I'm going to talk more to him about this - if it is that the valium helped even for a short amount of time it might be worth looking at something similar long term.

Although then I'd also be worried that it's just applying a bandaid rather than seeing his appetite loss as a symptom of something else...

I don't want to be running him to the vet every other day though either as if it is some sort of anxiety surely that can't be helping either.

Oh I don't know - I had a good cry earlier - hopefully something will make more sense over the weekend.

 

[orange&white]

I'm sorry. Sometimes a good cry is the only thing that can make me feel better.

I would hope that valium wouldn't be a long-term solution, but one or two weeks might help Scraggles.

The stress of multiple trips to the vet's office is a valid concern. I always try to feed my cats back to eating at home for a day or two when one decides to go off food (as long as they aren't vomiting/diarrhea). A couple of my cats came around by syringing egg yolks when I was at my last straw and hours away from going to the vet for feeding and hydration.

OK, so today and tomorrow, Scraggles is going to get better with "food as medicine". Sending good vibes your way for a turn around this weekend.

 

[Columbine]

How did I miss so much of this

I'm so sorry that you're no further forward with a diagnosis for Scraggles I really hope that you're able to find some answers very soon. I can't begin to imagine how frustrating and worrying all this must be for you Hang in there. You WILL get to the bottom of this, I'm sure.

As far as the vet goes - (s)he sounds great, but as you're continuing to run into brick walls here, it might be worth considering a second opinion, or even a specialist. The fact that there are still signs of nausea makes me think that there is at least a physical component to this problem. Don't lose hope - there WILL be an answer out there, it may just take some finding.

How does Scraggles handle vet visits? If he's not overly stressed by them, I wouldn't worry too much. The most important thing is to pinpoint a cause, or at least an effective treatment. If he IS stressed out by the visits (my girl is terrified of them), talk to your vet about a calming supplement to give him beforehand. I use NutraCalm for my girl (not prescription, but only available from vets), and it's made a phenomenal difference. I just give it 1-2hrs before we leave. Zylkene is another option, as is Composure.

As far as food goes, feed him whatever he will eat. If that's treats, then so be it. A good option if he'll eat them is Nature's Menu Country Hunter treats - they're actually nutritionally complete, so might make a good compromise for the time being. They're pretty stinky too, which often helps.

Given how little Scraggles is eating right now, I would definitely be syringe feeding him daily. The last thing you want is hepatic lipidosis. Actually - has Scraggles had his liver function tested recently? As this has been going on a while, there is a risk that he's already developing it...and it then becomes a vicious cycle, as the liver issues themselves reduce appetite further. Syringe feeding is the only way out if this happens. The good news is that it can be reversed if caught early enough, so I'd definitely want to be raising it with the vet, if only to rule it out.

This thread has a wonderful demo of how to syringe feed with minimum stress to both you and the cat:-
Syringe Feeding Lucky Video/If your Cat is not eating

Sending you both a ton of vibes

 

[scraggles]

Well, on a bit of a positive note, after not eating much at all yesterday, I woke up again twice during the night to the sound of Scraggles crunching his way through his food! I’m going to play by ear now today I think. I like the idea of trying to start him back on more scheduled meals – I’ll put out some food during the day but maybe take it away if he doesn’t eat it – then leave food out for him again tonight and see if he eats again. 12 hours seems like a long enough while to be leaving him without eating – but if he’s eating enough during the night it might be O.K. – I’ll see how he gets on anyway. It was so nice though, I have to say, to wake up to a pretty much empty bowl for the first time in ages. It was still not as much as he should be eating, and I don’t know why he’s decided to only eat in the bedroom, but maybe he’s turned a corner.

Also, he meowed again this morning for the first time in a while looking for his breakfast – but again didn’t eat the food once put out – he did, though, eat some treats (Orijen freeze dried). I’ve actually run out of Dreamies and am a bit reluctant to buy many more – he seems to like the Orijen ones and will definitely be looking into other healthier alternatives also. I’ve found a place here that seems to stock Nature's Menu Country Hunter treats – but for dogs – I don’t know if they’re suitable for cats also? I’ll call into them in person, anyway, and see what they have available that they mightn’t show online.

Scraggles absolutely HATES the vet, Columbine! – He meows and yowls the absolute entire drive there – then constant literal non-stop meowing while there – and then back to the yowling on the drive back – I’ll ask the vet re NutraCalm etc. when he opens again.

For some reason my computer doesn’t show the video in that post that you linked to, but the article mentioned in it definitely had great advice! I'm a bit worried because my vet hadn't told me of the danger of aspiration, but hopefully I haven't caused any damage.

Thanks again for the support – I don’t know where my head would be at without it.

 

[orange&white]

Well, on a bit of a positive note, after not eating much at all yesterday, I woke up again twice during the night to the sound of Scraggles crunching his way through his food! ... It was so nice though, I have to say, to wake up to a pretty much empty bowl for the first time in ages.

Yay!!! Yay!!! Yay!!! Yay!!! Yay!!!

Sounds like very good news. I'd leave out all the food he wants for a week or two. (Of course, the last time I had a cat go off food and free-fed him for two weeks, he gained over a pound...so do what you think is best.)

Not familiar with County Hunter brand. I'd look at the ingredients before giving dog treats to Scraggles.

Did I say, "Yay!!!!"

 

[cheeser]

That's great that Scraggles ate a little something again! Yay!

But honestly, if I were you, I wouldn't worry too much at this point about whether a particular food or treat is 'healthy.' The important thing is to get him to eat. As long as whatever you feed him doesn't contain onions, garlic, caffeine, chocolate, or anything else that can be toxic to cats, you can worry about finding healthier alternatives once Scraggles is on the mend. One of my cats could only be tempted with Temptations and plain toasted bagels when she started on a downward spiral.

Sometimes cats get locked into a vicious cycle, where they can't eat because they feel nauseated, and they feel nauseated because they can't eat.

Also, cats can't tolerate drastic reductions in food intake like people can, and as Columbine mentioned, they can develop hepatic lipidosis (a.k.a. fatty liver disease) after only a few days. I learned this lesson the hard way when the vet put my cat on a strict diet when she became a little chubby. "If she doesn't like the new food, just starve her out, and when she gets hungry enough, she'll eat it." *sigh* Trust me, that was a very difficult and painful time for both of us (not to mention terribly expensive), and I'd like to help spare you and Scruggles that long and difficult journey if at all possible. I guess that's why I'm such an obnoxious advocate for syringe feeding to supplement whatever a sick cat can manage to eat.

Sending you some more good vibes, and hopefully Scraggles will be better soon.

 

[orange&white]

Me too, Cheeser. Cats aren't allowed to go much over 24 hours without eating at my house. They can skip breakfast and dinner, but if they don't eat breakfast the second morning I pull out the syringe. I nursed a cat through hepatic lipidosis. Wouldn't wish it on anyone or their cat.

 

[Columbine]

Well, on a bit of a positive note, after not eating much at all yesterday, I woke up again twice during the night to the sound of Scraggles crunching his way through his food! I’m going to play by ear now today I think. I like the idea of trying to start him back on more scheduled meals – I’ll put out some food during the day but maybe take it away if he doesn’t eat it – then leave food out for him again tonight and see if he eats again. 12 hours seems like a long enough while to be leaving him without eating – but if he’s eating enough during the night it might be O.K. – I’ll see how he gets on anyway. It was so nice though, I have to say, to wake up to a pretty much empty bowl for the first time in ages. It was still not as much as he should be eating, and I don’t know why he’s decided to only eat in the bedroom, but maybe he’s turned a corner.

Also, he meowed again this morning for the first time in a while looking for his breakfast – but again didn’t eat the food once put out – he did, though, eat some treats (Orijen freeze dried). I’ve actually run out of Dreamies and am a bit reluctant to buy many more – he seems to like the Orijen ones and will definitely be looking into other healthier alternatives also. I’ve found a place here that seems to stock Nature's Menu Country Hunter treats – but for dogs – I don’t know if they’re suitable for cats also? I’ll call into them in person, anyway, and see what they have available that they mightn’t show online.

Scraggles absolutely HATES the vet, Columbine! – He meows and yowls the absolute entire drive there – then constant literal non-stop meowing while there – and then back to the yowling on the drive back – I’ll ask the vet re NutraCalm etc. when he opens again.

For some reason my computer doesn’t show the video in that post that you linked to, but the article mentioned in it definitely had great advice! I'm a bit worried because my vet hadn't told me of the danger of aspiration, but hopefully I haven't caused any damage.

Thanks again for the support – I don’t know where my head would be at without it.

I found the video on YouTube if you're interested
I really wouldn't worry too much about aspiration issues (they're a much higher risk in small kittens than in adult cats, anyway). So long as you go slowly, allow swallowing time, and aim the syringe sideways slightly (as opposed to right down the throat) you should be just fine

Fantastic news that Scraggles has eaten better today Mega that it continues

I can't see any reason why the Nature's Menu dog freeze dried treats couldn't be offered, but they're obviously not a complete and balanced food for cats. Also, they do have bits of veggies in them, and my girl isn't keen on that at all My local Pets at Home carries the cat version, and they're also pretty easy to find online (Pets at Home, Amazon, Fetch, Monster Pet Supplies, Nature's Menu and many others).

Hang in there. You WILL find some answers, I'm sure. It may just take a little time

 

[scraggles]

Thanks all again!

It felt like we'd turned a corner this weekend - gradually Scraggles' appetite was coming back - he still wasn't scoffing his food but that meant that I could leave out a measured amount of what he'd normally eat and generally over 24 hours he'd have the majority of it eaten - which was such such a relief!

His behaviour is still a bit "off" - I don't know how to describe it - he's not acting ill but there's just something a bit - well - "off".

I had a long weekend so only back to work this morning - Scraggles was meowing like he was trying to tell me something - I don't know if that sounds too crazy cat lady - but generally his meows are easily enough interpreted - give me food/let me out - this morning was different and I couldn't work it out. Again he showed no interest in food - but I know how much I left out for him so I'll see how he's done when I get home.

But he ate over the weekend so that's definitely a good thing! The rest might be just from being a creature of habit and since I'm feeding him somewhere new now he just might be getting used to the "new" morning routine.

I'm calling into the vet later also with an update - hopefully Scraggles is on the mend - he certainly seemed to be over the weekend - so fingers and paws crossed.