Help: My Cat Stops Eating For 3 Days And The Vet Doesn't Know Why

[tommy2015]

My girl Io has lost appetite since Wednesday. I took her to our family vet on Friday. Blood test was done. Apparently Io's kidney, liver, and red/white cell indicators are all in normal range. Pancreatitis is not likely, although the vet said some cats may not be sensitive to the pancreatitis indicator.

Now the vet does not know what the problem is. She has had Io hospitalized and forced fed her food and water. Until today the situation has not improved.

Io used to eat dry food only. Starting two weeks ago I changed her dietary into half dry half wet food. In the dry food I also added in some senior food, per the vet's suggestion. I wonder if this dietary change could result in her problem.

Some other information:
1) Age: 4 - 9 years old (Io's teeth are not good and the vet had difficulty deciding her actual age)
2) She urinates and defecates regularly. On the day she started losing appetite, she didn't poop. But in the next two days her defecation returned to normal. Her stool was always dry.
3) I adopted her one month ago. In the past month she never vomit for hairballs. Could that be the problem?
4) Over two weeks ago I found her ate litter. After stopped her a couple of times, didn't see she did that again. Could it be the litter in her stomach makes her unwell?

Any suggestions are highly appreciated!

 

[abyeb]

Did the vet do an utrasound or barium test to check for a blockage?

Also, since Io's teeth aren't good, that might also be a reason for this, as cats with dental disease will sometimes have trouble eating.

 

[foxxycat]

did they give any medications or ?

Usually vets give sub fluids at the minimum when they don't feel well. you may want to add canned plain pumpkin to help ease her poop. if its too dry and hard-it could be hard to pass-the pumpkin will help it pass easier. Some cats love it. some hate it. you can see if she will lick it off your finger/spoon. if not-the smear method-take some on your finger and go at the side of mouth and smear it onto the roof of mouth-yes she will get mad but it will help ease the pooping.

The teeth may have to be dealt with. If it's hurting-she won't eat. did they send you home with medications?

you can get meat babyfood- no onion/garlin- gerbers has several flavors-most cats will eat that- you can see if she will lick it off your finger- or from a spoon or in a dish.

you can try treats=sometimes they don't know what's wrong but you can try smelly fishy canned food to see if you can temp her to eat.

 

[tommy2015]

Did the vet do an utrasound or barium test to check for a blockage?

Also, since Io's teeth aren't good, that might also be a reason for this, as cats with dental disease will sometimes have trouble eating.

The vet said she will do an X-ray. Is ultrasound better than X ray in detecting blockage? Thanks.

 

[abyeb]

The vet said she will do an X-ray. Is ultrasound better than X ray in detecting blockage? Thanks.

Upper GI x-ray is the barium test, barium is swallowed and then coats the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum, so that the vet will now be able to see the organs in motion in the x-ray.

 

[tommy2015]

did they give any medications or ?

Usually vets give sub fluids at the minimum when they don't feel well. you may want to add canned plain pumpkin to help ease her poop. if its too dry and hard-it could be hard to pass-the pumpkin will help it pass easier. Some cats love it. some hate it. you can see if she will lick it off your finger/spoon. if not-the smear method-take some on your finger and go at the side of mouth and smear it onto the roof of mouth-yes she will get mad but it will help ease the pooping.

The teeth may have to be dealt with. If it's hurting-she won't eat. did they send you home with medications?

you can get meat babyfood- no onion/garlin- gerbers has several flavors-most cats will eat that- you can see if she will lick it off your finger- or from a spoon or in a dish.

you can try treats=sometimes they don't know what's wrong but you can try smelly fishy canned food to see if you can temp her to eat.

the vet did give some sub fluids but Io's leg became swelling. So they stopped the IV and forced fed more water instead. She is still hospitalized and no sent-home medications.

I did try treats which she used to like. Io usually ate a few and then turned away her nose. I will try what you suggested when she comes back home.

Io poops everyday although it's dry. Is it possible she still has constipation although poops daily?

 

[tommy2015]

The vet said she will do an X-ray. Is ultrasound better than X ray in detecting blockage? Thanks.

Upper GI x-ray is the barium test, barium is swallowed and then coats the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum, so that the vet will now be able to see the organs in motion in the x-ray.

I believe what the vet plans to do is ordinary X-ray, aka, without the barium... Is it possible to detect blockage with this ordinary X ray?

And since Io still poops. Does that mean there is not a blockage?

As for the teeth problem. The vet did ask me if Io had problem in chewing. The answer was no. I didn't see her showed any pain when eating. Not sure if this can exclude the teeth problem as a reason.

 

[foxxycat]

at least she's still at the vets-they can administer meds there- Yes there can be constipation if still pooping-you want it to be regular hard-not super hard-if it's like rabbit pellets then its constipation. the pumpkin can help with this. I don't know about the rest of what's going on. At least fluids have been given but I don't understand the swelling in the leg- sub fluids go into the back of neck area-usually 100 ml or so-it will make a pocket or are you referring to IV fluids? that's a needle into the leg vein-

 

[foxxycat]

what have they given her for meds? did they tell you?

 

[tommy2015]

at least she's still at the vets-they can administer meds there- Yes there can be constipation if still pooping-you want it to be regular hard-not super hard-if it's like rabbit pellets then its constipation. the pumpkin can help with this. I don't know about the rest of what's going on. At least fluids have been given but I don't understand the swelling in the leg- sub fluids go into the back of neck area-usually 100 ml or so-it will make a pocket or are you referring to IV fluids? that's a needle into the leg vein-

yes, I think what they were doing is IV fluids. Now they stopped.

Can constipation make cat stop eating for a few days?

 

[tommy2015]

what have they given her for meds? did they tell you?

No. In my understanding they only give her fluids and food (by forced feeding)..

 

[tommy2015]

at least she's still at the vets-they can administer meds there- Yes there can be constipation if still pooping-you want it to be regular hard-not super hard-if it's like rabbit pellets then its constipation. the pumpkin can help with this. I don't know about the rest of what's going on. At least fluids have been given but I don't understand the swelling in the leg- sub fluids go into the back of neck area-usually 100 ml or so-it will make a pocket or are you referring to IV fluids? that's a needle into the leg vein-

If there is inflammation inside the stomach or the bowel, can blood work and x-ray detect that?

 

[tommy2015]

The vet did X-ray yesterday, but did not find evident sign of blockade. A problem is Io has yet to poop since she was hospitalized in the vet last Friday. the vet gave her laxative but didn't work so far.

Any suggestions are appreciated. After 4 days the vet hasn't been able to figure out what the problem is. Should I change a vet?

 

[foxxycat]

It's possible that there's not enough food in the colon in order for your cat to poop. Is she home now?

 

[foxxycat]

keep trying to get her to eat: freeze dried wild hog treats are a big hit in my house when they get finicky. Orijen makes them-I bought them on Amazon.

meat babyfood with no onion/garlic- ham is a big hit and so is the turkey but each cat is different.

Rotisserie chicken with no skin/bones.

 

[tommy2015]

It's possible that there's not enough food in the colon in order for your cat to poop. Is she home now?

the vet used something like Glycerine Enema. Io finally gave out some very hard poops.

She is now home. She is as active as before, but just eats little. Still need to forced feeding.

 

[tommy2015]

keep trying to get her to eat: freeze dried wild hog treats are a big hit in my house when they get finicky. Orijen makes them-I bought them on Amazon.

meat babyfood with no onion/garlic- ham is a big hit and so is the turkey but each cat is different.

Rotisserie chicken with no skin/bones.

Thanks! I will try these.

What worries me most is still why she does not eat.

 

[foxxycat]

ask the vet about antinausea meds=this is a big reason why they wont eat.

Ask for: Cerenia, Zofran or Pepcid AC- Pepcid over the counter-but ask them then get some empty gelcaps and a pill gun. or have them give a Cerenia injection=the injection lasts 24 to 48 hours and that maybe all that's needed. In the future grab a pill gun on Amazon and empty #3 or #4 gelcaps for the future. when I was in a pinch I used the gelcaps from cranberry supplement-opened and dumped cranberry out then use the gelcap-but don't do this with just any supplement-some are not recommended for cats-I used a few of these while I waited for my order in the mail.

health food stores and GNC should carry empty caps-many supplements come as loose powder so I don't see why they wouldn't carry them-but they may only carry the larger ones--if that doesn't work you can still use the pill gun-just coat the pill in butter-

will post links..

 

[foxxycat]

for how to pill with pill popper.

pill popper-works like a charm

empty caps

 

[tommy2015]

ask the vet about antinausea meds=this is a big reason why they wont eat.

Ask for: Cerenia, Zofran or Pepcid AC- Pepcid over the counter-but ask them then get some empty gelcaps and a pill gun. or have them give a Cerenia injection=the injection lasts 24 to 48 hours and that maybe all that's needed. In the future grab a pill gun on Amazon and empty #3 or #4 gelcaps for the future. when I was in a pinch I used the gelcaps from cranberry supplement-opened and dumped cranberry out then use the gelcap-but don't do this with just any supplement-some are not recommended for cats-I used a few of these while I waited for my order in the mail.

health food stores and GNC should carry empty caps-many supplements come as loose powder so I don't see why they wouldn't carry them-but they may only carry the larger ones--if that doesn't work you can still use the pill gun-just coat the pill in butter-

will post links..

Thanks a lot! Io has never vomited. Is it possible still due to nausea? I will talk with the vet anyway.