Lack of appetite

jarn

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Timothy weighed 23.4lbs when we adopted him roughly 3 years ago. He's now, last weighed, around 14.7lbs. We've been working on getting him to lose weight again as he has terrible elbow arthritis. He's on meds for it, and fish oil. We've ordered some joint supplements which should be coming soon (one hopes).

This morning he wasn't in the kitchen yelling for his food (that's a first, almost) and wasn't interested in kibble. My husband put down some wet food which he ate a bit of then left.

He's had poor appetite due to stress before (when one of our cats died, he loved Lear). But nobody's died, nothing's changed.

We are not going to freak out about it right now...but:

-what could cause this? I'm wondering about teeth
-when do we take him to a vet? Tomorrow is Sunday, do we wait for our vet to reopen on Monday or take him to an e-vet?
 
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jarn

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Oh and he's 11 going on 12. Not that old.
 

neely

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I've always had good luck offering a meat based baby food, one without any seasonings until I could get to the vet. I thought this TCS Article about how to get your cat to eat again would have some helpful tips for you: How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again

If your vet is open today I would give them a call and ask their opinion as to whether or not you should wait until Monday. It could also be Timothy's teeth that is causing him pain or discomfort and your vet would be able to determine signs of tartar/plaque, gingivitis, etc. When is the last time he had a dental cleaning?

Fingers crossed for Timothy, please keep us posted on his progress. :crossfingers: :crossfingers:
 
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jarn

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Thanks. We tried to feed the wet food because it is such a treat. He ate a bit, left most of it (which the puppy then got into). Some tuna or baby food is a good call.

The vet is going to call me back.

Timothy last had a dental cleaning 3 years ago. He has regular check ups but hasn't needed a cleaning I guess.

Hope he's just having an off day. But it is SO out of character.
 

neely

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I'm glad you reached the vet and they will call you back. Remember if you offer baby food it has to be meat only, no seasonings whatsoever. Three years ago for a dental cleaning is a long time since a lot can change in that length of time. I hope he's having an off day too maybe he's even affected by the heat, I know I am. ;) Best of luck!

ETA: Since Timothy is considered a senior the vet would want to do bloodwork before a dental cleaning which may or may not reveal a health issue.
 
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jarn

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Yes, pure meat.

I spoke the vet and they said to keep an eye - she's in tomorrow even though they're not open and will check messages, so I can call then. She's encouraged that he ate SOMETHING.

Man, between Neb (the dog) having to have IV fluids and now this...how come the 2/5 pets that don't have insurance get sick! Sheesh! And the dogs were all sick last weekend, but we were able to deal with that at home. AUGH! I am wondering if it's his teeth. It's come on so suddenly, so I'm hoping it's not like kidneys or something.
 

neely

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Man, between Neb (the dog) having to have IV fluids and now this...how come the 2/5 pets that don't have insurance get sick! Sheesh!
I hear ya loud and clear. ;) Our last dog had a pre-existing condition that required cyclosporine and a cocktail of other meds but he lived 13 more years which we were so grateful for. :rbheart:

Glad your vet will be in the office tomorrow and checking messages. Hope to hear an update on Timothy. :alright:
 
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jarn

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Yes - it's worth it, but ouch!

We were out a bit, Timothy had been in our bedroom but moved to the couch and is sleeping - but I still take that as a good sign. No more food eaten though, so we're going to try to tuna now.
 
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jarn

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We finally looked in his mouth - why didn't we earlier! - broken canine (top), that's what we could see, not sure if there's other issues. Ouch! My husband gave him some salmon and he likes the liquid. Toby pointed out Timothy doesn't like tuna. Poor guy!
 
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jarn

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He hasn't eaten any of the salmon, so I ordered on Instacart and we should have some beef and chicken (it looks pure, but annoyingly, the ingredients aren't listed) baby food here in relatively short order (2 hours).

I also took some expired (January 2020; we haven't had cats with pain for a long time) metacam and gave him a little dose - I expect if anything it's just less potent? - he weighs over 6.5kg right now I believe and to be conservative as I haven't spoken to the vet about this I gave him the 5mg dose. Hopefully that makes him more interested in eating.
 

neely

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Hopefully you will hear back from your vet tomorrow but if not I would contact a veterinary emergency clinic especially since you noticed a broken canine which is affecting his appetite. You may want to ask your vet for a few cans of Hill's Urgent Care A/D. It works like a charm to increase their appetite. And double check with the vet about the Metacam or another pain reliever. Hugs to Timothy. 🤗
 
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jarn

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Yes, I will ask the vet about the metacam.

He ate the baby food! Totally happy cat mama!
 
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jarn

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Okay, he ate a MOUTHFUL.

I got 15ml in a syringe and we started feeding him - he's not cooperative of course - and my husband thought the hole wasn't big enough, so cut off the WHOLE tip - I was like 'How are we supposed to pull food in!!!!!!' so then he used another syringe. So we lost some cat food - but I'd say he got between 10-15ml of chicken baby food. May try to give him another feeding tonight if we stay up - otherwise, tomorrow before hubby leaves for work.
 
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jarn

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Timothy's had three feedings of around 15ml - I looked at the baby food jar and that's roughly 45 calories :(

A friend that we're bubbled with is going to come this afternoon and help me feed him - it still won't be a lot, but hopefully better than nothing.

The vet will be in the office around 11...hoping to hear sooner rather than later.
 
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jarn

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The vet let me come in yesterday despite being closed and get food and a syringe of not-expired metacam. She scheduled an appointment for Timothy today and surgery Friday (they're all booked before).

Timothy ate a bit of watered a/d on his own yesterday, but not a lot, so we syringe fed twice yesterday evening.

I don't know if it was having more potent metacam, but this morning - he wanted to eat (not wet), kibble. He didn't eat a ton, but has grazed throughout the day. Normally he'll chow through everything you leave in front of him. But still, this is a good sign.

Went to the vet for his check. He is very healthy (aside from this, and the arthritis obviously) and pending bloodwork, he's good to go Friday. Today cost $465 - he sent him home buprio something - an opioid - a few cans of a/d, just in case. Got the estimate for Friday - between $1560-2300. Yeouch! He's got nerve exposure right now.

Was talking to my mother in law (whose father was an English country vet, so her attitudes towards caring for animals never fails to surprise me) and she said we should just wait for the tooth to fall out 'and then he'll eat'. 'That's what I did with my cat!' YIKES. Yeah, we're not doing that.
 

cataholic07

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Oh poor baby, yah a broken tooth is enough to make someone not eat. Glad to hear he is otherwise healthy :)

Ugh hate people who have this stupid mentality of not treating cats. Sadly I see it a lot in rescue. I am a firm believer of yearly vet visits to especially cats, they are amazing at hiding things and they age 3-4 years in one year so things can change suddenly. So glad your getting his tooth pulled. He should be one happy cat once it's out.
 
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jarn

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Timothy'll feel one million times better.

She was like 'Well, he's on the way out anyways' - he turns 12 in October, I don't think she even knows about his elbow arthritis, which is fairly well controlled now - he's JUST moved onto monthly cartrophen - he's hardly 'on the way out'. Meanwhile, her female cat didn't eat for ages (she said she could tell when the tooth fell out because her cat's mouth didn't smell and she started eating again) and she thinks has had a stroke. Just shocking. My husband's whole family, buys cats, lets them go outside, and gives them minimal care. His sister's last cat was killed by a coyote (in their yard, so they were with it) and when my husband said, if you kept your (new) cats indoors, they'd be safer from stuff like that - his sister said 'It was very peaceful'. My husband was like 'BEING MAULED BY A COYOTE IS NOT PEACEFUL'. He was sooo upset.
 
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