Lip licking cat

[nevroth]

So it can differentiate in some cases! I know I've had to have an ultrasound two times because I was told an xray wouldn't image the area (pelvic girdle area) well.

I hope this is just a passing thing, like sometimes we, ourselves, have better moods and blah moods. Are his litter box presents looking about the same?

Sending you two lovey dovey vibes 

 

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Bloodwork will sometimes tell more than an x-ray.  If he is meatloafing (is that even a word outside of cat circles?),  it could indicate discomfort.  Do mention it to your vet, although it is probably not dire if he is eating pretty well.  Darn...I had hoped we were over this!

 

[arouetta]

Asti has been eating by himself lately. I put food in a toy & he was rolling it everywhere & eating it all up at 4 this morning lol. But he still isn't eating as he was before & he looks uncomfortable. You know when you have that gut feeling like something is off?? I still have that feeling, sadly. I don't know what could be wrong. He hasn't vomited since that one episode a few days ago, he plays, he sleeps, ect. But he only eats really small amounts at a time & he does the meatloaf position sometimes. The other night, he couldn't lie with his head down for some reason. I feel like something is wrong, but I don't know what. Xrays would usually show lumps & enlarged organs, right? God forbid he has anything like that but it's always the first thing my mind goes to..

It could be something simple.

Montressor one time acted like he was in a great deal of pain.  Couldn't jump on the bed, yowled if his sides were touched.  After looking him over carefully I decided a trip to the emergency vet was not needed and he would be stable until morning.

Took him to the vet, got x-rays done.  The vet techs described him as "a perfect gentleman" as they had no problems getting him to lie on his side and stay still for the x-ray.  The vet looked over the x-ray, showed it to me, pointed out all these black spots all over his intestines.  Told me that those black spots were air and literally, he had a super bad case of gas and needed to fart.

So yeah, uncomfortable with lack of other signs could be something as simple as a gas bubble.

 

[merlotandasti]

Well he still isn't eating correctly. It makes me really uneasy. But on the bright side: no vomiting. I know I've mentioned this before but I think maybe his teeth hurt. When I put food in front of him, he eats. It isn't much, but he will eat. He drops food a lot & if a "big" piece gets in his mouth, he spits it out & Chews It again. He mostly licks at his food instead of chewing it. Sometimes he's uncomfortable when he lies his face down. He seems to be fine on the side of his face. He also rubs his face on everything & grooms his face a lot. Last night he was grooming his face & actually started to gag for a little while. A few minutes after, he ate a little bit. He still smacks his lips & does the "swallowing" thing too. It's not actual swallowing but it's hard to describe.

& his meatloafing doesn't happen too often. I mostly just noticed that he lies on his tummy a lot instead of his side like he usually does.

His stools are still normal. The color lightened up slightly (probably due to me feeding him the dry perscription food again to get more in him) & he's still urinating well. No straining. He isn't hiding either or staying away from me. He's still a big cuddle bug. His breathing is still normal as well. He's still a "meow machine" & last night he woke me up playing with his toys so he's still alert & bright. I can't tell if he's lost weight or not.

Whenever I bring food home or cook, he still makes his normal "please let me have some" face. I can't tell if he's nauseous or not.

I just need him to eat!!!!!



We're moving out of town next month & I want to resolve all of this before then. I really like the vet he has & they aren't overpriced either. But we'll be going about 2 hrs away from her.

Also I wanted to mention, I think he has done this before in the past. I don't think it's ever lasted this long before or I would've been worried.

 

[arouetta]

If you think it's his teeth, try wet food.

 

[merlotandasti]

He was eating wet food. But he only licks at it & it just pushes it to the side of the bowl.. It's the patè kind. I don't know what's causing all of this. I just want him to be healthy.

 

[Brian007]

I agree with @arouetta  to give him wet food, and if he won't eat pate, either mush up other wet food with a splash of water, or you could even put it in a liquidiser/blender.  Or try baby food (without onion), I've heard cats really like it, and they are our babies, after all  

 

Also fish, like bags of frozen white fish like cod or coli, which you can put in the microwave with a little water.  My mum does this, and a queue of cats line up in the kitchen because of the smell.  This type of fish basically disintegrates when cooked and so you can mush it up in its water.  The cooking smell might entice him to eat it and be gentle on his teeth.  Also, try him with just the juice from tinned tuna in spring water, if he likes it, whizz up the rest in the blender. 

Get his problem teeth removed as soon as possible.  My mum has had at least two cats who had ALL their teeth removed, and it gave them a new lease of life, they were full of beans and happy.  The pain must have really brought the down.  They continued to eat dry food, even with no teeth, picking it up by their lips, sucking it for a moment, then swallowing.  They really are resilient creatures.  Even Brian had 3 teeth removed all in one go, including his top incisor.  I was a wreck all throughout the surgery and for the days that followed, as he had postoperative lethargy, diarrhoea, and puking - I could have really done with you all then.  But, he soon picked up and before you know it was back to his cheeky wee self.  Only now, sometimes his lip got caught/pulled up due to the missing incisor, which added a whole new level of goofiness   

 

More than one vet has told me teeth are the main health problem in cats, and that they would be better off without them!   

 

 

[nevroth]

I second the tuna juice. Meph liked it. Although she didn't like it when I blended it up. You can try clam juice too. Maybe you can try tiki cat or fussie cat, just to supplement her current food (is it still prescription, sorry I forget).

Com'on Asti, be a good boy and EAT!!!  You know you want to! 

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Get those teeth checked as soon as you can.  Bad teeth can eventually cause systemic (all over the body) infections, and you don't need that.  It's a fairly simple (but not cheap) fix.

 

[merlotandasti]

I took him to the vet today. This morning he had an awful bout of vomiting. It's been 5 days since his appetite has dwindled.. all blood lvls were back to normal. She said if something like a lump in his tummy causing him problems like this, they would've seen it on the xray after surgery. Plus she didn't feel anything on him nor was he sensitive. She thinks he might be like this because he gets stressed easily. She gave him a cerenia shot & some pills. He still isn't eating right but maybe it'll take a little while. He seems to like licking the gravy of one of his foods so I'll buy more.

I've read a bunch of stories (I know I shouldn't do things like this) where cats get cancer & it doesn't show up. No one thinks that is what it is right?? I'm trying so hard to stay positive. But its hard to when my little glutton isn't eating.

About his teeth, how long should I wait to get his teeth cleaned? I don't want to put him under anesthetic too many times or to close together.

 

[arouetta]

Cancer shows up on x-rays.  The only way those cats could have died from unknown cancer was inadequate vet care where x-rays were never done.

He may be picking up on your stress and he did just have surgery.

If wet food is a no go, try going the kitten route and getting kitten dry food and soaking it.

 

[merlotandasti]

As I want to add that he has actually gained a tiny bit of weight since January. I read that weight loss is a big thing with cancer.

 

[merlotandasti]

Cancer shows up on x-rays.  The only way those cats could have died from unknown cancer was inadequate vet care where x-rays were never done.

He may be picking up on your stress and he did just have surgery.

If wet food is a no go, try going the kitten route and getting kitten dry food and soaking it.

Asti's vet is really nice & good as far as I can tell. Plus they've read like 4 abdominal xrays and 1 chest xray of Asti's so they probably would've seen some changes or something, right? I hope he gets better soon. I'm going to start mixing some cat nip with his food to see if it helps.

 

[Brian007]

Did the vet look in his mouth at this visit?  If there's something wrong with his teeth or his mouth it really can't wait.  He might be stressed because his mouth hurts.  I get stressed when I have toothache.  99% of cats I have ever known have had to have at least one tooth out.

 

[merlotandasti]

Did the vet look in his mouth at this visit?  If there's something wrong with his teeth or his mouth it really can't wait.  He might be stressed because his mouth hurts.  I get stressed when I have toothache.  99% of cats I have ever known have had to have at least one tooth out.

She looked at his gums but not his teeth. About a month ago they tried to do a quick dental exam (not a very good one because he HATES vets & wouldn't stay still). They said he had mild dental disease. I asked them to do a cleaning during his surgery but they were booked & it was necessary to get the surgery done then. So he does need dental xrays & cleaning.

 

[merlotandasti]

He's only had a few licks of food. I'm so sad. I don't know what to do. I keep trying to calm down, but it isn't working. He isn't licking his lips anymore but he still won't eat.

 

[Brian007]

When was the last time he ate?  How many hours ago since you actually saw hm eat?  

 

[merlotandasti]

Well just a few seconds after I posted, I tried hand feeding his dry food. He got a little in him. Is didn't want any more after 2 small handfuls. Now he's sleepy again. I don't know what's wrong. I'm so stressed. I figured things would get even a little better after the cerenia shot, but it hasn't. Do you think he's just felt nauseous for so long that he isn't ready to eat? I'm very confused.

 

[arouetta]

Two things might be at play here.

First, he might just not be hungry.  He's been through a lot and I don't know of a lot of humans that want to gobble up food just a couple of weeks after surgery.

Second, the attention to his food intake might be making him stubborn.  Cats really don't like a lot of attention when they eat.  If something big pays attention to them while they are eating out in the wild, they're next on the menu, and that mindset is still there no matter how comfy the indoors are.

Try putting a measured amount in a bowl, putting the bowl where he will be partially screened, ignoring it and then measuring what is left 12 hours later.  Refill with a measured amount every 12 hours.  If it's a case of stubborn due to attention, it might take a full day or so before he feels comfy eating again.

 

[Brian007]

How much hairball medicine have you given him?  I think we should make 100% sure he hasn't got a sneaky one.  Maybe you should smear vaseline on his nose every day for a number of days  Just to help ease anything that might be clinging inside.

I definitely think you should get his teeth done.  I've just rescanned your thread and you said he's already had two teeth out, is that right?  Where there's smoke, there is sometimes a fire, and all that.  When Brian had his three teeth out, the operation was only supposed to extract one tooth that the vet said looked dodgy and to do a descale, but she found two other teeth (including his incisor) in desperate need of removal.  I'd been told that he had "mild ginivitus but nothing to worry about, that I should maybe get his teeth cleaned one day", for at least 2 years before the operation.  Asti could maybe do with a descale and have his teeth thoroughly checked whilst he's there, and maybe see if any more need to come out.  A vet once told me the best way to keep a cat healthy for longer is to remove all of its teeth!  I think that's a wee bit extreme but I can see the reasoning behind it.

Perhaps Asti does have an allergy, after all.  I was wondering if maybe he's allergic to a particular cleaning product you use around the house, on the floor, in the laundry, etc.  Can you cast your mind back to when you might have used something that connects to his face/mouth/eating issues?  I also thought that once you've moved home, that you might leave the allergen behind, if he's been behaving this way on and off for years.  But only if you can narrow what it is down, so that you can avoid it in future.  

Or, something could be mildly toxic to him that keeps mounting up?

He does seem to have had a lot of medicine.  Question your vet's reasoning behind every medicine they try to give.  

Is he still on the CD diet?  If he is, I don't see why you shouldn't change brands, or perhaps stop the diet altogether and just feed him what he'll eat.