Food Anxiety?

[apurohit8]

Long time reader, first time poster... thanks for this excellent site!

We have two relatively old cats (both "mutts" from shelters). This post is about the second one ("Tigger", 16 yo, male, black, I am told he maybe half-Siamese, from the white strands of fur at the top of his chest). He is the alpha between the two (second is "Zowey", female, a gray tabby, 18yo, who is not very active in general). We've taken Tigger to the vet recently and there are no medical issues. He's pretty active, though he's starting to slow down a bit... he's 16 after all! He's still playful and healthy, otherwise.

Anyway, to the point, the issue we have run into is that he seems to have crazy food anxiety - as if he's going to starve. Just before feeding (they both are fed twice a day, at 8am and 8pm typically) he comes around us and gets very affectionate... but then will end up leaving from right next to us and then throw up clear fluid. This usually happens about 10-45 minutes before feeding time. He has access to dry food all day long (food that he likes, and grew up on before we went to the wet-food feeding years ago), so the only time-feeding is wet food. What's more, after wet food is placed, he typically has about 1/4-1/3 of it and then leaves the rest (he actually tries to "cover it up")... if he even eats it at all. For example, we just put food down for him, and he could care less... hasn't even bothered to come to it. The other cat doesn't eat up all the food or anything (she's not around for this feeding either), so it's not like he's being prevented from food that way either. Some days, there is food left even up to the next feeding time... so, again, he's not starving or anything, but he has this crazy anxiety about getting fresh food... that he won't even eat completely or immediately.

Any ideas or thoughts on what we should be doing differently? I've had cats for decades and never had this issue... granted most of them were fed dry-food on a free-feeding schedule.

Just not sure what to do to alleviate his stress/anxiety on this matter. The vet has offered no real help either... which is why I'm asking here if anyone has ideas.

 

[LTS3]

Has diabetes and hyperthyroid been ruled out? Those have specific tests that a vet has to request when sending out blood work. Regular blood work doesn't include either.

IBD might be a possibility. Vomiting clear liquid and increased hunger are common signs. Older cats often have other gastrointestinal issues.

If the vet isn't getting to the bottom of your cat's symptoms, get a second opinion from another vet. Bring copies of your cat's veterinary records with you for the second vet to review.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I so agree with LTS3 . This may need further medical checking for some more unusual or obscure causes. If that proves not to be the case, and it is stress, here's an article that may help destress him:

Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats

Also,

Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist

But yes, pure stress can cause vomiting in cats, and it is usually just what you describe.

 

[duckpond]

I think cats systems know when its time to eat, and if they have not eaten in too long they will throw up like you are saying. Are you sure he is eating the dry food that is left out?

As for the way he is acting with the wet, my guys get like that. they get all excited for the wet meal, but then they dont like what i feed so they dont eat much of it. and if they try to bury it i know they hate it and it could be one they have loved for a while but they get fussy. Maybe try a few new foods for him? pick up a few different brands, flavors and textures for him to try? you might find something that would get him excited again.

And i agree if your vet has no idea then a second vet opinion might be in order. Did they do the senior check, blood work and all? Senior cats can have a lot of issues that can cause nausea, and lack of interest in food.

Sending best wishes, and do keep us updated with him!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Vet check time, and not just a going over and listening to the heart and looking in their ears and declaring them healthy =)
The food covering issue is something I've seen in my cats when they feel rotten. They WANT the food (the appetite is there) but for some reason eating it isn't happening and it's like they want to save it for later. We've had instances of cats with health problems try to bury water, or spend a lot of time pawing around food/water and laying with their head kind of "hanging" over it (usually water but sometimes food.)
One of our guys did this recently and he was very nauseated from IBD.
Second opinions shouldn't be a slap in the face to a good GP vet, many of them send us to specialists because they know those vets specialize and are able to help treat a pet better than they could based on their knowledge. When it comes to the health of our animals, I respect our vets but I do acknowledge their personal feelings are second when it comes to the life of my pet and the vets I use seem to know that. Even if I use a vet, go somewhere else, and return, they know it's not personal. Finding a few vets you like that are good, but all are "Great" at different things can be very helpful.
Wishing you all the best!

 

[apurohit8]

Thank you all for the great info. Always good to have a new set of eyes/minds on the matter! You've already given me a few ideas.

For example, duckpond and 1bruce1, mentioned that the covering up means they don't necessarily like it. He did love this food before, but maybe he's gotten bored of it. The reason we settled on it is because this was the only one that didn't cause him to throw up, in general (others did that sometimes)... which also brings up the IBD that others have mentioned.

We'll ask the vet if they did the senior checkup (and diabetes/hyperthyroid checks as well)... they may have, but I don't remember at the moment. If not, we can certainly have them look into that as well.

I'll certainly read into the stress links... because that's what it feels like to us, but the IBD is a good thing to check out too, particularly with the food issues I mentioned before. What things can we do for IBD? We tried some all-natural foods and "sensitive" foods, but they didn't seem to help the previous food-throwup issues... and/or he didn't like the all-naturals. He only seems to like Friskies from all the different wet-food brands we tried before. We can certainly try them again, of course...

Again, thanks for the many quick tips and ideas to get us thinking again!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

For example, duckpond and 1bruce1, mentioned that the covering up means they don't necessarily like it.

It often does mean that. It can also mean that they want to save it for later, very much like a feral will cache food for later.

Do get those checks done if they weren't. Physical problems in cats often present as behavioral problems first.

 

[LTS3]

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time
Raw Feeding for IBD Cats

Novel protein diets are helpful for IBD cats. Most vets will prescribe meds as well: steroids to control the inflammation, anti-nausea, an appetite stimulant if needed, an antacid, etc. The meds prescribed depends on the cat's symptoms.

 

[KarenKat]

I used to worry that my tortie Olive would scarf down anything we gave her and I wouldn't know if she liked it or not (she was an outside-only pet that our neighbor fed). But after a while she would start to gobble a new food, stop and back away and meow at me. If I tried to wait her out she would also bury it. Then I knew that was not a good flavor for her. In fact I recently posted somewhere else about losing a perfectly good Yoww! Catnip Banana to some pate she was less than thrilled to eat.

She will also bury food I know she likes if I gave her too much (and then she would eat it later and we are trying to preemptively pick out the carpet fibers), if she seems tired of that one or if she wasn't feeling like eating that exact moment. She seems to get tired of certain foods if they are fed at successive meals, so my policy right now is to rotate to a new food each mealtime (I feed about 70 kcal 3 times a day). Foods that she seemed to cool off from she is now eagerly eating again.

 

[apurohit8]

Aren't cats great?! They'll bury if they don't like it... or if they want to save it. Yeesh, use your words, felines!

Seriously, though, thank you all for the continued ideas and tips. We have an appointment Thursday so we'll see what happens then. In the meantime, the vet suggested feeding smaller amounts more often. Not sure how we're going to do that overnight (since he seems to want food every 6 hours) but we'll try it anyway for experimental purposes.

We tried some other foods the other day. He didn't try to cover those up, but again he didn't finish it either. That's the key... I know some people are suggesting he's hungry, but he doesn't seem to be... because he's not eating everything all the time. Sometimes he finishes it, sometimes he doesn't. There's no consistency to this behavior... but we'll keep trying the 6-hour feeding schedule to see if that helps.

We also plan to get some other dry food for him, as he's the only one with access to that bin anyway. He used to like Friskies in the past, so we'll try a small bag of that to see if we can eliminate having to wake up in the middle of the night to feed him! Daytime we can make it happen, if it has to happen...

We're trying other wet foods as well, to see what he might like. He hasn't liked beef or fish, but loves chicken, so we are going to start there.

 

[apurohit8]

I keep forgetting to mention another thing: We don't think it's a food intake issue, because his weight is holding steady. We actually track both cats weight about once a month or so, and he is actually up in weight (he's at 12 lbs now versus his lowest of 11.5 lbs about 6 months ago)...

Also, while it's only been a few days, the 4x a day feeding seems to be helping, as he's been puke-free for the past two days. Again, we'll keep on schedule for experiment's sake (I am an engineer, of course)...

 

[Mamanyt1953]

So far, so good! More, smaller meals may be the ticket.

As my very wise father once said, "Who knows from cats?".

 

[apurohit8]

Tigger's vet results are back. No diabetes or hyperthyroidism. WBC was elevated in such a manner that the vet thinks he may have a parasite or worm. He prescribed Profender, which we just gave him (yes, I have read about the things to watch out for, so we'll keep an eye out). Bloodwork-wise, the only other thing they mentioned is that he might be headed towards renal disease, but it's not there yet, so we'll see.

The 4x a day feeding worked great for the first 3 days... we had no vomiting. After the vet visit (on Thursday) he suggested we might be able to try a 3x a day, instead (so we don't have to wake up in the middle of the night). The next morning, right at about 7am he threw up. So, we shifted back to 4x a day last night... he still threw up 2x again this morning at 6am.

He doesn't look happy this morning (even before the Profender treatment)... isn't eating his favorite treats, didn't eat much in general, either. Is moving around slowly, but still walking around and getting in our feet, so he's not terrible...

My wife says she hasn't seen any worms in the stool. Still, I'm hoping this is the cause of the vomiting, in general... because that would be a quick and simple fix. We'll see.

I'm a bit surprised the vet didn't give us de-worm for our other cat - I've always read that all cats would typically have the same parasites, since they share litter boxes... maybe he didn't want to rush into that yet, since the other cat isn't showing symptoms?

 

[duckpond]

My cats are all indoor cats. My vet still has me treat them all with profender, about twice a year. I would bring this up to your vet, i would want to treat all the cats in the household about the same time. I have had cats test positive for parasites but never seen anything in the litterbox. Thats not always a sign of negative.

Hopefully the parasite treatment will work for him, may take a few days if that is the problem. And i would stick to the 4 feedings, or leave food out over night. Trying to get his system back in working order. Some cats are very sensitive to an empty stomach, and some need fed on a very rigid schedule. Their stomachs get use to a specific feeding time, they start producing bile in anticipation of that meal, and if they dont get it vomit occurs

Best of luck! hopefully he will be fine soon!

 

[apurohit8]

Thanks again, duckpond. Just to recap, the food is always left out overnight... it just doesn't always get eaten. Tigger has access to dry food as well (on a table, so the other one doesn't gorge herself on it herself... she's a little dumb that way, haha).

We did buy a timer-feeder, with the hopes that we can do the overnight feeding that way. I did an experiment last night and gave him food from the fridge (ie, it was prepped in the bowl before we went to bed, and left in the fridge... this is basically how the timer will work, as it has an ice-pack on it)... that was successful, as he did eat it last night. Of course, as I mentioned, he still threw up this morning... but, again, we're hoping it's the parasites that are causing that, so that the cure is already in progress.

Also, he was a free-fed cat in the past. They both grew up that way (dry free-fed)... they're just now on wet food since about 2 years ago. But, I will keep the timed-feeding in mind. I wouldn't think they'd get that time-sensitive but it's a valid concern to be aware of!

Agreed, we just want him to get back to normal... I think we'll get there. Thanks to all for the well wishes for him!

 

[duckpond]

Sounds like you have a good plan!

Sometimes it amazes me how well they can tell time! i never use my alarm any more 5 am my guys are waking me up, and its normally within 5 min of 5 one way or the other. If its the weekend and i try to sleep in even 30 min my cat that has problems will barf. I never sleep in anymore, even with dry out he seems to have issues if i dont get up and give the wet meal at 5. I have become a master of get up, feed cats, and go back to bed The evening wet meal i seem to have more leeway. I guess because he has eaten throughout the day i dont know.

Best of luck with him, sounds like you are doing the right things.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Keep us posted. I know that parasites, and getting rid of them, can certainly cause tummy upsets.

 

[apurohit8]

Yesterday was a rough day for Tigger. He threw up all day long, about every 3 hours. We couldn't get him to eat anything (probably since he was nauseated)... but he was still pretty active and lively, so we didn't panic too much (of COURSE we panicked a little!). By morning, it started to look a little pink and had red flecks as well.

Took him to the emergency room this morning because it just wasn't stopping. They did a basic blood test (to check electrolytes/etc)... and they were decent. He had a higher lactase, which was expected due to minor dehydration (as expected) but the rest looked ok... even after all the puking. Unfortunately, no specific diagnosis could be obtained as there was nothing terribly wrong. They also suggested an xray, to make sure there was nothing improperly ingested... there wasn't. Of course, the next recommendation is for the ultrasound, as originally suggested after last week's visit... so we will schedule that when the regular clinic opens tomorrow.

They also gave him some sub-Q fluids (to help with the dehydration) and an anti-nausea shot. Instructions were to NOT feed him immediately, which seems weird. We tried to give him a tiny bit (they suggested rice and cooked chicken to keep it all mild)... he is not interested. I cheated and gave him a tiny bit of the gravy from the can, to see if he'd prefer that... he licked that up, but left the solids for the most part. At least he hasn't thrown up yet... but I fear it's probably going to come later.

The vet also gave us 5mg omeprazole to help settle his stomach, but I don't see how we're going to get him to take it - the pills are huge (larger than the 20mg we have for ourselves!?). It's going to be even harder since he's not eating anything anyway.

So, we're waiting it out... not sure this is going to solve anything, but we'll do as recommended. Again, he's still active and lively otherwise, so we probably shouldn't worry... but that's one thing my wife and I are good at!

 

[duckpond]

Im so sorry it is still hard for him! Im good at the worrying too! I will worry about Tigger right along with you guys! Please do keep us updated, and i still keeping you guys in my thoughts and prayers!

 

[LTS3]

Is the omeprazole a sold pill or a capsule? If it's solid, can you split the omeprazole in half and give each half to your cat one at at time? Use Pill Pockets if needed. If it's a capsule, pull the capsule apart and sprinkle the powder into canned food. Gravy canned food often works well.

Omeprazole can be compounded into other forms. I used a tuna flavored chew treat when my cat needed to take omeprazole. I had the vet call the prescription in to Wedgewood Pharmacy but a local compounding pharmacy may also be able to do it.