Kitty Will Not Eat, Feeling Hopeless

[Annessa]

Hi, my name is Annessa. My cat Myte stopped eating on Sunday. I took her to the vet on Monday and Tuesday to figure out what was wrong with her. They did x-rays, took blood, and found nothing wrong $500 later. The vet gave me some mirtazapine to stimulate her appetite and some antibiotics but administering them to her is proving quite difficult. She will not sit still at all. I also don't think she necessarily even needs the antibiotics. She is currently hiding under the bed right now. I'm thinking I should start force feeding her but once again I cannot hold her down long enough. I've tried a towel, I've had my roommate try to help me. Honestly it seems like she just wants to die and I'm thinking maybe I should just put her down at this point. This is feeling so hopeless.

 

[duckpond]

take her back to the vet. mine will usually give a shot if they need antibiotics. she doesn't want to die, she is just sick and doesn't understand. she is afraid.

 

[Neo_23]

Have you tried giving her different kinds of foods? Is she still asking for food, does she seem hungry?
Sometimes cats just decide that they don't like their food anymore, and you may have to try different kinds of foods to see if something else will stimulate her appetite. Fortiflora is a probiotic that seems to work really well as an appetite stimulant. If you just sprinkle a little on her food she may come around.

Did the vet say that she had a fever? Besides the not eating, does she have any others symptoms?

I would take her to the vet to be fed through a tube in the worst case scenario.

 

[alzycat]

Take her back to the vet and have them feed her through a syringe. If she continues not to eat she could suffer hepatic lipidosis. Maybe take her to another vet to get another opinion and do more tests? Is she still drinking & using the litterbox?

Have you tried watching youtube videos showing how to give medication to a cat? My cat also fights when I have to give her medication, but I watched a video that showed how to properly wrap the cat in a blanket and stop them from moving when giving the meds. You should put her on the center of the blanket, push down on her shoulder blades gently to get her to lay down, then wrap one side of the blanket around her, tuck the blanket over her front paws, and wrap the other side. I find it easiest to then put the cat in between my legs when I'm in a kneeling position, and I cross my ankles together at the back so she can't wiggle out from behind.

 

[Annessa]

Have you tried giving her different kinds of foods? Is she still asking for food, does she seem hungry?
Sometimes cats just decide that they don't like their food anymore, and you may have to try different kinds of foods to see if something else will stimulate her appetite. Fortiflora is a probiotic that seems to work really well as an appetite stimulant. If you just sprinkle a little on her food she may come around.

Did the vet say that she had a fever? Besides the not eating, does she have any others symptoms?

I would take her to the vet to be fed through a tube in the worst case scenario.

Her other symptoms were vomiting, not drinking water, lethargy, sleeping a ton, and just not acting like her usual happy self. ALL of this started occuring after I gave her some freeze dried salmon treats on Sunday. I only gave her two which was the recommended amount and then she threw up 5 times over the course of the day and night. I was thinking maybe she was allergic to the treats but she has still not eaten since then.

I pulled her out from under the bed and she is now drinking water which I am happy about. She has also lost a lb or two of weight in the past few days. I also don't think she has passed stool. She has urinated but sometimes it is hard to tell because I have two cats that use the same litterbox and I'll be asleep or away from the home sometimes. She did have a fever of 103 on Tuesday but they checked her temp only after giving her an x-ray which freaked her out and possibly caused the raise in temperature.

I have tried a variety of different foods. Last night she did lick the gravy off one of those Sheba perfect portions but I know that's not enough. I got a bunch of different varieties from petsmart last night. I guess I just have to keep trying.

 

[Neo_23]

I would keep trying to syringe feed her and if it doesn't work within the next few hours take her back to the vet. Cats can go downhill fast if they don't eat.

 

[Yanaka]

That's weird. Poor kitty must be going through something bad. If she is licking some Sheba, try that again. May I suggest trying Nutro? They have a perfect portions variety as well, and mine love it (loved the beef although they normally hate beef). They're addicted to the other Nutro foods, too. Have you tried hot water added into her wet food? Have you tried dry food? I'm not sure if I saw you mention that.

But yeah, take her back to the vet if she still won't eat. She needs to get fluids, and the vet needs to work out what's going on with this cat... Are there plants or something that she might have eaten?

 

[Annessa]

That's weird. Poor kitty must be going through something bad. If she is licking some Sheba, try that again. May I suggest trying Nutro? They have a perfect portions variety as well, and mine love it (loved the beef although they normally hate beef). They're addicted to the other Nutro foods, too. Have you tried hot water added into her wet food? Have you tried dry food? I'm not sure if I saw you mention that.

But yeah, take her back to the vet if she still won't eat. She needs to get fluids, and the vet needs to work out what's going on with this cat... Are there plants or something that she might have eaten?

Normally dry food is what my kitties eat. And usually Myte goes NUTS for wet food. But she won't eat anything. i just tried giving her fancy feast broths and she's still not interested. I will try the hot water thing. And no, no plants she could have eaten. My kitties are completely indoor. And they already did x-rays and ruled out any foreign bodies in her system.

 

[Yanaka]

People keep saying that their cats are indoors when I ask about plants, but there are house plants, too!
Okay. Well she doesn't "want to die," animals don't do that if they're healthy. Hang in there...

 

[Annessa]

People keep saying that their cats are indoors when I ask about plants, but there are house plants, too!
Okay. Well she doesn't "want to die," animals don't do that if they're healthy. Hang in there...

Sorry, yeah, I realized that after I posted and was reading it again. Is there a way to edit posts here? I don't see one. LOL But I don't have any house plants, either. I was thinking maybe she ate some hair or carpet or string because she has pica and has had scares with that in the past but nothing her x-ray came back okay...

 

[Neo_23]

Was her white blood cell count up on her blood test? If yes, she probably has some bacterial infection so it's important to administer the antibiotics.

 

[Annessa]

Was her white blood cell count up on her blood test? If yes, she probably has some bacterial infection so it's important to administer the antibiotics.

No, her bloodwork came back totally normal... The reason the vet prescribed antibiotics is because this not eating and being lethargic thing happened last year as well around october, just without the vomiting. But she would still eat wet food back when that happened.

 

[Neo_23]

Hmm that is really tricky. I think at this point just do your best to give her the food and medication and take her back immediately to the vet if you are unsuccessful. I hope she feels better.

 

[Ardina]

Please do whatever you have to to get the antibiotics into her! Her temperature wouldn't spike so high if she didn't have some sort of infection. Saipha had similar symptoms - fever, lethargy, no appetite - and she was feeling much better after a couple of days on the antibiotics. Also, if she hasn't eaten for four days, she needs some calories asap. Whether that's treats, dry food, wet food, plain boiled chicken, stinky tuna, bone broth, plain meat baby food (no garlic or onions!), or egg yolk, anything will do. Other people have had excellent suggestions like warming up the food or adding warm water. You can also try offering the food/treats on your finger and see if she'll lick it off.

 

[Yanaka]

Oh she had the same thing last year? And how did that turn out?

 

[MPs-Munich]

Hi, my name is Annessa. My cat Myte stopped eating on Sunday. I took her to the vet on Monday and Tuesday to figure out what was wrong with her. They did x-rays, took blood, and found nothing wrong $500 later. The vet gave me some mirtazapine to stimulate her appetite and some antibiotics but administering them to her is proving quite difficult. She will not sit still at all. I also don't think she necessarily even needs the antibiotics. She is currently hiding under the bed right now. I'm thinking I should start force feeding her but once again I cannot hold her down long enough. I've tried a towel, I've had my roommate try to help me. Honestly it seems like she just wants to die and I'm thinking maybe I should just put her down at this point. This is feeling so hopeless.

Hi Anessa - We're maybe going through the same thing here.

One of our 2 cats (sisters, both 8 yrs, 100% indoor house cats) suddenly (and I mean suddenly!) stopped eating or drinking anything at all. Went from playful and people-friendly to hiding from everyone in dark, warm corners. Occasionally she would throw up (mostly foam - but what do you expect form an empty stomach?), drool and make strange smacking noises - and then hide again.

Day 1 we watched,

Day 2 we worried.

Day 3 we went to the Vet. Rehydrated with a subcutaneous saline injection, antibiotics, a pain killer... took her home with the story "keep her food away for an hour so the meds can work." Nothing. No food, no drink.

Day 4 full lab - blood fine, liver fine, kidneys fine, no bumps or swelling of lymph nodes, no fever..
By all lab results: a healthy cat that simply refuses food and/or drink for some unexplainable reason.
More injections, started force feeding her a very watered down high nutrient powder food from the Vet. She did not like being force fed, but kept for down. But no return of appetite or thirst at all.

Day 5 recheck for any lumps, bumps or sensitive areas around the tummy (nothing), still no fever. Decision to take her to the larger clinic for X-rays and ultrasound. Three minutes later we had a doctor telling us her stomach and intestines were filled with gas - intestinal peristalsis not functioning properly - something wrong there, they need to open her up immediately. Two hours later: call form operation doctor - degassed, rinsed out - and the peristalsis returned to normal within minutes. The drooling and the smacking noises (and the foam she threw up) were from gas going back up the oesophagus because peristaltic push to other end wasn't working .. Reflux, as we humans would call it. That burned her oesophagus and made her lose any appetite for swallowing anything. But the real find (drumroll....): Despite her lab results (incl. pancreatic tests) showed up fine, her pancreas was huge swollen and bright red - ready to give up at any time. How and if these 2 are related is unclear to me, but we now have something to treat...

Day 6 is tomorrow morning, when we pick her up form the clinic. She's getting a tube set to feed her through for the next 7-8 days: this will also make administering medicine easier.

Hoping for the best now - we almost lost her ...
She went from hopping, happy and healthy to critical in 48 hours!
Do not watch and wait: they are family!

 

[Annessa]

Please do whatever you have to to get the antibiotics into her! Her temperature wouldn't spike so high if she didn't have some sort of infection. Saipha had similar symptoms - fever, lethargy, no appetite - and she was feeling much better after a couple of days on the antibiotics. Also, if she hasn't eaten for four days, she needs some calories asap. Whether that's treats, dry food, wet food, plain boiled chicken, stinky tuna, bone broth, plain meat baby food (no garlic or onions!), or egg yolk, anything will do. Other people have had excellent suggestions like warming up the food or adding warm water. You can also try offering the food/treats on your finger and see if she'll lick it off.

I just tried giving her the antibiotic suspension again and most of it just ended up on the bed. She moves her head away as soon as I squeeze it into her mouth. And I know force feeding her will just end up the same. I have watched numerous towel wrapping and restraint videos. None of them help.

 

[Ardina]

Can you ask for a pill or injectable antibiotic from the vet? Injectable would be easiest, but pill form might work too.

 

[Annessa]

Can you ask for a pill or injectable antibiotic from the vet? Injectable would be easiest, but pill form might work too.

That's a good idea. I hadn't considered that. I just force fed her a bit with some sheba wet food mixed with water to form a slurry. Hardly any of it got into her mouth but she did eat a little at least. I'll keep trying throughout the day. She's licking herself right now after getting the food all over her face and paws. I might try to put food on her paws too.

 

[arouetta]

Immediately after the treats? Was she checked for food poisoning?